Hey everyone, and I have returned with a brand new anime review! I know I have been on a roll when it comes to the amount of anime reviews I have been making, but I know they seem to be really popular, and I have a lot of fun both watching the series’s, and writing reviews on them so I just like to make you guys, and myself happy! So what show will we be looking at today? Well we will be looking at one of the most popular anime today which has amassed a huge, loyal, and passionate fan-base, My Hero Academia! In fact to celebrate the premiere of the fourth season in October (so far away…), I will be reviewing not just all three seasons but also the movie as well so be on the lookout for those in the next coming months or so. So before I begin let me tell you what got me interested in this series in the first place. Well I am a huge fan of superheroes so I was bound to come across this show sooner or later, and I found the premise to be really interesting, and fascinating. Couple in the fact that animation, and superheroes go hand in hand as proven by the likes of the Incredibles movies, Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, the Lego Batman Movie, and so much more, so of course I was excited to see what this brought to the table. Well I’m happy to say that it absolutely brings a whole lot!
Based off of the manga of the same name by Kohei Horikoshi, we are taken to a world where people with super abilities exist, and make up about 80% of the world’s population. Everything that was once thought to only have existed in comic books is now actually real, with superheroes becoming the main source of crime fighting. These abilities that everyone has are simply named “quirks”, and those without them are called “quirkless”, and this show follows one of the few people who are the latter. That person in question is Izuku Midoryia, a meek, and timid teenager who aspires to be a hero one day like his inspiration, number 1 hero in the world, All Might by going to the most famous hero school there is the UA. Of course thanks to him being quirkless that dream is nearly impossible to achieve and he keeps being bullied by others because of it, including his friend from childhood, Bakugo. One day however he is rescued by All Might during an encounter with a sludge villain, and well he finds out some secrets about how limited he is in terms of how long he can use his powers. He also tells Midoryia that there isn’t a realistic way for him to become a hero. Just a couple of moments later, All Might is proven wrong when Midoryia attempts to save Bakugo from the same sludge villain from before. It is after this act of bravery does All Might decide to pass down his power, One For All, to Midoryia, and train him to get ready for the UA entrance exams. After a lot of extensive training that helps Midoryia become a suitable vessel to take the power, All Might finally gives him his power but with a catch. Since they rushed the training process Midoryia will have some trouble controlling his powers, and this shows during the entrance exam. He does however make it in though, and gets into UA, though it turns out to be a lot more challenging than he was expecting and can he Learn to truly control his new Quirk while also keeping his secret safe? If it sounds like I just gave away the whole season, don’t worry there are plenty of details I left out to avoid spoiling the whole thing to make a reasonably surface level plot summary.
So might as well start out by talking about the main concept, which is essentially the complete opposite of X-Men. Instead of people with special abilities being seen as outcast, or not treated well by normal people, and being forced to hide this is pretty much much the other way around (though the quirk-less people are not nearly treated as bad as the mutants in the X-Men universe). While yes we have seen stuff like this in other works where people all of sudden have superpowers, I really like how its done here since instead of being cynical and just focusing on the negative aspects of having powers, this show is more optimistic, and focuses on how super heroes help the world, and celebrates them, while also acknowledging that it ain’t easy work and that it must be earned. There is also some nice clever world building here even if we only see how this world is in Japan, and only focuses on one school. Still there are plenty of cool ideas, like the way school functions with different classes based on fighting enemies, and rescuing is interesting, the whole there being a ranking for how powerful the pro hero makes it stand out from other universes, and there are plenty of creative quirks here that I haven’t really seen be used in other medias (like using sweat to create explosions, or doing anything a frog can). But the reason the whole shows work is not because of its world building, or super powered action, it is because of how well done, and heartfelt Deku’s (another name of his) journey to become a hero is. While it’s not the most original story out there, it more than makes up for that thanks to its execution (which is always important). It manages to work as good inspirational underdog story thanks to the good messages of improving who you are, working hard to achieve your dreams, and to not give up on those passionate dreams although it does argue at times that you need to know your limits, and be realistic about these dreams and whether they are achievable or not and if they are, you need to prove that you deserve it (kind of reminds me of Monsters Univeristy in some ways, though still very different). Oh, and how could I forget about the emotion as there are a lot of moments that pack a big punch, and I’m not gonna lie I may have teared up a bit during a couple scenes (the biggest probably being when Deku finds out he doesn’t have powers, and asks his Mom about it, or when All Might say he can be a hero), but at the same time there were many scenes that were very inspiring, and made me want to cheer with happiness (like when Deku finally cleans the whole beach or when he gets accepted into UA). There was also a lot fun comedy concerning the different quirks, Bakugo always yelling like a maniac, Deku’s constant muttering, and a lot more amusing character traits. I’d say my biggest issue with the story, well actually the show overall, would have to be pacing wise it’s a little inconsistent at times, and it does take a while for the show to truly get going. It’s also annoying how the show constantly replays events we just saw in the previous episode into the current one we are watching, though whether that will bother you too much or not depends on if your binge watching (like me) or spacing out your watching time. But even with some pacing issues, a familiar sounding story, the show still presents a lot of cool ideas and a good execution of its themes to keep me interested.
