REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia’ Episode 143 — “Let You Down”

With a plan in the works, the heroes are nearly set for the showdown with All For One. Before the battle begins though, My Hero Academia Episode 143 (Boku no hîrô akademia) “Let You Down” sees hero and villain alike reflecting on where they come from and why they fight.

This week’s episode opens with a visit to Himeko Toga’s (Misato Fukuen, The Grimm Variations) childhood home. Toga goes home to see what has become of her past and recollect her time there. Finding the walls graffitied with messages condemning her as a vampire and a “devil child,” it is easy to see how she could harbor ill feelings towards society.

We also get to peek inside Toga’s mind as she recalls a recurring dream she had as a child. This dream makes for a mildly disturbing moment as the villain recalls the blood-infused nocturnal fantasy with wistful fondness. Studio Bones animates Toga’s dream excellently. The visuals depict the nature of the various elements in a clear and unmistakable way, allowing Toga’s dialogue to focus on her feelings rather than describe those elements.

As she leaves her home, she runs into Dabi (Hiro Shimono, My New Boss is Goofy). The young firestarter has come bearing a gift for Toga. Before Twice died, Dabi acquired a vial of his blood. Since Toga can not only copy the physical appearance of someone if she truly loves them but their powers as well, Toga’s possession of Twice’s blood could mean big things for the coming battle.

From there, My Hero Academia Episode 143 jumps to the underground lair of All For One (Akio Ôtsuke). While Shigaraki continues to recover from his injuries, the villainous mastermind works to prepare the other pawns for the coming game. Turning his attention to Spinner, All For One works to build up the uncertain villain as he coaxes him into the mindset he wants. While Spinner continues to harbor doubts about himself as a figurehead for a cause, All For One assures him that “Anyone can be a hero.”

After this brief interlude, we finally return to UA to catch up with class 1-A. We get a brief montage of the students as they search tirelessly for the villains. While they don’t find their true targets, we see them apprehending numerous jailbreakers. As the kids return home, we see them burnt out by their constant search.

When Midoriya (Daiki Yamashita) spots Ururaka (Ayane Sakura, My Happy Marriage), he realizes he hasn’t gotten to thank her for how she supported him when he returned to UA. Before he can approach her, All Might Kenta Miyake) arrives to inform the students of their final plans for the coming battle. All Might’s news is not for us, though, and My Hero Academia Episode 143 quickly cuts away.

The episode then picks up as Class 1-A bids farewell to the UA campus. Relocating to a new home, Fortress Troy, the students quickly start settling into their new accommodations. As Midoriya wraps up his unpacking, a glance out of his window reveals Ururaka standing alone, gazing back at the city. Seeing this as his chance to speak with her, he heads out to talk.

After thanking his friend for her recent support, he learns that Ururaka’s mind was thinking about Toga. Her recent confrontation with the villain revealed much about their obsessive enemy, causing Ururaka to ponder her motives and thought processes.

Ururaka’s speech about Toga and her feelings towards her is the highlight of My Hero Academia Episode 143. How her words explore the character’s view of her foe is nuanced and skillfully crafted. It allows Ururaka to acknowledge key elements about Toga and express sympathy for her while still reaffirming that she will stop her. The ability to sympathize with a person while not allowing that sympathy to prevent you from taking what you believe is the right course of action is a difficult trait. Those concepts can feel diametrically opposed, making it uncomfortable to hold them together.

Midoriya follows suit as he compares her feelings towards Toga with his discovery of the scared child living inside Shigaraki. While some might say that Midoriya is trying to make the moment about him, it’s clear that he is using his own experience to offer some measure of the support he’s gotten from Ururaka back to her. He understands what she is saying, and here is the proof.

The back half of My Hero Academia Episode 143 sees the trap set for All For One put into action. After the villain receives a call from Aoyama’s parents telling him where and when their son will lure Midoriya, All For One basks in his confidence as he sees his plan coming together. While some of this confidence is born of his innate arrogance, he does have cause to think he is about to win. All For One’s inner musings reveal he possesses a quirk that tells him if anyone is lying to him or speaking from a place of ill intent. Since the phone call doesn’t trigger this quirk, he has no reason to suspect he is about to be betrayed.

How Aoyama’s parents slip past this defense makes a good deal of sense. As far as lying goes, the conversation is done through a coded message style of speech. If the coded words translate to a statement like “Aoyama will bring Midoriya to X place,” no lie has been told. We’ve seen how literal quirks can be before. Star and Stripe couldn’t affect Shigaraki with New Order due to the villain being unsure of “who he is” on a personal level. She couldn’t call out his name since he didn’t know who he was. So that the literal words needing to be lies would also make sense.

As for ill intent, it seems clear that the couple’s actions are motivated by a desire to protect their child, not to harm All For One. That it would never occur to All For One that someone could commit an act of betrayal for any reason other than malice feels right for the villain.

My Hero Academia Episode 143‘s final scene sees Aoyama and Midoriya meet in a secluded place. The pair do a great job playing their parts as Aoyama (Kôsuke Kuwano) tells Midoriya about what All For One has planned for the world if his scheme succeeds. It’s almost a shame that the series wasn’t able to hide the fact that both parties are in the know here. Between the stellar voice acting and powerfully emotional visual presentation of Aoyama’s crumbling emotional state, viewers wouldn’t have guessed what was happening.

When All For One arrives to claim his prize, he is shocked to learn that Aoyama has betrayed him. Momentarily confused by how he was unaware, the mastermind doesn’t let the oversight slow him down. Believing the heroes scattered across Japan searching for him, he uses his teleportation quirk to bring the League to him, so they can apprehend Midoriya, claiming One For All at last. Only once the villains have arrived do the heroes spring their trap. Using Kurogiri’s teleportation powers, the scattered heroes also arrive.

My Hero Academia Episode 143 ends as the bell rings, sounding the beginning of the end. With six prior seasons building up to this moment, the narrative ends at the perfect moment of tension. All that remains is to see who manages to come out the other side.

My Hero Academia Episode 143 is streaming on Crunchyroll.