My Hero Academia – 13 (Fin)

Sorry My Hero Academia, but I’m breaking up with you. But take solace in the fact it’s not you, it’s me. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit you.

There is definitely an audience for this kind of shounen hero anime, and I’m not here to look down on anyone who has had an absolute gas watching MHA and can’t wait for the second season.

I myself enjoyed it quite a bit, and there were some truly inspired moments I don’t regret not missing.

But my enthusiasm for MHA, and for following the show for a second season, has steadily plummeted throughout the season-closing USJ arc.

Once the pace slowed to a crawl and every last movement started to be pored over monologue, the jumbled, clunky aesthetic that had charmed me earlier in the show’s run started to become a liability.

I totally get the notion that the villains were dumb to give the students so much battle experience, thus making them realize how much more they have to learn, and getting that much more motivated to become great heroes.

While it was a real battle and not training, it still feltlike training, because no matter how many threats Generic Villain #5 or Poorly-drawn Baddie #6 dished out, in the end they never felt like more than half-baked stepping stones in Deku & Co.’s academia.

The show also failed to show any guts by killing off or even exposing an All Might who, let’s face it, shouldn’t have even stayed in his chunky form as long as he did at the end of the battle.

It would have been tragic for Deku to have lost his idol and mentor so soon, but it would also have meant a definite passing of the torch to Deku, who with the help of his friends (and frenemy) would have to learn to move forward with the gifts Might gave him.

It could have been the most devastating yet motivating lessons for Deku to learn in this season. Instead, All Might’s still around, and thanks to more magic healing by Recovery Girl Deku is quickly on the mend again.

Both visually and thematically, the show’s still got kids gloves on, and is too in love with keeping bigger things looming mysteriously on the horizon, at the cost of stakes in the present. So yeah, MHA. It’s been real. There were some good times. Take care of yourself!

My Hero Academia – 11

I’m not going to complain this week: this episode kept bringing the action, more awesome hero combinations, clever applications of their powers, some genuine dread of defeat, and a moment of righteous victory. Plus, a briefly-topless Momo!

After their big combo play last week, Midoriya, Asui and Mineta mostly hang back and watch with horror as Aizawa is smashed by the “anti-All Might”, Nomu, whose exposed brain you’d think would be a pretty serious weak spot.

It’s pretty intense what the touch of hand-man Shigaraki Tomura does to Aizawa’s arm, and Kurogiri exposes Thirteen’s lack of fighting experience by opening another warp gate behind him, making him susceptible to his own shop-vac quirk.

He and Aizawa have bought the students time, but it’s all for naught if no one can get word to reinforcement heroes. So Iida has to get the hell out of USJ, and without his teachers’ help.

One by one, students in Iida’s path help him out with their quirks, including Ochako lifting Kurogiri off the ground by touching the only physical part of him. It’s quite satisfying when Iida bursts through those doors. He’s not running away: he’s running to save everyone.

Midoriya & Co. stick around Tomura and Nomu too long, as it’s not long before he realizes they’re there and attacks them. Before that, Mineta executes a shameless Asui boob-grab, which actually turns her dead eyes white, but doesn’t awaken any other powers.

No, in this pinch, Midoriya has to put his body on the line to save Asui and Mineta, which means using (instert American place name here) Smash on Tomura. But not only does his arm not break, the punch does nothing, as Nomu came in to block at the last moment.

It’s bad news if Nomu can’t be beaten by Midoriya, because that probably means even when All Might arrives (to the elation of all the students), he won’t be able to beat Nomu either. Not alone, and not in the short amount of time before he turns back into Heroin Might.

The answer, it would seem, is to fight one anti-All Might with two All Mights. AM and Midoriya’s first joint battle? Maybe more heroes joining the fray? We shall see.

My Hero Academia – 10

Aizawa shows his students what he can do when pitted against far superior numbers of villains, shutting down the quirks of those form long range and beating up those up close. But he lets the most concerning villain, who has an amorphous body of black mist, outflank him, surround the kids, and warp them in groups to various areas of USJ…which is just the thing if you want to show how those various groups of kids combine their quirks to defeat the baddies.

