My Hero Academia - Training of the Dead

Training of the Dead is an OVA bundled with Volume 14 of My Hero Academia. It is the second OVA released for the series.

Prologue
Tsuyu Asui talks about her family, starting by introducing them, including her dad Ganma, mom Beru, younger brother Samidare, and younger sister Satsuki. Tsuyu explains how her parents often work away from home, thus she is the one who takes care of her siblings, doing things such as making them dinner. As she must be at home often, she would leave school early, leading to her classmates making assumptions about her out-of-place behavior. Combining this with her studies to get into U.A. High School, she never made any friends at her Middle High. Tsuyu then talks about a girl who used to follow her around, named Habuko Mongoose, who was too always alone. Tsuyu eventually worked up the courage to talk to Habuko, asking her if she wanted to be friends, which she tearfully accepted. The two remained friends even after attending different high schools.

Episode
After their internships, the students of Class 1-A return back to school for regular classes. However instead, the students get a surprise activity with 4 guests from a nearby Hero school, Isamu Academy High School. The four guests reveal themselves to be Kashiko Sekigai, Dadan Tadan, Romero Fujimi, and finally Habuko. Tsuyu excitedly reunites with her old friend, while Katsuki Bakugo and Romero immediately start feuding between each other, to both class' exasperation.

The special activity turns out to be a team survival course in a forest. The class is broken down into 6 groups of 4. Team A is composed of Izuku Midoriya, Tsuyu, Mina Ashido, and Ochaco Uraraka. Team B is Katsuki, Eijiro Kirishima, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Mezo Shoji. Team C is Shoto Todoroki, Toru Hagakure, Mashirao Ojiro, and Koji Koda. Team D is Tenya Ida, Fumikage Tokoyami, Hanta Sero, and Rikido Sato. Team E is Kyoka Jiro, Minoru Mineta, Denki Kaminari, and Yuga Aoyama. Team F is the Isamu Academy team. The basic rule of the game is to survive as long as possible. If you beat up someone you must tie them with the given tape to count them as eliminated. The last team to survive wins.

All Might asks Eraser Head why he chose such a boring activity for the visiting guests. Eraser Head replies that it's to remind everyone that being a hero is also about being patient and having self-control. Incidentally, Katsuki's Explosion is heard in the distance, causing All Might to remark that not everyone likes to stay put.

Katsuki immediately beats Team E and then Team D. With two teams out of commission, Katsuki begins to look for the Isamu Academy team. Meanwhile Kashiko uses her ability to keep an eye on Katsuki. She tells her team members that Katsuki is looking for them and he is approaching fast. This prompts Dadan to launch a barrage of missiles at Katsuki. The Isamu team then goes to check to make sure they didn't seriously harm anybody. While looking for their bodies they find a sheet used by Momo to block the attack. As they're about to attack, Habuko uses her Quirk to paralyze everyone. However, Katsuki had already jumped in the air before he could be stunned, so he becomes paralyzed while in midair. As he begins to fall, Katsuki is able to move again, laughing and telling her she has an ineffective ability as it only lasts 3 seconds. Romero explodes in rage over his comments and releases a bunch of pink gas that envelops everyone in the area, including his classmates.

Team A and C run into each other as they start to avoid the strange pink mist. Izuku and Shoto both note how this must be an ability of one of the Isamu's students and agree to a temporary truce. Suddenly, a zombified Team B, E, and D come out of the mist and begin to randomly attack anything in their path. Romero appears toward them laughing, claiming that U.A. isn't all that its cracked up, just as a zombified Katsuki sneaks up behind him, turning him into a zombie. Shoto desperately tries to hold back the zombies with his ice and wonders if its now possible to reverse the Quirk with the user being a zombie as well. As the zombies break through Shoto's attack he notices all of his team members have become zombies.

Izuku tries to analyze the situation and realizes the zombies still resemble their former selves, with each of the zombified classmates showing off their usual personality traits, which includes the rest of the Isamu students among them. As they continue to run Tsuyu trips over a rock allowing a zombified Habuko to catch up to her. In a touching scene, Habuko is able to remember Tsuyu in her zombie state, only for the moment to be ruined as Yuga sneaks up behind Tsuyu and turns her into a zombie.

Having sensed the trouble, All Might bursts onto the battlefield to save the day, only for him to immediately transform back into his weakened state when he lands. Izuku is terrified his secret is out, but everyone else just assumes he's some stranger who was also turned into a zombie, and run off. All Might tries to explain that he is not a zombie, just as the real zombies creep up behind him, only to simply walk past All Might, thinking he is one of them, much to his dismay.

With Izuku, Shoto, Ochaco, Mina, and Toru the only survivors left, they run into a cave where Shoto creates an ice wall to barricade themselves from the zombies. As the zombies begin to gnarl at the wall, Izuku remarks it's only a matter of time for them to breakthrough. He decides to come up with a plan to bust their way forward by knocking the zombies away so they can escape. Using One For All: Full Cowl, he shoots out a burst of air that destroys the ice wall, launching all the zombies away.

Unfortunately, it turns out the moment right before the attack was thrown, everyone had reverted to their normal forms. The confused and injured students fall all over the arena, while an enraged Katsuki blasts himself right toward Izuku, declaring that he must want to fight, despite him trying in vain to explain. Eraser Head sighs to himself as he hears a loud explosion in the distance.

Later, the injured Isamu students prepare to depart, saying their goodbyes to several injured 1-A students. They attempt to make Romero apologize for his attack, and make Katsuki apologize for his violence, but to no avail. They bid their farewell, with Tsuyu and Habuko giving their special goodbyes. At the same time, a completely bandaged Izuku lies in the U.A. hospital room, as an apologetic All Might tries to console him while bringing him cake. Izuku simply responds he can't eat it because Katsuki messed up his face.

Staff

 * Director: Kenji Nagasaki
 * Scriptwriter:
 * Character Design: Yoshihiko Umakoshi
 * Music:
 * Studio: Bones

Cast

 * as Izuku Midoriya
 * as Katsuki Bakugo
 * as Ochaco Uraraka
 * as Tenya Ida
 * as Shoto Todoroki
 * as Tsuyu Asui
 * as All Might
 * as Shota Aizawa
 * as Habuko Mongoose
 * as Romero Fujimi
 * Asami Yoshikawa as Kashiko Sekigai
 * Kei Minegishi as Dadan Tadan

Trivia

 * The same animation team for Training of the Dead also worked on My Hero Academia: Two Heroes.
 * The prologue is an adaptation of the bonus chapter Tsuyu's Ribbity Diary.
 * Chronologically, the OVA original story takes place between the Vs. Hero Killer Arc and the Final Exams Arc.