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Year: 2016 – Present
Genre: Adventure, fantasy, superhero
Episodes: 170
Rating: 5 out of 5
Have you ever dreamed of being a superhero? What would it be like to be a superhero in the world? Who is your favorite superhero? Is it Iron Man or Batman? How about Superman or Spiderman? There are countless superheroes a person can choose from. My personal favorite is Wolverine because he is the best at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice. Have you ever wondered if one day you had powers? You could make fire, have the powers of a frog, or something else. Now with those powers, to be a hero, you had to go to school. You actually had to take classes on what it would take to be a hero. Would you actually do it?
My Hero Academia is a story about a kid who suddenly gains powers and must go to school to become a hero.
Overview
My Hero Academia is set in a world where 80% of the world population has a Quirk. Quirks usually show up in children around the age of four and gives them the ability to develop superpowers. There are infinite types of Quirks, and it is not known that two people have the same exact power unless they are closely related, like a parent and their offspring. As the world has changed by this sudden phenomenon, a new class of people has come to the world’s forefront. Heroes are the new rage, while people who use their powers for selfish reasons use their Quirks for criminal reasons and are known as Villains. Heroes who choose to exercise heroism at the work level are recognized as Pro Heroes.
My Hero Academia follows the story of Izuku Midoriya and his dreams of becoming the world’s greatest superhero. Midoriya’s dreams are somewhat dashed when he was born without a Quirk. He is constantly teased and bullied by his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo for lacking a Quirk. Midoriya idolizes one of the world’s greatest heroes, All Might. All Might has suffered a significant injury from his biggest foe and has been keeping it a major secret from the world to keep up morale in the world. After saving Midoriya from a villain and watching Midoriya jump into danger while being quirkless, All Might decides to pass his quirk, One For All, to Midoriya.
Midoriya begins his path to becoming a hero by attending the world-famous U.A. High School with his new quirk. As Midoriya starts to learn the truth around his quirk and becomes a hero, villains begin to rise from the shadows.
Review
The story of this anime is PHENOMENAL. I absolutely LOVE this anime. Now it did have this Naruto feel. Rather than a world of ninjas, this world setting is filled with people who want to be superheroes. The main character, Midoriya, being an outcast in a world where people are born with Quirks, which is technically superpowers, gains his powers from the world’s mightiest hero, All Might. I love the type of stories that gives a person hope as they should never fail in their dreams. I love how each season gets better and better each year.
In the first and shortest season, we see how Midoriya receives his quirk but also his quest to get into the top hero academy. I love this season because it showed a hero who is on their last legs wanting to pass on his legacy but also the hard work it takes to just get in for someone who has no previous powers. I think it is excellent how Midoriya finally finds friends and how people soon start to respect him. It is also strong to show Midoriya’s bully and rival and how he finally beats him during one of the practice exams. I also like how the season ends with an intense battle and introduction of the villains.
“…so clench your buttcheeks kid, and yell this from the depths of your heart!”
The second season steps up the ante with having a Sports Festival. The festival showed what the students had learned so far, along with being a sponsor. It was fantastic to see Midoriya fly through the air during the tournament run, but the best part of the whole festival was when Midoriya and Todoroki squared off. That fight was AWESOME!!! It was thrilling, intense and the final attacks by both were epic. The animation was so smooth. This is where two things happen: first, Midoriya gets some training from All Might’s old mentor, Gran Torino, who is like that wise old man who knows how to explain everything in small riddles. This season’s highlight is when the villain, Killer Stain, puts his own ideology out in the known world and the rise of more villains once he is defeated. Killer Stain is a freakin beast!
Season 3 should be called when the Villains whip some ass because they attack the students and the community with a vengeance, and I LOVE IT! The League of Villains finally steps up their fighting and attacks along with the mastermind of All For One. Now, I don’t know about you, but All For One wasn’t that impressive to me. He didn’t have this major wow factor that I was expecting. He was powerful and sophisticated, but homeboy got knock the f**k out with the UNITED STATES OF SMASH!!! The best move I’ve seen in a while. This season was also way more emotional with the class getting their provisional hero’s license but also Bakugo finally letting go. It was also a season of tremendous growth for Midoriya.
