Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia
Being five episodes into the season, one would think there wouldn’t be as many recaps, but they seem to be inescapable. “Drive It Home, Iron Fist!!!” begins with another recap highlighting an emotional fight, which happened just last episode. This episode continues with the training camp arc and takes place in the heat of battle between the Classes 1-A and 1-B and the Vanguard Action Squad. Although it doesn’t finish the action that started in episode three, it propels the characters forward and gives the students a chance to fight back.
Image from Funimation
After the recap beginning the episode, we hear a little more from Tomura Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains. He reflects on why his last plan failed and how he hopes to fix it with the squad he sent. This gives more explanation as to why the villains showed up to the camp, and later in the episode, tells what they are there for.
The mood of the episode starts off hopeful but the panic soon sets in as Deku realizes how split up his peers are. He meets up with his teacher Erasure first, who adds some well-needed energy by allowing the kids to fight and ignore the law of having to be registered to use their quirks. Deku, running on only adrenaline, races to relay his message to Mandalay so the entire class can get the memo. He also has her tell one of the students to protect themselves more because he is a specific target of the group.
With this episode, the viewer gets to see more about the villains of the attack group and what their powers are. Shoto and Bakugo are fighting Moonfish, the creepy-looking cannibal with teeth that can become blades. From Class 1-B, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Itsuka Kendo fight the source of the poisonous gas, Mustard. This shows real combat between different people, and allows the viewer to see some different powers.
Image from Funimation
Speaking of the fight with Mustard, it was the first time a villain had used a gun, and this was pointed at a student. Although Tetsutetsu can turn his skin into steel, taking multiple bullets in gas without being able to breathe takes its toll on him. Even though he was beginning to crack, he didn’t hesitate to take a bullet for his classmate, Kendo. This suspenseful fight had the viewer worried if these students actually stood a chance against a top-notch villain.
The end of the episode doesn’t let up, with Deku meeting up with an injured Mezo Shoji. Shoji sees how weak and broken Deku is and cages him with Shoji’s many arms. The episode ends with them facing against a classmate who is not able to control his own quirk.
Image from Funimation
The episode does not let up from start to finish, and somehow manages to raise the stakes higher and higher with each fight. The animation is once again beautiful and shows off each quirk nicely. It’s refreshing to see each quirk raised to the limits with seemingly impossible odds, and it is interesting to watch how each person works to overcome the odds stacked against their favor. For such a jam-packed episode, the fight is nowhere close to being over and the viewer is left once again wondering who will come out on top.
Featured Image from OtakuKart
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