Warning: Spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 6, Episode 8
The students of My Hero Academia have found themselves entrusted with an important task, but there's one student among them who also has to face up with her past as well: Mina Ashido.
The giant villain Gigantomachia has been awakened, and is currently making a beeline for Shigaraki, hoping to aid his master. The rest of the League of Villains are on his back, a fact which resulted in Midnight's apparent death when she tried to stop them. Now it's up to the students to find a way to keep Gigantomachia at bay, and while Momo has a plan to sedate him, the trick is going to be executing it. Mina, however, has encountered Gigantomachia before.
While the episode only flashes to the memory for a brief second, Mina's full interaction with Gigantomachia was previously seen in Season 4, Episode 9. In it, a much smaller and smarter Gigantomachia is demanding that some young girls provide him with directions to a particular hero agency. Kirishima was actually present, but froze up and was unable to do anything, while Mina ran out and gave him false directions that would lead to a police station. Mina doesn't seem to have realized that villain was Gigantomachia until she's right up in his face, about to throw the sedative, when she suddenly freezes as the memory comes flooding back. Fortunately, Kirishima is here to repay the favor, saving Mina from Gigantomachia and ultimately delivering the dose of sedative to the giant villain--although it doesn't seem to have done much.
Mina and Kirishima's Past
Although most of the Class 1-A students met at UA, Mina and Kirishima had a history at their middle school. That incident actually almost led to Kirishima giving up on being a hero, as he felt that since he froze up with fear, he wasn't worthy. Ultimately, Kirishima pushed forward after watching an interview with his personal hero, Crimson Riot, who said it was okay for heroes to feel fear. That's true for Mina, too, of course; freezing up in the face of a villain who could literally eat you in one bite is perfectly understandable. Mina did manage to push through this terrifying memory, so her courage was never in question, and her plan to use the acid she produces to shield herself from Dabi's flames was brilliant. She just had the misfortune of being the one who tipped the scale for Gigantomachia to switch from ignoring them to fighting back. And in the end, Kirishima was only able to deliver the sedative because he had Mina's spare vial, so without her, there wouldn't have even been a chance. It's a big moment for both characters, without a doubt.
Whether Kirishima and Mina's efforts will bear fruit in My Hero Academia's next episode remains to be seen, but the two students definitely deserve props for pulling off what no one else could, in spite of their own fears.
New episodes of My Hero Academia are currently airing on Saturdays via Crunchyroll.