Ugh, Another Season Done: Boku no Hero Academia Season 2 – And You Expected *Surprises*?
Honestly, you'd think after all that hype, they'd deliver something groundbreaking. Instead, we got... well, exactly what you'd expect from a shonen anime. A few power-ups, some character drama, and a villain who *actually* had a point for once. Don't look at me like that, it's just the facts.
The Sports Festival finally wraps up, predictably enough, with Bakugo 'winning' and Todoroki still brooding in the background. Whatever, it's over, and then comes the internships – a completely standard plot device to get the kids out of the classroom and into the 'real world' for a bit. It's supposed to be character-building, but mostly it just sets up the *actual* plot of the season, which, shocker, involves a villain. It's not like they could have just, I don't know, *had* a villain attack during the festival itself. Oh, wait...
Then the 'Hero Killer' Stain shows up, and suddenly everyone's very serious, as if hero work was ever supposed to be a picnic. Iida, our perpetually earnest class representative, predictably loses his cool and goes for revenge – because, of course, that's what heroes do when their family is involved, right? Deku and Todoroki conveniently stumble upon him, leading to a perfectly timed team-up and a convenient 'moral dilemma' about vigilantism versus sanctioned heroism. Iida gets a much-needed, if cliché, character arc about not letting revenge consume you, all very touching and entirely unoriginal.
And let's not forget our perpetually whiny main villain, Shigaraki. After Stain's dramatic exit, Shigaraki suddenly has a 'revelation' and decides to... *actually think* about what he's doing for once, inspired by a guy who hated him. Because apparently, a charismatic villain is all it takes to motivate the perpetually lost leader of a major criminal organization to stop throwing tantrums. It's a convenient way to elevate the threat level without actually developing the character beyond his initial petulance, isn't it? Just another tired trope to show that even villains can 'grow,' I suppose.
Finally, we get to the 'Final Exams,' which, surprise, are combat simulations against their own teachers, because what else would they be? Deku and Bakugo get paired against All Might, because of course they do; it's the perfect opportunity for some forced teamwork and a moment of begrudging respect between the two rivals. And Todoroki and Yaoyorozu? Clearly meant to highlight her intelligence and his raw power complementing each other in another perfectly balanced matchup. It's a predictable setup to show how much everyone's 'grown,' even if the lessons felt a little too neatly packaged for my taste.