Posted by Over the summer I finally got around to watching My Hero Academia. A friend of mine had been recommending it to me for a while now, and he has yet to steer me wrong with any of his recommendations. So about halfway through the summer, I started watching it. Today I was finally able to finish, because the website that I use only uploads the next episode of My Hero on Sundays, and I watch English dubbed anime, so I’m already a few weeks behind. But now that season 3 is over, I feel like I can finally share my thoughts on the show. Since I’ll be covering three seasons, I won’t be going over the general plot, because that would take way too long, and it would take all the fun out of watching the show, which I highly recommend that you do.
My Hero Academia follows Izuku Midoriya as he goes through high school and tries to become the best hero in the world. That’s the basic premise of the show, but of course there’s a lot more to it than that. Besides, the simplest premises tend to be the best because so much can be done with them, and that’s very true when it comes to My Hero Academia.
Now, my favorite thing about My Hero Academia is the characters. The cast of characters is absolutely phenomenal, because they all have depth. Even many side characters who only appear for a handful of episodes get fleshed out through their backstory, morals, and actions. So of course that means that the main cast is incredibly dynamic. One of the things that consistently impresses me about My Hero is how all of the characters change and develop as the story progresses. For example, (this isn’t really a super big spoiler, but it is still kind of a spoiler) in the second season, one of the characters has to deal with the problems in his family in order to accept himself and use both of his powers instead of just the one that he had only been using. This is an oversimplification of the issue of course, but I don’t want to spoil one of the most powerful moments of the first arc in season 2. It’s also really cool seeing what motivates and drives each character, which makes them all very relatable. And when you do finally reach the end of season 3, it’s really interesting looking back and seeing how a character has grown and changed since his or her initial appearance.
The fights are also incredible. I’m not going to lie, I tend to watch anime for the intense fights, and My Hero Academia definitely delivers in this category. One of the most noticeable aspects of the fights in My Hero is how each action has weight behind it. The environment frequently gets destroyed, and it’s breathtaking every time that it happens. But I think that the most important thing about the fights is that each one isn’t just interesting to watch, it’s fun. Due to the nature of the show–people with superpowers fighting against other people with superpowers–every fight is different. A kid with super strength fighting another boy that explodes? Yeah that happens (rather frequently actually). A boy that has fire and ice powers fighting a villain that can paralyze people? Yeah that fight is pretty intense. Something else that I think is absolutely incredible about the fights is how it shows character development. Remember the example I used earlier about the kid accepting his family and himself? Well that all happens in the middle of an intense, and important, fight. The fights in My Hero Academia aren’t just there to be flashy, they’re there to further advance the story and flesh out the characters.
Something else that I tend to take for granted is the pacing of the story. In my opinion, the pacing is almost perfect. There is the occasional filler episode (I think there might be one in the second season and there’s another one in the third season), but they still add to the story. The filler episode in the second season branches out and touches on other characters instead of just following the main protagonist like the previous episodes did. The filler episode in the third season sets up for the movie that’s coming out later this year (I think it’s this year). And while these filler episodes don’t add anything essential to the plot, they don’t detract from it either. I remember something that really bugged me when I was watching Soul Eater a few years ago was how the filler episodes were placed rather awkwardly and detracted from the main story, especially when suspense was starting to build. But even with the few filler episodes, the pacing is great and I rarely found myself bored with the show.
I would highly recommend this show to almost anyone. The characters are incredibly interesting and relatable with many different layers instead of just being “I’m the hero and I need to stop the bad guy”. The fights are fun, fast-paced, and actually add a lot to the story since they aren’t just the good guy vs. the villain of the week. And the pacing is spot on. All in all, I would seriously recommend checking this show out, especially with a movie and fourth season on the horizon.
Broad Scope Entertainment 