This article is part of a directory: Spring 2024 Anime – Episode Reviews, Lore Discussions, & Recommendations

Summary

Villains shine in Season 7, humanizing backstories create empathy and add depth to their characters.
Toga's unsettling past and upbringing shed light on the theme of normalcy and societal judgment.
Deku and Uraraka's sympathetic conversation foreshadows future battles and explores the complexities of heroism.

Title	My Hero Academia Season 7
Director	Naomi Nakayama, Kenji Nagasaki (Chief Director)
Studio	Bones
Episode Air Date	6/1/2024

Warning: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia, Episode 143, "Let You Down," now streaming on Crunchyroll.

This week was the seasonal reminder of just how much the villains can carry this show when it comes time to endear the audience to them through a humanizing backstory. It's not the most groundbreaking, but the performances are always strong, and My Hero Academia is nothing if not a story about how broken society can be, no matter how prosperous it seems from the outside.

Ever since Stain left his brief but potent mark on the story in Season 2, the throughline connecting all the antagonists has been this resentment toward the facade of heroism that never once saved them. Episode 143 starts strong with a scene between Toga and Dabi that accentuates this quality, and a later scene between Uraraka and Deku showcases what this might mean for the story's future.

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By Julián Jorge Fernández Loyarte

What's "Normal" for a Supervillain?

The episode begins with Toga walking through her abandoned family home, which has been vandalized along practically every wall with some manner of graffiti. Her being labeled a monster seems natural given her actions and her family being blamed for raising such a person is unfortunately expected. But before anyone can feel too bad for her parents, the audience is reminded that they weren't the most understanding parents in the first place.

When she leaves, Dabi comments on her sentimentality with surprise, to which she responds that she was just curious about what happened to her house, saying it's "normal." Normalcy seems to be something of a theme with her, and by extension, many of the antagonists. For one thing, normalcy is subjective, based on one's environment and experiences, and for another, being normal isn't just about fitting into a mold, but that mold growing to accommodate more.

One of Many Interesting Things About Toga

Part of what's effective about Toga as a character is that the show doesn't hide how unsettling her behavior at a young age was. To see a young girl fantasize about blood and relish its spilling in such a way naturally evokes an idea of something evil, but to hear it from her, it's something utterly beautiful. She was only a child when she became this way and one gets the impression that nobody ever tried to understand why she was that way.

If someone had, perhaps they could have built a rapport and helped her to adjust to social etiquette without denying who she was. But such an idea is contingent on the world around Toga not judging her or her power on appearance anyway, and the show has demonstrated that is not the case. If it was, Shigaraki would never have become so twisted by All for One.

Dabi's Kindness

There's a nice moment between Toga and Dabi following this opening scene, in which he burns down her family home and all the bad memories within; a violent act of kindness. My Hero Academia's villains work as a team because the audience can believe that they care about one another, having each suffered as they have.

Between Shigaraki and Toga being discarded for the nature of their abilities or Dabi's abuse at the hands of Endeavor, it's easy to feel some empathy for these people. Being a victim of society is a component to many supervillains, but this series, in particular, treats it less as simply a tragedy of circumstance and rather a failing of the community. As such, the onus is on the heroes, and especially the new generation, to fix that.

Deku and Uraraka's Sympathy

Early on, the episode points out something that's become apparent over the past few episodes and which previous reviews have commented on. There hasn't been much time for the characters to just talk without intense training, Aoyama's betrayal coming to light, or any other crisis commanding their attention. So getting to see Deku and Uraraka catch up was nice in itself. But hearing them talk about their respective villains was the highlight of the episode's writing.

The possessive "their" refers to how the two of them have been more or less assigned to Shigaraki and Toga, respectively, as the villains to whom they have the biggest connection. For Uraraka, she's found herself wondering about this girl she knows nothing about, how she sees life, and what must have happened to turn her into the villain she is. She's not making excuses or assuming she has the right to forgive her, but she can't deny she feels sad for her.

Deku Gives Uraraka Clarity

At first, she's intent on pushing such thoughts aside and remembering the tragedy that Toga helped bring about, but to her surprise, Deku commiserates. For him, this couldn't be more relatable, given his desire to save Shigaraki despite everything he's done, in recognition of what happened to him all those years ago. Based on how Uraraka responds to this, perhaps she concludes that she doesn't have to ignore those feelings within her.

Episode 143 was a solid primer for the battle that will surely eat up a solid chunk of Season 7. This piece hasn't even touched on the double twist involving Aoyama, but something about these calmer character moments stuck out above everything else. Not only did it touch upon what My Hero Academia is about at its core, but it also built anticipation for how Toga's ability will change the landscape of the battle. What comes next is going to be something special.