My Hero Academia Season Five: Enji Todoroki’s Path to Redemption
This show has been a huge hit since it premiered April 3, 2016. Taking place in a world where the majority of people have superpowers called “quirks”, it is focused on a specific class of heroes in the world that attend UA High School. The show is now in its fifth season.
At times, I thought MHA was wildly overrated as stans of the show talked about how it would go down as the best anime of all time. I’m still not there yet but MHA is solidly a good show. The fifth season has been one of its best. The fifth season has primarily been a set up season for the upcoming war that is going to happen between the heroes and the villains. One of the best storylines of the season and one of the best in the entire history of the show in my opinion has been the Todoroki family storyline. Throughout the season, we have seen Enji Todoroki or “Endeavor”, the new number one hero, battle with his new responsibilities of being the number one hero and atoning for his sins against his family.
Throughout the series, Endeavor has always been focused on becoming the number one hero and training his son to be able to surpass All Might, the former number one hero. There are many examples in shows, movies, and real life that showcase fathers who are obsessive about one thing and treat those in their path unfairly because of that. Endeavor is no different. He was an abusive husband to his wife, neglected his children, and the child that he did focus in on, Shoto Todoroki, he overworked. Because of this, Endeavor has been a pretty easy guy to root against. However, this season has complicated that as we see him attempt to right the wrongs of his past.
Looking back at the first couple of seasons, Endeavor has done some terrible wrongs and hasn’t suffered any type of real consequence for it. Ironically, he’s reached his goals because of it. Despite his personal troubles, Endeavor hasn’t let that get out to the public and has continued his ascent to becoming the number one hero. This exact type of thing happens in the real world. The wrongs of many men have been forgotten about and pushed aside because of talent or feats that they can achieve.
Ideally, a public figure like Endeavor would address, to the people that follow him, some of the harm he has committed and have a public consequence (who knows maybe this will happen). I would’ve enjoyed the plot more if MHA could’ve incorporated that. He is the number one hero and a person that all of the youth look up to. That type of public facing figure shouldn’t have such an abusive past as he does. In this season though, we do get to observe some of the backlash from his family more in depth and see the impact that has on his mental state. In addition, we get to see Endeavor attempt to make amends with his family (the main victims of the harm) and I have really enjoyed watching that journey.
We witness his awareness of the wrong that he has done though he does not expect his family to ever forgive him. We can see his state of mind and his struggle to come to terms with the wrongs that he has committed. In one scene, he reminisces about a recurring dream he’s been having. In the dream, Endeavor is not pictured but has a view of his family from afar. They are all together happy and smiling but his normal seat in the picture is notably absent.
After continuing to think about this dream, Endeavor decides to distance himself from the family. He interprets his dream to mean that for his family to be whole again, he has to exit the picture. He still builds a new house for his family and takes care of them but he comes to the conclusion that it is best for the mental and physical health of his family for them to be apart. Maybe one day he can rejoin but this is what is best for right now.
As I have thought a lot about how the world has been shaped and built, I have thought about the consequences of the actions of a person who has committed harm. We are socialized to believe that wrong-doing has to be followed by some sort of punishment (usually prison). I agree that there should be consequences to your actions but the consequences don’t have to be so carceral. So while the consequences of Endeavor’s actions weren’t what it should have been, we do get to see him experience some consequences of his actions in the form of the backlash from his family and the guilt that he suffers from. With that, we also get to see his road to atonement.
In Endeavors’ mind, his best path to atonement is to distance himself. He will still contribute to his family monetarily because they deserve that from him but because of the wrongs of his past, he deserves to face the consequence of not being able to be with the people he loves. His family also deserves their space from him to not be constantly reminded of his harm against them and for them to grow together as a family.
We don’t often get to see the atonement portrayed in shows so I think this is why the Todorki storyline stood out to me so much. We get to see that it is a very difficult process for all of those involved and get an idea of what potential outcomes may come out of it. Each of his children have very different reactions to their father’s atonement as well.
His youngest son, Shoto, respects his father’s contributions as the number one hero and believes that he can learn a lot from Endeavor, the hero. However, he is hesitant to acknowledge Endeavor, the father, and makes that known pretty clearly. His daughter, Fuyumi, desperately wants them to be a big happy family. She acknowledges the harm that her father has done and says that she does occasionally get upset about it but she will always fight for them to be together and have some semblance of a familial tie. Lastly, his son, Natsuo, is the most aggressive in his hatred of his father. Although he does try occasionally out of his love for his sister, he ultimately feels that he will never forgive his father.
I really appreciate each child’s perspective. I think all are pretty fair in their assessments of the situation and it also shows how complicated family love can be at times. Ultimately, I have really loved the portrayal of their family and the growth that we have seen from each character. I think some people believe that anime is just for kids but a lot of these stories are really important for everyone to reflect on their own personal relationships. The best shows are able to tie in the supernatural (the various different powers that people have in the show) and the stories that we see in real life together in a perfect blend. I think MHA has done a great job with this specific portrayal and I can’t wait to see where they continue to go with it.
