As moving and full of impact as I hoped.
The OST for this series is an element I always praised about and they knocked it out of the park once again. The emotional stakes in the episode were also insanely high and these types of themes of believing in others this hard and particularly Endeavor’s despair over never being good enough is something that always rings something in me personally. Now I’m just curious where they’ll end this season on.
AfO taunts All Might’s predecessor, Nana Shimura, and mocks at how he is ashamed to see the power he created fall on the hands of someone so pathetic and idealistic and All Might’s attempts to shut his nemesis up has him be launched back by AfO’s air cannon. The blast is so powerful that All Might is sent careening through the sky and almost hits a news chopper before Gran Torino helps him back down and advises his student not to let AfO rile him up like he did the last time they fought. He also mentions how AfO’s current set of powers is completely different from when they last fought him. As the nation watches through the TV and through the internet, the sight of All Might being pushed back worries the country as he is being held back by a single villain. AfO goes on about how he wonders if it’s the smart thing to do to be the one to finish All Might off when he was grooming Tomura to do the job but deems it necessary to break All Might further, stating that he hates All Might as much as the latter hates him. AfO sends out another air blast and All Might notices a civilian in the blast’s trajectory and moves to protect them. A direct hit shielding the innocent civilian reveals All Might’s shriveled up visage to the world as his secret is finally exposed for all to see.
Despite this, All Might stands firm as the metaphorical pillar of hope and good and AfO decides to lay down another bomb to break his spirits and reveals that Tomura is actually Nana Shimura’s grandson and that is enough to send All Might into certain despair. AfO laughs and taunts All Might further, imitating Nana’s smile but All Might is brought back to his senses when the civilian he just saved urges him to win. Gran Torino surmises that All Might had already exceed his limits but is surprised to see All Might prepare to fight again. Before AfO begins another offensive, Endeavor jumps in and is furious at All Might’s appearance. Seeing the back he chased after for so long in such a pitiful state offends him after toiling endlessly to leave a legacy behind him, even if it meant passing on his ambition to his children. As Endeavor’s anger fueled rivalry inspires All Might, the other heroes jump in to distract AfO as the rest of the civilians are saved. All Might is cheered on by his fellow heroes and by the millions of others watching that no matter what he looks like, he is still THE number 1 hero who will reign over evil. All this hope insults AfO who sends everyone else flying away with his air cannon and he decides to get serious. He switches out his air-cannon combination to something truly lethal and mixes a quirk suitable for killing All Might up close with a highly deformed arm and fist.
AfO already expected that One For All had left All Might after he let someone else succeed him and sees that All Might only has a lingering embers left in the fire inside of his heart. AfO charges and reveals that he also deduced that Deku is All Might’s successor after putting the pieces together and insults All Might one more time as he calls him a poor teacher. The two fists clash and All Might is pushed back with blood spewing out of his arm and mouth. All Might accepts that he’s a poor teacher but declares that only he can be there to teach Deku more of his power and just like his teacher before him, he refuses to die before he fully passes on all that he knows. All Might takes the offensive and transfers the power in his right arm to his left, leaving the momentous punch for AfO whiffing past his face and All Might takes the opportunity to slug a power punch at AfO, breaking the lower half of his mask. AfO isn’t fazed and states that the punch just now was too weak to stop him and he prepares his free arm with the same power but All Might transfers his power back into his battered right hand and channels all that he’s got left. With the words of his predecessor’s in his mind, All Might lets out the strongest punch he’s got and sends AfO to the ground. As he bids farewell to his nemesis, he also says goodbye to his own power as the last bit of fire finally dies out. All Might is victorious and he powers himself up for appearance’s sake one last time in front of the world to see his triumph. As the authorities and more heroes arrive to help the remaining civilians, AfO is handcuffed and taken in by the police and All Might extends a single hand to point at the camera and declares that “You are next”. While the rest of the world took this as a warning for other villains in the country, Deku understands that the torch has been fully passed on to him to be the next Symbol of Peace.
These fire effects, man.
This shot too, just like the first opening man.
Lair of the Idle 