Friend is the one hundred and thirty-fifth episode of the My Hero Academia anime and the twenty-second episode of the sixth season.
Summary#
Following the info given to them by Lady Nagant, Deku and the Top 3 Pro Heroes, with the addition of The Lurkers, head to a mansion, the former hideout of the Creature Rejection Clan, located in Haibori Woods where the boy was planned to be delivered to.
Deku and Endeavor enter the building first as the others follow close behind, and shortly after a holographic message made by All For One, specifically addressing Deku, begins playing to the Heroes. The man tells the boy that he expected him to find this place per Lady Nagant leaking the information, as he knew Deku wouldn't have the heart to abandon someone like her. All For One then says people like her who experience life-changing setbacks are called Villains, and like a lot of people who don't fit in regardless of the time period or systems they live under, they are automatically ostracized.
He then tells Deku that the path he chooses to fight for will constantly wear him down with no end in sight, and he's been constantly thinking about him while imprisoned. All For One then "points" to Deku, and says he's no longer interested in All Might anymore, as now it's "his turn". The projector then explodes, destroying the mansion, the surrounding forest, and seemingly everyone inside it.
Thankfully, the Heroes narrowly escaped the explosion and later hide out in a warehouse to discuss how to move forward now that their only solid lead towards the League of Villains went nowhere. Edgeshot suggests that they should share the secret of One For All with other Heroes to increase the reach and quality of their search efforts, with Mt. Lady noting how crucial it is now that the League is now actively targeting Deku.
Endeavor and Best Jeanist then bring up how fragile that approach could be because of Heroes quitting en masse, and the press closing in on Deku. The two believe that information regarding One For All could easily be leaked out from anyone they would try to confide it to, and cause even more chaos and throw a greater burden on the boy.
Mt. Lady then asks why All For One doesn't just tell everyone that information himself, as it seems like something he would jump at the first opportunity to do. Endeavor says that he's likely doing it to stay hidden, as if he goes public with the info then all the remaining Heroes will instantly mobilize and keep Deku out of harm's way, so he's likely keeping it to himself to both prevent the Heroes from tracking him and keep the boy vulnerable. Hawks then gets a text message from All Might, and states that Deku has instantly defeated another assassin sent to capture him.
At the scene, Deku begins leaving as the man didn't have any information to give and is cautious about him being booby-trapped much like Lady Nagant. All Might yells out to him before he runs off again, as he's concerned that the boy hasn't eaten recently. Deku, while thinking about the message from All For One, blankly tells his teacher that he's fine now. He explains due to his fight with Lady Nagant, he's now able to maneuver at 100% without injuring himself, so he doesn't have to get caught up in this situation and worry about him anymore.
All Might rushes in and fails to stop his successor from running off, as he chastises himself for not teaching the boy that it's okay to rest despite how big of a responsibility he has weighing him down. As All Might sulks on the ground and the food he made for Deku goes to waste, Stain observes the moment from behind a pillar.
Ignoring the growing concerns for his health from both the Heroes and the vestiges, Deku fights on, now for longer periods of time and mostly isolated from his allies. By now his costume has grown even more tattered and filthy, and the boy habitually walks around with several Blackwhip tendrils sprouting from his back. Rumors begin floating around the city about him, and the citizens argue over what exactly Deku is, be it a Nomu or something else entirely, and why he saves people despite looking nothing like a Hero.
Despite his declining state and the people he rescues actively fearing him, Deku pushes forward, as he feels obligated to do this in order to save everyone and be allowed to smile alongside them again. While his vestiges lament over their inability to help the current user handle his situation, the Second User says there's only thing Deku needs right now.
Soon, Deku's self-negligence catches up to him. He collapses at Ground Zero of Kamino Ward and senses another jailbreaker in front of him. Dictator, who has a Quirk that allows him to puppet civilians into his own personal army, moves in to capture the exhausted Hero and bring him to All For One. Deku knows that his power, Despot, can be disabled by hitting the Villain or his puppets with a strong blow, but struggles to take action as he tries to get up. He's too exhausted to properly react and can't think of way to disable the Quirk's effects without seriously injuring the civilians.
