Mighty Monday-My Hero Academia Season 1 Review

I have an odd history with the anime medium. In many ways, it was the first critical field I had a decent grasp on, and is likely the one I've written the most reviews for in the past. And yet, as I've grown into my role as someone who studies all mediums, at some point I left anime behind. I caught a recent show or two with my weekly Anime Night group, but beyond that I had almost entirely drifted out of the culture, without even noticing. Since I realized that, I've been trying to play catch up and rebuild my anime cred.

When I first started watching My Hero Academia, I did it mostly because a friend of mine was really into it, and I'd heard good buzz on it. I did not expect to fall head over heels into the fandom. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

My Hero Academia is an anime made by Studio Bones and based off a manga by Kōhei Horikoshi. Heavily influenced by the American superhero comic genre, the anime and manga follow a young boy in a world where, many generations ago, people just started being born with superpowers, called Quirks in this universe. As time went on this led to the dissolution of society, which has only recently come back from the brink.

In the newly revitalized world, heroes are a real job to aspire to, tasked with fighting villains, rescuing civilians, and stopping disasters. The protagonist, a young boy named Izuku Midoriya, is one of the 20% of the population born without any quirks, but despite that setback he is enamored with the world's greatest hero All Might and wants to become a hero himself.

The road to becoming a hero is long and fraught with danger, and it is glorious every step of the way. The anime draws you in slowly, building your interest carefully and making sure to ease you into the world and the lore. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about it all is the protagonist.

I've seen a decent amount of Shonen anime, and I can tell you that Midoriya is an anomaly. The majority of the genre's protagonists are tall, traditionally masculine, and more hot-blooded than not. The only other main character who comes close to being as nerdy and intelligent as Midoriya is Maka Albarn from Soul Eater, a Shonen anime that took delight in bending the typical Shonen trumps in every way possible. It was also produced by Bones, so there you go.

So, if Midoriya is no Son Goku or Monkey D. Luffy, then what is he like? What makes him so striking is his relatability. He's a Peter Parker, a Jaime Reyes, a Tim Drake. He's an introverted nerdy kid who thinks and studies and thinks and thinks some more. The only time he stops thinking is when stuff goes down and it's in those cases where his true heroism shines: he runs towards danger, towards protecting others and fighting evil.

Not only that, but with his tactical brain, moral code, and powerlessness Midoriya reminds me a lot of Tavi, the main character of the Codex Alera book series by Jim Butcher. And now that I've made that comparison I might have to begin systemically grilling fanfic authors until this crossover is made and my hunger is sated.

There's another thing about My Hero Academia that makes it shine among it's peers: it has one of the singularly best casts I've ever seen in an anime. Out of the 20-30+ regular cast, there are maybe one or two of them that aren't likable, interesting, and fun enough to be the main character of their own anime.

The dub is also superlatively perfect. Christopher Sabat as All Might might be one of the best performances I've ever heard in an anime, and in general every voice actor is cast well and does at the very least an above average job with their roll. Midoriya's voice actor, Justin Briner, is a relative unknown but I cannot imagine any other voice coming out of Midoriya's mouth.

More than just being enjoyable, there's something imminently engaging about the anime, at least for me. I don't know why I would relate so much to a kid who grew up engrossed by fantastic tales and larger than life characters, to the point where it consumed a large part of his own identity. Nope. No clue.

Seriously, though, it's a great movie to make for a superhero anime. On some level, nearly every comic fan has wanted to be a superhero. It's part of the appeal in a general, only vaguely accurate sort of sense. Part of it is the power, but another, perhaps larger part of it is what Midoriya sees in the affair: the opportunity the make the world a better place and bring smiles to the faces of those who need them the most.

If I haven't made it clear already, I love this anime from top to bottom. I don't know how much of it comes from my love of awesome anime by Bones and how much of it comes from my years in the superhero comic fandom. If I absolutely had to give any negatives about the first season, there are a few things that nag at me. The first real story arc is one of the weakest, if not just plain the weakest in the series, and the season ends halfway through a really good arc, which feels a little awkward. Other than that though, if you're someone who enjoys Shonen anime...well you've probably already seen My Hero Academia, but if you somehow haven't it is a much-watch. If you love superheroes but aren't into anime, I'd strongly recommend giving it a shot. Even if those don't apply, if you like anime and are willing for an anime that is just plain fun, I would definitely advise giving My Hero Academia a try.

If my review made you want to watch My Hero Academia, you can watch it on Hulu, or if you want to spend a little more and support the anime industry you can buy it on Amazon. Thanks for reading, and I hope you come back for more.

#anime #monday #myheroacademia