Things have gotten serious very quickly.
Spoilers for ‘My Hero Academia’ 6×01, below
‘My Hero Academia’ is back! But fans of super-speed, high-flying anime might be surprised by how calm and concise the season six premiere has been. ‘My Hero Academia’ is known for its quirky characters, incredible superpowers, and a healthy dose of comedy. But the season six opening episode, aptly titled ‘A Quiet Beginning’, successfully signals to viewers that things are about to get a lot more serious.
The episode picks up almost immediately where season five left off, as we are reintroduced to Tomura Shigaraki and the Paranormal Liberation Army, a group of supervillains who want to create a lawless, dystopian future where only the strongest survive.
The episode begins at an ominous rally, where a growing crowd cheers as Shigaraki is chosen as the group’s new General Commander. The tone of the script in this scene is particularly sinister, suggesting that dark times lie ahead for our favorite heroes.
We spend about half of the premiere with the ever-charming Hawks, whose undercover mission is finally getting some results thanks to his, frankly, relentless flirtation. Hawks’ slow-paced plan to catch clone villain Twice ends with the hapless baddie revealing all the important secrets about the PLA’s organizational structure.
Speaking of the PLA, we (along with Hawks) also learn that its members are divided into sub-teams with designated leaders, perfect for some tournament-style matchups later in the season.
Meanwhile, Endeavor and the rest of the Pro Heroes are cleaning out a hospital they suspect is the home of Doctor Ujiko, the scientist who works for Tomura Shigaraki and is helping him take in all sorts of nasty quirks.
The episode ends with a dramatic reveal – the doctor we’ve been chasing is a decoy – in a scene that is intercut with a thrilling action sequence starring the Rabbit Hero, Mirko.
This tense moment, mixed with the earlier spy-thriller twist, adds a real layer of drama to the series. The story of the Hawks in particular, and their covert communications with Endeavor, represented some of the highlights of My Hero Academia’s fifth season and we can’t wait to see where they go from here.
The twist around Ujiko is something the series has done before, but the look of fear on Endeavor’s face when he realizes they’ve been duped is surprisingly compelling. It’s also a good clue, along with a cutout of his not-so-fractionalized family, of the character’s development over the years. We also have to point out the terrifying way Mr. Aizawa uses his quirk, courtesy of him coupled with a glare of icy death, to rapidly age Ujiko from where he stands.
My Hero Academia’s biggest asset has always been the absolutely huge roster of characters (both heroes and villains) that it insists on including in every story arc. It allows the series to juggle multiple storylines and ensures that each action scene always has an interesting new dynamic.
But it can also be a flaw, forcing viewers to mentally go through a giant list to remember powers and relationships, ultimately slowing down the pace of an episode.
Fortunately, the first episode of the sixth season avoids all that. It gives us two important things to think about: what is Hawks up to, and can Endeavor stop Ujiko from creating a more terrifying Nomus?
In the middle of the episode, we catch up with Class 1A (including Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki) as they lie in wait before an attack on the PLA headquarters. This scene acts as a nice re-engagement with the series’ biggest characters, but it’s clear we’re not going to be spending much time there.
This simple approach allows the series to work in a different way than we are used to. We get less jokes and humor, and instead, we get genuine tension.
All of this adds up to a season premiere that promises more of the mystery and suspense elements that have been growing in the series since the start of the Paranormal Release Arc. After 114 episodes, it’s exciting to see that ‘My Hero Academia’ can still find new and refreshing ways to structure the episodes.
While we’re not expecting a massive overhaul of what the series wants to convey, we’re excited to see where this darker tone and a keener eye on the prize can take us.
‘My Hero Academia’ can be seen on Crunchyroll, although the first two seasons are also available on Netflix.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
