Manga REWRITTEN: Has seen better days
This covers up to Chapter 374.
It's been almost three years since I first reviewed this series(as of chapter 256), and I decided to start from scratch to show how my opinion has changed over time.
As in my first review, I find that the setting- a world of superpowered individuals in which superheroes battle villains and protagonist Izuku Midoriya seeks to be the greatest hero- is hardly original, but is largely executed in a surprisingly nuanced and deconstructive manner... at least at first. While the quick pacing prevents the work from dragging, it also limits how much time can be spent on worldbuilding and developing secondary characters.
Most of my previous complaints about the cast size still apply. With 20 characters in the Midoriya's class, most of them are only occasionally relevant, if at all. Uraraka, the primary female character and Midoriya's apparent Love Interest, is the primary victim of this, and while she's gotten some focus in later chapters, it's too little, too late. The other female characters don't fare any better, especially not certain significant females who are killed off with little to no fanfare.
I'll concede that my opinion on Bakugo has improved over time. While he's rather unlikable at first, and the narrative still seems biased toward him, the part in Chapter 1 in which Bakugo suggests that Midoriya, his supposed best friend, kill himself, comes off as a case of inconsistent characterization. Mineta, however, has not improved at all, and the one-note pervert remains the worst character in the cast (although I haven't seen as much of him lately, which is a good thing).
The villains are still largely interesting... or at least most of them are. Tomura Shigaraki, the apparent Big Bad, makes for a good archenemy to Midoriya, whose story as a rising villain parallels Midoriya's story as a rising hero... at least until a certain development I'd rather not discuss here, save for how it basically constitutes "subverting expectations."
The anime is a good adaptation in terms of pacing, and in terms of its soundtrack, but its art and animation can be hit or miss. It also switches the order of two arcs near the end of Season 5, with mixed results; on the one hand, the season ends on a climactic note, but on the other, putting the later arc first causes some confusion, not to mention the removal of various impotant scenes.
There's certain details I can't discuss without going over the word count limit or spoiling the plot in this review(which is primarily meant for the uninitiated), so leave a comment if you'd like me to elaborate on aything. Needless to say, though, time hasn't been kind to MHA, especially with regards to its cast or its handling of key story threads. I still recommend the first three or four seasons of the anime, but I'd be a bit hesitant about recommending what comes after that.
Manga Shonen, Refined
This review brought to you by a comment I was halfway through writing, before I realized I should really just write my own review.
My Hero Academia is a series that's much more popular here in the states than in its home country, and always has been. I think the best take on that is that here, we see it as a superhero show, and find that the shonen elements it brings to the table breathe new life into an often-stagnant genre, while over there, they see it as a shonen show whose superhero elements are a thin coat of paint that fails to disguise the fact that it's actually pretty old-had.
I am here, bluntly, to defend the first take, and to argue against the second.
First, My Hero Academia, while skillfully using a similar skeleton to shows like Dragonball or Naruto, also subtly subverts them. Izuku is a good-hearted hero in the vein of other protagonists, but he avoids falling into either the Goku bin of a dim-witted brawler driven by his base drives or the Yusuke bin of a clever guy with a hot temper alienated from society. He's smart, but struggles to properly apply it, kind, but has a stubborn streak that gets him into trouble, perceptive, but also tends to read too much into things. There's more meat to chew on there than is common in the genre.
And this is true of the rest of the cast. Todoroki, whom I once saw written off as "emo rival," is a complex character who believably develops each story arc he's in. Iida, the straight-laced class rep, has got a boiling hot temper and can be impatient. Uraraka, the seemingly-standard supporting character, has got her own dreams and ambitions. Even Bakugo, a character I hate and who stubbornly refuses to become a better person even three seasons in, at least has how he got to be the unlikable cuss he is today explored properly. And All Might, far from being a stock mentor, is so well-explored and charismatic that his trope page once declared him the work's deuterotagonist in convincing fashion.
All Might is brave and compassionate, but also a bit self-centered, and proves that old adage about how great performers aren't necessarily great teachers. And his story arc subverts every "mentor" beat that a series would normally go through, even that one. For that matter, while the villains are much flatter, the series still explores what made them the screwed-up people they are today, and in the case of All For One, even puts in a subtle thing where he acts like much more of a prick when his would-be heir isn't in ear-shot to require grooming.