Midoriya ends up saved from being eaten by various water-strong villains by Tsuyu, who, as we know, is basically a human-frog hybrid. His trio is rounded out by Mineta. Both Tsuyu and Mineta in particular have very goofy and unattractive (IMO) character designs, and Mineta’s constant whining doesn’t help matters.

That being said, the three manage to overpower the water villains surrounding their rapidly sinking ship when Midoriya uses One for All from just two fingers to create a giant whirlpool, while Mineta’s sticky balls gather all the villains up together in a bigger, helpless ball. Tsuyu performs the role of keeping Mineta and Midoriya out of the vortex with her long tongue and leaping ability.

All in all it’s a neat little vignette that shows the teamwork that’s possible if one forgets about how scared one is and stops and thinks about how to use the quirks at hand. But like I said, I’m just not the biggest fan of Midoriya’s two teammates, who look like crudely-drawn caricatures next to Midoriya.

As for All Might, whom all the villains want to kill and are trying to use the kids to get to, he ends up chilling in the teacher’s lounge with UA High’s principal, who is some kind of inconclusive anthropomorphic mammal named Nezu, to which I can’t help asking…why?

My Hero Academia – 09

As the press bangs on the door of U.A. High, anting the scoop on All Might, Midoriya’s class finally gets to do a normal school thing: elect a class rep. Everyone ends up tied with one vote except for Momo, with two, and Midoriya with three, all thanks to Ochako and Iida.

I guess no other groups of friends have emerged to the point they would align their votes around one guy, huh? Also, I’m curious who voted for Momo.

In the middle of lunch, Midoriya faces his first test as leader, when an intruder alert and evacuation order are sounded. He fails spectacularly, getting lost in the crush of panicking students.

It’s Iida, not Midoriya, who has the presence of mind to use Ochako’s antigrav quirk to get to a place of prominence so he can calm the crowd. For that, Midoriya picks Iida as class rep (sorry Momo!), and Iida gains the nickname “Emergency Exit Iida”, since he looked just like the little guy in the sign.

The cause for alarm? Press broke in. But the question is, who helped them by destroying the barriers? We saw a guy with blue hair behind them as they were complaining about not getting access. After the class is handed off to the famous Thirteen for rescue training at Universal Studios Japan (USJ), we see that guy again, covered in hands and emerging from a vortex with dozens of other villains.

It’s a nice change of pace: what seemed like yet another training session for the kids suddenly and unexpectedly turns into a far more hazardous situation. Who are these villains? Why are they attacking UA students? What’s with all the hands on that guy?

I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out, and meanwhile, All Might is presently tapped out after having to do numerous heroic deeds on his way to school. So Aizawa, Thirteen, and the students will have to be enough to deal with the baddies. Oh yeah, on the bus trip, Frog Girl Tsuyu of all people made Midoriya blush, while Bakugo, serial teaser, got a taste of his own medicine as everyone came to the consensus his personality sucks.

My Hero Academia – 08

After Deku and Kacchan’s impressive first match in the hero-v-villain training sessions, everyone else wants to step up their game and show what they’re made of, too. Unfortunately Midoriya doesn’t get to see any of the matches that follow, as he’s carted off to the nurse’s office with his injuries.

We, meanwhile, are treated to a montage that paints a quick and incomplete picture of Midoriya’s classmates, led by the capable know-it-all Momo. In some matches the great gap between elite and ordinary students is exposed, but that’s why this is training: everyone has a chance to see exactly where they fit in the pecking order, so to speak, without serious risk to their health.

Midoriya ends up the only one injured in the exercise, and when he wakes up in a hospital bed, late for his next class, he feels pretty down. So he’s shocked when upon entering the class he’s not met by glares, but adoring smiles. Everyone respects him for fighting on Bakugo’s level, if only briefly, and the pink girl Mina even seems a little smitten due to his dodging abilities, of all things.

The only one absent from class is Bakugo, whom Midoriya chases down as he’s leaving for the day to explain a little better what his situation is. The thing is, none of Midoriya’s excuses (e.g. his powers were recently given to him) matter to Kacchan. All that matters to Kacchan is that he was beaten, by Deku, and that has to be corrected.

Deku may think he can approach or surpasss Kacchan, but Kacchan isn’t going to stop moving and wait for that to happen. Thus begins, as Ochako cutely puts it, a “fated battle between men”, for which she’s no more willing to accept qualifiers than Kacchan.

