My Hero Academia season 7's traitor reveal has fans in tears

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 3 was released on May 18, 2024. It revealed the highly anticipated traitor of U.A. High School, Aoyama Yuga (Hero Name: Shining Hero: Can't Stop Twinkling).

The episode was supposed to focus on the extra training time the heroes were awarded due to the efforts of Star and Stripe (Cathleen Bate). While training, Midoriya sensed Aoyama's absence and went out to look for him, only to find him crying alongside his parents who were confessing their sins.

As always, fans reacted to this much-awaited reveal on the internet, and most of them were emotionally moved, realizing how big of a burden a little kid was carrying all this time. Moreover, the majority of fans who didn't care about Aoyama from the very start of the series were ready to defend him with every ounce of their being.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the My Hero Academia Season 7 Episode 3 and has the author's opinion.

Exploring the details of the traitor reveal of U.A. High School in My Hero Academia season 7 episode 3

Todoroki as seen in the episode (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia season 7 episode 3 was titled Villain and started with a brief flashback of the fight between Star and Stripe, and TomurAFO, which ended with the loss of the former. This gave the heroes a week's worth of time to polish their skills more, which they did by training together.

While everyone from Class 1-A was training, Hagakure was standing in the middle of the forest that surrounded U.A. High School, listening to three people talk. These three were Aoyama and his parents.

Aoyama was being forced by his parents to keep leaking information about the school to All for One. It was revealed that he was born quirkless, just like Midoriya, and was given his Navel Laser quirk by All for One.

Hagakure as seen in the episode (Image via Bones)

Aoyama confessed that he had no choice because if he didn't continue his role, All for One would kill his parents. This confession thus revealed Aoyama as the traitor of U.A. High School. Hagakure was shocked after learning this and looked for someone near her. As Aoyama's parents comforted their son, Midoriya appeared and he heard everything.

After a brief exchange of dialogues, Aoyama ran alongside his parents and tried hitting Midoriya with his quirk. Hagakure appeared and deflected Aoyama's Naval Laser using her quirk. Midoriya acted quickly and restrained Aoyama and his parents, begging them to stop.

They were then taken back to the school where they were interrogated. The whole Class 1-A was present there, with dumbstruck expressions. Midoriya addressed Aoyama in all this distress saying that he could still be a hero if he helped the school take down All for One.

Reactions from fans on the reveal of Aoyama as the traitor of U.A. High School

Aoyama Yuga as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Just like Midoriya, the majority of the fandom claimed that they were in tears over Aoyama's reveal as the traitor of U.A. High School. Where some fans couldn't get their emotions in control, a fan appreciated the direction of this episode.

The episode used red visuals to express Aoyama's life turns, showing how in every happiness, the boy was also worried about how he was betraying his friends and school. This was one of the key details the episode showcased which the fans also loved.

"I had tears in my eyes during this episode," one fan wrote.

"I was crying bro," another fan mentioned.

"Love it whenever they use red bg man, gives so much aura," another X user commented.

Aoyama Yuga as seen in the episode (Image via Bones)

Aoyama Yuga has been a supporting character since the series started, meaning the majority of the fandom didn't care for him much. Moreover, his quirk was also just a laser beam, making him an ordinary hero.

But after the latest episode, netizens became his defender and didn't want to hear a word against the hero. The fandom was speechless over how a little boy had such a big burden to carry from the start of the series. Moreover, the scene where Midoriya begged Aoyama to stop running hit some fans differently who couldn't recover.

"IM HIS BIGGEST DEFENDER, no attacks on him are allowed," a fan claimed.

"Like he’s a child put under so much pressure how am I supposed to hate him," another X user commented.

"Deku’s begging for Aoyama to stop is tearing me apart and I’m not okay," a fan wrote.

Final thoughts

The voice actor of Aoyama Yuga, Kousuke Kuwano, doesn't have much involvement in the anime industry as My Hero Academia is the only well-known series he has worked on. So, this episode could be a special one for him as a voice artist.

Moreover, with the reveal of Aoyama as the traitor of U.A. High, it would be interesting to see how things turn now from this point. Will he help the school defeat the villain, or will he remain quiet in fear of the true evil?

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