FEATURE: Get To Know the Paranormal Liberation Front From My Hero Academia
The sixth season of My Hero Academia is adapting one of the most important and adrenaline-fueled arcs of Kohei Horikoshi’s superhero manga. Now it’s an all-out war between the heroes and villains — who are more brutal than ever. To get a better idea of how serious the danger is this time let’s talk about the antagonists of this arc: The Paranormal Liberation Front. Believe me, they have the power and influence capable of changing all of hero society as we know it.
The Front’s Origin
Born from the fusion of Re-Destro’s Meta Liberation Army with the League of Villains now led by Tomura Shigaraki, the Paranormal Liberation Front was formed shortly after Re-Destro’s defeat at the hands of Shigaraki. Seeing him as the rightful leader to carry on the ideals of his predecessor, Destro, Re-Destro abdicated his position and gave Shigaraki and his League of Villains all their resources, money, and followers. Like Destro, Re-Destro seeks to create a world where no one limits the use of Quirks. He feels that Shigaraki could accomplish such a goal.
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In his opening speech as leader of the army, Shigaraki informed everyone that there would be nine lieutenants who would have teams assigned to them based on their needs. He ended the speech by telling everyone that, in the end, they’ll do what they want. Such words left the assembly in an uproar, euphoric about the freedom they were given to pursue their desire to make a real impact on the society they hated so much.
The Status of Shigaraki and the Other Members of the League of Villains
Although quite painful, the confrontation against Re-Destro and his Meta Liberation Army had impressive results for Shigaraki and the League. Starting with the leader himself, Shigaraki unlocked his long-forgotten memories and evolved his Quirk. Before he could only disintegrate what his fingers touched, but now the disintegration spreads to everything around the things he touches, allowing him to destroy entire cities.
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Himiko Toga also had an evolution in her Quirk. After the confrontation with Curious, an influential journalist who was secretly part of the Meta Liberation Army, Toga is now able to use the Quirk of the person she copied. Twice was another who was able to use his Quirk with greater intensity after Skeptic attempted to turn his trauma against him. This manifested into a technique called Sad Man’s Parade which he can use to create countless copies of himself, giving him a sea of duplicates under his command. Virtually everyone in the League of Villains came out of this fight refreshed, evolved, and, above all, more powerful and dangerous.
Ultimately the League of Villains gained all the resources and influence coming from Re-Destro and, by extension, from the Meta Liberation Army and its followers — a number over one hundred thousand, according to Re-Destro. As icing on the cake, the battle proved to All For One’s giant servant, Gigantomachia, that Shigaraki is the rightful successor to his former master’s will. Gigantomachia has sworn loyalty to Shigaraki and has vowed to do as he pleases. With that, the League of Villains is now the most dangerous and destructive force the world of heroes has ever seen.
The Army’s Fields of Action and Objectives
The Meta Liberation Army is united under a single will and its influence ramifies into several areas of activity. Detnerat, the company that Re-Destro is CEO of, has strong connections in the business world and is at the vanguard of manufacturing equipment designed to enhance the Quirk effects of metahumans. The media and social networks are manipulated by Feel Good Inc. With Skeptic being a board member, he’s able to influence the masses and create any narrative that favors the Meta Liberation Army’s goals. There’s also Trumpet, a politician who is good at rallying together a crowd to do his bidding.
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Meanwhile, the League of Villains has several High-End Nomus, Shigaraki’s awakened power, control of the colossal and destructive Gigantomachia, Toga and Twice’s enhanced Quirks, and the promise that Dr. Ujiko will further enhance Shigaraki’s powers.
These two forces are more than just a threat to Japan. Now operating as the Paranormal Liberation Front, these villains can cause worldwide damage and even change the status quo of society as a whole. Can the heroes anticipate their moves and prevent the worst from happening? Follow the current season of My Hero Academia to find out!
Samir “Twero” Fraiha is a senior contributing writer for Crunchyroll.pt. He enjoys anime, manga and games since he was 5 years old and is a fan of CyberConnect2 games. He is very active on Twitter as @Twero.
