Anime Review: My Hero Academia

Anime Review: My Hero Academia

 “The deeper the darkness, the more dazzling the light shines.”

In a world filled with people who have genetic powers known as “quirks,” there are professional heroes with powerful quirks who rescue civilians from villains. Izuku Midoriya is one of the few “quirkless” people without a quirk…until he meets the professional hero All Might, who decides to pass on his powerful quirk to Midoriya. Midorya then gets to attend the prestigious U.A. High School to train to fight villains.

 Almost everything works for this colorful, fun, intense, intelligent, and meaningful anime. The characters are universally a delight with each one having interesting quirks, which contribute to their identities and help to lend depth. Our protagonist, Midoriya, is sweet but clever and powerful, and the way his new quirk is too powerful for his body, causing him to be constantly injured, is fascinating to watch. Shoto Todoroki has an amazing and horrifying backstory to his half-fire, half-ice quirk. Katsuki Bakugo transitions from being a bully to an insecure hero. Ochaco Uraraka is bubbly but with an undercurrent of steel.

The pacing is excellent, with never a dull moment or a filler episode. The fight scenes are stunningly choreographed and never filler: each one advances the plot or character development in meaningful ways. Even the overarching message of bettering yourself in order to help others is an important one that is well-presented.

 The only issue is the very occasional annoying fan-service element of sexualizing a handful—certainly not most!—of the female characters (Mt. Lady, Midnight, Momo). But the fan-service at least doesn’t seem to prevent their character development: in fact, their confidence in their bodies is presented positively. In addition, a student (Mineta) who insists on sexually harassing others is called out on it and generally presented in a negative light.

Here’s hoping to many excellent seasons ahead for this anime.