Dhruv Sharma
Episode 10 keeps the momentum of the season going and is in no way jarring, as it introduces a brief intro of everything that happened in the previous one. However, on the downside, it seems like animation quality has been toned down a little in this one. The choreography of the action scenes never falters, but there are moments when the movements of the characters are not so fluid.
Moreover, in context with the overarching plot, since the past few episodes, this season has been heavily focusing on character development through flashbacks, but the overarching plot has barely made any progress. Overhaul has been seemingly walking down a long underground corridor, while the heroes have just been tirelessly fighting other villains. So if we compare all the alternate storylines that are unfolding, there is a mild incoherence in the pace of all of these.
Boku no Hero Academia Season 4 Episode 10 Recap
The action begins again with the aftermath of Rappa’s battle with Red Riot and Fat Gum. Most viewers would probably remember how Rappa took a powerful blow from Fat Gum with a big smile on his face. Episode 10, with a flashback, explains why he was so delighted after being defeated. Rappa was once an MMA fighter but most of his opponents would just crumble under his strength and give up. But Fat Gum’s strength and Red Riot’s will to keep fighting really impresses him. He even challenges them for another showdown, but Fat Gum does not accept it. At the end of the day, Fat Gum and Red Riot are not able to entirely defeat their opponent, but they do manage to earn his respect.
In the meantime, the other heroes progress towards Overhaul while mimic tries to stop them. This is when Twice and Toga show up. While Mimic manages to segregate the bunch by building walls all around them. Toga comes out of nowhere and stabs Rock Lock. Deku and Eraserhead break free from the confinements of their walls and Toga even tries to attack them. But Eraserhead is easily able to deal with her by smashing her into a wall nearby. Meanwhile, a flashback reveals how Shigaraki has no intention of helping Chisaki and is just trying to gain his trust for now. He reveals his face to Toga and Twice for the first time and makes them believe that he truly trusts them.
In the present events of the show, Toga and Twice then get together and trigger Mimic to a point where he completely surpasses his own transcendent power and lashes out on the heroes. On the other end of the underground tunnels, Night Eye gets attacked by Rappa but with just one kick to his head, he knocks him out with ease, proving that he was indeed All Might’s sidekick for a good reason. The episode then comes to an end but the hunt for Eri is far from over.
Boku no Hero Academia Season 4 Episode 10 Review
The merits, like always, outweigh the negatives of this episode. Most of the previous episodes only involved flashbacks of the heroes and though they were all quite serviceable to their overall development, as a viewer, I couldn’t help but ignore the nagging riddle of Shigaraki’s unusual alliance with Overhaul. Episode 10 finally begins to clear this out by now introducing some backstories of the villains as well, along with some foreshadowing on Shigaraki’s ulterior motives.
Twice and Toga, as much as you want to hate them for being the antagonists, you can’t help but fall in love with their chemistry. There’s also a scene where Toga acknowledges how pressurized he feels and claims that he, too, is human. This basically reflects on how, despite being the bad guys, the villains are mere humans who are struggling to find their own place in the world; this, of course, cannot be held true for Overhaul.
Overall, while there are some glaring issues in the animation quality of this episode, one can ignore them as the creators are probably saving their budget for a better arc of the storyline. And unlike this episode, we can again expect some good quality fight scenes in the next one as it will revolve Deku’s battle with Mimic. I appreciate the self-contained stories of the villains that were introduced in this episode, but it’s almost unnerving to see how Overhaul’s strength is just being teased. We certainly need more of Overhaul and hopefully, that’ll change as we move forward.
