My Hero Academia Season 3 Episode 1 Recap – Game Start

New Motives

Shigaraki finally realizes the reason for his annoyance with the students of UA and Stain. It all comes down to All Might and his smile that thinks it could save everyone.

Kurogiri details what they know of Midoriya, most of which is accurate information, from the fact that he was quirkless up until his deeds at Hosu. He’s the polar opposite of Shigaraki, who now wants to expose All Might’s ideals.

Despite having days off school, Midoriya continues to train to become stronger. He watches his favorite video of All Might, where the hero saves others with a smile.

Midoriya and Kaminari arrive at his doorstep to invite him for pool training.

Back at UA, the teachers Aizawa and Vlad confirm the quirks of their students. Midoriya, Mineta, and Kaminari arrive to remind them of their pool use. Their request form states that they’ll be using the facility for their strength training. Midoriya praises his classmates for their initiative, but it is revealed that the two have other plans. They took Midoriya in for his outstanding reputation amongst the teachers.

Before summer break started, Mineta heard the girls talk about using the school’s pool for physical training. He and Kaminari then devise a plan to watch them wearing swimsuits.

Swimsuits

To their disappointment, they also find all of the 1-A boys there. As it turns out, Midoriya texted everyone to join in their physical training. Their classmate’s diligence looks to have backfired on them, but Mineta says they haven’t lost yet. The girls could be here training somewhere.

Kiminari is disappointed to find the girls stretching with their school-designated uniforms, but Mineta doesn’t mind.

Iida thanks them both for their initiative and invites them to an intense endurance workout. The girls play volleyball while Kaminari and Mineta lay down on the ground, exhausted from training. Iida then brings out a cooler full of juice for everyone.

Iida gives one to Midoriya and tells him to take a break. He expresses amusement at how they became good friends despite not seeing anything special about him at first. Iida remembers the practical exam, where Midoriya placed saving Uraraka as his priority over passing.

Midoriya has gone through a lot of difficulties in his journey, but he never once gave up. His methods might be reckless, but Iida admires his determination to win.

Bakugo and Kirishima arrive late, with the former challenging Midoriya to set the score between them once again. Hearing this gives Iida an idea to start a 50-meter race among the boys to liven up their training. The girls then volunteer to assist their quirk-permitted race as long as no damage is incurred.

Swimming Race

Bakugo challenges both Midoriya and Todoroki to see who’s best. For the first race, Bakugo wins by blasting himself to the sky, not even bothering to go into the water. Todoroki wins the second round similarly by surfing across with his ice power. Iida gains the lead early on in the beginning of the third match, but Midoriya catches up with his Full Cowl swimming technique and wins.

Todoroki remembers their fight in the sports festival and notes how far they’ve come. Iida and Midoriya also think about their battle with Stain.

Detective Tsukauchi and All Might go over the incidents at USJ, Hosu, and the recent encounter between Shigaraki and Midoriya. It seems like the enemy is continuously moving underneath them. The police are currently investigating and will surely need All Might’s assistance.

Todoroki, Midoriya, and Bakugo battle it out for the final freestyle race, but Aizawa comes in and stops them as their time for pool use has run out.

Later, Midoriya and All Might meet by the beach to remember how it all started.

Our Thoughts

A simple recap episode is nice once in a while, but they could have chosen a more interesting scenario, 2.5/5.