My Hero Academia Episode 97

Class 1-B Round 4 Quirks

There was no review of Episode 96, so the previous review is Episode 95 from two weeks ago. But, I did watch Episode 96 and thought that the way the third round of exhibition matches ended up was acceptable. Both teams were strong, and that’s what we saw.

But, this is a review of Episode 97. So let’s start off the review by going over the four newly introduced Class 1-B quirks. And I have to say, this is probably the worst group of quirks we’ve seen so far from class B.

First up, we have Setsuna Tokage, whose quirk is Lizard Tail Splitter. This quirk allows Setsuna to split her body up into 50 pieces that can be individually controlled (and which defy gravity for some reason). After a set amount of time away from her “main body,” the pieces disappear and rematerialize.

Kojiro Bondo is up next, and he probably has my favorite quirk of this group. His quirk, Cemedine, effectively turns his body into a bottle of glue. Just as Sero from Class 1-A is a tape guy, Bondo from Class 1-B is a glue guy. Not a very exciting quirk, but I like it.

Togaru Kamakiri is my least favorite of this group. His quirk is called Razor Sharp, and it allows him to create blades anywhere on his body. It’s a pretty generic quirk, in my opinion. Oh, he’s also a praying mantis person.

And lastly, there’s Yosetsu Awase, whose quirk, Weld, allows him to weld things together at the molecular level. I think that’s just a fancy way of saying that he can stick metal objects to other objects. He doesn’t seem to actually weld things because that would have done significant damage to Bakugo’s body.

Bakugo’s New (Old) Style

I don’t know if I would say that Episode 97 is the worst episode of My Hero Academia Season 5 so far. But I would say that it’s the worst episode of this current exhibition match arc. And a big part of why I say that is because of how boring the Class 1-B team quirks were.

The Class 1-B team knew that they were at a disadvantage because they were up against Bakugo’s explosive (literally) power. So their plan was to lure him into a trap. That’s fine, but as soon as their plan failed, the match was over. There was no interesting back and forth.

And to make matters worse, the same could really be said about the Class 1-A team on the other side of things. Their entire plan was simply that Bakugo was going to charge in without thinking, and the other three were going to support him.

Don’t get me wrong, it was cool to see Bakugo go all out against the opposing team and lead the Class 1-A squad to a 4-0 victory. But at the same time, it was the least exciting match we’ve had so far. Though, I kind of feel like the next round will be worse.

Something I did like about this match was how everyone from Class 1-B was surprised by how Bakugo behaved. None of them expected that Bakugo would be a team player in any capacity. However, that’s because none of them really know him.

Bakugo hasn’t changed. He was always a team player to an extent. It’s just that his version of being a team player is that he does his own thing and expects his teammates to back him up. He can only do that because he trusts that his teammates will support him.

Looking to Round 5

The final round of the competition was set up in the latter half of this episode, so we might as well go over it. This time around, it’s the Class 1-B team that has five members, with Shinsou being added to their ranks. Immediately, that gives them the upper hand.

The other four members of the Class 1-B team are Reiko Yanagi, Nirengeki Shoda, Neito Monoma, and an unnamed female student. As for their quirks, we know Shinsou’s, Monoma’s is stated to be able to copy other quirks, and we only have the names of Reiko’s and Shoda’s.

Something we do know is that, apparently, none of the students on the Class 1-B team have outright offensive quirks. So, their strategy is going to be to avoid a head-on fight while also prioritizing taking down Deku because he’s the strongest member of the Class 1-A team.

Aside from Deku, the Class 1-A team also has Mineta, Mina, and Ochako. So basically, Deku is the only real threat on that team. Even the other three recognize that they’re just going to be minor supporters rather than main players in the match.

Mineta can stick things together. Mina can melt things. And Ochako can make things float. Of course, their quirks are useful in certain situations. And I’m sure they’ll each get time to shine. But when you compare their quirks to One-for-All, it’s not even a close comparison.

Obviously, I’m interested in seeing what the three unknown quirks are on the Class 1-B team. But aside from that, I don’t really have high expectations for the match. I think it could also go either way. If Monoma and Shinsou can take down Deku, they win. If not, they lose.

Conclusion

What do you think of My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 97? Did you like the fourth round of the exhibition matches? Which member of the Class 1-B team was your favorite? And which team do you think will win the fifth and final round? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 98 is available now.