REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia,’ Episode 118 – “The Thrill of Destruction”

This season of My Hero Academia has arguably been the most intense to date, and My Hero Academia Episode 118 keeps that trend going. Studio BONES has done an excellent job bringing the war between the heroes and the Liberation Front to the small screen and this week is no different.

My Hero Academia Episode 118 wastes no time hopping straight into the action between the heroes and the High End Nobu. It’s been made quite clear already that the High Ends pose a significant threat to the heroes since it took two top-ranked heroes just to come out on top against one High End. I love that the battles in this season have a genuine feeling of dread going into them. The heroes no longer seem unstoppable. Sometimes, like in My Hero Academia Episode 118, we even see heroes losing when we might not have expected.

My Hero Academia Episode 118 also features a ruthless scene between Shigaraki and the hero X-Less. I don’t want to spoil the scene in particular, but in only a few brief moments of screen time, I felt an extreme sense of fear that further shows how My Hero Academia differentiates itself from other shonen anime. The heroes in My Hero Academia don’t come out on top every time, and when they do, it’s not because someone managed to find a convenient plot-assisting power-up. Instead, the focus is on heroes working together, both the pros and the students of UA. It also helps keep villains like Shigaraki and Dabi feeling even more threatening, knowing that they aren’t going to be beaten easily. It’s a hard balance to find, but My Hero Academia does it almost perfectly.

I also really love how My Hero Academia Episode 118 spends some time focusing on the heroes rescuing the civilians and evacuating them from the battle area. It’s small in the grand scheme of things, and I can understand why some viewers would prefer to skip those moments in exchange for more action, but it is vital to the story and growth of our young heroes. Deku and Bakugo and the rest of their classmates would clearly prefer to fight, and they do get their chance, but they also have to learn that being a hero is primarily about protecting the citizens from danger. Watching heroes develop in battles is fun, but getting a chance to see them grow in the calmer moments before the storm is such a nice little treat.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also give another massive shoutout to studio BONES for their immaculate animation. My Hero Academia Episode 118 brings the danger and destruction to life thanks to incredibly well-done battle sequences, and the facial expressions of the heroes made me feel a palpable fear for their own safety. Seeing the heroes witness the loss of their friends, knowing the odds are stacked against them, really drives home just how rewarding their victory will hopefully be in the end.

My Hero Academia Episode 118 is another excellent episode in the best season of My Hero Academia to date. The stakes are incredibly high, the action is fast-paced, and we are given significant opportunities to watch some more minor characters grow into their own. If you aren’t already watching My Hero Academia, you definitely need to change that.

My Hero Academia Episode 116 is streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll