My Hero Academia Appreciation 2022

[leokearon]

spoilers:

It was disappointing not to see at least some of the searching but clearly they didn't really get anywhere, so it would probably have been a waste of time. I like the fact that Shoto, Ochaco and Izuku talk about the fact they don't really know or understand their enemies. It could lead to some interesting stuff when they do clash.

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

Kinda disappointed we didn't get to actually see the kids out doing their search squad stuff, and already jumping toward the conclusion seemingly next week does seem a bit too fast, could've fit in a couple more important developments during this time. Despite that though, the Izuku and Ochaco conversation was excellent. It's great seeing how much they've grown, from being overly flustered all the time, to now being able to have this fairly serious talk with each other. Izuku even compliments her and she just brushes it off. It's also great hearing her perspective on Toga, once again demonstrating, like some people's worries, this isn't about forgiving the villains, but understanding them to learn why they became this way, and that's all done really well. Same with the little convo with Shoto and the guys and Bakugo jokingly bringing up Dabi'd like udon. We'll just have to see who's going to make the first move in battle and what the heroes plan is, especially considering their new fortress is literally dubbed "Troy".

end of spoilers

spoilers:

While I agree that it's disappointing we didn't get to see any of the searching, at least nothing seems to have come of it that's relevant to either the plot or character development. So it doesn't seem like we missed anything important at least. But yeah, it feels like time that could've been spent on some development for the kids that haven't gotten a ton of it. We might get something neat in the anime filler, or you could neatly fit a class 1A vs. surviving movie villains scenario in there if one wants to write that kind of fanfiction. Also, why was Shouji shaking hands with the fox lady? Did they bond over something special and why didn't we get to see that? Oh well, it was nice to see all the kids say bye to their families, even if it was brief. I really hope that AFO's minions being surprised by how their end goal was reached by the heroes' own volition is an indicator that the heroes will at least have some leg up on the villains with their planning. Todoroki has some optimistic ideas about how much he'll be able to help Toya. Though it is good to have an optimistic outlook even in the face of Dabi's raving hatred of his father and family by extension. How this particular storyline is handled will be rather crucial to the overall quality of this final arc me thinks. And with that out of the way I shall now let my inner IzuOcha fanboy flag fly! First of all, knowing that Izuku has been wanting to talk to her as long as us shippers have been wanting them to talk is great and validating. Then the parallel of Izuku spotting Ochako like she did when she realised how deep her feelings for him were is a wonderful touch. The whole conversation's pathway from Izuku's sincere gratitude to a slightly awkward back and forth before settling into a nice little philosophical discussion about understanding the villains but still doing their jobs as heroes and finding that they have the same viewpoint. It's a very poignant moment that nicely dives into what kind of heroes they want to be and finds common ground for the two of them as they reaffirm their conviction. And yeah, it's really nice to see that they've grown so much that they can focus on what's important in front of them and not get overwhelmed by sillier things like they used to. But it's also nice that they're able to just share a different kind of intimate moment even now. This is exactly the kind of stuff I like to see in my ships. And it's great to know that Izuku will instinctually start listing everything he thinks is great about Ochako the instant he thinks she, or anybody else, is putting her down, and that he really likes her hair style.

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[Inversed]

spoilers:

