WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 7, "Match 3," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.
My Hero Academia's joint training battle has reached its third stage, and Class 1-B has made a great show of force with Kinoko Komori's shocking Mushroom Quirk and Jurota Shishida's Beast ability. The third team isn't quite as flashy, but Class 1-B has a hidden gem on its side: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.
In many ways, Tetsutetsu is the mirror of Class 1-A's Eijiro Kirishima, something both boys resent since they steal each other's thunder. Tetsutetsu has a hardening Quirk to match Eijiro's own, along with a similarly headstrong, can-do attitude. But Tetsutetsu's attitude is perhaps more reminiscent of a certain, explosive hot-head whom Eijiro happens to be best friends with.
Itsuka Kendo and Manga Fukidashi's Quirks caused serious destruction during their fight against Momo Yaoyorozu's team, so Class 1-B's teacher Vlad King asks his students to minimize the carnage for future battles. The words barely escape his mouth when Tetsutetsu makes a war cry and starts smashing the terrain apart, making a huge ruckus in the process. His teammates fuss at him to stop, but it's too late -- Tetsutetsu is in battle mode, and all he can think about is bluntly taking the fight to Class 1-A however he can. There's no stopping him now.
Tetsutetsu is out for blood, and patience isn't exactly his game. This might remind My Hero Academia viewers of a certain Katsuki Bakugo, who is also known for his do-or-die fighting style and giving his opponents no time to prepare. These qualities match his Explosion Quirk and his determination to become the new #1 hero, but that gimmick is hardly unique to him. Despite his defensive Quirk, Tetsutetsu is fierce and reckless, and his brash fighting style might actually be the key to his team's victory.
Tetsutetsu is incapable of scouting or trickery with his Steel Quirk. His teammates can't effectively scout either, so it's up to them to draw Class 1-A in and trap them -- and Tetsutetsu's Bakugo-style tantrum may be the key. Class 1-A's Mezo Shoji quickly picks up on Tetsutetsu's rampage and his team heads right for their 1-B opponents with only a simple battle plan in mind. This will be a contest of brute force and willpower, contrasting sharply with the clever battle of wits between Momo's and Itsuka's teams in the second match. Class 1-A is relying on Shoto Todoroki's sheer talent and Tenya Iida's and Mashirao Ojiro's melee prowess -- but that's playing right into Tetsutetsu's hands.
Clever tricks and traps can turn the tide of battle in even the most hopeless situations of My Hero Academia, but that's not the only way to fight -- and not everyone has the patience for such tactics. Katsuki blends his aggressiveness with sharp wits in battle, while Tetsutetsu is blunt aggression without any wits at all. This is clever in a roundabout way, luring Class 1-A's team into fighting on simple terms and taking Tetsutetsu's team a bit too lightly.
If the fight will be on Tetsutetsu's terms, then he's got an advantage, and his Class 1-B team can follow suit. The match isn't over yet, but Tetsutetsu is already demonstrating that brawn actually can beat brains -- at least when the battle's opening shots are fired. Can he close the deal while he's still ahead?
