#and setup

Holy crap this intro scene! This isn’t in the manga, but it’s so cool. I think Bones was eager to make sure fans got hyped going back into Season 2, and to fill up time (since S2E1 is based on only one chapter of the manga). 

PEACE SIGN!! OP2! The iconic OP of BNHA, my 2nd favorite after Odd Future. I hear this song, see this intro, and I know...I’m in for somethin’ good. It’s a fun, relaxing OP to watch, with lots of cool imagery. Though one particularly sticks in my mind...

humina humina humina...

Though more seriously, Bakugou is working out in the remains of Ground Beta. Still brooding over that loss to Deku, aren’t cha? 

Our actual opening is a bunch of Exposition. Which is a byproduct of the manga chapter, but does also help catch people up who apparently didn’t see or remember Season 1. (I’m going to complain a lot about this kind of stuff one season from now). I wish they’d stop calling Tomura a ‘man-child’ though. I do love how they hit on the “League of Villains=evil Class 1A” idea pretty quickly. That is one of BNHA’s unique features, actually, how its villains are learning to be villains just like the heroes learn to be heroes.

Back to Class 1-A! Tsuyu is showing particular concern over Aizawa again. She definitely is the one in the Class A to be the most consistently concerned for him.  Now we’re hyping up the Sports Festival. First time I watched this episode, I was firmly in the “who the eff cares about some sports fest” camp, feeling like this would just be some boring, light-hearted arc that I’d never get into. Oh how very, very wrong I was. 

And now I’m being reminded right off the bat that all my favorite ships sit next to each other in class, every day. First off Kamijirou, who do their usual routine of flirting-through-insults. 

Which was BKDK’s thing first. (Though he’s actually yelling at Mineta here. Go, Kacchan.) 

Todomomo too. This facilitates lots of conversations between them.

Tooru and Ojiro chilling too.

And Iidaraka getting pumped to round out the main set! (All that’s missing is Kirimina) Ochaco looking ready to go!

Speaking of our titular heroine...

I think we need to start a “Mineta gets pwnd” counter. Let’s see, smacked and drowned by Asui in the USJ arc, nearly dissolved by Tomura (dammit, Tomura, you had one job...), yelled at by Bakugou and smacked again by Tsuyu...that makes 5. Let’s keep it going.

Now for my big Iidaraka moment! OK first tho Uraraka’s motivation is so interesting. It gets discussed all the time, it’s such a unique reason for her to want to be a hero that could really only exist in the world of BNHA. Motivation is such a big thing this season, and Uraraka’s is one of the most relatable in the show. 

And from a shipping POV, while I do enjoy some Tsuchaco and Kacchako, it does seem like Iida and Deku are the only people she’s told about her backstory and motivation, the only two she’s confided in. So till she talks to someone else about her motive, her deeper secrets, these two seem like her best shipping options. And of the two of them, Iida’s the one who’s confided in her too (unlike Deku, you Kacchan-confiding weirdo) and he’s so supportive to her here, outdoing Deku in every way in that regard. (Look at the diff between them in this shot alone.) 

And OMG her backstory. It strikes a real chord with me. Not to get too personal, but I’ve been in this situation too. Just wanting to provide for/support my family, but realizing they wouldn’t want me to do it if it meant not having a life/dream of my own. It so consistently makes me tear up in all the scenes featuring her backstory. Even this cuteness, in this scene, makes me well up a bit.

And Iida does his Bravo! bit here. The bravo scene was very subdued in the manga, focused on Deku’s reaction; the anime expands on it, to give Iida some time to be dramatic (and even more shippable with our gravity-defying heroine).

These two beans are somehow so close and yet so far from figuring out Deku’s secret. Like, Tsuyu, Todoroki, and Bakugou are all onto him, the former two just from observations, but his two BFFs have no clue.  

Speaking of Todoroki, his Midoriya radar is tingling...This is the first time Todoroki seems to particularly notice Deku, though. Like, i’ve got nothing against people shipping them, but going on their canon relationship, Todoroki is the only one of Deku’s close friends who doesn’t take notice of him because of some big, dramatic, self-sacrifice-y thing he does (Kacchan=creek scene, Iida and Uraraka=Entrance Exam, Kirishima=Battle Trial Arc) but just because of his connection to All Might. Before that, nothing. So it seems like Todoroki initially only pays attention to Midoriya because of the All Might connection, not because of something particular in Deku. Not the best starting point as a relationship, though it works fine as rivals.  

And now to All Might and Deku’s conversation. I still can’t figure out exactly how Deku controlled OFA fighting Tomura back there. And he hasn’t revisited this since then, he’s just training up full cowl more. Some day I want to know exactly how this happened. 

“Tell the world YOU ARE HERE.” First time watching, I was Deku in this scene. Totally like “seriously, why are we putting so much hype into some dumb sports festival?’ Now, I keep thinking about that motif throughout the SF Arc, where everyone keeps calling Todoroki out for not trying his best or going all out...it’s all being setup, right here. 

So that’s the Season 2 premiere. It’s good. Better than S3′s filler/flashback extravaganza, though I do enjoy how fanservice-y that one is. This one is cute and low-key and announces what’s coming in the future. It’s got character, and the newly upped animation is visible right from the first frame of S2. But I won’t lie, I’m way more excited to get to what this episode is preparing for us. SPORTS FEST AHOY!

BKDK Corner:

Not much besides the OP symbolism. Though there is some setup for a great one next episode. Deku’s friends be all kinds of inspired and he can’t quite get up the same level...not without help from a certain guy who’s always fired up to win...

Best Girl of the Ep: Uraraka Mom!

Ranker: Top Motivations in BNHA

5. Give my dad the middle finger - Shoto Todoroki

4. Get rid of fake heroes/restore true ones - Hero Killer Stain

3. Become the next All Might - Deku and Kacchan

2. Destroy the whole damn world - Tomura Shigaraki