My Hero Academia returns from break with plenty of drama and heroism. Following the fun one-shot filler promoting the MHA movie, the story resumes where it last left off. Gang Orca has entered the Hero Provisional Exam as a villain and he’s not playing around. “What’s the Big Deal?” peels a layer away, revealing the students have much to learn, even if they do have super-powered Quirks.
Spoiler Alert! The following will contain spoilers from My Hero Academia episode 59 “What’s the Big Deal?” 🚨 You have been warned 🚨!
The Hero Licensing Exam has undergone some serious changes. With All Might out of the picture, the higher-ups realize there’s too big a gap between him and Endeavor. To compensate for this, the difficulty level’s been increased. Students need to be heroes in mind and physical strength, or they won’t pass the exam. Aizawa and Ms. Joke seem to be in a state of shock, with Shota stating “This situation would be difficult, even for a pro.”
In a world where innocents rely on heroes to save and protect, there’s no place for drama on the battlefield. But apparently, Todoroki and Inasa missed the memo.
Arguing with each other, they forget Gang Orca is facing them down. Like a villain, Orca takes both out quickly. This destroys the front defensive ranks for the other students who are busy rescuing the bystanders (HUC).
Putting aside the drama and the bickering for a moment, there’s a deeper life lesson for everyone here.
Nobody is perfect, and all are flawed. Even heroes.
Endeavor has had a negative impact on his family and others for decades, because of his jealousy for All Might. In turn, it flawed Todoroki (with hatred for his father) and Inasa (with similar hatred towards Endeavor and later Shoto).
But don’t forget about All Might. He’s not the symbol of perfection either. His ideals of pushing his body to the extreme without finding an alternative affected Midoriya in a negative way too.
The underlying message of “What’s the Big Deal?” is that idolizing a hero with blinders towards their flaws will create similar flaws in the individual who idolizes.
Each hero must find their own path and establish their own ground. We laugh at Bakugō’s attitude, but in this episode, he behaved like an angel and accomplished the task at hand (in his own unique way).
Can the same be said for Todoroki and Inasa?
The breakthrough for Inasa and Todoroki comes after being immobilized by Gang Orca. Together, they realize how Endeavor has affected them in the past. And in their present predicament. Working as a team, even though incapacitated, they stall Orca from moving in on the civilians. This is how heroes should act, admitting to one’s own flaws and going beyond. It’s what “Plus Ultra!” stands for.
Everyone has flaws. It’s about being honest with yourself and working diligently over the course of a lifetime to overcome them. This is the life lesson built into My Hero Academia.
Another issue addressed in “What’s the Big Deal?” is the gap left in the hero ranks between Endeavor and All Might. Not solely in strength, but more in attitude. All Might accomplished everything with a smile, masking many of his flaws from the public. He did this by becoming the symbol of peace.
Those who look up to him know when to turn on this specific hero quality. Deku, more often than the others, understands this on a deeper level. So, naturally, it would be Midoriya who would help snap Todoroki and Inasa out of their childish bickering.
Many in Class 1-A are stepping up and going beyond their limitations. Froppy is a great example of this, in using her new camouflage technique. And it’s not just students from U.A. Shindo holds the henchmen back using his Vibrate Quirk and Nagamasa Mora utilizes his Hair Extension Quirk.
Lastly, there’s the issue of the judges. The Hero Provisional Exam is still a test, and the students are being graded.
The lingering question left at the end of the episode, is will these judges in suits score the students correctly? Did the earlier failures of most of the students get wiped out because of learned lessons? Or, will they still count against them?
Share flaws you’ve had to overcome in the comments! Nobody is alone in this battle. And yes, I’ll share mine there too!
Tune in next week as we dive further into season 3 of My Hero Academia with episode 60 — Bakugō calls out Deku on his Quirk and wants to have a talk!
As promised, here is my own personal testimony regarding flaws.
I’m a big guy. Have been all my life. In my younger days I overcompensated for this by being cocky and arrogant. It meant less fights, but also less friends over time. As time passed by, I was hurt by those closest to me. My self-esteem hit an all time low, and insecurities became a major flawed hurdle I would have to learn to overcome. To this day I still battle with my own demons but have also found peace and balance.
Flaws are in all of us. It took me almost half a lifetime to figure that out. Be honest with yourself and always try your best. Plus Ultra!