And the storyteller is an expert at the traditional pitfall of this style of shonen: Loads and Loads of Characters. While fan-unfavorite Mineta gets far too much screentime and far too little development, he otherwise skillfully wrangles them from story arc to story arc, never underutilizing or forgetting core classmates. I can only compare it to the greatest sports manga of all time, Eyeshield 21, in how well it makes sure that multiple cast members always feel like they have something to do, whether they're part of the core team or not.
Similarly, emphasis is placed on the fact that the students are still students, and not truly up to snuff with actual professional heroes. The audience never feels like the pros are useless and the teenagers in training have to do everything. Indeed, most villains are not a match for trained professionals with years of experience, which makes sense.
And, the aesthetics deserve a great deal of praise. Whether it's stellar, iconic music, vivid drawings and colors, or excellent-looking animation, this is the best looking and sounding shonen on TV currently airing, to say nothing of the incredible voice cast and localization in the English dub. Special shout-outs to Christopher Sabat, putting in the performance of his illustrious career as All Might, to Justin Briner's fantastic turn as Izuku, and to Newton Pittman, who takes what could be a very-irritating gimmick to the English-speaking ear as the character of Twice, and makes it work well.
I enjoy My Hero Academia a lot. If you're a fan of shonen and you're not completely burnt out, then check it out. You'll only have to suffer one tournament arc. If you're a fan of superhero stuff and want to see a Japanese twist on the formula, this works better than One Punch Man by virtue of taking it seriously enough that the humor doesn't undermine the drama, and by virtue of having a better supporting cast that it handles better. And, if you just like good storytelling, then the third story arc especially brings together a lot of story threads in satisfying fashion.
Manga Ryochi's My Hero Academia Review (Or: Generic: The Manga)
Back to Pros and Cons. Since I find it easier to do in this limited format. Since this manga is ongoing my opinions my drastically change.
Pros:
- Izuku is a decently written Shonen protagonist
- The art style is interesting
- World is interesting...
Sigh, here it comes.
Cons:
- (Major) Bakugou is one of the most poorly written characters I have ever seen in a Shonen
- The World may be interesting but the worldBUILDING is either lazy or portrayed in an uninteresting fashion
- The rest of the characters aren't much to talk about to be honest
- (Minor) I honestly would have liked to see Izuku try to be a hero through determination and hard work instead of having the power handed to him. (Like in any other shonen) It was sort of a cop out in my opinion.
- The author likes Naruto and it SHOWS. It really, really shows. (Decide for yourself whether or not this is a bad thing. For me, its a bad thing)
- (Minor) The Tone Shift in the Villain Alliance arc felt forced and there was no sense of gradual progression (or even a subtle sense) for it to not be as jarring
- Another Tournament Arc? Seriously? This isn't even an interesting spin on it too!
Overall:
I will still continue to read this manga despite my dislike of it...since it can be a fun read sometimes. I won't disregard its flaws though.
Bakugou has got to be one of the most poorly written Shonen characters I have ever seen in my entire run of reading Shonen. He changes from "full of rage" to "calm" without any proper development. His backstory is also laughably bad (I'm better than everyone else so Izuku my friend is garbage to me) without any logical reason for being that way whether good or bad. The rest of the characters aren't much to talk about either (cause its pretty young and besides they seem cliche anyways) except for Izuku who's easily the most fleshed out (isn't saying much).
The World seems wasted on this manga since the Writer doesn't properly build up on it. And when he does, it feels lazy ("The powers just came to us". Really?!) . I hope he improves on this in later chapters instead of trying too hard to be like the next Naruto
And we've had ENOUGH of the typical Tournament Arc. Please at least try to put a spin on it or make it interesting.
Sigh, I'll keep reading but I'm not expecting much out of this.
Manga One of My favorites
As I've gotten older I've started to grow out of shounen, the plots are often overly simplistic, and the characters are too arch for me to appreciate compared to other shows. That said, My Hero Academia is without a doubt among my top 3 shounen.
