REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Season 2 Episode 6 – “Rain and Cloud”

Koichi (Shūichirō Umeda) continues to take the backseat in what’s meant to be his story in My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6. That said, to the series’ credit, it’s meant to enlighten viewers about one of the original series’ most critical characters, who, up until now, has had only pieces of his story revealed, all in service of the original series’ main plot. 

Ever since his first grueling battle against Shigaraki and his Nomu in Season 1 of My Hero Academia, Shota Aizawa/Eraser Head (Junichi Suwabe) has established himself as a worthy fan favorite. His popularity continues over the course of the eight-season run, even though, in all actuality, we hardly get to spend much time with him. This is, in part, because he’s an adult character in a series about teenage heroes. It’s also because the series’ ensemble is staggering, often struggling to accommodate all its characters.

Regardless, the moments when he is in the spotlight, from his bond with Eri to sacrificing his own leg to protect the future of his class, Eraser Head has always been so cool. And now, in “Rain and Cloud,” we get to truly start to dig into what makes this hero who wears his logic like armor tick. He didn’t start his journey into heroism – or as a teacher – sure-footed or with a strong sense of self-confidence. He, too, was a 16-year-old hero in training, and then a twenty-something struggling with direction. 

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6 blends the past into the present.

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6 is smart to start in the present day before launching into the flashback. It both tethers us to Koichi’s story and links Eraser Head to the characters who knew him when he was still in school. Eraser Head speaks with Nemuri Kayama/Midnight (Akeno Watanabe) by phone about possibly going into teaching.

She loves it; their friend Hizashi Yamada/Present Mic (Hiroyuki Yoshino) loves it, too, and their love is about to start in the upcoming year as a teacher. Everyone seems to be moving forward, while Aizawa remains rooted in the past through his solo ventures. 

It makes the run-in with Koichi after saving a young girl and a stray kitten all the more significant. And not just because the animation delivers one of the manga’s better one-shot panels as the two hide from the rain. Instead, it highlights who Eraser Head is now – someone who would save both the child and the cat from the villain, but also the version of him that we jump back to, who can’t even be sure of his own ability to rescue a cat from the rain. 

Oboro Shirakumo gets his moment in the sun.

This is where his friend, Oboro Shirakumo (Kensho Ono), comes in. Loud, brash, and impulsive, he spots Aizawa’s umbrella on the way to school, shielding the cat he passed, and doesn’t think twice of bringing the cat along with him. It’s simply in his nature to do so. While viewers of My Hero Academia have seen glimpses of this character before – most directly in the Season 5 episode “More of a Hero Than Anyone” – this is the first time we truly spend time with him. 

And My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6 understands how to make him a striking, pivotal feature in Aizawa’s life. Shirakumo is everything Aizawa isn’t (in his mind, at least). This is shown in the contrast between their entrances. Aizawa backdropped by the gray skies and, later, Shirakumo smiling at him as the skies behind him parted, the sun coming through. 

As the beginning of their school days arc begins, My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6 wonderfully sets the tone for the dynamic among Aizawa, Shirakumo, Yamada, and even Kayama. We get the sense of their closeness – especially the three boys – as they sit and share lunch or bicker mid-class.

The stigma against certain types of Quirks remains a pivotal thematic undercurrent.

All three are struggling to land internships, though Yamada can do so more quickly. And it shows how the distinction between what makes a viable hero in a society built on their backs has always had a faulty foundation. 

Because while Aizawa is smart and physically capable for his size and strength, he isn’t sought after because of the nature of his Quirk. It’s moments like these, as he works to understand how best to use his skills against larger opponents and to weaponize their expectations of him, that lay the blueprint for the character we’ll come to know. We see traces of how he teaches in these first, formative learning moments he too had to endure. 

The series has always had a strong visual aesthetic, but the animation here doubles down on lighting to best convey the details of Aizawa’s current state. Everything has a cinematic touch, from Shirakumo beaming at him to his desperate sprint against a sunset. It’s just the beginning of his story, and it’s one marred with inevitable tragedy. But “Rain and Cloud” does a beautiful job of distinguishing the place and time, making it feel like we’re peeking into a memory. 

“Rain and Cloud” beautifully builds on what we know of Eraser Head as a character.

Blending some of the original story notes (most notably the score) with the Vigilante brand of animation (heavy line work, glossier textures), “Rain and Cloud” is an effective introduction to this mini-arc. What’s perhaps the greatest compliment is that it would’ve worked regardless of whether Eraser Head was a new character introduced for this series.

His entire story complements Koichi’s – a character whose Quirk defined how people saw him and his capabilities as a hero. Because of that, he trained differently, which led him to train others, like Shinso in My Hero Academia, differently as well. 

But the effect is stronger because we know Eraser Head as a character, and we’ve already seen his evolution into a fully formed adult who undergoes his own transformation. “Rain and Cloud” lets us further explore his origins, which lead up to the events that define the trajectory of his career. Strengthened by fun, playful banter between the younger characters and some stirring visuals, My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6 is a superb start to a mini-arc that seeks to deconstruct what we know about one of the series’ most popular characters. 

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 6 is available now on Crunchyroll.

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