My Hero Academia Episode 34: Gear Up for Final Exams

A talk show debates the necessity of sexiness in heroic workplaces, featuring two pro heroes who argue about their ages, much to one student's amusement.

With final exams a week away, the teacher for Class 1-A warns students to prepare both mentally and physically for written and practical sections. Many students discuss their midterm grades and readiness. Two students admit they haven't studied due to recent events, while another student notes the final exam will be harder than midterms. A third student teases the two who haven't studied, claiming only the practical exam will be difficult for him because of his high grades.

Three students try to encourage their classmates to do their best, but one of them states that studying should be easy if they pay attention. One of the discouraged students is then offered tutoring for the written test by a classmate. Several others hear the offer and ask to be tutored as well, leading the offering student to promise a study session at her home. Another student comments on a classmate's different standards, and that classmate angrily declares he will tutor the first student himself. A student says it's too late to cram, but another replies that the first student needs to cram himself.

At lunch, students question the nature of the practical exam when a student from another class bumps into one of them. He sarcastically apologizes and criticizes Class 1-A for their involvement with a recent incident, claiming they constantly get into trouble. He stops when a female student from his class appears and knocks him out. She informs Class 1-A that an upperclassman told her the practical test will involve fighting robotic villains. The male student insults her for helping their rivals, but she knocks him out again and drags him away, stating Class 1-A is not detestable.

Back in homeroom, two students are excited about fighting robots in the practical exam. One student assumes this is because they struggle to control their Quirks against people, which irritates another student. This irritated student states that controlling Quirks is necessary regardless of the opponent, then calls out a classmate for using his moves during a rescue race, vowing to score better than him and another student on the finals. He storms out, and the teacher overhears him, wondering if his attitude is improving or worsening.

The students spend the last week before finals studying. Five students meet at a classmate's luxurious estate to study. Three other students study on their own, while one aggressively tutors another. After three days of written tests, the day of the practical exam arrives. A student notices many teachers are present. The teacher for Class 1-A believes the students have some knowledge of the test, and two students exclaim it will involve fighting robots. The principal then emerges from the teacher's scarf and reveals to Class 1-A that their practical exam will not be a battle simulation against robots.

The principal explains that a recent surge of villains has prompted the school to enhance training methods to increase students' battle experience. From now on, students will have battle simulations similar to real-life battles, and Class 1-A will be the first to experience them. He reveals that Class 1-A's practical exam will involve forming pairs and facing one of the school's teachers in combat, shocking the class. The pairs and their teacher opponents have already been decided: two students will face their homeroom teacher, and two other students, to their shock, will face a powerful hero.

A few days earlier, the faculty held a meeting to discuss changing the final exams. They feared fighting robotic villains would not adequately prepare students for an anticipated villainous resurgence. Two teachers worried that pitting students against teachers would be unfair. Another teacher responded that the teachers would need a handicap. The principal concluded that they must make students stronger to keep them safe. The homeroom teacher then discussed pairings, stating he paired two students due to their over-reliance on their Quirks, which he would erase during their bout. He also stated that two other students were paired due to their negative relationship, and a powerful hero should face them.

The remaining Class 1-A pairs and their teacher opponents are revealed: the principal versus two students, another teacher versus two students, a third teacher versus two students, a fourth teacher versus two students, a fifth teacher versus two students, a sixth teacher versus two students, a seventh teacher versus two students, and an eighth teacher versus two students.

Students will have thirty minutes to handcuff their teacher or escape the facility. This escape option is meant to teach them that it's acceptable to run and seek help when facing a significant difference in strength. The homeroom teacher comments that three students likely learned this from a past encounter. One of those students remembers refusing to run, and another promises to learn from that mistake. The powerful hero alleviates student anxiety about escaping being their only option by showing that all teachers will wear ultra-compressed weights as a handicap, developed by another individual. One student claims the teachers underestimate them by offering the chance to fight back.

Once the explanation concludes, the exam begins with two students facing a teacher. While some students prepare strategies, two other students watch the first test on a monitor, as they don't communicate well with their partners. The battle starts with the two students using their Quirks against the teacher. The teacher creates numerous cement walls to block their path, but the students try to force their way through. One of the watching students notices this strategy won't lead to victory because, unlike the students, the teacher's Quirk has no time limit. He surmises the practical exam pits students against teachers who will exploit their weaknesses, forcing them to compensate. The two students fail to do this and are defeated. The next pair to take the practical exam consists of two other students. Immediately, their opponent creates clones of himself that surround them, stating that all the teachers will not hold back and are doing their best to crush the students.