Friday, September 29, 2017

My Hero Academia Chapters 153 & 154 Review - Transform! & A Hope That Cannot Be Seen

Written by Shiggins

Fu... sion... HA!

Speaking of references to Dragon Ball Z, how cool is it to see Overhaul give himself a final form like this? It's one of my favourite anime tropes and the sheer level of this design is freaking phenomenal. I'm just getting my adoration for the final form out of the way right now because, while the chapter was good, I just can't get how cool this thing looked out of my head!

Oh... She's an albino too. Wow, the Gods didn't give her a chance, did they?
In arc packed with little flashbacks, this chapter opens up with yet another one as we see Midoriya and Nighteye after they captured Irinaka. It turns out that Irinaka was using the Quirk-enhancing drug to improve his powers but now he is back to his weakened form. When they mention Toga and Twice might still be lingering around, Irinaka has a tantrum.

I love how only the men are important enough to be named or have events in this arc. The women just get to share a panel together.
Rock-Lock sits up and is as sick as of the talking as I am, saying that he and the police will deal with the League of Villains. Midoriya vows to save the girl and runs on ahead, while Rock-Lock thinks about his daughter and how he finally has faith in the students of U.A. Meanwhile, Toga and Twice are coming up with a plan because of how pissed off they are at Overhaul.

If this guy reappears in the arc, he's so going to die. You only bring up your family when you want to die.
Finally, we return to the present where Midoriya smashes through the wall and clobbers Overhaul with a beautiful fist. Nighteye examines the situation and praises Mirio for everything he's done, while Overhaul realises he has lost his Quirk because of Eraserhead. Overhaul is aware he's cornered and screams for Chrono to wake up.

God, I love you so much. You deserve an arc to yourself, Toga.
An arrow suddenly pops out of Chrono's hood and cuts Eraserhead's arm, and all of Eraserhead's movements are slowed down. It turns out that Overhaul "healed" Chrono by repairing the damage to his head. Unable to stop himself blinking, Eraserhead gives Overhaul his Quirk back and he instantly uses it to spike up the room. Overhaul commands Nemeto to come to him and, sacrificing his ally, Overhaul grabs his face and disassembles both Nemeto and his own body so they can fuse into one badass design of carnage!

Man, this symbiote seems way more interesting than Sony's upcoming Venom movie.
In the next chapter, Overhaul is pissed! Midoriya rushes to assess the situation and sees Eraserhead has disappeared with Chrono, Nighteye is protecting Mirio and Eri, and Overhaul's wounds have completely healed. Overhaul mocks Mirio/Lemillion, revealing that Mirio has lost his Quirk forever. Finally, Overhaul charges.

Oh sorry. He's not Venom, he's Doc Ock!
Midoriya tries to use the rubble to attack Overhaul, but it doesn't work. Nighteye rushes forward to fight and tells Midoriya to protect Mirio and Eri, while finding out from Overhaul that Eraserhead has been moved to another room. Nighteye realises that he might be terrified of Eraserhead's Quirk, and they begin their battle.

Meanwhile, Midoriya has made it to Mirio and Eri. He smashes through the rubble to help the two of them evacuate while Eri apologises for all that she has caused, blaming herself. Back to Nighteye as we are told about his resolve towards his Quirk and why he never uses it to a large degree, all thanks to seeing the end of All Might, and how he used it to see Overhaul's immediate future. And then Nighteye is impaled by Overhaul's spikes.

This just gave me a great idea... I'll use rocks to make my senpai notice me!
Overhaul begins chasing Midoriya and sending spikes in his path, which Midoriya crushes as he races through. Midoriya's body is in pain but he refuses to stand down and rises up to 20% of One for All's power! Overhaul tells him to give up while he can, but Midoriya refuses, even if Nighteye has seen a future that will result in failure!

Opinion: No more flashbacks!

The first thing that got to me about these two chapters was yet another flashback. While I'm glad the flashback stuck to this arc, it still felt like a pointless distraction that we didn't need. Rock-Lock's moment about his kid could have come later, and it wouldn't have made less of an impact to see a scene involving Rock-Lock after all this fighting. It was just in the way.



It's great to see Overhaul reach his final stage and distort himself into a horrific monster. Perfectly reflecting who he is underneath with a demonic appearance, chaotic and disturbing to look at. Much like when Zamasu became half-jelly, Overhaul's current form is a great representation of his own constitution being broken apart from the stress of the battles and our wonderful heroes.

Is Nighteye dead? Possibly. A character with the power of foresight is probably too convenient to keep around, and we all know what happens to the role of a mentor. Then again, it would be great to see his Quirk be proven wrong and have Nighteye regain faith in saving All Might. I'm still unsure if All Might will die by the end of all this, so seeing Nighteye's Quirk defied by Midoriya saving him and defeating Overhaul could be a good start to this.

The battle itself was a lot of fun, and I did feel genuinely sad when Eri apologised for causing all of this. Once this arc is over, I would love to see her stick around as a companion to Mirio or even Midoriya, as if she was a symbol to represent why the heroes fight to save the people. It might just be me making crap up that we will never see, but it would be a really wasted opportunity if she just left the story after this arc.

Manga Rating: 

153: 3/5

154: 4/5

Character of the Week: Overhaul for his horrific transformation and attacks.

Best Part: Overhaul goes wild.

Worst Part: Another day, another flashback.

Starting an epic battle using less than half of your strength? Goku would be so proud!
Shiggins:[Admin]   .
Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/

2 comments:

  1. Overall I thought these were good chapters. In chapter 153 I loved the attention to detail that Chrono was healed by Overhaul and was able to remove one of the most dangerous hero's to Overhaul's plan. As for Rock Lock unless we get a story arc where he is less of a jerk I won't be sad to see him go but a more in depth look at his personality would not bother me that much.

    As for chapter 154 I enjoyed this one far more than the previous one as it focused on the fights we have wanted to see since the beginning of the arc and that is Nighteye/ Midoriya vs Overhaul. The fact that Nighteye lost I thought was great as not only does it cement Overhaul's ability as a hero but it also shows how Nighteye's quirk does not make him unbeatable.

    In the next chapter if we have an Xenomorph style hide and seek with Overhaul hunting Midoryia in the tunnels I will be complete. However I have one fear and that is for Overhaul's conclusion in this arc. Because his quirk is so dangerous I fear that he will be killed off and I would like to see more of him after this arc ends. But I may be fretting over nothing. Overall I thought both chapters were good but 154 was a great chapter.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you liked them too. Rock Lock is really someone one-note to me, and I just have no real interest with him. If he got some attention later on that improved his character and didn't waste time, then maybe... maybe.

      Chapter 154 was definitely superior, as it actually progressed the battle and took Nighteye down a peg. I am really loving Overhaul in his mad state.

      That is an awesome image! I would love to see a scene like that animated! Considering how Overhaul is as a character as well, it is possible he could die. However, we have never seen the heroes actually kill a villain before. All for One, the League of Villains, Stain... All alive. MHA doesn't tend to just kill heroes, so we could be in for a surprise.

      Thanks for reading!!!

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