While I agree that it's disappointing we didn't get to see any of the searching, at least nothing seems to have come of it that's relevant to either the plot or character development. So it doesn't seem like we missed anything important at least. But yeah, it feels like time that could've been spent on some development for the kids that haven't gotten a ton of it. We might get something neat in the anime filler, or you could neatly fit a class 1A vs. surviving movie villains scenario in there if one wants to write that kind of fanfiction. Also, why was Shouji shaking hands with the fox lady? Did they bond over something special and why didn't we get to see that? Oh well, it was nice to see all the kids say bye to their families, even if it was brief. I really hope that AFO's minions being surprised by how their end goal was reached by the heroes' own volition is an indicator that the heroes will at least have some leg up on the villains with their planning. Todoroki has some optimistic ideas about how much he'll be able to help Toya. Though it is good to have an optimistic outlook even in the face of Dabi's raving hatred of his father and family by extension. How this particular storyline is handled will be rather crucial to the overall quality of this final arc me thinks. And with that out of the way I shall now let my inner IzuOcha fanboy flag fly! First of all, knowing that Izuku has been wanting to talk to her as long as us shippers have been wanting them to talk is great and validating. Then the parallel of Izuku spotting Ochako like she did when she realised how deep her feelings for him were is a wonderful touch. The whole conversation's pathway from Izuku's sincere gratitude to a slightly awkward back and forth before settling into a nice little philosophical discussion about understanding the villains but still doing their jobs as heroes and finding that they have the same viewpoint. It's a very poignant moment that nicely dives into what kind of heroes they want to be and finds common ground for the two of them as they reaffirm their conviction. And yeah, it's really nice to see that they've grown so much that they can focus on what's important in front of them and not get overwhelmed by sillier things like they used to. But it's also nice that they're able to just share a different kind of intimate moment even now. This is exactly the kind of stuff I like to see in my ships. And it's great to know that Izuku will instinctually start listing everything he thinks is great about Ochako the instant he thinks she, or anybody else, is putting her down, and that he really likes her hair style.

end of spoilers

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I definitely feel like there's alot you could do simply with showing all of 1-A together working as a unit out on the streets, especially cause we don't know exactly how much they ALL will be together during this final War, since we're most likely gonna get some sort of split up. Plus maybe a couple more interactions with the civilians inside would've been nice, beyond the simple goodbyes we got here, with brief glimpses of Inko, Kota and Eri, the Todorokis, etc, including maybe some more hints at what 1-B and Shinso's upcoming plans will be. Also, Shoji and the fox lady I think was just supposed to be about them being both heteromorphs, and that bond to contrast the villain heteromorphs following Spinner. Knowing AFO he probably has some backup-backup-backup plan to be ready for anything, but I agree I do hope this is some indication that they'll be able to catch him somewhat off guard. They keep cutting back to Aizawa and Kurogiri, which makes me think them successfully reprogramming him might be the biggest thing that could surprise AFO. I also read Shoto's dialogue as him being aware that he won't actually be able to help Toya, and "taking him out to eat" is him wishing what he'd want to do, even though he knows Dabi won't let him. Considering the Endeavor panel, meaning to assume they have some idea all planned out on how to handle Dabi, wonder if this turns into a scenario where they stop him before he burns himself to death, or even potentially letting him do so. It's a really good way to allow them an intimate moment and re-iterate that they are an "endgame couple", while also not going overboard on the romance, which is something MHA has never really focused on to begin with, so it's not a huge issue. Also saw a comment mention that potentially Izuku's last comedic muttering rambling will be about all of Ochaco, and that'll be really funny and sweet if so.

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[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

I definitely feel like there's alot you could do simply with showing all of 1-A together working as a unit out on the streets, especially cause we don't know exactly how much they ALL will be together during this final War, since we're most likely gonna get some sort of split up. Plus maybe a couple more interactions with the civilians inside would've been nice, beyond the simple goodbyes we got here, with brief glimpses of Inko, Kota and Eri, the Todorokis, etc, including maybe some more hints at what 1-B and Shinso's upcoming plans will be. Also, Shoji and the fox lady I think was just supposed to be about them being both heteromorphs, and that bond to contrast the villain heteromorphs following Spinner. Knowing AFO he probably has some backup-backup-backup plan to be ready for anything, but I agree I do hope this is some indication that they'll be able to catch him somewhat off guard. They keep cutting back to Aizawa and Kurogiri, which makes me think them successfully reprogramming him might be the biggest thing that could surprise AFO. I also read Shoto's dialogue as him being aware that he won't actually be able to help Toya, and "taking him out to eat" is him wishing what he'd want to do, even though he knows Dabi won't let him. Considering the Endeavor panel, meaning to assume they have some idea all planned out on how to handle Dabi, wonder if this turns into a scenario where they stop him before he burns himself to death, or even potentially letting him do so. It's a really good way to allow them an intimate moment and re-iterate that they are an "endgame couple", while also not going overboard on the romance, which is something MHA has never really focused on to begin with, so it's not a huge issue. Also saw a comment mention that potentially Izuku's last comedic muttering rambling will be about all of Ochaco, and that'll be really funny and sweet if so.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I was gonna answer with something else but I remembered that we never did get to see what the reunited 1A band was gonna do to cheer up the civilians and that I was really looking forward to that and now I'm with you that I kinda wish we'd gotten a more lowkey arc between Deku returning and this one we're getting now. I guess that Horikoshi didn't want to put the big things off much longer, and making usch an arc not feel like filler is probably a bit difficult with where the story is now. Hope he's just not rushing things. It would've still been nice if that heteromorph connection had been explored a bit more than just a one panel handshake between two characters who share nothing besides being heteromorphs. Probably another scene lost in that search arc. Stain is a wild card that will hopefully get to play in the final battle and surprise AFO, and it would be great if Gentle and La Brava could get a similar billing. Hell, Gentle and La Brava might be even more of a surprise since they would be so far beneath AFO's notice. I just really want my Deku/Stain/Gentle team-up ok! Having to let Dabi burn himself to death as he's consumed by his unyielding hatred towards his family would be one the darkest options for that storyline's ending. But it is difficult to see the heroes convincing him to give up on his desire for revenge even if he is captured. Again, the uncertainty of how this one is going to go has me hooked. Yeah, I've always felt that for shounen action series that puts romance second (like most of them do) the Izuku/Ochako couple is quite well developed even without being an official item yet. What with them being positive influences on each other, having a dynamically growing relationship full of big and small moments. They're juste cute.

