Episode 20

Victory or Defeat (勝ち負け) is the twentieth episode of the My Hero Academia anime and the seventh episode of the second season.

Summary
The first match of the finals is underway, but Izuku has stopped in his tracks. Present Mic attributes this to Hitoshi Shinso's Quirk. Aizawa comments that the match is an example of why the U.A. Entrance Exam is flawed. Hitoshi has a powerful Quirk, however he was not admitted to the hero course because the practical exam was based on scoring points by fighting robotic villains.

His Quirk: Brainwashing, allows him to control anyone that talks to him. He orders Izuku to walk out of the ring, to which he's forced to comply. Izuku starts walking towards the edge of the ring and All Might yells for him to stop, but to no avail. In Izuku's head, he struggles to stop himself because his mind is clouded. He also remembers what Mashirao told him before the match. Mashirao explains that during the Cavalry Battle he was under Hitoshi's control until he bumped into Ibara Shiozaki. Izuku could have avoided being brainwashed had he not talked to Hitoshi, and now there's no outside interference to break Hitoshi's hold.

Izuku begins to give up hope as he edges closer and closer to the out of bounds line, but then he mysteriously receives a vision of nine silhouettes. Suddenly One For All's power activates and Izuku is able to move his fingers just enough to break them and regain control of his own body.

Hitoshi watches in dismay and tries to get Izuku to talk to him again. Izuku takes a moment to ponder how he activated One For All, but puts it aside to finish the fight. Hitoshi realizes that Mashirao warned Izuku beforehand, as Izuku refuses to talk. He continues to try and force a reaction out of Izuku by talking about how his Quirk puts him at a disadvantage and how Izuku is blessed to have a heroic Quirk.

Although Izuku feels for Hitoshi and can relate to him, he continues to fight and tries to push him out of bounds. Hitoshi punches him in the face and in his broken fingers to break his hold. He tries to push Izuku out of bounds, but the latter counters with a shoulder throw that sends Hitoshi out of bounds.

Having been defeated, Hitoshi remembers his past. At Nabooh City Junior High, many of Hitoshi's classmates comment on how his Quirk is very villainous. Hitoshi gets used to being looked at as the bad guy, but has always stayed headstrong in his desire to be a hero. The match ends with Izuku as the winner, and Aizawa comments on how Izuku used every trick he's picked up at U.A. to win the match.

Afterwards, Izuku asks Hitoshi what drives him to be a hero. He walks away and replies that he cannot help what his heart desires. Izuku thinks about how he can relate to Hitoshi, and believes that before he got One For All, he was just like him. As Hitoshi walks towards the exit, his classmates from the crowd congratulate him. They point him towards the conversations of several Pro-Heroes and one of them comments on how amazing Hitoshi is despite not being in the Hero Course. Hitoshi receives these kind words well, and tells Izuku that he will become a hero even though he lost the match.

Izuku has his injuries healed in Recovery Girl's office. He tells All Might about his vision, but the number one hero appears to be completely oblivious to what happened. All Might tells Izuku that his passion allowed him to overcome Hitoshi's power and not the vision, but Izuku is unsatisfied with his answer. After Izuku leaves the room, All Might and Recovery Girl discuss about how Izuku seeing All Might in his vision is "a good thing".

Shoto walks through the corridor towards the ring, but encounters his father Endeavor on his way there. Endeavor says Shoto is acting disgracefully and that he needs to end his childish rebellion. Irritated, Shoto tells his father he will win the tournament without using his fire powers. Endeavor replies that Shoto will soon reach the limit of his mother's power, greatly angering his son.

Izuku returns to the stands and sits with his friends after receiving a congratulatory nod from Mashirao. The next battle between Hanta Sero and Shoto begins immediately. Hanta starts off strong and nearly throws Shoto out of the ring, but the latter takes out his aforementioned anger out by freezing Hanta in a giant ice prison. Everyone watches in disbelief of Shoto's power, and then Midnight confirms that Hanta is immobilized, giving Shoto the win. Shoto apologizes to Hanta for going overboard, blaming it on his anger. He uses his left arm to melt away the ice, and Izuku notices that Shoto looks immensely sad.

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