Episode 107

More of a Hero Than Anyone (誰よりもおまえはヒーローに) is the one hundred and seventh episode of the My Hero Academia anime and the nineteenth episode of the fifth season.

Summary
With the first week of their Work-Studies completed, Class 1-A returns back to U.A. to start their third term, with just three months of their first year remaining. Tenya and Momo welcome their class back and inform them they’ll be heading outside for a practical briefing to demonstrate what they’ve learned during their winter break.

Shota arrives to find them all ready to go, to his surprise. Denki compliments Tenya on his current attitude, which he says is thanks to his work-study with Manual helping him learn how to be “gentler.” Shota is about to follow the class until he hears an announcement from Nezu, requesting him to come to the staff room.

In the girls’ locker room, they all compliment Ochaco on her costume redesign, with Kyoka noticing how heavy her "Urarakawrist" is. Mina takes a look at her belt, when a little All Might doll falls out of it, which Ochaco quickly leaps in to retrieve while the girls react in surprise. Mina remembers it as the Christmas gift she got from Izuku, causing her to excitedly leap for joy, while Ochaco, flustered, denies it meaning anything, and just wants to keep it close.

Meanwhile in the boys’ locker room, they compliment Izuku after hearing that he’s managed to control Blackwhip, while he says even though he can only use it for about an instant currently, it’s strong. Katsuki proceeds to throw a part of his costume directly at Izuku’s head in irritation, causing him to be knocked out. All Might is outside, there to greet Class 1-A with cotton candy and puns, but they pay it no mind. They ask what happened with Shota, which he responds that something came up.

Shota and Hizashi make their way to Tartarus, feeling incredibly disturbed over the supposed news they have just heard. They meet up with Naomasa and Gran Torino, who inform them about how Nomu are human corpses that have been bioengineered to withstand multiple Quirks, and who supposedly have no will of their own, but now are starting to think otherwise. Shota annoyingly asks them to get to the point, with Hizashi trying to calm him down.

Naomasa and Gran Torino take the two to see Kurogiri, who they have been trying to get information out of regarding the League of Villains, but everytime they try to he seemingly “shuts down.” They reveal that after looking into him, they’ve realized that his Warp Gate is the result of multiple factors being combined into a single new Quirk, and the base factor is the Quirk of someone who supposedly died many years ago: Shota and Hizashi’s old high school friend, Oboro Shirakumo.

Shota thinks back to his high school days, when Oboro proposed the three of them start a hero agency when they graduate, and how together they can handle anything. He then recalls how Oboro had died during their work-study together, crushed under rubble. Hizashi angrily reacts how it doesn’t make sense why Oboro would be turned into a Nomu, leading Gran Torino to recall All For One’s words about how outstanding Quirks always appear around U.A., equating it to “scrounging for scraps”, and telling Hizashi not look for any meaning behind it other than pure malice.

Shota questions why they brought the two here, stating that hoping for a miracle due to their connection is unreasonable, but Gran Torino is willing to try and see. He talks about how the Nomu Endeavor fought in Kyushu had a distinct personality and a fixation on fighting strong people, and that analysis revealed the original body was from a hoodlum that made a living as an underground street fighter. Shota still doesn’t believe it’ll work, as he had already faced Kurogiri during the U.S.J. Incident, and nothing happened there, while Gran Torino believes that was all part of a test.

Sitting in front of Kurogiri, Naomasa once again asks Shota and Hizashi to try and reawaken Oboro’s attachments so that they can gain any new information regarding the League. Hizashi finds the idea laughable, and when Naomasa mentions they will contact his family if the two of them fail, Shota activates his Erasure, declaring he’ll never let his parents find out about this mess.

Kurogiri awakens, surprised to see Shota and Hizashi, with Hizashi noticing that even with Erasure, Kurogiri’s mist doesn’t disappear, meaning it is a part of his body. Kurogiri asks about Tomura Shigaraki and how he’s doing, and when Shota asks if he’s worried about Tomura, Kurogiri says he is because it is his duty. While Hizashi blows this off, his tone strikes Shota, especially as Kurogiri continues to say that he’s not the type to neglect someone, causing him to hold back his tears.

Shota begins to reminisce about Oboro, and how he was someone who’d rescue a kitten that he had ignored. Kurogiri is confused by his words, but Shota continues how he was always half-hearted about everything, and it was Oboro’s friendliness that always pulled him along, not worrying about the consequences or future.

He tells him about how he and Hizashi are teachers now, and how strict he is with his students. Gran Torino adds in how he typically expels them too, but Hizashi replies with “on paper”, to his surprise. Meanwhile at U.A., Class 2-A reacts to briefly seeing Shota’s face right after getting the initial announcement, saying it looked as bad as when he expelled them. While the class neglects about how painful that experience was, one of the students mentions how it was thanks to that they were able to grow more, even if the rest of the class disagrees. As it turns out, Shota had requested permission from Nezu with the ability to expel and reenroll students, as he wants to be able to teach them the difference between laying down one’s life and self-sacrifice, so that he can give them a “death” that they can strive to overcome; Nezu agrees to the decision.

He tells Kurogiri how he didn’t want the students to turn out like him, not a hero who devalues his own life for the sake of justice, but a hero who can motivate others like he was. Tears coming down his eyes, he cries out to Oboro, telling him that they can still become heroes. Kurogiri’s brain waves start to go haywire, leading them all to ask where the Nomu are created and who messed with him. Kurogiri continues to resist as his smoke starts to become more disturbed with Shota and Hizashi calling out to Oboro.

He seemingly regains control, stating that he is “Kurogiri”, when suddenly the face of Oboro starts to form out of Kurogiri’s smoke. Oboro desperately tries to call out to Shota, and recalling some of his memories, manages to get out the word “Hospital” before disappearing as Kurogiri falls back asleep. Hizashi asks Shota how his eyes are doing, with him responding they’re unbearably dry.

Shota apologizes for not getting more concrete information, but Naomasa insists they did more than enough. Gran Torino apologizes for making them bring up painful stuff and promises to make it up to them. Shota asks what the point of making a “Nomu” really is, as he remembers All For One’s words of wanting to enjoy the taste of Quirks just like a fine wine. He declares to do everything in their power to make sure there are no more victims.

Naomasa reports the “Hospital” tip to the Hero Public Safety Commission President, who then passes the message along to Hawks in code through the form of a hero request. He is at that moment teaching Twice Twice the ideology of the Liberation Army. As he heads out to get a drink, he gleefully thinks about how the pieces are falling into place.

Meanwhile, in a laboratory, a mysterious doctor talks to himself about how a human with complete control and infinite power is the masterpiece he and All For One have sought, as he cheers on Tomura from a lookout room, who is in the middle of an extremely painful operation.

Quirks

 * Blackwhip
 * Shoulder-Mounted Jets
 * Transforming Arms
 * Fierce Wings
 * Warp Gate
 * Erasure

Locations

 * U.A. High School
 * Tartarus
 * Fukuoka
 * Unforeseen Simulation Joint

Battles & Events

 * Endeavor & Hawks vs. Hood
 * U.S.J. Incident
 * Eraser Head vs. Villains

Anime & Manga Differences

 * The anime extends the scene of All Might trying to amuse the students with his pun.
 * The anime extends several of the Oboro flashback scenes.

Trivia

 * The scene where a young Shota faces U.A. High is a reference to the cover of Chapter 62 (Vigilantes).