Warning! Contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 378!
The Tartarus Prison break was a devastating blow for the heroes in , but one former villain made sure that it wasn't a complete loss for them with one epic act. The Tartarus prison break occurred right after the brutal clash between the heroes and the Paranormal Liberation Front. It saw the release of All For One and a myriad of other prisoners, which drastically shifted the status quo of 's world causing a dramatic rise in villainy and despair. But among this bleakness, there was one hidden beacon of hope as 's latest chapter reveals.
After the main , various other prison breaks occurred. In Chapter 378, one of these is shown in greater detail. But as various villains were about to go out into the world and wreak havoc, the disheveled form of Gentle Criminal stood in front of them asking them if they truly wanted to do this. The other villains of course replied that it was and attempted to get past Gentle by force. While the ensuing fight isn't explicitly shown, a beaten and bloody Gentle is shown afterwards having prevented any of his fellow criminals from escaping. This is an awesome moment both in its epic nature and in how it fits into Gentle's character arc.
Gentle Criminal was first introduced in as a pretty weak and silly villain. He was a minor celebrity who would put videos of his crimes on the internet hoping to inspire others and prevent himself from fading into obscurity. Over the course of the arc it was revealed that he turned to crime after failing as a Hero, and ultimately it was this heroic instinct that enabled Deku to get through to him and convince him to change his ways at the end of the arc.
While he largely disappeared after that arc leaving fans to think that his role in the story had come to an end. But now series author back, enabling him to fulfill his true purpose.
The fact that Gentle was able to perform such a heroic act in the Tartarus prison break shows that he has become a true hero. Given his initial motivation for committing crimes was to become famous and influential it is especially notable that this act was then not publicized, enabling Gentle to become a secret weapon for the Heroes in this final war arc.
Gentle has truly turned a new leaf, becoming a hero for the right reasons and thus providing support to one of the main messages of the series, that anyone can find redemption, even a villain.
It will be interesting if Gentle’s heroic return inspires Deku to try and renew his efforts to . But even if his return has no real impact on the plot of the manga as a whole, his stand during the Tartarus prison breaks still serves as a satisfying conclusion to his character arc. If gives all of its older villains this sort of treatment, then its controversial final arc may become one of the manga’s best.
Chapter 378 is available to read from .