This is all a good thing for UA High. Judging from the villains’ awareness of All Might’s semi-retirement and move to education, the organization is going to need a fresh infusion of heroes. These kids may have to grow up fast.

My Hero Academia – 07

We get it: Deku isn’t trying to “trick” or “underestimate” Kacchan. He simply has to believe he can surpass someone as amazing as Kacchan if he’s ever going to develop into reliable hero. So while the trial is supposed to be about heroes and villains, Kacchan makes it into a duel of nemeses, and Deku has to choice but to play along, while trusting Ochako to handle the bomb retrieval.

Deku’s notebook knowledge serves him well against an unfocused and increasingly angry Kacchan, but as he gets worn down from all the dodging, and Kacchan gets angrier stalking through the halls, remembering all the times Deku proved himself useless when they were little kids, Kacchan devises more and more subtle yet devastating attacks.

Mind you, that’s after he blasts a hole in his own “villain stronghold”, leading All Might to warn him if he causes that much destruction again, he’ll forfeit the match.

But he and Deku both know Kacchan doesn’t give a shit about the outcome of the match. He wants Deku to know his place. And All Might knows Deku won’t make any progress getting through to Kacchan if he suspends the match.

The duel culminates in the two driving their fists at each other, Kacchan with his explosive power and Deku with All For One—but Deku isn’t going for Kacchan, he’s going for the ceiling.

By blasting numerous holes in the building, he creates a diversion, as well as ammo, for Ochako to wield her antigrav powers and make contact with the bomb, flummoxing Iida, who had tried so hard to play the role of mustache-twirling villain.

As time runs out and the Hero team wins, Kacchan is still playing the same refrain: “Don’t underestimate me. I’m better than you.” 

Well, talent and strength, especially in the quantities he possesses, certainly are great to have. But that alone doesn’t make a hero. Kacchan seemed constantly driven by hatred for that which he always thought was weaker than him, but day by day is being proven wrong, making him question his own worth deep inside.

Add to that nitroglycerin palm sweat (how the hell did he not accidentally burn his house down nine thousand times as a kid?), and you have a volatile combination. But when Deku tells Kacchan can’t use his quirk lest it destroy his body, and  Kacchan sees the damage to prove it, his scowl of contempt softens into something resembling pity, maybe even understanding and regret for what he’s put Deku through.

Because I feel like a lot of his anger has to do with the fact that Deku never once deserved the shitty treatment Kacchan dumped on him. Quite the opposite, whenever Kacchan even looked like he was in trouble, Deku and only Deku rushed out to help him. Just as Deku needs to strengthen his body and master his quirk to have a future as a hero, Kacchan will have to resolve his various emotional issues.

My Hero Academia – 06

Plus Ultra to you on this fine Mother’s Day (USA)! I shall be covering Hero this week in Hannah’s place. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! After Midoriya successfully gets a hero-like number on the ball throw, a furious Kacchan rushes him before being stopped by Aizawa-sensei.

Kacchan of all people simply can’t understand how his childhood friend could have a quirk all of a sudden, and the ‘my own effort’ explanation he gets from Iida second-hand isn’t satisfactory. Deku is pissing all over his moment, and he doesn’t like it! Boo-hoo.

Despite placing last in total test points, Midoriya moves on, because as Aizawa says to All Might, his potential is “not zero”. Midoriya settles into a cozy group of budding friends in the earnest-to-a-fault Iida and the adorable, friendly Ochako, who re-purposes the insulting nickname “Deku-kun” to something cool, because it reminds her of “Ganbatte”.

Once the class starts hero training with their new teacher All Might (whom almost everyone is in awe of), he unveils that the superhero costumes they requested are ready. Due to various clerical hiccups, Midoriya gets his by another channel – his adorable mom saw the design in his notebook and had it made in secret, as an apology for giving up on him when he never did.

The new costumes really give a sense of pomp and occasion to this upcoming test that the PE uniforms lacked. It also makes everyone far more distinctive and reveals some things about their tastes and personalities. Class ace Yaoyorozu, for instance, isn’t afraid to show a little sideboob, while Ochako didn’t put in any preference and ended up in a tasteful skintight jumpsuit that, if anything, only amplifies her cuteness.