Izuku is one of the best and most well-rounded shounen protagonists. He's kind-hearted and idealistic, but he's not a simpleton by any stretch, a refreshing break from the idiot hero archetype. He's also reasonably insecure as most teenagers are, but he copes with it and grows out of it as the manga continues. Most most importantly unlike some other popular protagonists (Kirito, and the Kirito clones) Izuku has a decernable and consistent personality.
Its no secret that the author is taking a few notes from Naruto, but the twists he adds are very welcome. If Izuku parallels Naruto, than Todoroki and Bakugou parallel Sasuke. I'll start with Bakugou, Bakugou inherits the dickish, elitist, and naturally gifted aspects of Sasuke. However instead of his behavior being justified by trauma, its rather because he was born lucky. Since he was born naturally intellegent, confidant, athletic, and with a powerful ability he cowed everyone around him. He has heard almost nothing but praise and almost never been told 'no'. This clearly screwed with his psyche and makes him think he's superior to everyone else. Its a surprisingly accurate depiction of how narcissism can develop. But what I like most about Bakugou is that no one really likes him. The thing that I never bought about Sasuke was that he was popular, even with girls. He was so personally unpleasant that it was hard to believe that anyone liked him. Bakugou doesn't have this problem, once he's no longer the world's most special snowflake, people don't actually want to be associated with him, and he has very few real friends.
Todoroki is also gifted, but he mostly inherits the abusive backstory and broken nature of Sasuke. The refreshing thing about Todoroki is that the narrative doesn't treat his past as an excuse to hurt people. Todoroki's behavior is more self-destructive, he refuses to use fire half of his ability even though its what protects him from the ice half. This is treated as foolish and dangerous in the narrative, and him ceasing to do it and not letting his trauma define him are major parts of his character arc.
Where the manga suffers though, unfortunately is firstly, with female characters who are rarely given the depth of development of their male counterparts. Secondly, the manga tends to jump straight from one major event to the next with almost no time to slow down. IE there aren't any training arcs. You get to see that some training is happening, but it always feels too fast, and progress is always an immediate epiphany. While this lets the manga go from major moment to major moment, it warps the feeling that Izuku is working for his abilities, which is a major detriment.
Manga Horikoshi never ceases to amaze me
When I watch anime, there's stuff I know is typical, and then there's this series. It has a superb grasp of characterization because the author knows how to make his cast rich with energy and emotion, and every battle they fight feels intelligent and realistic. It's rare to find someone who can strike a balance between crazy superpowers and real life, because a lot of the time, you get these overly one-sided or cheap battles that are lazily written. With Horikoshi, there is detail and control over these situations, and that is why I am so drawn to the work. The man puts his all into the material with every page.
Manga Not bad so far, could be better
Note: As of this review, this manga has 29 chapters.
Plot: Deku is a person who was born without any quirk, but that is quickly solved when All Might decides he has the potential to become a great hero, so he gives him the power. However Deku has a lot of problems controlling the power. Most of the manga is focused on school activities, thus it may sometimes feel boring. An actual villain attack happened in one of the arcs, but it was quickly solved. Overall, the whole series reminds me of the Naruto Chunin Exams. Will the plot pick up later? I don't know. 7/10
Characters: In a truly Onepiecesque fashion, all characters have quirks and interesting personalities. Deku is one of the better shonen protagonists, and his determination would make Naruro jealous. Other stundents are interesting, such as Tsuyu who's incredibly straight-foward. Kacchan is by far the worst character, his personality is basically what it needs to be in the current plot. It can range from psychopath to calm. 9/10
Art: Not bad at all. It's no art masterpiece but the panels are pretty clean. It's basically what you should expect from a shonen jump manga. One thing i've noticed when he drew all shonen jump protagonists is that his characters sometimes tend to look the same. 8/10
Enjoyement: I don't regret reading this manga. Right now it is pretty short and funny. You see Deku's adventure as he enters Yuuei Academy. After he enters the academy, the plot kind of starts stalling. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad read, but at a certain point you kind of get bored of school activities. Even if those school activities are very cool looking. I can't really see where the plot is supposed to go, through. Deku is getting better at controlling his power, Kacchan does whatever the fuck the author wants, and the other characters are just messing around. Even when the villain alliance attacked, the plot still didn't pick up. 7/10
Overall: Technically, the manga is pretty good. There are no huge plot holes, no stupid moments, power creep didn't start yet (wouldn't be surprised if it eventually did). However, there is a lack of big plot twists, or moments so cool you feel like this is the best read ever. Still, this manga is still in its early stages. I'd argue the first 29 chapters of Naruro are better, but it does beat Hunter x Hunter and One Piece for beginnings. 8/10
Manga Strong Start, Unevenly Integrated Thematic Elements and Characters
My Hero Academia starts off on a straightforward note, with a cast of colorful characters and a simple plotline about Izuku Midoriya aiming to become the world's greatest hero. Along the way, the story ends up shining a spotlight on it's own tropes and themes, steadily deconstructing it's elements to slowly highlight the themes of the story.
