My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 2×08 Review: “A Sky with No Rain Left”

My Hero Academia Vigilantes anime season 2 episode 8, titled ‘A Sky with No Rain Left’, offered the most emotionally charged chapter of the season yet.

With things looking up for Aizawa in the previous episode, as he and his friends dreamt about their future as Pro Heroes and running their own Hero Agency, it was obvious something bad was going to happen. Even though I haven’t read the MHA Vigilantes manga, I was aware of what to expect from ‘A Sky with No Rain Left’ and how it would impact young Aizawa. However, while I was ready for the tragic accident to occur, I found my heartstrings being pulled when it was time for Aizawa to face the gigantic villain named Garvey.

The episode opened with Yamada working with the Buster Union Pro Hero team as the first line of defense against Garvey, who was busy wreaking havoc across the city. The Buster Union Pro Hero team comprised of Heroes (and heroes-in-training) who had Quirks that granted them the ability to release massive amounts of energy. The type of energy didn’t matter as long as it could be used offensively. The motto of the team seemed to be defeating villains by overwhelming them.

It made sense for such a team to be called to face a gigantic monster. You needed a big gun, metaphorically speaking, to injure a big target. However, the team’s strategy backfired when Garvey ate up all of their attacks and then used the warts on his back to cause a massive explosion, resulting in more property damage and knocking down the Buster Union Pro Hero team.

I think the leader of the team likely thought Garvey wouldn’t be able to absorb massive amounts of energy at once, because otherwise, directing numerous powerful attacks at a foe without fully understanding their “Stock” Quirk was a move that an experienced Hero Leader should have had the sense not to make.

Anyway, the plot had to progress somehow, and that meant giving Aizawa a reason (no matter how convenient) to face Garvey even though he wasn’t part of the Union Buster Hero squad.

Unaware of a major threat heading their way, we got to see Aizawa and Shirakumo completing one of their usual patrols. Their conversation was about how, according to Shirakumo, Aizawa was impressively observant. However, paying so much attention to what’s around him came with a drawback. Aizawa overanalyzed situations to such an extent that he ended up focusing on what couldn’t be done instead of what could be accomplished to complete a task.

While offering a ride to a bunch of kids on Shirakumo’s cloud and Aizawa ensuring all of the kids were okay, the conversation between the friends switched to how Aizawa had the natural skills to operate in spaces involving children, such as a daycare or as a teacher. Even Shirakumo and Yamada relied on Aizawa to notice things they might have missed or hadn’t even thought about.

A nice walk quickly turned dark when Garvey appeared, with Aizawa and Shirakumo being ordered to help evacuate civilians while Purple Highness acted as a distraction long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Apparently, Garvey was so dangerous that he already had 15 murders under his belt, not to mention countless cases of property damage. The current threat level had also been elevated due to Garvey having absorbed all the powers of the Buster Union Pro Hero team. Purple Highness didn’t stand a chance against him.

Garvey didn’t care about properly aiming at the Heroes because even if they dodged his attack, a building or two was still going down. The collateral damage made dealing with him very difficult. And one such example of collateral damage involved Shirakumo being buried under a pile of rubble while protecting children, leaving only Aizawa to face off against the behemoth.

In a way, Aizawa was a good choice for such a Quirk-dependent foe. However, what wasn’t good was the gaping size difference between the two opponents. Even if Aizawa managed to erase the “Stock” Quirk, there were too many energy-filled warts to counter. And again, Garvey didn’t care about precise aiming.

Seeing Aizawa come up with countermeasure after countermeasure to limit destruction levels and land several hits on Garvey only made me like him more as a character. I’m a sucker for highly strategic characters instead of those who prefer finishing fights with a single blow. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t enjoy brawlers. It’s just that, even then, I would prefer a brawl-type character to come up with some kind of plan instead of rushing headfirst with their fists ready.

Aizawa guaranteed his victory by having Garvey absorb his energy-filled warts, essentially turning an opponent’s powers against them.

The emotional weight of the episode came from Aizawa being encouraged to keep fighting by Shirakumo’s voice coming from his gourd-shaped speaker. Shirakumo was stuck beneath the rubble, unable to help, but he was still hyping up Aizawa to lock in because he believed in his friend.

I knew that Aizawa was hallucinating hearing Shirakumo’s voice during the intense battle. And I was dreading the moment reality would catch up to Aizawa after his victory. Seeing Aizawa asking Midnight if rushing Shirakumo to the hospital was even necessary because he had been okay enough to cheer him on… my heart.

Understandably, Shirakumo’s death changed young Aizawa. Gone were his dreams of opening a Hero Agency. Now, after graduating, he was going to work as a freelance Pro Hero, dealing with villains himself. In my opinion, Aizawa didn’t want to operate in a team because it was accompanied by the risk of his teammates getting injured or dying during battle. Losing Shirakumo had been enough. Aizawa wasn’t keen on reliving that experience.

In the present, we saw Aizawa and Koichi deciding to visit the Hotta Bros. Turns out, they were working on opening a cafe meant to accommodate experimented beings such as Kirihito and a now reformed Octoid. That particular narrative theme might not be the most prominent, but I like how it brings forth conversations about expanding levels of accessibility in the real world (which, unfortunately, still requires a lot of work).

Though emotionally heavy, the episode did, thankfully, remember to end on a positive note with Octoid deciding to adopt the abandoned kitten and Aizawa realizing how, despite his efforts of operating solo, he had managed to form new bonds of friendship. Seeing how he has positively impacted some of the people around him will likely encourage Aizawa to start teaching at the U.A. High School soon.

Did you watch My Hero Academia Vigilantes anime season 2 episode 8? What did you think of it?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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