(Speaking of big groups of superheroes taking the stage: I’d just caught Captain America: Civil War Friday night, one of the climactic scenes of which was also bursting with cool costumes.)

As for “Deku’s” suit, it borrows a few details from All Might but has a totally different vibe to it; more Sonic the Hedgehog than Superman; I like it. I’m not as big a fan as Iida’s rather boring suit of armor or Kacchan’s tacky suit that makes him look like a fireworks point-of-purchase. Still, it’s clear from many outfits that they started out as crude pencil sketches.

The next exercise involves two pairs of students facing off as heroes and villains, with the former having to either capture the latter or the latter keeping their nuke out of the former’s hands. Deku and Ochako are paired up again, to Ochako’s delight.

In the dark, close confines of the test building, Kacchan again breaks the rules to take it to Deku by staging a surprise attack…only to find Deku a far more challenging opponent than he expected, and not because of Deku’s strength, either.

The hero notebook Deku meticulously prepared included notes on his childhood friend, so Deku knows how he fights and how to fight back. This fight should be interesting, assuming Deku doesn’t slip up and get char-broiled before Ochako can step in with her zero-grav assistance.

My Hero Academia – 05

There’s an exciting auspicious energy to the dawn before Midoriya’s first day at UA High (bolstered by the show’s sick epic hero rock soundtrack), and All Might reassures him that in time he’ll be able to control One for All, even thought it may not happen overnight.

He gets more emotional support from his proud-as-punch mom (who is the cutest mom), from Iida, a former naysayer he won over in the exam, and “nice girl” Ochako, who is also glad to be in class with the “plain-looking” Midoriya.

But as is usually the case for Midoriya and shounen like him throughout anime history, what awaits him once he’s finally over the mountain…is another mountain. His homeroom teacher is Aizawa Shouta, a listless but no-nonsense hero who works in the shadows; pretty much the anti-All Might. He believes his students have no time for opening ceremonies or afterschool trips to McDonalds.

They’re here to be heroes, and that means finding their maximum as soon as possible so that they can determine what they can and can’t do. Midoriya is in the unenviable position of having just received his quirk, and so far only used it at either 0% or 100%. He has to get through eight physical tests (the same ones all Japanese students take, only use of quirks is permitted) and not end up last, lest he get expelled on the first day.

Aizawa’s perspective is no harsher or unfairer than reality, in which a villain or disaster can strike at any time, and won’t wait for you to master your quirk. You’ve gotta be ready yesterday for what could happen today. Fortunately, being pushed into a corner, Midoriya remembers all the supportive words of his allies, and manages to get through the tests by minimizing the damage done by One For All, localizing its power in his finger while throwing a ball.

With that throw, which leaves Midoriya down a finger but otherwise in fine shape, he proves to Aizawa that he does have potential; and that UA High is the perfect venue to cultivate and realize that potential. We also learned that Bakugo still things something underhanded happened to get Deku enrolled, while we were introduced to the powers of some of Midoriya’s many classmates. All in all, a serviceable, if somewhat sparse, introduction to his hero academia.

My Hero Academia – 04

When the mock battle begins, an overwhelmed Izuku falls far behind immediately, covering ground already covered by other potential heroes, and getting even more discouraged when they hear them pop off their point totals. The one time he comes across a functioning one-point villain, another examinee takes it out and thanks him for being a diversion.

But then the “true test” begins when the zero-point obstacle appears: a colossal robot that everyone starts to run away from except Izuku. He stays put, eyes full of tears, with almost no time left to score any points, and spots the nice girl who stopped him from falling, trapped under wreckage directly in the advancing zero-point’s path.

Izuku runs towards the danger and puts his life and limbs on the line to stop the juggernaut—and he does, when his All Might powers finally surface and he delivers a SMASH punch that not only cripples it, but three of his four limbs as well. Watching them flop about in the wind, I knew something wasn’t right.

Izuku’s saved form falling to his death by the girl, who uses her antigrav abilities again to save him, but she can’t save him from the fact he has zero vilain points in the mock battle, which means failure…IF villain points were the only points being awarded. They are not.