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[Inversed]

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I was gonna answer with something else but I remembered that we never did get to see what the reunited 1A band was gonna do to cheer up the civilians and that I was really looking forward to that and now I'm with you that I kinda wish we'd gotten a more lowkey arc between Deku returning and this one we're getting now. I guess that Horikoshi didn't want to put the big things off much longer, and making usch an arc not feel like filler is probably a bit difficult with where the story is now. Hope he's just not rushing things. It would've still been nice if that heteromorph connection had been explored a bit more than just a one panel handshake between two characters who share nothing besides being heteromorphs. Probably another scene lost in that search arc. Stain is a wild card that will hopefully get to play in the final battle and surprise AFO, and it would be great if Gentle and La Brava could get a similar billing. Hell, Gentle and La Brava might be even more of a surprise since they would be so far beneath AFO's notice. I just really want my Deku/Stain/Gentle team-up ok! Having to let Dabi burn himself to death as he's consumed by his unyielding hatred towards his family would be one the darkest options for that storyline's ending. But it is difficult to see the heroes convincing him to give up on his desire for revenge even if he is captured. Again, the uncertainty of how this one is going to go has me hooked. Yeah, I've always felt that for shounen action series that puts romance second (like most of them do) the Izuku/Ochako couple is quite well developed even without being an official item yet. What with them being positive influences on each other, having a dynamically growing relationship full of big and small moments. They're juste cute.

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It's definitely been the biggest worry among alot of the community, regarding Horikoshi seemingly rushing the story to get to its ending, potentially due to overwork. I've liked most of the story direction so I haven't minded too much, but I do think just some more time to take it easy and let the characters breathe would help the story so much more. Gentle and La Brava is another reason why I would've loved to see the Search Squad stuff, because that would be the perfect way to re-introduce them, having Gentle show back up as a "probation hero", letting Midoriya vouch for them, and also give him the idea to use them for their plans, since like you mentioned, they're ones so low on AFO's radar. I still think we're gonna get all this, but I feel like it would've been more effective if we got like a chapter or two for their re-introduction, and then the payoff later during the War, rather than probably just going to have their re-introduction and payoff be all at once. Plus, if La Brava could hack into U.A. itself, then she should have no problem hacking into Skeptic. I do hope we see more villains showing up as wildcards for the heroes, because I can see that also being something that could catch him off guard. Not just Stain, but maybe they're able to make a deal with Overhaul and he does something to help, Kendo Rappa I could also see being put to use thanks to his code of honour, Lady Nagant recovering and being able to assist, etc. Also definitely thinking they're going to successfully reprogram the Nomu they have in possession, so they'll have their own army to fight the Near High-Ends.

