Season 5, Episode 1: All Hands on Deck!

My Hero Academia Season 5 opens with a mostly anime original episode. Or a filler episode. Is that fair? Maybe. All filler episodes aren’t bad, but they usually lack something. It’s often the animation that suffers and the story rarely makes sense or matters. All Hands on Deck! Class 1-A adapts some pages from manga chapters 190 and 191. However, that’s mostly what happens at the end of this episode. This is common for this series, but it never harms the overall seasons. Regardless, how you feel about filler, the first episode of a season usually aims to reintroduce the audience. The students in Class 1-A head to Ground Beta after the emergency alarm blares.

They designed the exercise to both tests the students’ readiness and to remind us of the large cast of characters. Anima, Earphone Jack, and Tentacole take the role of surveillance. Ingenium, Shoto, Tsukoyomi, Sugarman, and Can’t Stop Twinkling focus on extinguishing the fire. Froppy, and Grape Juice target rescuing a civilian “drowning” in the river. That civilian is Mirio Togata, whose carefree personality adds some levity to this episode. Elsewhere, Deku, Pinky, Creati, Invisible Girl, Tailman, Cellophane, and Uravity take on two of the Big Three, Nejire Hado and Suneater. The conflict between them isn’t very intense for obvious reasons. Suneater doesn’t even want to fight. However, after remembering that Mirio wanted to help the students, he prepares for battle.

Who’s side is Hawks on?

Deku still is hesitant. He activates his Quirk but refused to hit Suneater. However, when the always intense Katsuki arrives the dynamic shifts. Katsuki drives up in a speeding car that is powered by Chargebolt. Red Riot blasts forward, clashing with Suneater directly. Suddenly, Katsuki blasts himself forward, instantly scaring Suneater into submission. In a typical Katsuki manner, he’s unsatisfied, and shoots off a massive blast, frying the hair of nearby classmates. The last portion of the episode is the reveal that Dabi started the attack by hood and Hawks is working with him. I’m a manga reader so I know how this arc unfolds, but I can’t wait to see My Hero Academia Season 5 animated.