Uraraka pulls a surprise move on Bakugo in the last Round One Tournament Battle.
There was some great character development in this episode for both Uraraka and Bakugo. Midoriya had the right idea about how Uraraka could defeat Bakugo if she managed to touch him in order to activate “Zero Gravity” which would send him out of bounds. Uraraka took it one step further by utilizing the debris from Bakugo’s explosions to use in a meteor shower, which she hoped would provide enough distraction for her to get close enough to touch him and float him the arena. A good plan and I am impressed that she came up with it herself, however Bakugo managed blast away all the concrete projectiles in one explosive blast. Since she sustained a bit of damage from his expolsions during her previous charges, Uraraka collapsed despite her will to continue the fight. Both she and Bakugo gave it their best and I would say their fight has replaced the Midoriya and Shinso’s as my favorite out all the round one battles.
Like I stated before in the last review, I appreciate that they have guy vs. girl matches and that they show women both winning and as well as losing. The part that irks me a little is how the spectators and his classmates deride Bakugo for “playing villian” with a “frail girl.” They may think they are defending her, but Uraraka is not a frail girl and Bakugo is not a villain for not taking it easy on her. Bakugo himself said that she is not frail and he is not known to compliment people. I guess the reason why the subject came up in this match was because of the clash of personalities with Bakugo being more brash and arrogant and Uraraka more sweet and kind-hearted.
While disappointed and frustrated that she lost, Uraraka still musters enough positivity to encourage Midoriya before he heads out for his second match against Todoroki. It is in her phone conversation with his father, where her true feelings emerge. But like a good parent, her father expresses his love and pride in Uraraka and that the he certain she will make a great hero one day as he encourages her accept her loss and move forward. One of the most stellar moments in series and it brings a tear to one’s eye as one watches.
Even though a lot of attention was Uraraka and Bakugo, Midoriya does get some stand out moments as well. The first was with Bakugo when he refutes his rival’s assumption that he came up with Uraraka’s meteor shower plan. Midoriya tells him, “If that battle was harder than you thought it would be, then it’s because of her strategy not mine.” The second was when he encountered Endeavor on his way to arena. He notes Midoriya’s similarity to All Might and tells him to give it everything he’s got since this will be another test for Todoroki on his path to replace the world’s number one hero. Midoriya responses by saying, “Endeavor, I am not All Might…and the same goes for Todoroki. He may be your son, but he isn’t you.” This reflects my thoughts I had in “The Boy Born with Everything” that Endeavor is using Todoroki as a pawn in his vendetta against All Might. Needless to say I was stoked when Midoriya said what was needed to be said and it provided great buildup for his fight with Todoroki which I am sure will be epic.
Rating:
Fandom Factory 