During Anime Expo, Crunchyroll presented two new OVAs for the My Hero Academia series: Hero League Baseball and Laugh! Like you’re in hell. These OVAs are set in the same timeline as Season 5, where the Class 1-A students are in the middle of attending their hero internships.
Hero League Baseball
Although the poster for Hero League Baseball was originally a april fools, the anime turned it into reality. Gang Orca and Shishido, two pro heroes, have recruited interns and pro heroes from competing agencies to form competitive baseball teams. This is how the Orcas and Lionels meet in the finals of Hero League Baseball. To win, players must do their best to score points with their quirks. But just before the end of the ninth inning, a villain interrupts the game!
As a fan of baseball and My hero academyI was excited and curious about this special episode. I wondered what hero baseball would be like, quirks and all, but as I watched the episode, I quickly realized that our heroes basically played with almost no rules! Each batsman brings a new challenge to their bat, and Orca and Shishido are die-hard team captains who also make bad losers. They simply negotiate with their own team members to achieve the desired outcomes. Even though I know what quirks the heroes have, guessing how they’ll use them to hit, pitch, or catch the baseball makes everything seem like they’re playing mind games more than anything else. Despite the complete chaos that erupts between players during the game, everyone tries their best to win.
Laugh! Like you’re in hell
Laugh! Like you’re in hell shows Deku, Bakugo and Todoroki during their internship at Endeavor’s agency. They meet the self-proclaimed artist named Mr. Smiley, who is responsible for the graffiti drawings all over the city. Due to his peculiar but annoying quirk, the boys and Endeavor must put their heads together to catch this elusive criminal.
Mr. Smiley may be a criminal, but making people laugh is his quirk! Although I found this OVA to be quite predictable in terms of plot development and ending, I honestly enjoyed watching our heroes at work. Each character has a different kind of reaction to Mr. Smiley’s quirk of laughing himself heartily. I also ended up smiling and giggling at the sheer stupidity that Deku, Todoroki, and Bakugo encounter while trying to capture Mr. Smiley. The team tries everything from closed-eye attacks to controlling a robot to deal with Mr. Smiley to avoid falling into a laugh attack.
These two OVAs don’t add to the main plot, but I think they’re worth watching and serve as a great interlude while we wait for season 6. Watch these special lighthearted and fun August 1st episodes on Crunchyroll!
