Review: My Hero Academia Ep. 37 – Katsuki Bakugo: Origin

Bakugo and Midoriya face off All Might, the one who inspired them to become heroes.

This episode was fully dedicated to Bakugo and Midoriya’s final exam where they square off against the number one hero himself, All Might. It is fitting that this match-up was shown last since it had so much build-up behind it; not only during this arc but in previous ones too, and its effects will continue to be felt in episodes to come as well.

What made me enjoy the episode so much was the interaction between Bakugo and Midoriya. This is probably the longest they have interacted on screen together, given that Bakugo avoids talking to Midoriya unless he is name-calling or challenging him. This fight against All Might force them to confront their issues with each other as well their own personal issues.

Midoriya is overcoming his fear and hesitation when it comes to fighting the strongest hero, who just so happens to be his idol. Also the fact he has knowledge of All Might’s true form may have made him afraid to push too far for fear of breaking his mentor’s facade. For Bakugo, there no fear or hesitation in fighting All Might, the problem is in his stubborn refusal to accept help from someone he deems to be inferior like Midoriya. Deep down, I think Bakugo knows Midoriya is more than he appears, but puts him down because he is afraid he will acknowledge his own weakness if he were to acknowledge Midoriya’s strengths.

While it doesn’t have the awe dropping visuals that “Shoto Todoroki: Origin” had the episode more than makes up for it in its character development. While Todoroki had been built up through out the Sports Festival Arc leading to his fight with Midoriya, we already knew about Bakugo before he and Midoriya entered UA. It is the fact that they have personal history together that gives this fight even better buildup that “Shoto Todoroki: Origin” because they established this conflict at the very beginning. It would seem that episodes with a character’s name and the word “Origin” are destined to be highly-rated, and this one is definitely following that trend.

Rating: