Episode 72

Red Riot (烈怒頼雄斗) is the seventy-second episode of the My Hero Academia anime and the ninth episode of the fourth season.

Summary
Suneater defeats Toya Setsuno, Yu Hojo, and Soramitsu Tabe. He restrains them and poisons them with octopus neurotoxin to keep them immobile. Tamaki also takes their masks and notices that his fight took too long to complete. However, Tamaki received sufficient damage during the battle and collapses, unable to catch up with the others.

Meanwhile, Deku and Red Riot worry about Tamaki. Fat Gum tells them to believe in Suneater and Eijiro decides he must keep trust in Tamaki. Eraser Head notes Mimic's lack of activity and theorizes that Mimic can only use his Quirk in one area at a time. Currently, he appears to be focused on the police upstairs. He checks on the status of the three Bullets and is surprised to see them defeated by a single hero.

Back at the entrance to the hideout, Bubble Girl questions the Yakuza she captured earlier. They explain the origin of the Hassaikai under the boss and how Overhaul has changed it into a villain organization. All the Yakuza are resisting because they fear him more than the police. They believe he will escape because he's crazy and has no fear of the future.

Underground, Mimic targets Eraser Head and strikes him using the wall. Fat Gum pushes Eraser out of the way in time and is trusted into a tunnel that leads to a dark room deeper underground. Red Riot suddenly appears and reveals he tried to save Eraser Head as well. They both ended up falling into this room together, but they're not alone.

A masked villain appears and Eijiro immediately activates his Red Riot Unbreakable defense. The villain sends Eijiro flying with a single punch before laying down a hailstorm of bullet punches to Fat Gum's body. To both the heroes' surprise, Eijiro's ultimate defense was effortlessly compromised by the villain. The hardened skin on his arm breaks off and Eijiro is hurt bad.

Kendo Rappa stands before the injured heroes and claims weapons don't belong in a fight because life or death should be determined by a man's own physical strength. Fat Gum tries to hit back, but a golden barrier appears to block his punch. Hekiji Tengai appears and notes both the heroes have defensive Quirks. Kendo unleashes another barrage on Fat Gum's body and even the hero is surprised how much shock his attacks produce. Fat Gum is able to stay on his feet and realizes these weren't on the listed Quirks given out by the police.

Hekiji reveals that this a true battle between Spears and Shields. Kendo and Hekiji are a spear and a shield while Fat Gum and Red Riot are two shields. However, Eijiro is hurt and can hardly be considered in the fight. He begins to despair until Fat Gum reminds him to remain unbreakable. Kendo wants to get back to fighting and demands Hekiji stop using his barrier. Hekiji refuses and reminds Kendo that their Master Overhaul paired them because of their compatible abilities. Kendo tries to hit Hekiji, who protects himself and allows his partner to fight without protection.

Kendo continues to rain bullet punches on Fat Gum, ho continues to analyze the dangerous situation he's in. Eijiro can only sit by and watch at Fat Gum challenges Kendo head-on. Eijiro despairs while Fat Gum appears to struggle against Kendo's endless punches. Hekiji can see the fear in Eijiro's eyes and claims he's already out of the fight.

Eijiro recalls going to Mustafa Middle school and believing he could get by with a weak Quirk as long as he had a strong spirit. He failed to stop some bullies and then Mina Ashido, the star of the middle school, makes easy work of it. One day walking home from school, Eijiro notices some girls being harassed by a large man demanding to know where the Springer Hero Agency is. Eijiro freezes and doesn't help the girls, but once again Mina appears to calm down the situation. Afterward, Eijiro is disappointed with himself for being a coward.

Eijiro gave up on his dreams of going to U.A. High School and was prepared to stop being chivalrous due to his true colors. However, a video of Eijiro's favorite hero, Crimson Riot plays and reminds him that all heroes are afraid. Crimson Riot fears danger, but he feared the dying look on someone's face far more. He believes in living a life with no regrets, something that inspires Eijiro to enroll at U.A. and become a student of their hero course. Mina also got into U.A. and noticed that Eijiro totally changed his hair to get a fresh start at a new school. Mina realizes what happened that day with the villain was hard on him and promises to keep his secret.

Back in the present, Fat Gum continues to get pulverized by Kendo. However, Fat Gum's Quirk allows him to absorb the energy of his opponent's attacks by burning away his defensive fat. By building up enough energy, Fat Gum can forge a spear that can pierce any shield. Hekiji senses Fat Gum planning something that tells Kendo to finish him quickly. Fat Gum has lost more defensive fat than he expected and might not be able to utilize his energy just yet.

Kendo's next attack threatens to defeat Fat Gum, but Red Riot appears at the last moment to protect his mentor. He's determined to live a life without regrets and hardens his body each time after it breaks. He bears Kendo's attacks, sacrificing his body to protect Fat Gum. He withstands Kendo's barrage, impressing the villain. Eijiro even tries to strike back, but Hekiji's barrier appears to protect Kendo. Hekiji claims Eijiro's efforts were in vain, but Fat Gum reappears to reveal that it was anything but.

Now much skinnier, Fat Gum's fist is supercharged with energy and he claims to have forged the perfect spear thanks to Red Riot. He claims the villains lost this fight because they underestimated the chivalrous spirit of Red Riot. Fat Gum's punch shatters Hekiji's barrier and sends both villains flying into the wall, defeating them. In this battle of spears and shields, the heroes are victorious.

Quirks

 * Mimicry
 * Fat Absorption
 * Hardening
 * Red Riot Unbreakable
 * Strongarm
 * Barrier

Locations

 * Shie Hassaikai Compound

Battles & Events

 * Shie Hassaikai Raid
 * Battle of Spears &amp; Shields

Anime & Manga Differences

 * In the manga, Eijiro's flashback takes place just before Kendo and Hekiji are defeated. In the anime, it takes place while Eijiro watches helplessly how Kendo unleashes a barrage of punches against Fat Gum.
 * Some flashback scenes were cut.

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