I thought that this episode was pretty good. I was surprised to see that they kept the full opening, but then I remembered it's because this is the first show of the block now. I'm glad for that for a lot of reasons and the opening theme itself is pretty good. All Might saying how Midoriya should try to stand out in the tournament made sense. It is a much bigger deal than I initially thought it was since the entire country watches it. Plus, it is a guaranteed way to attract attention from pro heroes. Midoriya's uncertainty was also understandable. Their class did just have to deal with a villain attack and he still can't control One For All particularly well. Plus, having All Might as his teacher probably gave him some reassurance in a way given that he could get scouted by other pro agencies in the future. Still, All Might was right in how there is a key difference between reaching for the top and settling. At least he also understood how Midoriya felt and wanted to make sure he remembered what he felt during their training.
The other classes would be curious about Class 1-A after the villain attack, but Bakugo definitely made it worse with brushing off everyone. Admittedly, calling the other students extras was pretty funny and actually accurate for the most part. Students from different classes trying to take their spots in the Hero Course also provides a bit more tension for the Sports Festival. Bakugo was right in that they just have to beat them, but he still could have made that point without making them hate their entire class. The training montage was pretty nice and short. It showed most of the characters working hard on their Quirks, except for Mineta.
Totdoroki confronting Midoriya was a bit unexpected. He must have realized that there was some connection between Midoriya and All Might after the villain attack. He was a bit harsh, but he was right in that the Sports Festival isn't about working together as a group. They all want to win in order to stand out among the pros, so they're all rivals in a sense. They don't have to be confrontational about it, but it is important to realize that. Midoriya recognized how powerful Todoroki is compared to the rest of the class, but he didn't want to back down either.
Their class was getting a lot of attention right off the bat, especially with how they all still recognize them as a class who survived a villain attack. Saying that Class 1-B hasn't been getting that much screentime was pretty funny and accurate. Midnight's hero costume was more for fanservice than I expected. Of course, Bakugo would say that he'd win the whole Sports Festival. I think that Midoriya was giving him a bit too much credit when he didn't think Bakugo was being overconfident. He wasn't laughing while making that declaration, but he was still being his usual jerk self about it and dismissing everyone else as stepping stones for him to reach the top. He might have come off as more controlled with his emotions instead of laughing at everyone, but he was definitely still a huge overconfident cocky jerk about the whole thing.
It was nice how Midoriya hoped that All Might was watching right before the first challenge began. It was funny to see Aizawa offering some commentary with Present Mic too. All of those students struggling to get out of the doorway was an interesting first challenge. Considering how powerful Todoroki's ice powers are, I'm kind of surprised that he didn't freeze up the entire row of students. Granted, there were some students who could more easily dodge his powers like we first saw and Todoroki eliminating the entire competition right off the bat would be overkill and boring. Using the same kind of zero point robots from the entrance exam was a pretty intense way to start off the race. I forgot that Midoriya's mother hasn't seen him use his Quirk before and he obviously didn't tell him about his training with All Might either. So she would be rightfully panicked over what seemed like an immensely dangerous challenge for Midoriya to do.
Todoroki freezing up the robots while they were off balance to give the other students a false sense of security was a smart way to give himself an early lead. I liked the contrast between Midoriya's flashback to facing the robots in the entrance exam and how he looked at them here. He's still clearly afraid, but no where near as much when he first faced them. He has a better concept of his powers, even though he can't control it yet, and instead of being locked in a panic, he's trying to figure out how he can get pass them. It's a small detail that shows that Midoriya has already developed a bit between the first and second seasons. Overall, it was a pretty good episode and a nice start for the Sports Festival.
The other classes would be curious about Class 1-A after the villain attack, but Bakugo definitely made it worse with brushing off everyone. Admittedly, calling the other students extras was pretty funny and actually accurate for the most part. Students from different classes trying to take their spots in the Hero Course also provides a bit more tension for the Sports Festival. Bakugo was right in that they just have to beat them, but he still could have made that point without making them hate their entire class. The training montage was pretty nice and short. It showed most of the characters working hard on their Quirks, except for Mineta.
Totdoroki confronting Midoriya was a bit unexpected. He must have realized that there was some connection between Midoriya and All Might after the villain attack. He was a bit harsh, but he was right in that the Sports Festival isn't about working together as a group. They all want to win in order to stand out among the pros, so they're all rivals in a sense. They don't have to be confrontational about it, but it is important to realize that. Midoriya recognized how powerful Todoroki is compared to the rest of the class, but he didn't want to back down either.
Their class was getting a lot of attention right off the bat, especially with how they all still recognize them as a class who survived a villain attack. Saying that Class 1-B hasn't been getting that much screentime was pretty funny and accurate. Midnight's hero costume was more for fanservice than I expected. Of course, Bakugo would say that he'd win the whole Sports Festival. I think that Midoriya was giving him a bit too much credit when he didn't think Bakugo was being overconfident. He wasn't laughing while making that declaration, but he was still being his usual jerk self about it and dismissing everyone else as stepping stones for him to reach the top. He might have come off as more controlled with his emotions instead of laughing at everyone, but he was definitely still a huge overconfident cocky jerk about the whole thing.
It was nice how Midoriya hoped that All Might was watching right before the first challenge began. It was funny to see Aizawa offering some commentary with Present Mic too. All of those students struggling to get out of the doorway was an interesting first challenge. Considering how powerful Todoroki's ice powers are, I'm kind of surprised that he didn't freeze up the entire row of students. Granted, there were some students who could more easily dodge his powers like we first saw and Todoroki eliminating the entire competition right off the bat would be overkill and boring. Using the same kind of zero point robots from the entrance exam was a pretty intense way to start off the race. I forgot that Midoriya's mother hasn't seen him use his Quirk before and he obviously didn't tell him about his training with All Might either. So she would be rightfully panicked over what seemed like an immensely dangerous challenge for Midoriya to do.
Todoroki freezing up the robots while they were off balance to give the other students a false sense of security was a smart way to give himself an early lead. I liked the contrast between Midoriya's flashback to facing the robots in the entrance exam and how he looked at them here. He's still clearly afraid, but no where near as much when he first faced them. He has a better concept of his powers, even though he can't control it yet, and instead of being locked in a panic, he's trying to figure out how he can get pass them. It's a small detail that shows that Midoriya has already developed a bit between the first and second seasons. Overall, it was a pretty good episode and a nice start for the Sports Festival.