REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia,’ Episode 137 – “A Young Woman’s Declaration”

My Hero Academia Episode 137 picks up right after the confrontation between Deku and the students of Class A, with the citizens seeking refuge at UA and demanding Deku leave. Can the heroes convince the citizens to allow Deku the chance to rest, or will he be forced to head back out into danger?

This season of My Hero Academia has primarily focused on the human side of the ongoing conflict. There have been some interesting fight sequences, but the main focus has been on individual stories and the mentality behind the various heroes, villains, and even civilians. It has also given secondary supporting characters chances to shine, with each episode giving a more important role to characters that usually get relegated to the background.

My Hero Academia Episode 137 chooses to focus on Uraraka and her desire to help Deku. Uraraka has always been an interesting character, but she has primarily been forced to serve as a will-they-won’t-they love interest for Deku. In My Hero Academia Episode 137, Uraraka finds her own voice when it becomes apparent that someone needs to step up and convince the refugees that Deku needs their help.

She knows that Deku is key to saving the world so she chooses to speak out to the angry crowd in order to try to explain the situation. She tells them that just because someone has special abilities doesn’t make them a special person, driving home the point of the show that even people born ordinary can be heroes.

It’s an interesting conversation because the crowd absolutely does not want to hear it. They already pieced together that Deku was being targeted, which is why they felt unsafe to begin with. Uraraka is usually quiet and reserved, so seeing her step up vocally in an intimidating situation is an interesting character development that shows her strength and growth.

Uraraka doesn’t have to do it all on her own though. Others in the crowd who had been helped by Deku are inspired by her courage and step up as well to share their stories. Getting to see characters that hadn’t appeared in a while was a nice nod to long-time fans, but it also served as a way to show how inspirational Uraraka is here. She was never the best fighter or the most vocal leader, but here she serves a pivotal role in making sure Deku has the support he needs to defeat All for One.

The end of My Hero Academia Episode 137 leads into what will hopefully bring more action back into the series. The last few episodes have been primarily expositional, but All for One and the other villains are still out there and the confrontation is going to happen soon. I appreciated another look at the human approach to all of this, but I’m hoping to see the looming threat actually approach in the near future.

My Hero Academia Episode 137 is a good episode that gives more agency to a secondary character, but the pacing of the season is starting to show signs of wearing thin. Still, the storytelling is excellent and well worth the time to watch to see how the citizens react to Uraraka’s plea to help Deku.

My Hero Academia Episode 137 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.