Chapter 173

Saturday hands Class 1-A a day off, and with Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki's Provisional Hero License course also paused, the whole class spends the afternoon on their live dance performance. Music, dance and staging all rehearse at once. Mirio Togata crouches in a bush setting up an ambush and Izuku Midoriya spots him anyway. The surprise turns out to be Eri. Ochaco Uraraka and Tsuyu Asui fuss over her outfit while Shota Aizawa lays out the terms: Nezu cleared the visit, but warned that dropping a child with almost no social experience straight into a crowded event could be too much for her. Hence the early trip, and hence the instruction not to startle or panic her. Minoru Mineta and Tenya Ida introduce themselves, then Mirio offers Izuku a place on the tour, and Eijiro Kirishima comes over to meet her.

Walking the grounds, Mirio notes that the day off exists because of the new boarding system. Two third year business students press fliers on them and remark on how popular Class 1-A has become. Everywhere, students are building. Class 1-B is staging a fantasy production titled "Romeo, Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Return of the Kings", and Neito Monoma crows about their superiority until Yosetsu Awase deflates him and brings up Itsuka Kendo skipping Miss Con, the school's beauty pageant. Mirio makes an apology to Eri for the school at its worst and takes her to Nejire Hado instead, last year's runner up. Nejire is getting ready in the equipment room and talking about the reigning champion, Third Year Class G's Bibimi Kenranzaki, who takes it every year. This is Nejire's last chance to beat her.

The Development Studio comes next. Mei Hatsume calls the festival an opportunity to shine and shows off a combat suit, and Izuku cannot help noticing how filthy and unkempt she is. She has wanted attention like the hero course got from the Sports Festival. She asks after Izuku's hero equipment and offers to build him whatever he needs. Then the suit explodes, and Mirio hurries Eri toward the next stop.

In Lunch Rush Cafeteria, Eri says everyone is doing their best and she wants to see how the work turns out. Izuku and Mirio, delighted, name the feeling for her. Nezu and Nemuri Kayama take a seat nearby, the principal thrilled at what his students are making of the festival. Nemuri raises the Police Force's problems with it and is told to keep such information to herself, and Nezu departs after telling the students to have a good time.

He thinks back to the Commissioner General coming in person to argue for curtailing the event. Villain numbers were climbing, the heroes' footing was slipping, and an attack on the festival would make preventing the next one impossible, so the request was cancellation and a quiet focus on raising the generation to come. Nezu agreed with the reasoning, but believed the students needed this and begged for the festival anyway, unwilling to plan around a dark future.

Nemuri fills in the compromise: hardened security, and any attack means every activity halts and the site evacuates at once. That is what won the Commissioner General over, along with Ryo Inui patrolling the premises. She spots Class 1-A reaching the staff room and cheers them on. Izuku tells Eri about the dance party with live music and hopes she will come and watch.

One week later, Mina Ashido walks up to Izuku and tells him he is fired.

Eri is brought in by Mirio to watch Class 1-A rehearse.

The two boys walk her through the rest of the school, and she comes away excited for the event.

Nezu is revealed to have faced police pressure to scrap the festival over rising villain attacks, and to have talked them into allowing it.

Mina informs Izuku that he has supposedly been fired from the dance squad.

Titled Prepping for the School Festival Is the Funnest Part (Part 2), the chapter runs seventeen pages and appeared on March 5, 2018, in issue 14 of that year. It belongs to volume 19 and the U.A. School Festival arc, and Episode 83 adapts it.

Bibimi Kenranzaki and Yuyu Haya debut, with Bibimi appearing only in a picture.

The cover assembles Eijiro, Koji Koda, Izuku, Mirio, Eri, Shota, Shoto and Mina. Wave Motion is the only Quirk credited on the page.