REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia’ Episode 148 — “Wounded Hero, Burning Bright and True!!”

Things look bleak with All For One (Akio Ôtsuka) gaining the upper hand in his fight against the heroes. But despite their injuries, Jiro (Kei Shindo) and Tokoyami (Yoshimasa Hosoya, Megalo Box) aren’t ready to give up. And when Endeavor makes his fiery return to the battlefield, they may just be able to turn the tide in My Hero Academia Episode 148 (Boku no hîrô akademia) “Wounded Hero, Burning Bright and True!!.”

The first half of this week’s episode focuses on the battle with All For One. Looking to strike back at the villain, Jiro launches a counterattack on him with her remaining speaker. While her attack isn’t enough to stop her opponent, an unexpected event occurs that aids her efforts. The quirks that All For One has gathered within himself start to rebel against him. We see shots of All For One in the Vestige World, as his quirk collection, presented as ghostly figures, hold back his arms and legs. This interference allows the heroes to follow up on Jiro’s attack.

This twist in My Hero Academia Episode 148 feels a bit out of the blue. While we have seen events in the vestige world impact the series narrative numerous times before, this development feels too convenient. If stolen quirks still have a will of their own, why is it just manifesting now? There have been numerous critical moments where they could’ve made a difference. Holding back All For One during his critical confrontation with All Might feel like a time this would’ve occurred, given the universal love everyone has for the hero. While the series tries to explain why it happens now, it feels half-hearted. This isn’t the only out-of-the-blue twist, either.

While All For One struggles to regain control of his body, Hawks (Yûichi Nakamura) attacks, finally dealing irreparable damage to the villain’s mask. As Hawks looks to follow up on the opening in All For One’s defenses, his target lashes out with a powerful attack that threatens everyone in the area.

My Hero Academia Episode 148 delivers the aftermath of this grand assault phenomenally. After showing the villain unleashing his strike, we see Hawks realize the danger to the students. The episode cuts to a shot of Jiro, blood streaking across the camera’s view. This gives the impression that Hawks has taken the brunt of the attack for her and Tokoyami. It is then revealed in a wider shot that Hawks is also fine, thanks to Endeavor’s (Tetsu Inada) return to the fray. The Number One hero has taken the blast himself, sacrificing his right arm in the process. But his new wounds seem to do little to slow the hero’s return to the fight.

Endeavor’s rage and power are burning hotter here than we have ever seen before. After a stern discussion within himself, while recovering back on the ground, the hero is determined to stop All For One from denying the bright future his children deserve. While dragging the villain through a stretch of woodlands and reducing one of his hands to cinders, he comments on how All For One uses his hands to take children’s futures from them. When All For One counters with the fact that the same can be said about Endeavor, the hero acknowledges the truth of the statement. But rather than simply have Endeavor rehash the commentary about himself we’ve heard for a couple of seasons now, Endeavor drives the conversation beyond that narrative.

Beyond acknowledging his faults, Endeavor comments on how the young heroes deserve a better path. That bright days should be theirs. However, rather than pass the buck to the future generation to forge these bright days themselves, Endeavor accepts his responsibility to help make the future as bright as possible for them.  It’s another step in his atonement for all he has failed at.

This moment in My Hero Academia Episode 148 is another emotionally powerful beat for Endeavor. But while the emotions burn hot, the visual flames burn nearly as bright. Studio Bones is pulling out all the stops to captivate the audience with the visual presentation here. Endeavor’s assault, complete with a fiery replacement for his now missing right arm, perfectly delivers every punch and raging attack.

As Endeavor drags All For One high into the sky, he wraps his arms and legs around the villain, ensuring he can not escape from his final move, Prominence Burn. When the explosion clears, we see Endeavor wrapped around a charred husk. There is a moment when it seems All For One has been bested, but it doesn’t last. The charred remains begin to crack as the villain reveals he had an ace up his sleeve to keep him in the fight.

While the villainous mastermind having an unforeseen play is fairly par for the course, the trick being pulled here feels like a letdown. With everything Endeavor does to the villain and the emotional build-up of the moment, having it reduced to being all for nothing is disappointing. It feels like Endeavor has earned a win at this point in the story. While it may be a little early for All For One to go down, I would’ve preferred they either time the moment to later in the season so he could, or not have the moment play out in this way. As it is, it feels like Endeavor is robbed of a moment that should be his.

From here, My Hero Academia Episode 148 jumps to the Coffin in the Sky as the heroes there continue to struggle against Shigaraki’s (Kôki Uchiyama) rapidly expanding left arm. His mass has grown so great that we learn the engineering students working to keep the school afloat are beginning to have their own struggles. The power being generated by the electrical heroes is starting to fall short. If something isn’t done soon, the school will fall.

For the heroes battling the villain head-on, the fight proves to be a taxing exercise, as the slightest loss of movement sees the expanding reach of Shigaraki catch up to them. Feeling confident that he has built up enough of his explosive sweet, Bakugo (Nobuhiko Okamoto, Dead Mount Death Play) decides it is time to take the fight to his foe as he attempts to close the distance between him and Shigaraki’s core body.

Much like Endeavor’s moment earlier in the episode, Bakugo’s attack delivers powerful emotions and explosive visual content. As the young hero unleashes everything he’s got, we are taken on a trip back through several key points in his development. From Deku rescuing him in episode one to the present, the sequence works to remind the viewer of all that the young man has gone through to get here.

Sadly, this moment also mirrors Endeavor’s in that it seems to make no difference in the grand scheme of things. While there’s no way Bakugo could drop Shigaraki here, it would’ve been nice for something to come of this moment. Instead, it wraps up with nothing more than Shigaraki’s continued mockery of Bakugo’s inferiority. The villain states that the only thing that makes Bakugo worth his notice is that he is the one closest to Deku.

While the outcome as a whole is disappointing, the choice of barb Shigarki uses at Bakugo’s experience couldn’t be more aptly picked. Reducing Bakugo to bait for Deku not only puts him in his rival’s shadow but also creates the potential for Bakugo to be the thing that once more causes the downfall of someone he cares about. After all, Bakugo blames himself for All Might losing his powers because he had to save him from the League’s clutches.

As the episode draws to a close, Midoriya races to get back to his comrades. Despite some missteps in executing its key moments, My Hero Academia Episode 148 continues to deliver drama, gorgeous visuals, and tense moments as the struggle between the heroes and villains builds to a fever pitch.

My Hero Academia Episode 148 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.