My Hero Academia: Winners & losers of Episode 72

The latest in the series gives us, perhaps, Kirishima and Fat Gum’s most defining moments. Here are the winners and losers of My Hero Academia Episode 72.

Season 4 of My Hero Academia has, so far, been a true banger. The build-up to what will surely be an absolutely immaculate confrontation between Deku and Overhaul (I know this because anime openings never lie) has been splendid, with many of the other supporting characters being given more screen time to flesh out their backstories and motivations.

This week’s episode was the epitome of that, as we got an episode featuring everyone’s favorite red-headed pal, Kirishima, and his mentor and pro hero Fat Gum as they took on two powerful villains. Let’s break it down!

Winners

Mina Ashido/Alien Queen

One of the pleasant surprises of this week was the revelation that Ashido and Kirishima actually have a history dating back to their high school days. Turns out that she was the big star of their school, destined for stardom and performing heroic acts in her own way. She was even shown to have stopped a group of bullies from picking on a younger student, befriend all of them, and breakdance with them (yeah, this week’s episode was pretty nuts).

Ashido had been shown to have incredible talent in the series before this, but it’s still nice to see her given some more time in the spotlight.

Kid Who Can Turn Leaves into Money

Speaking of younger students being picked on, this minor character deserves a shoutout. Imagine being able to turn any leaf you saw into money? If you played your cards right, that’s like the most efficient way of scrounging up enough money for as many Taco Bell runs as you want. The kid also looks like Arthur, so that’s kind of a win?

Taishiro Toyomitsu/Fat Gum

The big goon is back at it again! This time we got to see his power (absorption) in action, and it shows just how much of a force he is. We knew that Fat Gum could absorb anything into his body, but we didn’t know that he can release all of the stored-up energy he has and unleash it all for a devastating strike. After doing so, he used up all of the fat in his body and revealed his true, non-fat form (woah!). It was another delightful surprise in the episode and from a character that, prior to the beginning of the season, I didn’t expect would be one of the initial MVP’s of the season.

Crimson Riot

Known as the Chivalrous Hero, Crimson Riot is most notable for being one of Kirishima’s idols. In this week’s episode, we get to learn more about why, and how his specific words inspired Kirishima to become the headstrong, courageous hero he is today. Also, it turns out Kirishima not only got his hero name from the pro hero, but even his red hair color!

Eijiro Kirishima/Red Riot

Of course, this week’s big winner is an obvious one. It’s the second episode of the season directly named after Kirishima (the other being episode 68, titled “Let’s Go, Gutsy Red Riot”), and was the culmination of everything we’ve seen of the character this season. Despite the odds and imposing villains at hand, Kirishima defended Fat Gum till he could barely move.

It was an episode about the character’s unflinching spirit, and that his past mistakes are what drives him to be better. It was cool to see how — similar to Deku — he paled in comparison to his classmates and hard work is what made him the force he is now. It’s cliche and trite, sure, but every now and then you love to see it, and My Hero Academia loves to provide it.

Losers

Force Field Guy

In all honesty, this week’s episode was mostly about good vibes and good boys, but even still there’s at least one loser that deserves to be mentioned. The two villains that Fat Gum and Kirishima took down were strong, yes, but the arrogance displayed by one of them was appalling. While I’m not totally sure of his name (and I try to veer away from looking up certain aspects of the show in fear of stumbling upon potential spoilers), his power allowed him to create powerful yellow barriers around whoever he wished.

But if you’re going to be cocky (and borderline pretentious), you need to back it up. This guy did not do that! He assumed Kirishima was a scared, broken child and lowe

red his guard — a classic miscalculation that leads to the classic anime comebacks. He should do well to remember to never underestimate our boy Kirishima.

But overall, what an amazing episode! Remember, new episodes of My Hero Academia release every Saturday on Funimation and Crunchyroll, with absurd recaps by yours truly accompanying each one.