Deku helplessly lies down as the unwilling mob swamps him, as he repeatedly swears to try and think of a way to help everyone. Rescue then comes from above, as Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight flies in and knocks out Dictator with an AP Shot, before telling the rest of Class 1-A that he finally found him. With that, Deku sees the one thing that the Second User says could help him: his friends.
Sometime after Izuku had sent them his goodbye letters, the other members of Class 1-A were able to deduce that Izuku was part of the search team alongside the Heroes after noticing their odd behavior and them going radio silent. Looking for more answers, the class, with some help from Nezu, tries to get more information out of Endeavor.
After some admonishing by Shoto to his father for keeping this secret about his friend from him, Katsuki steps up and tells Endeavor that while it makes logical sense, the man doesn't know anything about Izuku. He calls his classmate crazy, and the type to always say he's fine even when he's not, and leaving him alone with someone like All Might, who became the Symbol of Peace with the exact same mindset, is a terrible idea.
Endeavor takes out his GPS-outfitted phone while mulling over the idea and some comments made by Hawks when Izuku started working by himself, before it's smacked out of his hand and caught by Hanta. Tenya then declares that Class 1-A will go looking for Izuku, as no matter what responsibility he has being the successor of his Quirk, he's still their friend and they can't smile for a brighter future without him. Nezu agrees with the students wishes to retrieve Izuku, as ever since he's attended U.A., he's always been a student under their protection, even after leaving.
Endeavor expresses concerns about the safety and behavior of the evacuees if Izuku is brought back here, and Nezu simply says he'll try and make them understand when the time comes. Plus, due to the massive defense upgrades made to the U.A. Barrier, now would be a great time to test them out of the boy returns.
Back in the present, Creati and Shoto secure Dictator, as the freed civilians run off and leave the children alone to deal with Deku. The boy asks why his friends came to see him, and Uravity says they're worried about him. Deku puts his masks back on and tells his class that he's fine, which only makes Dynamight laugh at him for lying to them.
Realizing Class 1-A isn't listening to him, Deku reluctantly gathers himself and powers up One For All, before he tells his class to get out of his way. The group doesn't yield, as they too prepare to fight their fellow classmate, for his sake.
Characters In Order of Appearance#
Lady Nagant Hawks Deku Endeavor Mt. Lady Best Jeanist Kamui Woods Edgeshot All For One Death Arms Slidin' Go All Might Sir Nighteye (Voice only) Stain Yoichi Shigaraki Hikage Shinomori En Nana Shimura Second User Third User Daigoro Banjo Tomura Shigaraki Dabi Himiko Toga Spinner Inko Midoriya Gran Torino Eraser Head Eri Dictator Crust Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight Nezu Uravity Ingenium Shoto Tsukuyomi Cellophane Grape Juice Red Riot Chargebolt Creati Earphone Jack Anima Invisible Girl Tentacole Can't Stop Twinkling Pinky Froppy Sugarman Tailman
Quirks#
Hellflame Rifle One For All Blackwhip Float Danger Sense Despot Explosion AP Shot Half-Cold Half-Hot Dark Shadow Earphone Jack Creation
Locations#
- Haibori Woods
- Central Hospital
- Ground Zero
- U.A. High School
- Heights Alliance
- Principal's Office
Battles & Events#
BGM#
- The Next Me
- Can't face the grief
- Anguish of the Quirkless
- Brawl
- Surprise attack
- I AM NOT HERE
- Flect's trap
- Red Riot
- Dabi's Dance
- The Next Me
Anime & Manga Differences#
- The rest of the Heroes are shown inside the Haibori Woods Mansion alongside Deku and Endeavor in the anime.
- Deku is shown encountering the second hired gun before quickly defeating it in the anime.
- When Deku saves the scared civilians, in the anime he defeats all the thugs, while in the manga he just scares them off.
- The Mutants dressed like Spinner in the manga aren't present in the anime.
- In the montage of Deku saving civilians, the anime excludes two moments of him walking alone through a forest and eating an energy bar.
- A visual is shown of how Despot functions while Izuku is explaining it in the anime.
- In the anime, Hanta knocks the phone containing the GPS for Deku out of Endeavor's hand, while in the manga Endeavor tosses it aside for the other students to catch.