The best thing about Season 5's OVA is that it stops pretending MHA needs to save the world, it just lets its supporting cast play baseball with their quirks and watches what happens. Mr. Smiley's laugh ability becomes genuinely funny precisely because the show doesn't care about consequences. The animation pops harder here than it does in the main story because there's nothing to protect except the bit, and that's exactly when this show breathes.

Professional heroes love baseball, and they've built an entire league around it. When rival hero agencies Gang Orca and Shishido face off in the final game of the HLB championship, their rosters become competing teams: the Orcas and the Lionels. The league has no rules, so heroes are free to use their quirks. Just as the game nears its end, a villain interrupts the match. The second episode shifts focus to Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki as they intern at the agency of the number one hero, Endeavor. Tracking down Smiley, a villain who scribbles doodles around the city, seems too low priority to bother with until Smiley marks Endeavor's own house. An enraged Endeavor heads out with the three students, only to learn that anyone who meets Smiley's gaze is overcome by uncontrollable laughter. These two episodes mix action and sports with comedy.