My Hero Academia: Winners & losers of Episode 74
By Javier Reyes
After weeks of teasing, the battle between Mirio and Overhaul finally comes to fruition. Here are the winners and losers of My Hero Academia episode 74.
With an episode titled “Lemillion”, it’s fair to assume that Episode 74 would be about Lemillion. It was! Mirio Togata might have had, arguably, the most defining moment of the season thus far, albeit a bittersweet one. My Hero Academia is no stranger to emotional moments — and I’m no stranger to being emotional about said emotional moments — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hit just as hard. Hopefully, I can make it through writing this week’s recap without crying.
Winners
Kai Chisaki / Overhaul
Due to Mirio’s incredible performance in the episode, it’s easy to forget that this was also the first true showcase of Overhaul’s immense power. His ability to break down things and reassemble them essentially suggests that he can warp matter, and that’s exactly what we got to see more of.
We’ve already seen what he can do when making physical contact with other people (it, well, doesn’t go well for them), but now we realize just how obscenely powerful a villain he is. Making contact with the ground, he instantly terraforms nearly the entire environment and bends it to his well — to the tune of some very dangerous spikes that he can use to attack Mirio.
More from Streaming
- The story of a French emperor: Here’s where Napoleon will stream after theaters
- ACOTAR on Hulu: Is A Court of Thorns and Roses based on a book?
- Bridgerton season 3: All the details to know about Penelope and Colin’s love story
- Is Lawmen: Bass Reeves based on a true story?
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: The Hunger Games prequel will come to Peacock but not until 2024
It’s hard to surmise how anyone, with the exception of Mirio, could possibly stand a chance against Overhaul. The potential of his quirk is near limitless and has truly made him a standout My Hero Academia character. Like I explained last week, one of my favorite things about the season has been the slow buildup.
It makes discovering more about Overhaul satisfying, and I’m curious to see if we learn even more about his backstory.
Mirio Togata / Lemillion
My Hero Academia doesn’t exactly revolutionize superheroes. In fact, it doesn’t revolutionize anime, either. But what it does do is execute on what makes us love heroes in the first place: It has heart. The sentimental virtues of the show are contagious, really, and make it a joy to watch even if it teeters on being overly trite and tacky.
It gives us smartly-written characters that we grow to love and appreciate, and Mirio may be the epitome of that. While he’s still relatively new, the show finds a way to make us care about him. Of course, that’s what makes this episode all the more heartbreaking to watch.
Mirio shows us the true spirit of heroism, nearly dispatching with Overhaul and his group of thugs entirely by himself. But most significantly, he sacrifices himself, with no hesitation, to save Eri from harm.
By the end of the episode, the beloved character is without his quirk (possibly forever) and nearly killed by Overhaul, and it’s a moment that resonated immensely with fans like myself. In a way, Mirio made true to his word of saving people, even if it wasn’t in the millions like his hero name stands for.
To me, season 4 of My Hero Academia is about how both Midoriya and Mirio are worthy in the highest forms of being called heroes. The “chosen one” trope is one that has existed in many fantasy stories for generations, but the point this story is trying to make is that sometimes there isn’t just one.
We know Midoriya is the next great successor to All Might, but the story hasn’t been about showing why he’s more worthy than Mirio. Instead, it’s about both of them, and I find that incredibly powerful in its own way.
Losers
Shin Nemoto & Deidoro Sakaki
This might be perceived as being unfair considering how incredible Mirio is, but these two new characters are introduced and dispatched with so easily that it’s laughable. They’re part of Overhaul’s main entourage, yet he literally can’t finish walking down the hallway before turning around to seeing them taken down by Mirio. Like, just imagine that.
Anyone Who Hates Slideshows
https://twitter.com/aazurdia95/status/1210930313234440198?s=20
I’ve gushed about how inspiring Mirio’s actions were this episode, but the way in which it is presented deserves at least some criticism. Not everyone is happy that the waning moments of the episode are captured with images instead of being fully animated, and it’s a fair point! With all the crazy action we’ve seen, it’s somewhat disappointing to not be able to see more of it.
This is definitely a nitpick, and I’m sure we’ll be getting plenty of great animation sequences over the next couple of episodes, but I must still bring attention to it! That is my duty! That is my ninja way (wrong anime, I know, but just let me humor myself)!
After such a pivotal episode, we can only expect that there will be even more great moments to look forward to! Based on the preview, it looks like my boy Midoriya is finally due for his big moment, and I can’t wait for it.
My Hero Academia airs next Saturday on Funimation and Crunchroll.