My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20: Anime vs Manga comparison

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20 was released on October 5, 2024. The episode might be one of the best animated in the franchise, especially in the last part where Himiko Toga finally opened up to Uraraka about her life story. Moreover, even though the animation could be the episode's spotlight, the voice acting have outclassed every other aspect.

As a continuation of the previous episodes, there was hardly any improvisation in this episode, which was a safe bet considering how the chapters this episode adapted were crucial to the end of one of the best-written female villains. The episode also didn't include the previously missed chapter, meaning that it could be skipped in this season.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

Comparing My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20 to its chapters

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20: Uraraka tries to reach Toga

Shoto after putting Dabi down for good (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20, titled A Girl's Ego, adapts the remaining chapter 390 and chapters 391-394. The episode commenced where it left off in the previous one as Toga felt Dabi's presence disappear after the villain was bested by his brother. This made her feel like she could lose another person, triggering her Sad Man's Death Parade to go even more haywire.

While everyone was running away from Toga's Sad Man's Death Parade, Uraraka was barging into it to reach Himiko Toga. This part was exactly like the manga to the point that it can be said that the production team pictured the panels in the episode. However, the direction was key and it was delivered.

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20: Himiko Toga: Origins

Toga Himiko as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

As Uraraka reached near Toga, the villain berated the hero and the episode turned into a flashback of Himiko Toga. Even though the series has emphasized her obsession with blood, it was just a normal thing in the past that Toga's parents created a fuss over. This mentally started affecting Toga as she slowly developed a 'fetish' for this and became Himiko Toga, the villain.

Something, that was holding back her powers, also broke and her Sad Man's Death Parade started changing. Some of Jin's clones started transforming into heroes whose blood Toga had ingested in the past. While this happened, Uraraka was adamant about reaching Toga who tried her best to not let Uraraka near herself.

One of the most crucial parts of My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20 was the delivery of Toga's origins either as a dark one (like Shigaraki) or the other way around. Choosing the latter option was a risque one but it blended well with the entire theme of the episode.

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20: 'The Cutest Girl in the World'

Uraraka's quirk awakening (Image via Bones)

As Himiko focused on making her Sad Man's Death Parade more brutal, Uraraka got a chance to close the distance between her and Toga. However, Toga was growing annoyed with her and tried stabbing Uraraka with her knife. Uraraka was brutally injured after this, but she didn't give in. Toga took this chance to release her Sad Man's Legion, a 'Sad Man's Death Parade' with more quirks added to it.

This was the moment in My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20 when the animation started changing and a slight tint of pink became prominent. This could be because Uraraka was about to awaken her quirk, which lifted anyone into the air without Uraraka having to touch them.

'The cutest girl in the world' (Image via Bones)

This halted Toga's attack and she was reaching her wit's end. Uraraka kept saying that she wanted to touch the sadness inside her and when she touched it, Toga broke down and opened up about her life. She told everything to Uraraka after which Jin's quirk disappeared. Toga asked Uraraka whether she looked cute to her, to which the hero replied that Toga was the 'cutest girl in the world.'

Ayane Sakura (Uraraka's voice actor) and Misato Fukeun (Toga's voice actor) did a tremendous job in this episode, especially the latter one. Their voices could be heard reaching an uncomfortable pitch at some moments which showed the connections these two established with their characters and this could be the spotlight of My Hero Academia season 7.

Final thoughts

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20 was a rollercoaster of emotions solely due to the story of a villain who was born innocent but the world made her a villain. Although it has been emphasized so many times already, My Hero Academia season 7 episode 20 goes down as one of the best episodes of the franchise featuring the story of the cutest girl in the world whose tale was finally heard.

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Edited by Tiasha