YMMV / My Hero Academia: Paranormal Liberation War

• Continuity Lock-Out: The Reveal in Chapter 253 that Kurogiri may actually be Eraser Head and Present Mic's supposedly dead former friend, Oboro Shirakumo, wouldn't have as much weight to anyone who hasn't read My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, where Shirakumo was introduced. Otherwise, he'd just seem like an example of Remember the New Guy?.
• I Knew It!:
  • Dabi's true identity has long been anticipated that he is not just a Todoroki, but the son that the family thought was dead. This arc finally confirms it thanks to Dabi himself.
  • The revelation in Chapter 290 that Dabi was Endeavor's son Toya was something that fans had suspected for some time, based on having a similar fire Quirk as Shoto's.
  • Coinciding with that, Endeavor's redemption arc had proven to be a highly contentious storyline in the series. One common theory was that Endeavor was getting so much focus only for the rug to get pulled from under him and this was definitely proven to be the case where Dabi, along with revealing his identity, ousted Endeavor to the masses for abusing his family.
• Nausea Fuel: Seeing All For One peeping through a crack on Tomura's head is enough to make anybody wanna hurl.
• Rooting for the Empire: There were a fair number of fans who were rooting for the Villains and the Liberation Front to come out on top. Part of the reason is because when you really get down to it, this arc essentially begins as an army of government agents coming to break up and arrest a group dedicated to political and social reform. Basically ensuring the corrupt status quo that led to the Liberation Army's very existence. Another aspect is that the Heroes winning almost effortlessly until the awakening of Shigaraki and Gigantomachia contributed heavily to a feeling of the PLF being the underdogs, and people love to root for an underdog.
• Squick: Midoriya using Black Whip from the mouth can be a little bit gross, given how they look like giant tendrils of grimy tar.
• Tear Jerker: Ashido and Kirishima are two of the friendliest and most chipper characters in Class 1-A: seeing them sobbing in anguish at the sight of a dead Midnight is heartbreaking.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • The Paranormal Liberation Front's leaders. While Skeptic does contibute to the plot by broadcasting Dabi's confession, Geten, Trumpet, and even Re-Destro, previously the Arc Villain of the Meta Liberation Army Arc, are defeated offscreen and arrested.
  • Tamaki Amajiki, despite being from The Big Three and a future professional hero, has the least involvement during the arc. He was only seen fighting nameless villains in 2 panels of a chapter and then not appearing until he is shown defeated, while his companions, Fat Gum and Kirishima, were in the center of the main battle.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • This arc would have been a potentially good opportunity to show a student dying in the line of duty as a way of underscoring the dangers of hero work. Despite that, while several students are injured and Midnight, a teacher at U.A. is among the dead, all the students make it out of the war alive. This is justified by the fact that the heroes avoided having the 'trainees' engage in direct combat at all costs, until there was literally no choice but to involve them.
  • Ironically, the Liberation Front didn't get much of a spotlight in this war. The entire army was trapped in the mansion fighting the Heroes and they were likely cut to ribbons by Gigantomachia when he made a move. So really this War Arc suffered a similar problem as the Shinobi World War Arc in Naruto: The "war" is between 2 or 3 extremely powerful people and all the good guys as opposed to a battle between equal forces. It would've been nice to see the Liberation Army clash with the heroes in the city, adding to the confusion and panic of the battle with Shigaraki. As it stands, it made that entire arc worth of build up about an army of quirk using zealots seem inconsequential.

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