Written by: Gabriel Castillo | Published on: June 8, 2021
Deku’s back in control and duels Shinso, the other students brawl, and Uraraka wrecks house as the final match reaches its climax!
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Summary
After Izuku Midoriya’s short internal meeting, the fifth match rages on. A brawl between an outnumbered Class 1-A and most of 1-B ensues. Meanwhile, Deku and Shinso have a duel of power and will. The match ends and the students have a quick critiquing session.
The Rematch
Izuku Midoriya pulls himself together with Ochaco Uraraka’s help but they have no time to rest as the match goes on! Neito Monoma comes up and ambushes the duo while trying to steal Deku’s quirk but Uraraka’s martial arts training comes in handy and she takes the opponent down with ease. Immediately after, Deku isolates Shinso and they have a good old shounen-style duel where each character has some flashbacks that propel them forward. Yes, there’s a fair amount of staring and internal monologue especially from the inheritor of One for All. Shinso showcases his ability to manipulate the cloth scarf (similar to Eraserhead); it’s a great moment for the aspiring hero! Deku, initially anxious about using his quirk, regains control of his heart and utilizes the black whip. Unfortunately, he cannot use the new power for long; a wonderful moment for the hero but also a tad bit sad since the black whip is currently too much for him to handle. Realizing his disadvantage, Shinso makes a hasty retreat!
The Brawl
While the shounen stare down goes on elsewhere, Minoru Mineta and Mina Ashido struggle against 1-B’s Nirengeki Shoda, Yui Kodai, and Reiko Yanagi. The fight has a lot of things flying around, including Mineta doing unpleasant Mineta things, but their brawl barely receives attention. The most exciting part is Uraraka’s assassin-like entrance as she easily takes two down leaving the last for the acid-grape duo. Honestly, Uraraka’s close quarters combat looks ridiculously powerful and entertaining. As the 3 versus 3 battle goes on, Shinso (with some help from Monoma) makes a final effort to beat Deku but the latter’s resolve and power are too much.
The Result
The fifth match is another sweep for Class 1-A (unsurprising)! While the students receive their final critique, Deku thanks his friends for helping and shares a sweet moment with Shinso and Uraraka (whose face turns completely red upon realizing that she hugged her crush to the max). Aizawa shows concern for Shinso (in his own strange way) since the student passes his “test” and makes it into the hero course! Hopefully viewers get to see more of this master-pupil relationship.
VERDICT
Author's Rating: 8.7/10
The fifth match was fun to watch but not for the fight choreography. Of course, the main attraction was Deku’s new quirk going ballistic for a bit followed by a brief duel with his buddy. Uraraka came out strong and proved to be a heroine that saves people AND whoops opponents (she literally took down 3 of the 5 students in 1-B’s team); in fact, she's the lowkey MVP of the fifth match considering everything she did from hugging an exploding Deku to karate chopping the opponents. This battle was more about character development rather than straight-up fighting (even if there was a brawl). One bummer was Mineta displaying his signature over-the-top lasciviousness in the middle of battle right after a heroic moment! This little grape needs to calm down. Overall, this episode was enjoyable especially since it opened up new possibilities for Deku and One for All!
Now that the joint training battle is over, how will the students internalize the results? What will happen to Shinso? How will Midoriya deal with the new development regarding One for All? how will the next arc be introduced? Find out in the next episode!
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My Hero Academia Season 5 is available for streaming on iQIYI with new episodes every Saturday 17:30 (GMT + 8)
