REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia,’ Episode 113 – “The High, Deep Blue Sky”

My Hero Academia is a superhero-shonen anime produced by studio BONES. With Shigaraki besting Re-Destro and claiming control of the Liberation Front, the combined powers under his command may be equal to or greater than what the heroes who protect society can muster. The only question now is, how will he deploy it? But Shigaraki isn’t the only one who has been strengthening his position. Class 1-A is back from their work studies and ready to show off what they have learned in My Hero Academia Episode 113.

While this season’s finale is far from the strongest episode in the series run, it manages to avoid being the hollow setup for the coming season it nearly lands as. Though not by as much as I’d like. But as we all know, endings can be tough. With the bulk of the episode split between reiterating how much power Shigaraki has come to wield and giving the audience a glimpse of the progress the students of Class 1-A made off-camera this season, much of My Hero Academia Episode 113 lands with little real impact. Happily, the series does manage to work in a couple of scenes that allow the episode to be a bit more than just a setup story. The most notable of these moments are between All-Might and Aizawa.

With five seasons now complete, it’s easy to forget that everything that has transpired throughout the series has happened in roughly a year and a half. This includes the massive shift in All-Might’s role in the superhero community. A moment is taken in My Hero Academia Episode 113 to explore just how hard the loss of One-For-All has been on the former number one hero and his struggle to accept his new role as a mentor rather than front line leader. His interactions with Aizawa in this moment are captured beautifully. While the casualness of the moment may feel in contradiction to the depths the conversation takes, it nonetheless feels genuine in its portrayal of the emotions being shared between the two comrades. Just as Aizawa has always provided a supportive and insightful shoulder to lean on for his students, he does so again for the former number one here.

Outside of this touching moment of growth, My Hero Academia Episode 113 doesn’t bring a whole lot to talk about. It does a suitable job both wrapping up what the season as a whole brought to the show’s narrative while also setting up what is to come in the next season. There are some fun moments as we see the personalities of Class 1-A mingle and catch up with each other one last time before the season end that gives a bit of energy to the proceedings.

The animation does a solid job delivering all the characters and moments the episode brings with it. The brief showcase of improvements the students have made with their powers is fun, and the threat of the combined League/Liberation Front is presented in a way that fully imparts the severity of the threat to the viewer.

So, when all is said and done, My Hero Academia Episode 113 does a solid job of wrapping up its season. With a couple of stand-out moments, the episode manages to avoid being a simple bridge from the narrative of seasons five to six and delivers some genuine feeling that makes the episode stand out a bit more on its own.

My Hero Academia Episode 113 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.