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[Inversed]

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All For One calls up the Aoyamas to deliver Izuku to him, using a "Lie Detector" Quirk he had stolen in the past (from Tsukauchi's ancestor no less), to determine no deceptions. In the city, Yuga approaches Izuku, telling him of All For One's ultimate goals to use his Quirks to "fix" societal issues and become the Demon Lord. Yuga seemingly betrays Izuku as All For One reveals himself, but they quickly reveal it was all an act. All For One's confused how they tricked him, but nonetheless uses his Warping Quirk to summon all the villains to take Izuku down. However instead, using Kurogiri's Warp Gate (thanks to Monoma), the Heroes are all summoned to the battlefield, with the final war about to begin.

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So we're finally at the finale! Again, maybe a bit quicker to it then I would've liked, but this is still an incredibly exciting setup. We get little cool lore drops about the "Lie Detector" Quirk that's so old even AFO can't even remember it's name, and revealing it to be connected to Tsukauchi, which is also a slight Vigilantes reference since we know his sister has a Polygraph Quirk. Then there looks to be what I'm very excited to see, which is using people under AFO's radar to catch him off guard. One being using Monoma to Copy Kurogiri's Warp Gate, and if you look back at last chapter you realize he's there with Aizawa, which is great attention to detail, giving him probably one of several badass moments. And then when you see Mrs. Aoyama's eyes, you realize it's probably Shinso's Brainwashing that allowed them to bypass the lie detector, which is another very smart use of the Quirk. And of course, the probably Endgame "Portals" reference as the heroes and villains all appear and arrive in an bombastic display. Hopefully we're getting something "USJ-esque" where they use the Warp Gate to warp the heroes and villains all over the city and that's how they result in "splitting them up". Also got alot of new costumes here. Izuku's got a slightly updated version of his Costume Gamma, alongside Torino's cape/scarf again. AFO's got a new, much bulkier mask (gives me Court Of Owls/Talons vibes), with a weird cardigan underneath. Shigaraki appears to got his own cool black cape, Dabi's got a weird white coat on, get a cool shot of Mirko's robo-arm. Either way, next chapter we know is going to get crazy.

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[leokearon]

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A great set-up chapter, Yuga and Deku's scene was done so well, I did think for a moment Yuga had betrayed Deku. A nice way of using Shinso and Monoma to trick AFO. Should be interesting to see the carnage next time.

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[Dark Soul # 7]

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So we're finally at the finale! Again, maybe a bit quicker to it then I would've liked, but this is still an incredibly exciting setup. We get little cool lore drops about the "Lie Detector" Quirk that's so old even AFO can't even remember it's name, and revealing it to be connected to Tsukauchi, which is also a slight Vigilantes reference since we know his sister has a Polygraph Quirk. Then there looks to be what I'm very excited to see, which is using people under AFO's radar to catch him off guard. One being using Monoma to Copy Kurogiri's Warp Gate, and if you look back at last chapter you realize he's there with Aizawa, which is great attention to detail, giving him probably one of several badass moments. And then when you see Mrs. Aoyama's eyes, you realize it's probably Shinso's Brainwashing that allowed them to bypass the lie detector, which is another very smart use of the Quirk. And of course, the probably Endgame "Portals" reference as the heroes and villains all appear and arrive in an bombastic display. Hopefully we're getting something "USJ-esque" where they use the Warp Gate to warp the heroes and villains all over the city and that's how they result in "splitting them up". Also got alot of new costumes here. Izuku's got a slightly updated version of his Costume Gamma, alongside Torino's cape/scarf again. AFO's got a new, much bulkier mask (gives me Court Of Owls/Talons vibes), with a weird cardigan underneath. Shigaraki appears to got his own cool black cape, Dabi's got a weird white coat on, get a cool shot of Mirko's robo-arm. Either way, next chapter we know is going to get crazy.

