The year 2018 over at the Toonami block, let’s just say it’s been somewhat…interesting. From DBZ Kai ending their four year run with the Buu Saga to the JoJo’s train not pulling the brakes following the end of Stardust Crusaders and kept on rolling with Diamond is Unbreakable. Shows coming to the block in the most surprising way possible like Pop Team Epic, Mob Psycho 100, Boruto (even though Shippuden’s still around and not ending until I guess till Trump leaves office, god forbids if that were to happen around 2024, 2025), recently aired Megalo Box, and of course, the biggest one of all that came into the picture over the Springtime in the block, My Hero Academia. Mostly to see what the hubbub is all about with that series that got people wanting for more. And holy crap, it somehow does not disappoint, mostly with the character progression and storylines and of course, this My Hero is a Shonen, the action. And one of the fights from one of the now 30 episodes that aired on Adult Swim since it’s premiere back in May have made it to the list and given away by the title of this article above, it’s My Hero Academia taking on the twelfth spot in the Top 20 Countdown of 2018 in “Shoto Todoroki: Origins”.
Two highlights of the episode pretty much sums the reason why this episode made it on the list. There some episode that are good, some being bland since the series came into the picture over at the Toonami block whether it’s All Might taking on the Villain Association over at the USJ or Ochaco taking on Bakugo despite it only took half an episode or even Izuku taking on Bakugo during the training exercise, the fight between Izuku and Todoroki pretty much sold me when it comes to coming up with the episodes and series to be on the list. That and of course, Todoroki’s backstory and why he decided to not use his fire quirk and of course, his asshole of a dad being somewhat abusive.
Again, two highlights pretty much sums up the episode, first being Todoroki’s flashback and the other, which we’ll talk about right now, is the big fight between Izuku and Todoroki. And man, oh man, these two were going off the chains with this battle in order to advance to the next round of the tournament known at the UA Sports Festival. Whether it’s Todoroki using his ice quirk to go on a straight on attack on Izuku, mostly on trying to land a hit once the battle began or Izuku inflicting massive damage to his fingers while playing defense against Todoroki using One for All, this was balls to the walls action and being on a Saturday Night, consider this a fight night for us Anime nerds. Oh god, it that Anti-PC?
But besides all else, both guys are going at it. I mean…once the two exchange blows, we probably now know that this was gonna be a good battle. And despite that at the end of the day, end of the episode as the battle now looks like it wrapped up and not like in the form of “Oh shit, who won? Did Izuku win? Todoroki?” and then to be continued and wait till next week. No, at the end of the day, Izuku lost the battle against Todoroki when it comes to the fight against him. But this is more than that. This battle now feels like it’s more than just the fight to see who’s the strongest out of these two individuals, this is more in line of Izuku saving Todoroki, mostly because of him not wanting to use the other quirk that he has in his arsenal because he rejects his father from the shit that he had to dealt with he was a child.
Thus, the flashback when he was a little boy where both he and his mother were getting abused by Endeavour, his father, with Todoroki throwing up and his mother telling Endeavour to not push him but Endeavor straight up beats his wife in the face and makes things worse, Todoroki saw the whole thing. Separated from his siblings. Even to the point where his mom, shaken up over the domestic abuse from Endeavor, accidentally beats Todoroki in the face, thus giving him that burn scar in his left face that we seen since his debut. Like…what Endeavor did was pretty much inexcusable in the point…how the fuck did the other heroes not noticing about he’s doing? When he first appeared on screen, fans over at Tumblr and Twitter pretty much loathe to the bone because he’s pretty much a massive ass hat over what he did. Mostly because they watched the anime online before heading to the small screen of the TV, but once the backstory comes into play, mostly because Endeavor is tired of being in the shadows of All Might. Tired of being number two and acting like an ass, yeah, he’s pretty much an ass. To the point of pushing Todoroki to be like him. He’s pretty much Father of the Year for 2018, or 2017 since that episode originally came out, I could list any bad father from any of my fandom list.
This guy pretty much recently made it to the list. Fuck you, Ass Hat Joe. We’ll get to you later on the list. But yeah…Todoroki, fucked up childhood to the point to not ignite his dad’s quirk and reject his dad. And I thought Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender had it rough. The two had ass hats of a dad, have a scar on their face…I could see the similarities with these two. Holy fuck.
But yeah, Izuku telling Todoroki to just be himself and that it’s choice to make his decisions in life. Mostly Todoroki tired of rejecting half of himself and the heat side of his quirk and because of Izuku, the fire side of his quirk has now been ignited. That of course got Endeavour excited, thinking that he finally accepts the idea of him surpassing and live up to what he was hoping for. Though calm down there, he still pretty much hates you over the whole childhood abuse. And of course, like I said earlier in this post for this countdown, yeah, Izuku lost the battle via ring out, thus making Todoroki the victor. And although Izuku already lost the battle, I mean…to be somewhat fair, the odds of Izuku of winning against Todoroki was pretty slim, he has saved Todoroki from rejecting half of himself. And you can thank Izuku for releasing his fire side of his quirk. It’s like the bird has finally freed from its cage and set to fly to wherever it goes. For Izuku after this episode, yeah, he’s now out of the competition and have to watch the rest of the match towards the end of the festival. As for Todoroki, made it past the third round against Iida and later facing on Bakugo in the finals…only to fall in the runner-up position.
So Number 12 in the Top 20 Countdown of 2018. We have a battle that was entertaining in the form of both how the action was handled with the suspense and of course, the emotions. Mostly with Todoroki and his backstory with how he became the focus of the episode and what made him to the character that he is. Mostly on why he got the scar. Why he can’t use his fire side of his quirk. And of course, his hatred towards Endeavor following his childhood.
Like…I feel bad for this guy. I mean, being pushed to the point of him throwing up by Endeavour. Watching his mom getting abused mentally and physically. And even ends up getting a scar on his face by his mom because of that abuse. Like holy fucking shit. Again, feeling bad for Todoroki following that messed up childhood. All because Endeavour is tired of being in the shadows of being number two next to All Might and only want a child, mostly Todoroki, to surpass All Might. Like…no. No. Let the guy do what he wants to do in life. I know you’re the parent, and a shit one in that, it’s his life. He makes the decisions. You’re going to have to accept that.
Now as for the fight, of course, emotional because of the flashback of Todoroki tying in, but also because it was highly action packed. Both him and Izuku going balls to the walls in the round in the fight to advance to the next round whether it’s Izuku trying to defend himself with One for All despite he’s inflicting massive damage to his fingers when blocking the ice from touching him or Todoroki trying to land a strike with his ice side of his quirk and later, using his fire side of his quirk to land a hit, despite what it looks like the two might’ve been somewhat of a stalemate between two overpowered, don’t know if you want to call it that, Todoroki won the battle. But Izuku, pretty much saved Todoroki from rejecting his half side and half of his quirk. It took Naurto about 500+ episodes to save Sasuke from the depths of revenge while it took Izuku to save Todoroki from living his rejection of his half side in less than 22 minutes. Take that in peoples. Take that motherfucking in.
So that’s Number 12 in the Top 20 Countdown. Almost at the halfway point of the countdown, only eleven more to go before heading down to the new year. And Number Eleven, looks like we’re gonna have ourselves a full season breakdown of a series that recently aired, so uh…buckle up for that. If you want to follow me for updates and fandom stuff like history and birthdays and whatnot, follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram for all of that. And if you want to help the page out…
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