My Hero Academia Season 4 Episode 1 Recap – The Scoop on U.A. Class 1-A

Fresh Scoop

A news agency traces the storied career of All Might, from his early beginnings until he becomes the number one hero. The symbol of peace. But this isn’t the kind of story their editor is looking for. What they need is a scoop that everybody will read. Their publication currently ranks last amongst the ones that covered All Might’s retirement. It doesn’t help that everyone surrounding the hero is tight-lipped about the matter. On top of that, the fight against the League of Villain’s mastermind was deemed top-secret by the police.

A freelance journalist named Taneo Tokuda comes in claiming he has a good story. He presents the final words of All Might, where he says “You’re next” while pointing to the camera. Everyone thinks it’s directed at the next villains, but Tokuda thinks otherwise.

He suspects it could be All Might’s message to his successor, who he’s already found. At first, he thought that it could be the third-year Togata, but then he heard that All Might is providing special classes for class 1-A. Perhaps this newcomer could be there. Tokuda gets a deal from the editor to give him permission to investigate, in exchange for exclusive rights to the story.

Aizawa announces to his class that they’ll be interviewed by the media soon. The principal gave them permission as a way for their parents to know they’re doing well. Aizawa warns them to not do anything dumb.

Tokuda Investigates

Tokuda then comes in to introduce himself. He wants to watch them doing their regular activities as a neutral observer and claims to only need a few pictures taken and a few questions answered.

The journalist follows them during breakfast and into the classroom. He checks every student’s profile as well as their quirks. In order to narrow down his search, he tries checking the top six finalists at the previous sports festival. Bakugo and Todoroki seem unlikely, as the former wants to surpass All Might and the latter is Endeavor’s son. He looks through the rest, but his journalist instincts all lead him to Izuku Midoriya.

All Might visits the dorm after receiving a surplus of meat buns from a fan working the convenience store. He gives the rest to Midoriya for the class to share. Midoriya says it’s only natural due to what he’s accomplished in the past, but All Might taps him on the shoulder and tells him they’re next in line. He adds that training will be more intense tomorrow and leaves.

Tokuda approaches Midoriya and comments on his motivation. The two have a talk at the balcony as the journalist shares he’s a fan of All Might too. They talk about the Tsukashiro district incident from 18 years ago and shares that his father was one of the staff members saved by All Might. The hero was a huge influence in his life.

Hope

Tokuda gives Midoriya a photo of him and All Might sharing a moment with his camera-body quirk. He’s now confirmed that All Might’s last words during retirement were aimed at the boy. On top of that, he was able to trace Midoriya’s old encounters with All Might, which led to this moment. Midoriya can’t deny that he’s the new successor.

Tokuda apologizes, admits he can’t make an article on that subject, and promises to keep it secret. He admits he only came here to know whether or not the people can have hope. Now he can write proudly that there is. He shakes Midoriya’s hand and thanks him before taking a selfie. Midoriya promises to do his best to live up to the Symbol of Peace.

The journalist returns to the agency to report that his search was a failure. But he gives them a picture of All Might enjoying meat buns instead. The editor-in-chief loves it.

Our Thoughts

Even the recap episode is wholesome and heartwarming. Rating: 4.2/5