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spoilers:

Yeah, this is WAY quicker than I thought. I figured that we'd have a little more planning and at least one arc of trying some other things out and setting stuff up. But nope, we seem to be at the final battle (depending on how Tomura/Tenko turns out). A bit jarring but yeah, stuff looks awesome and it's a really solid opening salvo with Aoyama duping All For One. My favourite part about Shinso and Monoma (my beautiful douche boy!!!) getting such major roles in surprising AFO is that the two of them harboured similar feelings regarding their quirks. That's they're not inherently suitable for traditional hero work and that they'd have to work extra hard to find their place as heroes. Well this where all that hard work has led to and I love it! Splitting up the heroes and villains via portals and teleportation goop would be the best way to get to some of the more designated fights, and be a nice callback to turn that tactic against AFO. That way all the pro-heroes can get set up against the random bunch of villains that AFO has brought with him so it makes sense why they're not all the focus of the battle alongside Deku. Though I find it funny that we can see Nejire and Tamaki rushing out of a portal but still no Mirio. As for the new costumes. I will supremely disappointed if this is Deku's final outfit before the inevitable last chapter timeskip. Give me a proper Deku costume for the final battle! I kinda like that Dabi has color-coordinated his clothes with his hair, it shows the level of dramatic flair I've come to expect from him. Mirko's cyborg arm looks amazing and I'm hoping for some really cool **** with it.

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[Dark Soul # 7]

Here's a pretty interesting interview with the series' first two editors who talk a lot about the mindset that they and Horikoshi had while creating and pitching the series.

[Inversed]

spoilers:

Yeah, this is WAY quicker than I thought. I figured that we'd have a little more planning and at least one arc of trying some other things out and setting stuff up. But nope, we seem to be at the final battle (depending on how Tomura/Tenko turns out). A bit jarring but yeah, stuff looks awesome and it's a really solid opening salvo with Aoyama duping All For One. My favourite part about Shinso and Monoma (my beautiful douche boy!!!) getting such major roles in surprising AFO is that the two of them harboured similar feelings regarding their quirks. That's they're not inherently suitable for traditional hero work and that they'd have to work extra hard to find their place as heroes. Well this where all that hard work has led to and I love it! Splitting up the heroes and villains via portals and teleportation goop would be the best way to get to some of the more designated fights, and be a nice callback to turn that tactic against AFO. That way all the pro-heroes can get set up against the random bunch of villains that AFO has brought with him so it makes sense why they're not all the focus of the battle alongside Deku. Though I find it funny that we can see Nejire and Tamaki rushing out of a portal but still no Mirio. As for the new costumes. I will supremely disappointed if this is Deku's final outfit before the inevitable last chapter timeskip. Give me a proper Deku costume for the final battle! I kinda like that Dabi has color-coordinated his clothes with his hair, it shows the level of dramatic flair I've come to expect from him. Mirko's cyborg arm looks amazing and I'm hoping for some really cool **** with it.

end of spoilers

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It's a good way of showing how useful everyone here can be without needing to be "the strongest" or "most powerful". Shinso and Monoma may not be able to go head-to-head with like AFO himself, but they can do enough to play some mind games with him by assisting everyone. Which of course is also what's so strong about 1-A as a group, them supporting each other is what makes them so great. (Also with Monoma here hopefully means they have some kind of plan for 1-B too) It will be interesting to see how all the candidates are sectioned off, because there are far more named Heroes we know about then there are named Villains left, so it's hard to really decide who should be fighting who, especially when they range from "disposable mook", to "we need at least 10 people to fight this one guy". Also yes, it still becomes so comical how much Mirio has vanished from the story completely since his return. At this point I don't even know what he will do when he comes back, though you think a guy who can't be touched would be the perfect thing to go against AFO and Shiggy. I tried to think of what else Deku could've gotten for his final outfit, but it's hard to think of how else they could've significantly altered and changed it, so basically just making his standard costume smoother is alright. Wonder if we'll see him wear the bunny ears.

end of spoilers

Here's a pretty interesting interview with the series' first two editors who talk a lot about the mindset that they and Horikoshi had while creating and pitching the series.

There's some cool interesting things here, especially the tidbit about how the first chapter took 8-9 months to make, second was 2 months, and the third just a week. Also liked the discussions regarding around those 3 chapters and how they were paced, like not knowing about One For All until Chapter 2, or Midoriya not using the power until the end of Chapter 3, and whether that was good for audience engagement.

[Guy1]

Know what I think these chapters need? Team Sentai Posing And Roll Calls from Classes 1A and 1B.

I'm not sure what sweet moves they'd use, and obvs they wouldn't have the time, but I'd like to see that.

