The Girl Who Loves Smiles (笑顔が好きな女の子 Egao ga Suki na Onna no Ko?) is the one hundred and sixty-ninth episode of the My Hero Academia anime, and the tenth episode of the eighth season.
Summary[]
A free Gentle and La Brava reunite.
As the Heroes and people of Japan are celebrating their victory over the League of Villains amid the country-wide reconstruction, the ex-Villains who have turned to the side of good are starting to reap their own rewards.
At a police station, Gentle and La Brava have a tearful, loving reunion. Officer Gori informs them that they have both received a pardon thanks to their contributions during the Final War, and wishes them good luck. While still hugging each other, both Gentle and La Brava tell each other that it was all thanks to how incredible the other was.
Nagant tells Hawks she prefers to remain in prison for the time being.
Meanwhile, in the visitation room, Hawks is talking to Lady Nagant. She was awarded the same privilege, though made the personal decision not to leave her confinement for the time being, which bewilders Hawks when she first told him.
The woman explains she's still not too comfortable with the outside world and prospect of getting used for nefarious means all over again. Lady Nagant wants to wait and see if the era of change that Izuku showed everyone in his fight with All For One will actually blossom as intended. While Hawks is disappointed since he wanted her to help him out on some things now that he's the new President of the Hero Public Safety Commission, he respects her decision, with the ex-sniper cheekily saying that she'll take her time living off taxpayer money a little while longer as she does so, prompting Hawks to jokingly call her a Villain.
A TV program interviews citizens about Tomura Shigaraki.
In the midst of all this, a report about Tomura Shigaraki is currently airing, in which numerous citizens are asked their opinions about him. Their reactions are a unanimous condemnation of the Villain, citing reasons such as his terrifying appearance, that his actions caused destruction and the death of people they knew, wondering if there wasn't some way they could have prevented something like that, etc. The report then narrates how despite the restoration effort moving quickly, there are still parts of Japan that are still destroyed.
At the same time, Izuku has decided to visit Spinner at Central Hospital, even though the Villain is not happy to see him. The doctor in charge of Spinner explains to Izuku that his patient was in the process of becoming a full on Nomu because his body wasn't able to withstand All For One's Body Bulk and Scalemail Quirks, but thanks to their work on researching the Nomu, they were able to halt the process before it was too late.
Izuku meets with Spinner to relay Tomura's last words.
Spinner begins the conversation by asking him what he wants and calling him a murderer. Izuku doesn't deny the accusation and tells him he's there to pass down Tomura's last message: "he fought to destroy until the bitter end". This leaves Spinner confused, wondering if Tomura really said something like that. Izuku assures him that he did, and that he had asked him to tell him; Spinner asks whether the same message was relayed to Himiko, Dabi or Mr. Compress, but Izuku assures him that Tomura's last words were only for him.
Upon realizing that he is telling the truth, Spinner emotionally breaks down saying that Tomura was his hope, as he wanted to destroy everything and in Deika City he showed him a empty, twisted horizon. Spinner says he was being persecuted just for being a heteromorph, and when he was about to give up and give in, Tomura showed him a dream in which he can become someone and to be part of something big.
Spinner calls Tomura his hope, hero, and only friend.
The more Spinner gets emotional talking about it, the more his body begins to grow. The doctor is about to restrain him, but Izuku remains calm and prevents him from interfering, allowing Spinner to take his grief out on him. A giant Spinner reaches over the table, holding Izuku with both hands and says Tomura Shigaraki was his hero.
While on the TV, a man says that Tomura's desire to destroy was only a tantrum devoid of both thought and cause, Spinner remembered him as someone who loved playing video games. While on the talk show they discuss how even though the police are starting to unravel tragic Tomura's past, they can't empathize with him because someone else could be inspired by him and start all over again. Meanwhile, Spinner says that when he was a shut-in, he played a lot of games and Tomura liked almost the same ones as him. On another show, a man says that Tomura was just an evil person, plain and simple. Meanwhile, Spinner tells Izuku that Tomura was the first friend he ever had.
Spinner wishes he could have saved his friend in time.
Izuku reveals that Tomura had told him he needed to become a hero to them, referring to the rejects of society, and deep down, he truly cared for the League and its members. Izuku believes Tomura must thought the same things as Spinner, and that's why he wanted to convey the message only to him.
Spinner begins to think about how he got caught up in the mania, and lost track of the notion that there was no turning back, always being too slow to pick up on things. Blaming himself, Spinner wonders if he could have saved Tomura if he had the courage to step forward when he had the chance, as he begins to shrink back to normal size after calming down.
Izuku promises he'll always remember Tomura and the League.
When Izuku is about to leave the room, Spinner declares he's going to write a book about Tomura and the rest of League of Villains to ensure the Heroes and the entire world will never forget about them. Izuku replies that he hopes it's a comic book and assures Spinner that he won't ever forget about them. Spinner sighs before giving Izuku a message for his octopus friend: never give up. Once alone in the room, Spinner considers that it wouldn't be a bad idea to add some illustrations to his future book, since pictures can transcend both nationality and educational level.
In the waiting room, Izuku meets up with Naomasa and All Might, the latter of whom is now confined to a wheelchair. Naomasa then brings the boy up to speed about the offer he made to Kai Chisaki, in that he would make sure he can see his old Boss if he apologized to Eri for what he did to her.
The Shie Hassaikai Boss visits his protégé to chastise him.
Kai is currently meeting the Boss inside another holding facility, who has now awoken from the coma the younger man put him in. While Kai expected him to still be bedridden, his Boss says he bounced back a lot quicker than expected thanks to the advancement of Support Items. The old man then says that at this point, he's no longer a Yakuza boss, as the Shie Hassaikai is now defunct. He coldly grills the armless prisoner for straying off the straight path he raised him on, saying that the pitiful state he ended up in is the catastrophic result of that.
Kai presses up against the glass divider with tears and snot caking his face as he hoarsely apologizes to the Boss, but the man rejects it and says he's better off spending the rest of his sad life apologizing to his granddaughter for the horrors he subjected her to. The ex-Yakuza says that while the girl will likely forget about Kai with time, her abuser shouldn't forget about what he did to her, and he'll spend as much time as possible reminding the young man of that.
All Might tries to cheer up Izuku.
Back at the hospital, Izuku thanks Naomasa for handling the issue, with the detective believing it's a more fitting compromise instead of Eri meeting Kai directly and reliving her mistreatment all over again. The boy then asks how they can help prevent issues like this from cropping up again, to which the man says they can't.
All Might tries to lighten the mood, and merrily suggests they get Hawks to usher in a boatload of new Heroes to fix the issue; Izuku asks if Hawks can do that, to which All Might replies that he was just kidding. He then asks his successor to not dwell on the heavy subject matter, as they have to make it back to U.A., since the first day of classes are starting.
Katsuki and Shoto run from the U.A. first years.
For Class 2-A, the transition back to normal school life has its own roadblocks for some of its members, as Katsuki and Shoto are accosted by a horde of rambunctious first years, mostly consisting of fangirls craving their attention. The boys make it back to their classroom and hide behind Tenya, who swiftly shuts down the mob from harassing his classmates.
The first years apologize for letting their excitement and admiration get the better of them, with Tenya reminding them that Katsuki and Shoto are still regular people at the end of the day. Shoto then says he doesn't mind meeting them one at a time, while Katsuki eggs Tenya to criticize the new students for running in the halls, which makes the class rep turn his brief reprimand into a full lecture about respecting the school's rules and his classmate's injuries.
Hitoshi asks why Katsuki is shying away from the crowd.
Hitoshi is confused since he figures Katsuki is the type to crave adoration by fans, but Izuku and Hanta say that even someone like him can have a threshold for that type of stuff. Denki and Minoru, who are also watching, begin to seethe at the sight of a thug like Katsuki being showered in so much female attention.
Before the crowd thins out, one of the boys thanks Izuku for his fight against All For One, exclaiming that it really inspired him to take action. Izuku returns a quiet thanks of his own, as he thinks about his meeting his Spinner while clutching his blazer in discomfort. As the boys begin to settle down, some of the girls look at them messing around, as Ochaco stares out blankly with a prominent beating in her chest.
Best Jeanist and Fat Gum welcome the students.
Meanwhile, at the U.A. staff room, Present Mic mentions that requests keeping coming to U.A. for Class 2-A for interviews, which Eraser Head keeps rejecting the offers. Ectoplasm chimes that some of the students, like Minoru, would like to do it, but Eraser Head counters that some of them wouldn't be fond of that and would rather shut any offers down for the whole class to respect that.
Later in the day, the class heads out to the city in costume to assist in reconstruction efforts, spearheaded by Fat Gum and Best Jeanist, who give them a warm welcome. Several students are quite excited about working with the BMI Hero, who mentions that Suneater is now officially his sidekick. Best Jeanist interrupts them to immediately put the class to work. With plenty of motivation and perfect synergy, the Heroes waste no time in fixing the place up.
Edgeshot reveals that he is growing slowly.
Due to his injuries, Katsuki takes it easy on the amount of aid he provides, which Best Jeanist notes. Also on the lighter side of help is Edgeshot, who is still a puny clump of threads thanks to the surgery he did with his Zenith. The Hero reassures Katsuki that his recovery is going smoothly, as he's now a bit bigger and able to form hands. The boy asks Edgeshot if he'll ever get back to normal size, with the man confidently declaring that he won't settle for anything less than that, making the boy smile.
As reconstruction treks on, the locals provide the Heroes lunch for all their hard work. One of the men mentions that the land that was in his family for generations was destroyed during the fight, which prompts Izuku to apologize. He then swiftly explains that he didn't say it to make the Hero feel bad, but to clarify that it's because of that, he and everyone else decided to stop moping about it and help the Heroes however they can in repairing it, as they don't want to leave all the effort entirely on them.
Denki exclaims that the new first years are quite intense.
Suddenly, a bus from U.A. pulls in unscheduled, with the first years from before that chased down 2-A pouring out of them. Cementoss, their teacher for the year, apologizes for the upset, since his class insisted on helping with the reconstruction efforts in order to be of use and to make up for their earlier misgivings.
As the second years enjoy lunch while the first years tag in, Izuku and Tsuyu notice Ochaco staring off into space. The girl asks her friend what's wrong, with Ochaco declaring that it's nothing, and she's just glad that things are starting to improve bit by bit. Ochaco then rushes over to the lunch table to snack on a rice ball, while offering to bring Izuku one of his own. As she eats and tries to play off her issues, that heavy thumping in her chest returns, with the boy looking at her worriedly.
Ochaco reflects on how things are slowly going back to normal.
Later that night, Class 2-A notices that Ochaco has gone missing, with Tsuyu telling them that she hasn't been answering her phone, which causes everyone to worry about her. Ochaco is nearby, standing above the cliff near Makeshift Fortress: Troy, marveling at the newly repaired city and how quickly the view of it has turned back to normal. She then thinks about her fight with Himiko, noting that the news feed never caught the last few crucial minutes of their battle due to the cameras running out of battery.
While she tries to smile confidently, Ochaco is crumbling on the inside, and remembers when she previously thought that the situation wasn't getting any better. However, since all the fighting between the Heroes and Villains of Japan has stopped for good, and things are now getting back to the way they were, Ochaco thinks she should just hold it in and try to be cheerful and optimistic like everyone else is, as she prefers it when everyone's smiling together.
Ochaco feels deep guilt over Himiko's sacrifice.
Her eyes then begin to cloud with tears, as she remembers Himiko complimenting her for trying to help her so badly, while giving the Hero her blood and stitching her up. The pain in Ochaco's chest grows worse as she keels over, blaming herself for Himiko's death since the Villain gave up her life to make sure her opponent could continue hers. As she starts to openly bawl, Izuku rushes over, powered by the embers of One For All.
Ochaco quickly shields her face away from the boy and asks how he figured out her location. Izuku says it was just a hunch, since he remembered they talked about their struggles against their respective Villains at this exact same spot prior to the War.
Izuku reminds Ochaco of all the times she has helped him.
The girl tries to cover herself, and claim she was trying to explain that she decided to head home back to her parents for the time being. Izuku then says it would've been fine if that really was the case, but regardless he was certain she'd be at this cliffside. Ochaco tells the boy that she doesn't want to be seen right now, but Izuku apologizes, and asserts that he doesn't want the girl to bottle up and hide whatever's bothering her.
Izuku says Ochaco has always been the type of person to prioritize others at the cost of herself, and he's witnessed it firsthand several times. Ever since the Entrance Exam, Ochaco has been a constant figure of support for Izuku, whether it was saving him from that nasty fall when they first met, or being an astute advocate or mediator for him during his pivotal moments on his journey to become a Hero. Because of all that and more, Izuku boldly tells Ochaco that she is his Hero, and he doesn't want keep relying on the strength she's been supplying him all this time.
Izuku and Ochaco share their trauma and mutual support.
Izuku then walks up to her and gently holds her hand to soothe her pain, as Ochaco stops hiding and reveals her tear-flooded face to him. The girl then curls her face into the boy's shoulder and sobs, as Izuku's own eyes begin to tear up. Ochaco tells Izuku that it's her fault that Himiko died, saying that things could've been different if she never got stabbed in their fight, and she could've found a way to further understand and help her if her mind wasn't focused on other things. She even wonders if the same could apply if they met when they were kids instead of teenagers.
Izuku stays silent as she lets Ochaco get all her tears out and eventually admits to her that's he's been having the exact same thoughts about Tomura, when they were fighting. He explains that he knew that this fight couldn't be handled by traditional means, with All For One even spelling out to him that his path is a thorny one. Izuku tells Ochaco that even if it is, he still wants to extend a hand to those he thinks would need it, as he feels gestures like those will matter in the end. Ochaco then looks up at him, with some tears still stuck to her eyes, and smiles proudly in agreement.
Izuku's classmates are shocked to learn that he no longer has One For All.
Soon enough, the rest of Class A runs up to the pair out of concern for Ochaco. Tsuyu is first to reach the crying Hero as the other girls follow suit and is relieved that Ochaco is finally speaking her mind, assuring her friend that it's fine to talk about these things openly. From the sides, the boys throw out similar comments, as Katsuki looks to Izuku and asks about the embers of One For All he just used up.
The rest of the class easily hear them and run to Izuku, eager to get the details and scolding him for leaving them out on this important development, which the boy quickly agrees to fill them in on. From afar, Eraser Head looks at his class silently with a subtle smile, as the lights from the city and the stars wash over them in the night.
Class 2-A organizes a party to say goodbye to Yuga.
Eventually, Neito and the rest of Class B celebrate the statue he was given in honor of his contributions to the Final War. Later in the evening, Yuga's farewell party kicks off, as Eri sings for the first time in front of the entire class while Kyoka plays the guitar.
Elsewhere, on another day, a figure begins to walk out of a wrecked house located in the city ruins. It's a ragged young boy with messy hair, who has now managed to cut himself out of some cloth and rope bindings he was trapped in. As he walks out of the house and into the sunlight, he hoarsely asks why this had to happen to him, as an ominous, purple smog begins to leak out of his fingertips.
Characters In Order of Appearance[]
- Gentle
- La Brava
- Gori
- Keigo Takami
- Lady Nagant
- Tomura Shigaraki (Flashback)
- Deku
- Spinner
- Dabi (Mentioned)
- Mr. Compress (Mentioned)
- Magne (Flashback)
- Skeptic (Flashback)
- Toshinori Yagi
- Naomasa Tsukauchi
- Kai Chisaki
- Shie Hassaikai Boss
- Sansa Tamagawa
- Hari Kurono (Mentioned)
- Shoto
- Dynamight
- Grape Juice
- Ingenium
- NightHide
- Cellophane
- Chargebolt
- Red Riot
- Sugarman
- Froppy
- Uravity
- Pinky
- Present Mic
- Eraser Head
- Ectoplasm
- Invisible Girl
- Creati
- Tentacole
- Tailman
- Anima
- Tsukuyomi
- Fat Gum
- Best Jeanist
- Suneater
- Edgeshot
- Earphone Jack
- Cementoss
- Twice (Doubles, Flashback)
- Mutant Bovini (Flashback)
- Thousand Eyes (Flashback)
- Gorilla (Flashback)
- Sickle Claw (Flashback)
- Varanus (Flashback)
- Himiko Toga (Flashback)
- All For One (Flashback)
- Phantom Thief
- Hiryu Rin
- Sen Kaibara
- Juzo Honenuki
- Reiko Yanagi
- Yui Kodai
- Setsuna Tokage
- Manga Fukidashi
- Shihai Kuroiro
- Kojiro Bondo
- Yosetsu Awase
- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
- Itsuka Kendo
- Kinoko Komori
- Togaru Kamakiri
- Nirengeki Shoda
- Pony Tsunotori
- Vlad King
- Jurota Shishida
- Ibara Shiozaki
- Kosei Tsuburaba
- Yuga Aoyama
- Eri
- Koki Terumoto (Debut)
Quirks[]
- Gecko
- Body Bulk
- Invisibility
- Dupli-Arms
- Tail
- Manifest
- Half-Cold Half-Hot
- Dark Shadow
- Hardening
- Zero Gravity
- Fiber Master
- Foldabody
- Double (Flashback)
- Warp Gate (Flashback)
- Curse (Flashback)
- Iron Claws (Flashback)
- All For One (Flashback)
- Spearlike Bones (Flashback)
- Multiplier (Flashback)
- Hypertrophy (Flashback)
- Rivet (Flashback)
- Kinetic Booster (Flashback)
- Brawn Boost (Flashback)
- One For All
- Transform (Flashback)
- Darkness
Locations[]
Battles & Events[]
- Toshinori Yagi vs. All For One: Rematch (Flashback)
- U.S.J. Incident (Flashback)
- Ochaco Uraraka & Tsuyu Asui vs. Himiko Toga (Flashback)
- Pro Heroes & Trainees vs. Himiko Toga & Doubles (Flashback)
BGM[]
- GOLLINI -Action-
- Crisis Action
- Incident Happens
- I'm Sorry, Kotaro
- I Will Become a Hero!
- Together With Shoji
- Foolish Vessel
- You two are weird
- You Can Become a Hero
Anime & Manga Differences[]
- The anime extends the scene of Spinner being escorted into the meeting room by authorities.
- In the manga, Spinner starts to return back to normal size once Izuku starts telling him Tomura's relationship with the League of Villains. In the anime, Spinner powers down after he starts wondering if he could've saved Tomura.
- After Izuku leaves Spinner, the anime adds a scene based on an extra from Volume 42, where Spinner considers including drawings in his book. This is accompanied by an additional scene showing Captain Hero comics.
- The anime omits Ectoplasm smoking a cigarette in the staff office while discussing interview requests for Class 2-A.
- The montage of Class A doing reconstruction is extended in the anime.
- The anime cuts the narration explaining that the dorm restrictions were loosened after the Final War.
- The windows of the Terumoto residence have a different design in the anime.
- In the manga, Koki's Darkness Quirk appears to create a dark, viscous fluid. In the anime, it's first appearance shows him creating thick, purple smog, similar to the mist produced by Warp Gate.
- In the following episode, it's shown that the mist is released before the actual goo appears.
Trivia[]
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| Epilogue Arc | |
|---|---|
| Chapters | 425 • 426 • 427 • 428 • 429 • 430 • 431 • 431.5 |
| Volumes | 42 |
| Episodes | 168 • 169 • 170 • 171 |