Izuku ended up scoring sixty “rescue points”, because after all, being a hero is about more than just defeating villains. Izuku demonstrated the heroic instinct of self-sacrifice, and also inspired others to act in kind. In fact, the girl, one Uraraka Ochako, tried to transfer some of her points to Izuku for saving her, but such a transfer wasn’t necessary because Izuku already had more than enough points to pass.

So it wasn’t just a test of speed and strength, but of all the intangible qualities that make a hero a hero. The other things will come in time for Izuku (I like his symbol of a glass just barely containing its contents due to surface tension crackin under the stress). Izuku’s body may have bent, but it did not break. And now he has a genuine friend-int-the-making in Ochako.

His hero academia is off to an auspicious start, and as tough practical exam episodes go, this one felt nimble, quick, and satisfying, especially at the end when Izuku’s mom reacts to his grin of elation with the same soppy tears we usually see on his face, showing us where he got that tendency from.

My Hero Academia – 03

What is All Might’s quirk? It has been debated exhaustively on- and offline, and remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries. While the vast majority of those with quirks get them from birth, All Might’s is different: he inherited his powers of super speed and strength from his predecessor. And now that he knows the kind of heart and heroic drive Midoriya possesses, he’s ready to transfer his power to him. His quirk, then, is power transfer…One For All.

But it’s not that simple: Midoriya’s heartmay be ready to be a superhero, but his body is sorely lacking. All Might knows all about fitness regimes, and so sets up a comprehensive “American Dream Plan” to transform Midoriya’s body into something his to-be-inherited powers can work with. AM admits it’s a hard plan, but Midoriya does not waver in agreeing to it…then going above and beyond.

His first mission as a hero is to clear a beach of washed-up and illegally-dumped trash—most of it quite heavy—as an act of selfless service, of the kind heroes used to do before so many villains showed up to keep them busy. So begins Midoriya’s ten months of hell, presented in Rocky-style montage form.

At first, Midoriya can’t do much of anything, but he keeps going…pushing more, pulling more, running more, eating more, and enduring the physical toll. At the same time, he has to keep his grades up to keep his hopes of enrolling at UA alive.

Seven months in, All Might notices Midoriya has simply hit a wall, but not because the plan is too tough: Midoriya has been going far beyond the proscribed plan, and falling victim to overwork. AM adjusts the plan accordingly to allow for a little overachievement without burning out.

On the dawn of the day he’s to report to UA for his entrance exam, Midoriya stands on the tiny pile of wreckage that is all that’s left on an otherwise gorgeous, spotless, beach, and roars at the sunrise. Moved by this sight, AM suddenly transforms into this public visage to exclaim “Oh My Goodness!” (much like Franklin often does at the RABUJOI main office).

He also makes sure that on the eve of achieving hero-hood, Midoriya understands there’s a difference between being lucky to receive something (i.e. AM’s powers) and being given those powers as recognition of his hard work. And he has worked hard.

Now all he has to do is eat one of AM’s hairs (gross) and the real hard part begins: getting into UA. While on his way in, he crosses paths with Kacchan, who he’s noticed has not bullyed him once since the incident with the sludge monster. He also encounters a cute retro girl who saves him from tripping on his feet with her anti-grav quirk.

After an uneventful orientation, the examinees are split up into groups and sent to various walled-off model urban battle centers, in which they will engage in a mock battle to see who can amass the most points from destroying simulated villains.

It’s pretty much a video game, only using their real abilities. And interacting with or harming fellow examinees is prohibited, though I’m reasonably sure there will be interactions in there. Midoriya has come a long way in a short ten months; I look forward to seeing how he fares—and what bonds he’ll forge—in that battle center.

My Hero Academia – 02

While on their brief flight through the city, the bottles containing the goop villain fall out of All Might’s pockets, and Kocchan kicks one of them, releasing the monster in a shopping district. Meanwhile, just as Izuku is hoping for inspiring words about how he can become a hero even without a Quirk, All Might deflates into a grotesque husk of his usual public self.

Turns out, this is his true form—more heroin than hero—the result of a near-fatal injury sustained in a battle years ago that limits him to three hours of heroic duty a day. Like the doctors and mother who told him about his limits, Izuku gets another grim dose of reality from All Might, who can’t simply say he can be a hero.

