After a frustrating recap episode to start things off last week, My Hero Academia 4 episode 2 finally gets into the good stuff. Deku starts trying to find another Pro Hero internship at All Might’s former sidekick Sir Nighteye’s office, all the while the League of Villains have finally made contact with this arc’s big bad, Overhaul.

A Musical Tapestry

It’s in this scene with the villains that I first began to realize was so great about this episode. Studio BONES’s anime adaptation has always been close to the original manga to the point of excess, so in a lot of ways, it's only through such things as music and animation that the studio can flex their creative muscles.

Juicy sakuga moments have been a staple of the My Hero Academia anime’s appeal since day one, but we must also give a hand to composer Yuki Hayashi. Such tracks as “You Say Run,” “Hero A” and “You Can Become a Hero” have done as much to elevate the anime to even greater heights as the creative flourishes of Studio BONES’ best animators. In this regard, My Hero Academia season 4 episode 2 is no exception.

The trap-inspired Overhaul theme does so much to establish the villain’s presence as a worrying one, even when confronting Tomura, the League of Villains and their own excellent theme in episode 2. While there hasn’t been much in the original music so far, Hayashi’s back catalog is so good that it scarcely even matters - it’s always a joy to hear whenever any of his arrangements come in.

Changes and Structure

Speaking of new content, while it is true that BONES tend to stay very faithful to the original manga, it is interesting that they did add one new scene this time around to bridge the gap between Mirio being called by All Might to him arriving at the counseling office.

It’s a minor change, but one that works both as an opportunity for more Mirio content (seriously, he’s great) as well as to pad out the episode just a little bit. My Hero Academia season 4 episode 2 literally picks up in the original manga right where season 3 left off, right in the middle of chapter 124, after all.

Furthermore, it’s after this scene as All Might asks Mirio to introduce Deku to Sir Nighteye that we get a rare effective usage of clips from past seasons, in a way that doesn’t talk down to the viewer like they have the memory of a goldfish, like with last week’s episode.

When Mirio asks Deku what kind of Hero he wants to be, he reflexively goes for his stock answer of “a Hero like All Might, who saves everyone with a smile.” But, times have been hard, and Deku is beginning to realize that things might not be so simple - so he instead replies with the answer “the best Hero, strong enough not to make anyone worry anymore.” It’s a fantastic scene that shows how far Deku has come as a character from that wimpy dork he was back in season 1, taken to even greater heights by BONES’ usage of clips as flashback.

My Hero Academia 4 episode 2 then ends with Deku and Mirio making their way to Sir Nighteye’s office. There’s an interesting piece of animation here as the two make their way up a revolving staircase that honestly wouldn’t look out of place in a SHAFT show, but what’s most important here is that BONES delivered on the hilarity of the final scene as was present in the original manga. It made me laugh back then, and it made me laugh now.

My Hero Academia 4 Episode 2: Getting Back in Gear

All in all, My Hero Academia 4 episode 2 was definitely a big step up from last week’s poorly disguised recap episode. Yuki Hayashi’s music is on great form as usual, especially in the scene between Overhaul and the League of Villains, and BONES’ adaptational choices are effective enough to deliver on the appeal of the original manga in spades. If things continue on like this, then I can tell you that you’re going to be in for a real treat.

My Hero Academia season 4 is currently airing via Crunchyroll.