‘My Hero Academia’ is going to some poignant places and I want more

At first, I was upset with My Hero Academia for breaking away from the fight between Izuku and Shigaraki, a.k.a. All For One, a.k.a. Shigaraki’s inner traumatized child. But by the end of season 7’s 14th episode, “Together With Shoji,” I was fully hooked. Now I just want more.

I never thought much about Mezo Shoji, largely because he’s never been a huge point of the series’ focus before. I have, at certain points, thought his power to be a little body horror-y, which I now feel thoroughly guilty about. Because last week’s episode was all about the persecution endured by heteromorphs—people whose quirks make their appearance diverge significantly from a “typical” human body.

But of course, this is the world of My Hero Academia we’re talking about. To us, talking about a “typical” human body in a world where a guy can be made of wood might feel like a blurry line to draw. But that’s the nature of discrimination—that line is always arbitrary. Which makes the abhorrent treatment of the people on the other side of it that much more abhorrent.

The struggle for and among heteromorphs continues

“Together With Shoji” was an incredibly insightful episode. It zeroed in on the discrimination—often violent—faced by people in My Hero Academia‘s world who are heteromorphs. The result was incredibly profound and hit once again on the dangers of mob mentality. Because while the huge mob amassed at the hospital can sense that Shoji’s appeal is right, that storming this hospital won’t help heteromorphs not be discriminated against, the speech hit like trying to stop a wind-up toy after it’s been spun.

As with many of its darker socio-political themes, My Hero has been poking the surface of this issue for some time. For example, last season, we met a very kind lady who said no shelters would let her in because she’s a heteromorph. There’s also been a lot of discourse around Spinner, who has become something of a heteromorph hero. Although now, he’s bloated with gigantification and incessantly drooling from the over-stimulation. It’s tough to watch.

But watch we shall, because we want to know what happens in the struggle for the hospital. In a twist of events rather uncomfortably close to real life, at least in the U.S., the police force managing the heteromorph crowd just began using gunfire. And as we know from reality, that never goes well.

Episode 15 of season 7 of My Hero Academia drops at 5:30 PM in Japan, which means it will be on Crunchyroll sometime around 4:30 AM ET / 1:30 AM Pacific. A treat for all you night owls and early birds out there!