Since this show originates from a manga series there was probably more than a little pressure from fans to make the show look just right. Well I can say that Bones Inc. did a fine job translating everything from the page into the screen, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering they worked on such acclaimed series such as Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Soul Eater, and Mob Psycho 100 (I have only seen the latter, haven’t gotten around to the others, please don’t be mad). The character designs are pretty much identical to the ones in the manga, and they do a good job matching each character’s personality with some exaggerated features like the faces, eyes, and hair, that make each character stand out in terms of not only appearance, but personality as well. I also do love the unique, and colorful costumes that the heroes, and the class of 1-A wear as they also show off the personalities, and quirks really well. This applies to the movements as well which work in capturing the fast paced energy, or the more quiet subtle moments depending on the the scene, and the backgrounds are all well done even if there really isn’t any locale that is particularly noteworthy as most of the action usually takes place in a normal looking Japanese city, and the UA school, and training facilities. That doesn’t mean their badly done, its just that their not anything too special on their own. Speaking of the action one of the highlights of the series is how it gives the animators the opportunity to show off all of the hero’s different quirks (fittingly something the X-Men films have done a good job of doing). Whether its All Might’s All for One, Bakugo’s explosions, Uraraka’s floating abilities, Iida’s engine, Tsu’s frog powers, Mineta’s purple blob powers, and so much more that we only get to see a little bit from this season. Its really cool seeing these different abilities clash or work with one another, and it made all of the set-pieces a lot of fun to watch. I should also note that when the action get epic it truly gets EPIC (I’m looking at you All Might, and your fight with Nomu that took over 300 hits to take down). Speaking of epic that’s a great way of describing the soundtrack which manages to nail being sweeping, inspirational, and epic during the action, and training scenes, and quiet, soothing, and emotional during the more dramatic, character building moments. I also have to mention how incredible the opening is as it always gets me hyped for whats about to come in no small part thanks to the song “The Day” performed by Porno Graffiti. It also does a good job foreshadowing what about to go down in this season (something all of the openings for this series do really well), with some effective imagery, and action. The ending credits have a more emotional, and inspiring feel to them, and it is really poignant, and symbolic in the way it portrays Deku’s character journey, and the song “HEROES” by Brian the Sun fits the scene perfectly.
Yes the show does have a well written story, good animation, nice themes, and solid action, but that’s not the main reason this show works as well as it does. No, the crucial key to its success is how well rounded, and memorable our main cast of characters are who are just a joy to hang out with, and is so huge that it makes Infinity War’s roster look small. Let’s start with our protagonist Deku (or Midoryia or Izuku or whatever else you want to call him), who is a likable, kind, and strong willed kid who would not hesitate to help anyone in need. He may start out a little timid, and insecure, but as he learns more and more on what it means to be a hero, facing many challenges, learning to master his quirk, and meeting many friends, he learns to be more confident in himself, and develops a lot of good leadership skills in the process. I really enjoyed watching his journey unfold, and he is absolutely someone whom the audience will want to root for, and I related to him quite a bit whenever he would fanboy over superheroes, although maybe more time dedicated to his relationship with his mother would have been nice since they are some of the most powerful moments. He also has a great mentor-mentee relationship with All Might (or Toshinori Yagi) that serves as the big, beating, heart of the story. Speaking of which, the latter is a lot more than just some Superman like figure who serves as a beacon of hope to everyone during harsh times, with all the superhero type qualities you’d expect as there are a lot more layers to his character. Without giving anything away I do like how even when he is in his, serious, and somewhat cynical, powerless form that he still stays true to his beliefs, and he doesn’t turn out to be some fraud or rejects Deku like many of these types of stories would go, and it was pretty refreshing to see it done like this. Then there’s Katsuki Bakugo Deku’s friend from childhood (though that’s debatable) who has now become sort of Deku’s rival now that his “quirk” showed up. Not gonna lie, I was not very fond of this guy at first. I thought he was just a typical school bully who treats the main character like crap for no real reason. His ferocious personality did start to grow on me a little as the show went on however, and he does turn out to be a far more complex, and smart character who has the same aspirations as Deku, but he just doesn’t want him to ruin it, and hates to be looked down upon. Then there’s Deku’s friends he makes at UA who support him all the way like the outgoing, and cheerful Ochako Uraraka who is just adorable and plays off our main hero well, as does the strict but earnest Tenya Iida who wants to be a great hero like his brother, and proves to be a great leader as the Class 1-A representative. The other students of the class may not get as much screen-time or development but they each manage to be memorable, and leave an impression like the highly intelligent Momo Yaoyorozu, the laid back, and observant, Tsuyu Asui (or Tsu), the perverted Minoru Mineta, the egotistical Yuga Aoyama, and much more. As for any antagonists well we are introduced to the League of Villains led by Tomura Shigarakai and they work well as threats to our heroes, and are legitimately creepy in their designs, and have cool powers (like Kurogiri’s warp gate), but we don’t know too much about them, and their actions here are really a teaser of whats to come later. Just like many other successful superhero franchises the focus is rightfully on the characters, and this show scores big on that front.
My Hero Academia season 1 started the series off with a bang introducing a cool new world of supers that stands out from the pack, an well told inspirational underdog story disguised in tights, nice morals, and themes, solid animation that was able to take what was on the page, and bring it to life, fun, and creative action beats, and one of my favorite ensemble casts in an animated series. While its not perfect, it still works as a good introduction to the franchise, and I would highly recommend it to both those who love anime, Super hero fans, and even people who are not into anime because this could be a good starting point for them. In fact in some ways it is similar to the first X-Men movie in terms of quality. So using that logic, that means season 2 is about as good as something like X-2 right? Well spoiler alert but hell yes it is! Look forward to my review of season 2 soon, and sound off in the comments any other anime you would like me to review!
Rating: A-
Leave your thoughts down below in the comments, and see you guys later!
Review Time 