[Inversed]

spoilers:

In a flashback right before 1-A left U.A., we learn the extent of Aizawa's plan. First using Shinso, who has since improved his Quirk to allow him to get people to talk, they Brainwash the Aoyamas so that All For One can't detect any lies and get them to choose a specific location. Then, they have Monoma copy Kurogiri's Warp Gate so that they can warp all the heroes after the villain's are exposed. As the battle starts, Shoto and the rest of 1-A arrive to stop Dabi from attacking everyone. Finally they execute the next part of the plan, using the Troy system to surround all the villains in individual metal cages, with the intention of shoving them into more Warp Gates to split them all up.

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Even with the chapter primarily being alot of set-up and explanation, there's a really nice through line they have here specifically with Vlad King's speech to Monoma about there being "no bit players". Seeing Shinso's growth, and the class' excitement, and then seeing Monoma get to use his "supportive Quirk" to become such an important piece (the "man behind the curtain" as he calls himself), is all really great. Hopefully this means we'll get to see the other minor characters get big moments like this too. There's also the question of what other potential Quirks did Monoma copy, like if he copied Erasure and that's why Shigaraki hesitated there, or if there's something else going on there. Though we do get some fun hammy Dabi here and that's always welcomed. Looks like we'll get a clear idea how all these fights are going to be split up next chapter!

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

Even with the chapter primarily being alot of set-up and explanation, there's a really nice through line they have here specifically with Vlad King's speech to Monoma about there being "no bit players". Seeing Shinso's growth, and the class' excitement, and then seeing Monoma get to use his "supportive Quirk" to become such an important piece (the "man behind the curtain" as he calls himself), is all really great. Hopefully this means we'll get to see the other minor characters get big moments like this too. There's also the question of what other potential Quirks did Monoma copy, like if he copied Erasure and that's why Shigaraki hesitated there, or if there's something else going on there. Though we do get some fun hammy Dabi here and that's always welcomed. Looks like we'll get a clear idea how all these fights are going to be split up next chapter!

end of spoilers

spoilers:

That they are indeed going for the divide and conquer approach with the addition of the domes to ensure that the villains end up where they want to is a surprising and nice touch, UA's construction budget is as insane as always. Though there's still time for some villains to mess things up a bit by busting through their dome. Whatever happens, it's nice to know that the initial plan of dividing up the bad guys wasn't just abandoned. Gonna be interesting to see how everybody splits up. I'm also a bit appeased by how the heroes knew that the initial search was probably not going to yield any results and used that against AFO's arrogance. It doesn't give us any of the quiet moments that could've been had during that time. But at least it was planned. Shinso's outfit is pretty dope. Clearly Aizawa inspire but more tactical and with its own flavour in the net patterns. Can't wait to see it in color. And I loved the genuine moment Monoma has with Vlad and Aizawa, I always knew he wasn't just an overcompensating little ****. He's doing his best too. And I'm definitely thinking that he might've copied Erasure as well. I think we have maybe one or two more setup chapter before we get to the real meat of this final battle.

end of spoilers

Know what I think these chapters need? Team Sentai Posing And Roll Calls from Classes 1A and 1B.

I'm not sure what sweet moves they'd use, and obvs they wouldn't have the time, but I'd like to see that.

While I would love to see something like that, it would just be hilariously too long.

Like, even the bigger Power Ranger team ups have like 12 or 15 members at most I think.

Class A and B, and probably Shinso too, would be 41 kids doing poses, shouting their hero names and what not. If you thought it was weird that the villains never attacked the sailor scouts you ain't seen nothing!

[leokearon]

spoilers:

Not massively happy with the whole splitting up everyone to fight approach. I would prefer to see more teamwork, than work together and split up apporach of Bleach and onther mangas.

end of spoilers

[Dark Soul # 7]

spoilers:

Not massively happy with the whole splitting up everyone to fight approach. I would prefer to see more teamwork, than work together and split up apporach of Bleach and onther mangas.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I still think that even with the splitting up of the villains the heroes are aiming to go after them in teams. Which is good way of showing that each villains is dangerous enough that multiple heroes are required to take them down, while also showcasing multiple heroes. I'm actually pretty excited to see what hero team-ups we're getting.

end of spoilers