Boku no Hero Academia: Hero Note

Although it was just a filler episode meant to recap the season 1 and is somehow not even included in the Netflix release, My Hero Academia: Hero Notebook is actually pretty good and manages to summarize the first season decently for those who've watched it but want to recall what went down without going through each and every episode.

The presentation is apt, and as expected from a recap episode, it manages to highlight the key moments of the first season pretty well. It could've been boring since we all know what this was going to be about, but I found myself totally gripped from start ... to finish, and felt it was very much like a (short) movie adaptation of the series. I can't really recommend it to those who haven't watched the first season, because while the summarizing is good, a lot of points might not be understood properly without having watched the first 13 episodes.

Other than that, it does what a filler is meant to do and that is all one should expect. It doesn't contribute anything to the plot, but is worth checking out also out of the curiosity regarding how much of 13 episodes can be summarized in one single episode.

Usually I'm not the one to enjoy watching recaps, unless I need to remember some of the events from anime which haven't seen for a long time. But this time was exception.

As a recap of 1st season, I could say it was quite well made with most important events put in just one episode.

....Also, liked idea of including Deku's hero notes with cute drawings. Always wondered what exactly he writes in his notes and how does he describes heroes in them, because in the main show series a viewer could only get a glimpse of it.

Although, I wonder how his classmates ... would react seeing themselves in Deku's notebook :D

  

*Disclaimer*
Just personal scratch.
Advised, possible spoilers.
Opinion & Informal

Note #1: I prefer to rate things concerning their "type." So for example, I gave this a 6/10 for the art and animation areas because I feel that they did more than the average for a **recap episode** in those areas when compared to other recap episodes.

Art: 6/10 The artwork was the same. It's a recap so it was an entire episode of strewn-together clips. This was pretty much an average recap piece but the reason I'm giving this a 6, above a 5, is because this recap actually included new "animation" as well as made ... an effort to be a bit more than your average recap episode. For example, during the episode's segment I (I as in Irvine) there was actually a very brief moment where it was going over Izuku's hero notebook. This wasn't the only example but there were still shots with very slight animation to it in which it was showcasing hero profiles. Those very specific shots and details of those hero profiles weren't in the original anime or manga as far as I remember. Another specific example from this is when it was showing how Izuku was initially making his hero notebook. There was a short sequence showing the individual previous notebooks and how they eventually lead up to his 13th notebook; that wasn't in the original anime either. The last example of new animation that set this recap episode apart from your average recap episode was the ED. The ED was new and actually looked nice for something that was supposed to be low effort. It had new animations. I'm basically giving this area a 6 because this recap episode did more than what the average recap episode does. That is, it had more than one instance of new art and animation.

Animation: 6/10 Most of what I wanted to say is expressed in the above area so please refer to that so that I save time and space. Basically: a few new bits of art and animation. This wasn't simply a slide show of clips. This recap episode actually added extra bits such as new art, animation, and things like those character names that appear when introducing someone.

Characters: 5/10 Recaps all the main characters, main side characters and villains. Nothing special done here. Can't talk about character development or design since this is a recap.

Plot: 5/10 Same idea here as with the characters area.

Development: 6/10 This recap episode did noticeably well in this area. Yes, this recap episode was pretty much a slideshow of the original anime's clips but the transitions, flow, and brand new narration was what made this above-average. The transitions were somewhat more thoughtful and the overall recap did what it was supposed to with the least amount of questions.

Music: 5/10 No new music, bgm, or soundboard. Sound design not applicable.

Conclusion: 6/10 Same song for the ED but new animation here. The ED animation was simple but looked nice. This is a plus.

Overall: 6/10 This was an above-average **recap episode** pretty much. This recap episode clearly did more than what your standard recap episode does. It had new art, new animations, and was thoughtfully recapped. It actually had editing. I can't really talk about character development or plot development for a recap episode so just know that this is an above-average recap episode.