Kocchan, being tougher than Midoriya, is able to stay alive far longer in the villain’s clutches, but he can’t defeat the thing, and none of the heroes who show up have to proper skill sets to defeat it either.

I love the practical snags that result from the super-specialization of these heroes, be it the guy who only shoots water, the tree guy who can’t be near fire, or Mt. Lady, who doesn’t have enough room to work.

When Izuku and the emaciated All Might arrive (seperately) at the scene, things are bad; everyone is waiting for someone to show up and save the day. Then, something happens to Izuku that apparently happens to a lot of heroes early in their lives: he moves without thinking, after seeing fear in Kocchan’s eyes and what he thinks is a wordless cry for help.

There’s very little Izuku can do besides run at the monster, scream, and throw his effects at it, but it doesn’t matter, it’s his heroic gesture that inspires All Might to pump himself back up, rescue Izuku, and knock the villain out with a right fist so hard he creates a pocket of precipitation above the city.

Afterwards, All Might gets all the credit, Kocchan is praised for hanging in there…and Izuku is scolded by the other heroes for acting so recklessly. But both Kocchan and All Might know who is really responsible for saving the day, and it’s Izuku.

Kocchan may not have been trying to look desperate, but he did, and All Might wouldn’t have acted had Izuku not acted first. He doesn’t thank Kocchan, but you can tell he’s pissed about Izuku being more than just talk and kiddy dreams. That being said, All Might can’t keep this up much longer, so the obvious thing to do is to train Izuku to be his successor.

There are no guarantees, as Izuku still has no Quirk of his own, but he’s gotta try, and if nothing else, Izuku’s crazy actions proved to All Might that he can be a hero, with a little help. And then, as a little surprise, Izuku’s voiceover informs us this is actually the story of how he became the greatest hero. So he won’t be weak and unheralded for long.

My Hero Academia – 01 (First Impressions)

A world where humans develop superpowers and a government-sanctioned hero industry that battle villains? With a comedic bent? We’ve seen this premise before. We’ve even seen this art style applied to this premise before, with One Punch Man, a bona-fide future classic covered by Zane last Fall.

Of course, that might be a dumb statement: most premises of new anime are premises we’ve seen before. Anime’s been around a while, and there are some premises that endure and continue to be relevant as long as there are talented people to put a new twist or their personal touch to them.

Does the well-worn familiarity hamper the freshness of My Hero Academia a little? Yes; that’s unavoidable. But if it doesn’t contribute anything new or groundbreaking, is it at least diverting entertainment? Most assuredly; and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

We’ve seen weird heroes fighting weird villains before (and heroes fighting each other for the credit). But we haven’t seen these weird heroes and villains, vying for attention through the use of brute strength, speed and maneeuverability, or plain ol’ sex appeal.

The most “conventional” superhero also happens to be the top hero in the business, All Might, an amusingly grotesque Superman caricature who is blonde, burly, and perpetually grinning from ear to ear. This is the guy who inspires our protagonist, the pint-sized, “quirkless” Midoriya”Deku” Izuku.

He wants to be like All Might. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the genes. A third-year in middle school, he still has no powers, and doctors have told him not to hold his breath. Still, he takes careful notes of all hero/villain clashes and studies hard in hopes that he can enroll at the prodigious U.A. High (which no longer prohibits quirkless).

Izuku doesn’t just have his lack of powers to contend with, but also the universal general awfulness and cruelty of his peers, chief among them Bakugo Katsuki. Your typical bully with his corps of toadies, Katsuki wants to be the only one from his school to get into U.A. High, so threatens Izuku to forget about following him.

That’s a nakedly petty position that is sure to set up a scenario in which Izuku somehow ends up with the power to oppose/surpass his Katsuki (or possibly lead to the two developing a grudging friendship).

The first brick in the foundation of Izuku’s rise is laid by an unexpected (and thoroughly disbelief-suspending) encounter with All Might himself. Izuku is wobbly-kneed in his presence, but is still able to grab on for dear life as Might flies away to his next gig.

Here, we see All Might cough up some blood, suggesting A.) his heroing days may be numbered and B.) Izuku is uniquely positioned to possibly succeed him. We must be content with this first brick, for My Hero Academia chose not to convert its loser MC to hero status in the first episode. But it’s a very promising first brick in what looks to be a fun Spring romp.