What sacrifices does one make to be a hero, and are those sacrifices worth making?
What kind of society enables the kind of situations where heroes are so plentiful, and what happens when the people (or person) involved in ensuring such a status quo can no longer continue to uphold said status quo?
What problems arise from a society where your value is determined by a power given from birth, and who falls between the cracks of such a society?
What does it really mean to be a hero or a villain in a dystopian society that relies on snap judgments, discrimination, obsession with power, flashiness and prestige to determine their status, and is built on standards that inevitably create the circumstances for villains to rise?
These themes are interwoven throughout the series, and while more questions are asked as time passes on, it's easy to see that they, for the most part, are generally given the attention and consideration they deserve. For example, the early Myth Arc of All Might's impending retirement as the Symbol of Peace acts as a constant element for the first few seasons, highlighting the end result of not only building an entire society around the idea of one man holding it up, but also just how much of a toll it truly takes on that man to become that kind of person, and how society as a whole struggles to cope when that hero can no longer compensate for it's flaws any longer.
For that matter, the Villains initially play the role of the absolutely flat evil side that is evil for the sake of it, but it steadily becomes increasingly evident that many of them are deeply broken people who have been forsaken by the dystopian elements of this Hero Society, where superpower-related discrimination and the control said society holds over the regulation of said powers, and how these things influence their characters and arcs.
However. This is not something that is done particularly evenly, because while the Villain side has been relatively consistent in this thematic integration, the Hero side is much more erratic in terms of quality.
Out of the entire cast of Heroes, the only characters I can say with certainty are integrated with these themes are Izuku, All Might, Endeavor, Bakugou, Todoroki and MAYBE Eraserhead. The rest of the cast, while initially making a strong start (especially Uraraka and Iida), suffer from not only an erratic cast focus, but also from the simple fact that their role in the thematic elements of the story is extremely situational, and that the majority of them tend to be somewhat interchangeable.
This primarily stems from the fact that their personalities and backgrounds, while colorful enough to work to sell that the world is alive and vibrant, are often not given much depth beyond that, or have their character depth more heavily interconnected with the overarching themes of the series more evenly. While "Heroism" is generally something they tend to be the most connected to, other aspects such as the issues of superpowers in a highly restrictive society, or how the heroism-centered society affected them is often glossed over or underutilized.
The end result is that despite the status of protagonists being put upon them, a very substantial number of the cast struggles to have any relevance, either from a character level or from a thematic level, outside of their connection to the very small number of characters who are relevant, and oftentimes very unevenly.
And this has only gotten more prominent as the series draws to a close, due in part to how the series creator Kohei Horikoshi handles his writing. In earlier chapters/Seasons, the brisk speed ensured that the pacing would not be bogged down in superfluous information or details, while ensuring that the series remained engaging. However, his briskly paced, economical style of writing has arguably also become the series' Achille's Heel as the series went on, with important information either sped past or glossed over, thus resulting in thematic oddities and inconsistencies that could have been avoided if more time had been given.
The ultimate end result is a series that has a very strong start, but starts to struggle with the burden it created due to it's own strengths becoming a weakness, and it's uneven application of it's themes across it's vast cast of characters, leaving many to become little more than extras.