“When the enemy becomes certain of their victory, that will be our chance.” – Izuku Midoriya
My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) is an action, comedy, school, shounen, and super power anime. It was originally released in April 2016 by Bones with 13 episodes. It has three completed seasons and a continuing fourth.
General Rating: 8.4/10
My Rating: 10/10
I remember hearing about Hero Academia before it even hit the air, and it soon became one of the first animes I watched during it's airing season. There were many fun memories waiting on the Funimation stream, chatting with other random otakus, watching the countdown. Hero Academia has taken the anime world by storm. It's an anime even normies and noobs are enjoying. Even people who generally don't like Japanese anime have been getting into Hero Academia, and has been a gateway for so many new people since 2016. for better or for worse. Hero Academia is an anime that is easily relatable to almost anyone, especially those who have in the past and are now growing bored of western hero franchises such as D.C. or Marvel. The fanbase behind this anime is immense. But while it does appeal to a wide audience, does not make Hero Academia a bad anime for true otakus, as I have heard many say.
Hero Academia is technically by nature a zero to hero troupe anime, however our main character, Izuku Midoriya, is never truly made out to be a zero. In a world where the majority of the population has at least some quirk (aka superpower), Midoriya is left quirkless. This is not like how Naruto or Hitman Reborn began. Midoriya is shown to have skills since the very beginning, they just happened to not be hero skills and were overshadowed by the heroes. In fact, this was the first thing that I appreciated about Hero Academia. Midoriya was quirkless, but never gave up on attending the elite hero school, UA. He honed the rest of his talents in order to make it, studying pro heros, villains, and fights, and recording it all. Above all, Midoriya had the resolve to protect his friends, even as an ordinary boy with no quirk. All Might, a pro hero Midoriya admires the most, recognizes this in Midoriya and gives him a power that changes his life forever. Hero Academia gives us a zero to hero troupe without ever making the zero (Midoriya) look like a loser. This is the first thing about Hero Academia that I fell in love with.
Story: Hero Academia is on its fourth season as of 2020, and has had many great arcs that I found vastly unexpected. The anime kicks off introducing Midoriya, his childhood friend/rival/enemy? Bakugo, and his new classmates and soon to be friends at UA. The anime introduces us to their quirks and their abilities as they train and compete, and soon take part in a Sports Festival. However, after this, things get interesting. I do not want to spoil too much, but instead of having just one insanely strong villain for the heroes to defeat, Hero Academia goes for the concept of an underground villains society. This spirals the anime into a whole new direction. The heroes are faced against difficult foes, risk loosing their quirk, and loose morale as one of the greatest heroes exists no longer. The story in later seasons (mainly 3 and 4) is why Hero Academia has a 10/10 rating from me. There have the complicated characters you can't just figure out, complex plots that keep you on your toes, and new heroes who's abilities fit together so well you'd think it's fate. Of course, it also has epic fights and cool powers, but all that was expected from a franchise like Hero Academia.
Characters: Hero Academia has a LOT of characters, and characters of which you could never win the "spot the main character" game with. Quite a few of the other semi-main or side characters even have cooler designs than Midoriya, making Midoriya fit in with his class rather than stand out. While some of you might be thinking you want a main character that stands out a little bit more, I think Midoriya's character firs his role. The characters in Hero Academia are outstandingly made, not one like the rest. I did think it was interesting that EVERYONE has a different quirk. There aren't two fire users or water users, etc. This is something the series excels in. The characters each have a unique quirk, and each is strong in its own ways. Another thing this anime does with it's quirks is that they often alter how the person looks. I loved this fact, especially from a flashy shounen anime that their quirk physically affects them. Sure we see this a bit in Fairy Tail or Naruto, but nothing like Hero Academia. This unique attribute is what I love most about the characters in Hero Academia.
Soundtrack: Hero Academia puts a lot of work into their soundtrack. It's got a fairly unique theme and great hype for the battle scenes. The openings and endings are pretty typical from what you would expect from a modern shounen anime, but I am enjoying them well enough.
Art: Hero Academia has come at just the right era. Modern animation has just begun its sweep in the anime world, and this animation sets Hero Academia apart from other 2000s shounens. It works very well for the series, especially being a flashy shounen type.
Hero Academia is quite popular among anime fans new and old, whether they are supportive of it or not. However I don't believe all modern animes should be hated upon, and My Hero Academia is no exception. It's a great anime overall and has a solid place in my top 20 animes of all time. Fans of shounen animes like Fairy Tail, Naruto, Assassination Classroom, Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Hunter x Hunter, or Gurren Lagann will definitely love this anime and should give it a watch.
Comments