My Hero Academia Chapters 160 & 161 Review - Expressway & A Bright Future

Written by Shiggins

And into the night, they gently disappear...

I must say, it has been a while since Hero Academia filled me with such a wave of emotion. It hasn't been bad by any means, but I definitely was starting to feel boredom and fatigue with these villains and their one-note attitudes. Thankfully, we finally got some great intrigue, followed by a hugely tragic and inspirational goodbye...

Your hat is exceptional but you need to step up your mask game, son.

Chapter 160 starts with Mr Compress, also known as Atsuhiro Sako, thanking Himiko and Twice for their help with this operation. She tells them that they'll be able to get the end result of all this, and Shigaraki Tomura and the other villains begin their assault. Dabi attacks using his Quirk, but the flames are destroyed by the hero of sand "Snatch".

Oh come on, Snatch. Fictional characters have proven time and time again that sand is one of the best powers to use creatively. You are very disappointing, I must say.

Tomura realises that he and Snatch are exact opposites due to their Quirks, and Mr Compress uses his own power to topple the cars and get Tomura into one of the police's vehicles. Due to Dabi's mocking distraction, Snatch is compressed into a marble and is most likely about to die. Now finally, we get the meeting between Tomura and Overhaul.

Both Shigaraki and Compress comment how they hate Overhaul for his arrogance, and Compress literally turns part of Overhaul's arm into a marble, as punishment for causing his own arm to be destroyed a while ago. Having now got the finished Quirk-erasing bullets, Shigaraki begins using his Quirk to dissolve Overhaul, but then cuts that hand off so he doesn't die.

Would you consider this pandering?

Shigaraki laughs his ass off while pulling another Rape Face, saying now Overhaul can't use his Quirk and how he is going to be forever envious of others. And with that, the villains finally take their leave as the reinforcements begin to arrive.

In the next chapter, we learn that Midoriya's strategy of fighting Overhaul in the sky caused no deaths of any civilians and we take a trip to the hospital. Midoriya is giving us a shirtless scene as he is told his arms were damaged, because of One for All of course, but the rest of his body is fine. Aizawa enters to tell Midoriya the situation with the others.

Not even letting out an "ow"? Dude, you're hardcore!

To sum up, my man Kirishima, the badass Fatgum, the cool dude Amajima, and the *shrug* Rock Lock are all in bandages but alive and will recover. On the other hand however, there is Eri. She is currently still unconscious and in a feverish state, unable to use her Quirk and needing to be quarantined for everyone's safety, including her own. To put it simply, thank god her Quirk won't be a convenient deus ex machina for everyone to use.

My three amigos!

This is when Midoriya notices All Might, Recovery Girl, Bubble Girl and Centipeder have all gathered at the hospital. It turns out that Sir Nighteye is dying and not even Recovery Girl can save him now. All Might quickly goes over to him on his deathbed, and Sir Nighteye tells him how he learned to accept any fate he foresaw.

That is, until he met Midoriya and saw him change the future with the hopes and strength of everyone behind him. They all worked together to create a better fate. This is when Mirio bursts in, begging for his superior to stay alive because he has been such a great mentor to him. Nighteye comforts him, saying that he was Nighteye's most treasured student and, using his Quirk for the final time, he knows Mirio will become a great hero. And as he asks Mirio to keep smiling, he gently passes away.

Coming soon: Midoriya's Island for the Nintendo Switch.

Opinion: Aww, I'm sad now.

Nighteye wasn't the greatest character of the series, but he was always quite interesting and had a lot of great moments during this arc. Fighting Overhaul, his devotion to All Might, his mentor relationship with Mirio... It was truly a shame to see him go, but very effective.

The death itself is also worth noting. While he did die from wounds brought on by a villain in a harsh battle, he didn't pass away during the fight. He closed his eyes in a hospital, saying goodbye to his loved ones. That is much more powerful and much more tragic, due to the situation being so relatable to many readers out there. It wasn't the type of death I expected from a series like this.

This has been a rough week for Mirio... If only he never met Midoriya! (Nah, I'm just kidding. I wonder if they'll bring that up though.)

And this brings us to Nighteye's prediction that All Might will die. Once again, I am very unsure how this will play out. On the one hand, this series has no problem with death and the survival of a mentor like All Might is almost impossible from a story angle. Wise old mentor who the protagonist looks up to? They never survive! However, this chapter was about hope and smiles. About defying the odds. Once again, this proves that things could change. I can't see the answer being a clear one certainly, due to all the build-up. I love All Might and I hope to see as much of him as I can.

Lastly, let's talk about the villains. And you know, I think I finally figured out my problem with them; They aren't big enough.

Many manga villains, like some of the ones on this very article, are huge. They destroy and smash and have such great style that helps them standout, from Frieza's torture to Brando's speeches to Kumagawa's perversion... Shigaraki doesn't have that. He feels like a small-time villain that would be used to build-up someone far more interesting.

That's not to say a smaller villain can't be great. If Shigaraki was emotional, conflicted or motivated by something we could relate to, like Vulture from the recent Spider-Man Homecoming or the Phantom Troupe from Hunter x Hunter, that would also work. He isn't though. He is just small. And dull. He isn't awful, but he just isn't good enough for My Hero Academia. And at this stage, I don't know what would help him be worthy.

I have no doubt Midoriya could easily smash this guy. That is not a good thing.

The battle on the road was fairly fun though, with a few neat set of Quirks playing out and causing destruction. I think it might be time for MHA to go bigger though. Give us more. Dabi and Compress look like they could be a lot of fun, but they feel restrained right now. I eagerly await when the story lets them off the leash and goes fully creative with their powers.

Still though, that scene with Overhaul... that was mean! In a good way!

Manga Rating:

Chapter 160: 3/5

Chapter 165: 4.5/5

Character of the Week: Sir Nighteye for a truly emotional exit.

Best Part: Sir Nighteye's last smile.

Worst Part: The League of Villains are no Akatsuki/Espada/Phantom Troupe.

It is clear that Bubble Girl will have to become a full Bubble Hero from now on. And I am okay with that. 

Shiggins:[Admin]
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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/