My Hero Academia Season 7 Broke Anime Fans Hearts In One Perfect Moment

Bakugo has been an abrasive character from the very first episode, but finally, My Hero Academia Season 7 has him toss aside his ego and his desire to prove that he’s the best. I admit that I always found Bakugo annoying with his constant shouting and need to outshine everyone else at U.A., and yes, it’s a very clear story-telling trope that other series have used before, but out of a cast of dozens, I wanted more focus on other characters like Ida or Tsuyu. My opinion changed when I started reading the manga and reached the “Final War,” so I’ve been waiting for this episode for months now, and the anime adaptation did not disappoint.

Finally, when the heroes are on the verge of being defeated and even Miro and Hado have stopped smiling, Bakugo leaves behind his mentor, Best Jeanist, and goes one-on-one with All for Shigaraki. At this moment, his body wracked with pain, Bakugo pushes past it and achieves a new level of power, using small beads of his explosive sweat to move so fast that he can avoid all attacks. My Hero Academia Season 7, through all the ups and downs, brings Bakugo’s story to a poetic climax, as it’s not about his new level of power, it’s all about what’s going through his mind as he gets ready for the biggest blast of his life.

Bakugo, when all the chips are down, and he’s pushed beyond his limits, thinks of Midoria and finds strength in the friendship he would never publicly admit. As his life flashes before his eyes, he gets strength from All For One, the hero that inspired him from the very beginning, and a shared moment of joy with Midoria; this is what My Hero Academia Season 7 has been building up to, this one moment where instead of trying to be the greatest hero, or to defeat the greatest villain, Bakugo admits to himself, he’s trying to be as great as his best friend.

It’s a beautiful moment, earned over the course of nearly 150 episodes, and then it’s shattered when All for Shigaraki rips apart Bakugo’s heart.

Manga readers knew this moment was coming, but Bakugo’s heart getting destroyed by All for Shigaraki hits hard in the anime. My Hero Academia Season 7 may end before we learn whether he lives or dies (even in the manga, the answer for a while is “sort of both”), but the heart-warming montage, Bakugo’s acceptance of his friendship with Midoria, and finally learning what it means to be a true hero, makes the end of the episode especially cruel. The loud, brash character I slowly grew to love is deathly silent.

Sadly, we won’t get to see what happens next in My Hero Academia Season 7 for a little while longer, as the next episode, which brings us over the halfway point, has been delayed an extra week and won’t be available for streaming until August 3. Until then, go back and watch the “Sports Festival” arc or Bakugo’s training with Best Jeanist (and the haircut!) to re-live some of his best (and worst) moments. For a series that, while I’ve enjoyed it, I always felt was below Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer, to rip out my own heart, even if I knew what was coming, is incredibly impressive.

My Hero Academia Season 7 is streaming on Crunchyroll, and if you’re like me and started to brush the series aside, take the week, get caught up, and hop on board for the wild ride to the season finale.