My Hero Academia Season 2 Episode 18 Recap – The Aftermath of Hero Killer: Stain

Punishment

The media hovers above the area of Hosu to report the destruction the villains have caused. On one of the few elevated vantage points, they find Shigaraki and Kurogiri looking down at the chaos.

Shigaraki breaks his binoculars and the two teleport to their hideout.

Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki share a room at Hosu General Hospital while recovering from their wounds. They realize that they could’ve died if Stain really wanted to. Iida was a prime target who thankfully survived.

Gran Torino and Manual come in to lecture them, but first, they’ll have to report to the chief of police for questioning. Chief Tsuragamae tells them that Stain has sustained burn marks and fractures, and he warns that quirks should not be used as weapons. Due to not being certified yet, what they’d done to Stain was a violation of the pro hero rules.

Including the three of them, Gran Torino, Manual, and Endeavor are also liable for punishment. Todoroki objects that they came to save Native and Iida from death. The chief refutes them, saying that the standards should still be upheld regardless.

He then further explains that since the incident isn’t going to be publicized, they can attribute the burn marks to Endeavor. If that’s the case, then no punishment is in order. But as a consequence, no one should also know the truth about the incident.

Still, the heroes mentoring them feel the need to take responsibility for their negligence. Iida apologizes to Manual and they apologize to the chief. The chief, however, thanks them for keeping the peace even though they won’t be credited for it.

Stain’s Legacy

Outside, the media start piecing together the connections between Stain, the Nomus from USJ and Hosu, and the League of Villains. Shigaraki feels frustrated seeing Stain gain even more notoriety from the incident.

In another agency, Beast Jeanist tells his crew to not dwell on big incidents too much and to stay alert. Midoriya’s classmates learn that the signal he sent pointing to Hosu was an SOS call after all. Uraraka calls to check in on them, relieved that they’re all safe.

Later, Iida learns that his arm is seriously damaged. His blind hate led him to act carelessly, so he resolves to not let it heal until he can act properly as a hero. Midoriya adds that he feels the same way with his hand too–a reminder for them to be careful moving forward. Todoroki apologizes since both their injuries happened with him around.

Gran Torino calls All Might reporting that he’s been punished for Midoriya’s brash actions. All Might apologizes profusely but Gran Torino moves on and tells him about the fear they all experienced from Stain’s fierce ideology. It has the exact inverse effect of All Might’s Symbol of Peace. He warns that Stain’s actions and ideas will catch followers, and could make the League of Villains even stronger.

Ripple Effect

Even if each villain’s impact is small, dangerous things can happen if many of them are bound together with a strong ideology. If the enemy planned this, then they must be very smart. Perhaps the league has been working methodically all this time. Gran Torino thinks that perhaps his mortal enemy, All For One is on the move once again. They will need more of One For All’s power to fight back.

Due to the Hosu incident, criminals have gotten bolder in their activities. A propaganda video of Hero Killer : Stain starts circulating online about how he was once a heroic type who advocated for heroes to do good deeds for no personal gain. Due to this, the League of Villains gets more popular amongst the criminal underground.

Our Thoughts

Now that we’ve established the heroes, it’s time to build up the narrative surrounding the villains. And this is a great execution, 4/5.