Finding signature moves makes for a weaker MY HERO ACADEMIA. It’s almost funny that the episode where heroes come up with all-powerful moves doesn’t pack a huge punch. This episode isn’t bad, of course – it’s hard to imagine an actually bad MY HERO ACADEMIA episode. However, this episode doesn’t have a lot of substance, which makes it feel a bit like filler.
“Create Those Ultimate Moves” is a lot like last week’s episode, as the heroes develop. While Class 1-A is strong, they are encouraged to come up with surefire battle-ending attacks. While most of the students try coming up with big, flashy moves, Midoriya rethinks his whole technique. Midoriya is struggling to separate himself as a hero from his idol, All Might. This episode continues the series arc of Midoriya coming into his own, and taking on the “One For All” mantle.
The development in this episode is a bit too slow and drawn out to pack a punch. There is some compelling stuff with Midoriya’s development as his own hero. However, the realization that he should also use his legs isn’t enough of a revelation. Especially since Midoriya still gets his arm braces, it’s not a game-changing shift – yet. It will be interesting to see how a leg-heavy approach will affect Midoriya’s success as a hero, but we only see one big kick this episode. Midoriya gets to advance a little, but this MY HERO ACADEMIA episode doesn’t stand strong on its own.
What makes this episode feel weak is that there isn’t a lot of meat. It’s not like last week’s “Moving Into Dorms,” where we get a clear image of what all our heroes are up to. We get glimpses of some heroes developing moves, like Bakugo and Tokoyami. However, the majority of the class are left in the background. This is especially disappointing because the lack of screen time coincides with a lack of development for the other kids. The rooms of Class 1-A students helped us learn more about them as people. “Create Those Ultimate Moves” gave no such character development.
Perhaps the strongest part of this episode is the return of Hatsume. The Support Class student returns to “help” Midoriya and friends improve their suits. Hatsume is a fun presence, as she once again uses others to test her tech. It’s funny how her experiments hurt the heroes, but it’s also sweet to see her fiery passion. The awkward Midoriya-Hatsume physical stuff is fine, but takes away from the stronger Hatsume characteristics. With that said, Hatsume helped inject some fun energy into a slower episode.
MY HERO ACADEMIA doesn’t do a lot to push its characters forward. It’s nice that Midoriya is given a small push forward, but it’s still small. This episode only has a few small morsels to stay engaging. From the original three super-friends coming back together, to All Might reading up on teaching, there is good stuff in this. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough to make “Create Those Ultimate Moves” feel like an ultimate episode.