Season 4 was straight up balls to the wall action and intensity, and I love every minute of it. This is where the anime finally lets loose for the class and let them truly experience being heroes. The training wheels came completely off, and it was time for people to put on their big boy pants. This is where Midoriya learns from Mirio, who is a beast in himself, and Sir Nighteye, who was All Might’s second. People die in this season, and it is very emotional. Shit, this is where Midoriya goes from a little boy to a straight-up MAN when he fought against Overhaul.
Season 5 somewhat took a back seat and introduced more of the villains to the forefront. This is the season where Shigaraki fully unleashes his full power and wrath upon a group to gain control and even more control. It was nice to see some of the villains get love because they go through hell in this season. You can see where this will set the stage for a major showdown. Also, in this season, we see the development of Midoriya as he gains a new power or quirk. We also start learning about the other users of One For All.
Season 6 is where it is at. Season 6 brought this anime into a new level and I LOVE IT! I thought the anime was okay but the anime went into a new world with the battle between the heroes and villains but also showing the doubt in the mind of the heroes and the community they protect. This season follows the violent battle between the Heroes with the students of U.A. High School with Midoriya becoming a target and his secret being revealed while Shigaraki leads the villains and almost becomes an unstoppable machine. The battle was something I was expecting with many heroes dying. Some of the fan favorites are gone and you see Midoriya go to a whole new level. What I love about season 6 is that it went the Spider-Man 2 route with showing what happens when the public starts blaming heroes and many of them quitting. Dabi went HAM on his family and then that is when the country changed. The best part of the season was when Midoriya went out on his own. He dragged himself into thinking that it was best to leave the school to protect everyone. He looked like he went through HELL. His scenes showed the weight of being a hero during tough times. What I love about the season is when he went up against his friends in Class 1-A. That whole episode almost made me cry because it showed that all heroes need friends. The episode after that when his boo thang talked to the people to convince them almost made me cry also. Bravo season 6!
Yoooooooooooooo!!!!! Season 7 took it not only up a notch but showed that the stakes we high and out of control. The season began with the US #1 hero, Stars & Stripes, looking at the destruction that was happening in Japan, saying F it and coming to help. Her powers were insane and the fight she had with Tomura Shigaraki was intense. She did major damage to Tomura and all the quirks he stole. The main story of this season is the all out war in Japan. The heroes come up with a plan to split many of the major villains apart and transport them to certain locations. Shit goes down. Deku was supposed to end up fighting Tomura but his freaky obsession girl, Himiko, takes him to another place. The main battle in this season was Shoto vs. Dabi. That shit was insane to watch and an all out battle between brothers. The animation and battles in this season was top notch. What was also great in this anime is the return of All for One and his destructive path to reclaim what he think is his.
If you thought season 7 was good, the animators made sure that season 8 was balls to the wall action, story telling and intensity. The season was only 10 episodes long but it was outstanding and I have to applaud the amazement of it. Everything is on the line as One For All has become young as he is using his rewind powers. Dude is on a major mission. We see All Might get into a armor suit and go toe-to-toe with All For One and manage to hold his own until a former villain comes through and helps him. What is also great about this season is that we see the evolution of the Quirks and the background of All For One, how he went on his reign of terror and how the quirk One for All came to be and grew into a powerful quirk. The fight between Bakugo and One For All was AWESOME! From the second Bakugo saves All Might to his fight with One For All was Fantastic. The animation, dialogue and everything about that battle was top notch. The music during that fight hit HARD!!
The final fight between Deku and Tomura was everything that you would want. It was intense and kept you on the edge of your seat. What I love about this battle is that you see an unstoppable force in Tomura and Deku holding on but his skills and genius is high. You see him working as one with the other holders of All For One. You see how he brings down the famous villain only for One For All to take full control of Tomura’s body. The final small from Deku was a thing of beauty to watch. Once again, the animation, story and music all hit hard.
