REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia’ Episode 139 — “In The Nick Of Time! A Big Time-Maverick From The West”

With Deku’s (Daiki Yamashita) return to UA, the young hero finds a moment to catch his breath. But even as he rests, he knows the inevitable battle with Tomura Shigaraki (Kôki Uchiyama) and All-For-One (Akio Ôtsuka, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) draws near. Even as he joins his friends, a hero is hurtling headlong into a confrontation with Shigaraki in My Hero Academia Episode 139 (Boku no hîrô akademia) “In the Nick of Time! A Big Time-Maverick from the West” from Bones.

This episode opens with a moment of calm. As Deku recovers from his wounds, he takes a moment to do some laundry and reminisce about recent events. The simplicity of an act like doing the laundry, something most of us avoid when possible, is refreshing to the young hero after his time spent on the run. This brief moment works wonderfully to reacquaint fans with what’s been happening in the series, in case they missed the My Hero Academia: Memories mini-series that recently aired.

After this opening sequence, My Hero Academia Episode 139 begins moving the pieces into place for the coming battle. We jump to the U.S. where the global situation is expanded on. We learn that events in Japan have riled up villains all over the world, causing governments to hesitate in answering All Might’s call for help. However, the number one American hero, Star and Stripe (Romi Park, The Grimm Variations) refuses to wait for the White House’s eventual ok and sets out with her personal support fighter squadron to answer her master’s call for help.

This introduction to the series’ newest hero delivers a perfect first impression. The headstrong Star will do what she has to to follow her ideals. She radiates supreme confidence, powerful enough to convince others to follow her plans. As she strikes out for Japan, we see her standing atop a high-tech fighter, reaffirming that she would never think twice about jumping into action.

While Park’s voice work is enough to deliver Star’s larger-than-life personality, My Hero Academia Episode 139 also reinforces that personality visually. Nearly the exact dimensions as her inspiration, All Might, Star dominates moments where she’s on camera with her massive physique. Her body language radiates confidence. Standing atop a fighter plane in mid-air, closed fists on her hips and cape billowing in the breeze, Star perfectly cuts the iconic figure of a hero rushing to save the day.

As Star soars across the sunlit sky, the episode shifts to a darker venue. Plunging viewers into a cave, we find All-For-One talking with Spinner (Ryô Iwasaki). Here, All-For-One tells  Spinner about his international contacts and their part in his plans. He also reveals that he knows Star is coming. While she poses a threat to his plans second only to One-For-All, she also presents an opportunity. He states that if he can acquire her quirk, the battle will be as good as won. This moment does an excellent job of setting the stakes for the imminent battle.

But while much of this scene is explanatory, All-For-One also sets a new element of his plan in motion. He calls on Spinner to support Shigaraki by becoming a symbol of his own. A symbol for those like him whose quirks have greatly altered their physical appearance. Known as heteromorphs, these individuals have always had it rough within a society that doesn’t reflect them, and struggle to understand their plight. All-For-One clearly intends to use the frustrations these people feel to wield them as a weapon against the heroes.

From here, My Hero Academia Episode 139 returns to the sunshine as we see Hawks, Endeavor, and Best Jeanist rushing to meet up with Star. But their rendezvous is interrupted by the appearance of Shigaraki, who confronts Star before she can reach Japan.

The opening stage of Star’s battle with Shigaraki is good but has its stumbles. While the episode uses the moment to put Star’s quirk, New Order, on display to great effect, it interjects a bit too much exposition into the sequence. While the viewer needs to understand New Order, the depth the series dives into the quirk is a bit much. Furthermore, many of the smaller details it illustrates could’ve been broken up throughout the battle. Instead, as Shigaraki puzzles out New Order, the viewer gets one long sequence that grinds everything to a halt.

The sequence is further slowed down by some exploration into the internal struggles within Shigarraki. As the young villain fights to maintain his own identity, All-For-One seeks to seize complete control of the villain. This moment is excellently executed in and of itself. Its visual depiction of the merging of the two and Shigaraki’s rejection of his master’s presence inside him are skillfully done. It would’ve been better if it could’ve been handled before the fight with Star began.

Despite the setbacks of the sequence, the visuals nevertheless impart to the viewer the awesome power Star wields. How she can manipulate the very laws of nature with her quirk makes the confidence she exudes well-founded. In the hands of a rank amateur, New Order would be deadly. But with Star’s experience in control, it is not hard to picture a world where the quirk could’ve brought down even All Might under the right circumstances.

A strong mix of setup and action, My Hero Academia Episode 139 mostly succeeds at getting the show off to a great start for its seventh season. While it stumbles a little with how much it bogs down its biggest moment with exposition, hopefully having it all out of the way will allow the next episode to flow smoothly as the fight between Star and Shigaraki continues.

My Hero Academia Episode 139 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.