Mirio is the Best Hero

I normally do weekly My Hero Academia reviews. Given the holidays going on in the past two weeks, it took me a little longer than usual to get around to watching the past two episodes I missed. Well. I have caught up. And as a massive Mirio fan, I’m sure everyone who’s caught up knows exactly how devastating the most recent episode of My Hero Academia was.

This episode, aptly title Mirio’s hero alias, “Lemillion”, focuses primarily on Mirio’s idea of what kind of hero he wants to be. The cruel irony is that as soon as we get this insight, he’s hit with a bullet that takes away his Quirk. Mirio’s Quirk is powerful; he can faze through any object at will, making him practically unhittable. This is precisely why Mirio’s hero moment, jumping in front of the Quirk-killing bullet to save little Eri, is one of the most compelling things in the show’s history.

This review is kind of a review of the most recent episode, but mostly just an ode to Mirio because he deserves all the praise in the most recent episode. Not only did he give us an epic fight, but he moved probably everyone watching at home to tears. For example, “Lemillion” was trending on Twitter after the episode aired, and I had to block it because I was scared of being spoiled before I watched.

Needless to say, it was worth the wait for me. Mirio is the kind of hero that I love. He’ll throw himself into a fight regardless of what will happen to him if it means saving just one person. He’s also fairly smart, with a lot of his quick thinking getting him through some tight corners. Whether it’s using his cape as a distraction or taking out two of Overhaul’s underlings at once, Mirio doesn’t let the odds get him down. This is where the best, and simultaneously the worst, part of the episode happens. Mirio has Overhaul cornered. He’s leaping toward him to win the fight, when one of Overhaul’s henchmen figures out how to stop him. He aims the gun with the special bullets at Eri, the girl Mirio has been trying to save for a few episodes now. Without hesitating, Mirio stops his attack and jumps in front of her.

The moment is done so well. It all happens without music, and focuses on the way Eri and Mirio are looking at each other as he shields her from the bullet. Mirio’s arc this episode is to become Eri’s hero. The last time he saw her, he let Overhaul take her away as not to make a scene in public. When he learns Overhaul has been torturing her, he beats himself up and vows he’ll save her. When he jumps in front of her, as she looks on terrified, his face is calm and smiling. He’s about to have his life derailed, but he keeps his smile on his face for her. Because of that, he saves her.

When they show the red veins crawling throughout his body to show his Quirk dying off, my heart dropped. The tragedy is that we haven’t known Mirio for all that long, but he’s infectiously optimistic. He’s the number one student at UA High and was on track to be one of the top pro heroes. Without a Quirk, that’s all up in the air. Also, as my roommates pointed out, Overhaul needs Eri for her Quirk, which takes away other Quirks. They used her to make the bullets. If the bullet hit her, she would’ve lost her Quirk and Overhaul wouldn’t need her anymore. Ironically, had she been shot, the conflict was over.

I think they did that just to show the kind of hero Mirio is. Though he didn’t know the bullets would take away his Quirk, it wouldn’t matter. He would jump in front of her every time, regardless of the consequences. The irony is also in his power. He doesn’t have to be hit by anything, given his Quirk. It was smart to have him intentionally get hit by the bullet. He didn’t use his Quirk to save the day, and sadly he ended up losing it because of that decision. It means he doesn’t need his Quirk to be a hero. While it certainly diminishes what he can do as a pro hero, Mirio is still a compelling and inspirational hero.

What elevates the episode to the next level though, is that Mirio doesn’t even hesitate once his Quirk is gone. While Overhaul thinks he’s one, Mirio comes out and punches him, still looking to fight. This part of the episode was so well done. They show Overhaul and Mirio’s fight in still images or Mirio dodging Overhaul’s attacks, and finally standing in front of Eri while having a few spikes sticking into his body. Overhaul has an incredibly powerful Quirk. He can disassemble anything and put it back together how he wants. Even though he’s hitting Mirio with massive spikes, Mirio keeps coming. The static images of the fight makes it seem like it goes on for a long time. While the other heroes are working on catching up to Mirio to help him fight, he’s there holding his own, without his Quirk. I mean, he even symbolically loses his cape! Still, he keeps going, and the episode ends with him standing tall, bloody and beaten, but ready to keep standing in between Overhaul and Eri.

I haven’t felt this emotional about an episode of My Hero Academia in some time. I don’t know if I’ve felt this emotional over an anime in some time (since this summer, when I finished Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, to be exact). I would argue that Mirio’s spirit argues that of All Might’s. The flashbacks they show of him as a child determined to be a hero was adorable and sad. On a side note, the little flashback of Mirio and Tamaki playing was the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.

Mirio is my favorite. Though I was so upset about what happened, Mirio still makes me smile. He’s still number one in my book.