One of the greatest aspects of this anime is all the characters you can root for. Holy S**t are there so many characters to root for or love. Honestly, this is like Naruto because of all the characters presented in this anime, and each one is unique in their own special way. It could take me a while to talk about each one, so I’ll keep it to a minimum.
First, there is the main character Izuku Midoriya who goes by Deku. Midoriya has almost the same story as Naruto. He is Quirkless but wants to be a hero like his mentor and role model, All Might. What should be admired about Midoriya is that he is like many of us. The timid, scared person who dreams big. When he gets his chance by receiving One for All, he continues to work hard to be better than his mentor. I love this character. Toshinori Yagi/All Might is one of those characters you will love because of his thinking and who he is. He loves everyone and refers to himself as the Symbol of Peace. He is the user of One for All before giving it to Midoriya since he had a crippling injury he sustained from fighting All For One in the past. I also love this character.
Another character that people might hate a lot in the beginning but come to respect is Katsuki Bakugō. You want to talk about a ferocious person, then look no further than Bakugo. The dude is a straight-up beast but also ruthless as a competitor. He is Izuku’s childhood friend turned arch-rival and classmate in Class 1-A. He is like Sasuke from Naruto but even more extreme. His pride gets in the way so much. He possesses the Quirk Explosion giving his sweat nitroglycerin-like properties at which he can detonate at will. He has one of the best arcs as his characters grows and in Season 7 dude is my hero in the final batle.
I want to talk about some female characters because they are also great in this anime. First, there is Ochaco Uraraka. She is such a cute and innocent character who helps Midoriya. She even develops feelings for him along the way. Her quirk is Zero Gravity allows her to make any object she touches with all five of her fingers, on the one hand, to become weightless. My favorite female character is Tsuyu Asui, or known as Froppy. Froppy is a girl in Midoriya’s class whose quirk is Frog, which literally gives her the abilities like a frog. She has enhanced swimming and jumping, sticking to and climbing up walls, and a long prehensile tongue. She is by far the cutest character you have ever seen. She is AMAZING!!!
For the villains, the main one is Tomura Shigaraki. Dude is straight-up strange. Who decides to have hands all over his body like decorations? The dude has a major temper tantrum and some major issues. His master, All for One, is one that seems to be lost in the whole anime. He is around and has an aura but is nothing on the level of Stain’s influence. Maybe there will be more to this character later on in the anime.I don’t talk a lot about music in anime, but some of the songs in this anime will get you pumped and wanting to be a superhero like All Might or Deku. The first song that I thought was fantastic was “You Say Run.” This song is usually played when the students or All Might are about to do something epic or amazing. The music is fast but has a sense of greatness to it. Something that a superhero would play when they are about to do their final attack. The second song I love is the one that played when All Might gave his ultimate attack to All for One. The music has that epic, triumphant music that makes you hopeful but also sad at the same time because you know something terrible is about to happen. The song is all “All Might My Hero” or “Farewell One for All,” but I really don’t know. My final song that I LOVE is “A Hero!” That song is amazing and I can listen to it when I am done or need a pick me up.
The animation is so well done. The fighting scenes are just amazing. It is so smooth, well done. The characters are drawn in the way that you think they should be. All Might has this aura and glow about him that is so drawing. The fight scenes are where it is at. The one that is by far awesome and doesn’t seem like anything is out of place. When Midoriya and Todoroki fought, that was a thing of beauty for many. The mixture of ice/fire powers was perfect, and the explosion at the end was incredible. The animation around Midoriya as he powers and just glows just gives electrifying. That final attack he did against Overhaul was so well done, I had to applaud.
The dubbed version is excellent, and the actors need to be applauded. Every voice that is given to each character is spot on. All Might sounds like he should with a powerful and confident voice. All For One sounds like a sophisticated gentleman from a James Bond movie. Midoriya is that scared kid who becomes a beast, and his voice development shows.
I LOVE this anime. The characters are great, and there is at least one of them that you will like also. The final two seasons were AWESOME and what you would want in an anime series. It is nice to see an anime built on the school years of being a hero and what it takes. The villains are memorable. To be a hero takes more than training, power and popularity. It takes empathy, understanding and a heart to truly change the world for good.
BONUS CLIP!!!
