My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17: Deku vs. Shigaraki begins as the heroes confront AFO once more

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17, titled Hopes, aired on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 5:30 pm JST. In this episode, Lady Nagant, La Brava, and Gentle step in at a crucial moment and provide the heroes with the necessary support to turn the tide of the battle.

With Shigaraki regaining his Quirks, Deku takes the fight outside the Coffin in the Sky to protect his comrades from the villain's destructive powers. Meanwhile, backup heroes, including students from Shiketsu High, join the fight against AFO, Toga, and Dabi at the Gunga Villa site, boosting the heroes' strength and morale.

Toward the end, Ochako, Tsuyu, and Jiro realize that stopping Toga's Sad Man's Parade requires targeting her original body, so they set out to locate and stop her rampage.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17.

---

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17: The heroes face AFO in his prime state while Deku confronts Shigaraki at his strongest

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17 opening events: Heroes receive crucial support from Lady Nagant, Gentle, and La Brava

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17 begins with Lady Nagant, despite her poor condition, stepping in to aid the heroes. With Rock Lock's help, she locates the enemies and shoots both of Shigaraki's arms, momentarily stopping his decay. This gives Deku an opening, and he restrains Shigaraki using Blackwhip.

Realizing Shigaraki has regained his Quirks, Deku moves the fight outside the Coffin in the Sky to protect his allies. Inside Shigaraki's mind, AFO tries to seize control, but Shigaraki reveals he foresaw this and hid his core to regain consciousness later.

Deku vs. Shigaraki (Image via Bones)

As AFO tries to summon Kurogiri to warp him to his original body, Kurogiri struggles with a conflict between his duty to protect Shigaraki and the lingering presence of Shirakumo's consciousness.

In the meantime, Shigaraki breaks free from AFO's control, reclaiming his body and preparing to unleash his destruction once more. Deku vows to stop Shigaraki's rampage but also acknowledges glimpsing Shigaraki's "crying self" buried beneath his destructive exterior.

Meanwhile, in My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17, Gentle sees Deku falling alongside Shigaraki as he struggles to keep the site afloat with his elasticity, which is nearing its limit. He wonders if Deku entrusted the site to him, unsure if his efforts will be recognized.

Lady Nagant in this episode (Image via Bones)

Just then, he notices two U.A. Management Course students filming his heroic actions on their phones. Though Gentle urges them to get to safety, they refuse, explaining it's their duty to bridge the gap between heroes and the public, something they previously failed to do with Endeavor.

Hearing this, Gentle regrets his past attempt to infiltrate the school. At the same time, La Brava reactivates the levitation system and hacks their phones to broadcast Gentle's heroics, determined to ensure his efforts aren't overlooked.

---

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17: Kurogiri saves Aizawa and Present Mic as Shiketsu High students join the battle against AFO

Hawks and AFO in this episode (Image via Bones)

In My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17, the focus shifts to Kurogiri in his confused state as Aizawa and Present Mic get pushed out of the sky arena by Toga's doubles. Kaminari calls out to his falling teachers, and Kurogiri's warp gate opens behind them, teleporting them to safety.

Kaminari wonders if Kurogiri just saved them, while Mandalay emphasizes the need to have faith in Deku and the heroes and hope to win. Meanwhile, at the Gunga Villa site, the heroes are overwhelmed by an endless sea of Twice doubles.

AFO realizes his plan to merge with Shigaraki has failed due to Shigaraki's strong will and decides to head to the latter's location to inject his Quirk factor, intending to subdue Shigaraki's consciousness and regain control of his body. Hawks intercepts AFO, and AFO lands a serious blow on him.

However, a humorous twist occurs when Hawks reappears with a changed appearance, leaving Tokoyami confused. It's then revealed that the Shiketsu High students have joined the fight. The Hawks AFO struck down was just an illusion created by Camie, while Shishikura aids the real Hawks and Inasa creates a storm to disperse Toga's doubles.

The arrival of these reinforcements shifts the battle's momentum in favor of the heroes, and they work together to counter AFO's advances. Desperate, AFO aims to instill fear in the heroes and unleashes a barrage of attacks using his multiple Quirks. In response, Inasa asserts that their burning passion will overcome AFO's terror.

AFO in My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17 (Image via Bones)

This boosts the heroes' morale as he and Shishikura launch a combined assault. Intrigued by their Quirks, AFO decides to steal them and counterattacks, but the heroes persist.

As AFO prepares to extinguish their resolve, Tokoyami appears behind him with a massive Dark Shadow, created thanks to Inasa's storm clouds blocking the daylight. Tokoyami then unleashes Dark Shadow Total Release: Light of Baldur, enhanced with Inasa's wind, shattering AFO's defenses.

---

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17 closing scenes: Ochako and Tsuyu prepare to locate and confront the real Toga

Deku in this episode (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 17 concludes with a brief rewind, revealing that both AFO and Hawks have noticed that Toga's duplicates of AFO, Shigaraki, and Dabi are unable to use their own Quirks. This means the situation for the heroes hasn't turned the worst yet.

Tsuyu realizes that Toga can only use the Quirks of those she deeply loves, and this also applies to her clones created with Twice's Quirk. Tsuyu speculates that during the battle's intensity, this limitation can be overridden in a split second, allowing Toga to access anyone's Quirk freely.

To prevent this, Tsuyu, Ochako, and Jiro set out to locate Toga's real body. The episode ends with Toga puzzled about why she can't use the Quirks of Shigaraki and Dabi, despite her affection for them being as strong as her feelings for Ochako and Twice.

---