Episode Air Date
26-06-2025
Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for My Hero Academia, Episode 141, “Villain,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
My Hero Academiahas never been a difficult story to follow, but when the action dies down and the series leans on politics or interpersonal drama to carry the plot forward, it can feel a lot more elaborate. Small details from episodes or even several seasons prior can converge into major revelations, one such example being this week’s reveal of a traitor among Class 1-A.
Last week,Star and Stripe lost in her fight against Shigaraki, but not without using her quirk, New Order, to impose a rule that would cause her newly stolen quirk to decimate Shigaraki from the inside. As a result, Shigaraki and All for One are at a standstill, while the heroes have been given about a week to train harder than ever in preparation for the final war against the villains.
One of All for One’s Many “Friends”
Starting the episode with All for One tending to the wounded Shigaraki, no less confident in his plans, was a smart way to start the episode. To have him be completely unbothered speaks not solely to his arrogance, but to his unfortunate aptitudefor having many backup plans. Next, the hint towards the mole within the school - and the subsequent visual misdirect implying that it’s Hagakure - starts the episode with tensions high before the characters are even shown training.
Even with all the extra time to train, however, it can’t quite prepare the students for a villain whose actions have been consistently ahead of them for the entire series. There’s All for One’s propensity for evading detection, the uncertainty of facing off against Shigaraki at his full power, and the disadvantage of moving second if provoked by the villains. But this familiar sense of uncertaintytakes the twist that followsand turns it into a unique opportunity.
Yuga Aoyama’s Series-Long Betrayal
One ofMy Hero Academia’sgreatest strengths is the ease with which it can take any of its supporting characters, even those that seem like just comic relief, and transform them completely. Some of the best episodes have been the ones reserved for previously overlooked side characters, much like Episode 72, which delved into Kirishima’s backstory, leading to one of his proudest moments.
And now, it’s Aoyama’s turn, in what might be one of the most significant twists in the franchise thus far. He’s been leaking information to the villains since the very beginning, from the attack on the training facility in Season 1 to the attack on the training camp in Season 3.The villains in this storyhave always been one step ahead of the protagonists, but to know that it was largely because of one of the students is heavy, to say the least.
It’s even heavier when one considers that Aoyama’s circumstances are like the flip side of Deku’s. They were both quirkless and were given their powers, albeit under different circumstances and for very different motivations. What sells all of this are the performances and the character art, which go overboard to portray the deep sense of pain not only in those betrayed but Aoyama himself.
He’s always been characterized by the conflict between his outward confidence and his quirk that leaves him feeling apain in his stomach that he can’t quite hidein his facial expression. It’s quite apropos; being incredibly anxious is often linked to having a pit in one’s stomach. Aoyama has carried this secret - this burden - for seven whole seasons.
It recontextualizes the scene from Episode 80 when Aoyama and Deku bond over their quirks being incompatible with their bodies. In fact, this episode is the culmination of a lot of moments, both big and small, that one might have easily forgotten in the time since. Because of this, the gravity of this revelation feels appropriately devastating to the class.
How Class 1-A Reacts to the News
For a character who is invisible,Hagakure sure did steal the spotlight, and not just because the viewer finally got to see a glimpse of what she looks like without her invisibility. Even before that big moment, the camera’s uneasy sway as she grappled with the revelation conveyed her shock without a face to focus on. And when her facewasvisible, it was the impassioned rage in Kaori Nazuka’s vocal performance that won the episode.
After such an insane opener,My Hero AcademiaSeason 7 continues to impress and the only thing more exciting than this week’s twist is what might result from it. Aoyama still has a chance to be a hero and, if he can feed One for All the right intel, the heroes can make the first move. Without a mole lurking in the background, this might be the first real advantage the main characters have had since the series began.
