Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising

If you've seen the first Hero Academia movie, you should know what to expect here - but this time the idea of a MHA fanservice story that has no bearing on the main plot has worn out its welcome. And it doesn't help that this movie hits every single plot beat that the last one did.

Once again, this film takes place on a remote island, far away from U.A. High School or any other place that might cause any plot holes. The most major difference is what's on the island - this time, it's a small, rural town full of normal people who live normal ... lives. The students are sent alone, and their job is to take care of more everyday tasks the villagers might need help with.

But, of course, a new one-off villain and his sidekicks appear on the island to wreak havoc. And while the heart of My Hero Academia is most definitely heroes vs. villains, the longer these conflicts go on, the more you need to be careful of retreading old ground. Unfortunately here, the film's villain is shockingly unoriginal in his powers and ambition. It is literally boiled down to this: he is an off-brand All for One.

The biggest problem with this is that it cheapens the conflict of AFO vs All-Might from season 3 - an enormously impactful moment in the story of MHA - as the isolated villain showdown in this film raises the stakes in absolutely insane ways that ultimately don't matter and are written off by the end.

Not only that, but what this movie promises for fans of Deku and Bakugo's rivalry is visually satisfying, but inevitably hollow. It reminded me of how powerful their face-off at the end of season 3 was, at a time when Bakugo had a rare moment of emotional vulnerability. But this time, it's just a fleeting excuse to show the two fighting together in a Yutapon-injected showdown that might as well have just been a dream.

Yes, the character interactions are fun, the little kids they save are cute, and the fights are a spectacle to behold. But the predicament the movie finds itself in the end when evil is defeated is that all must be forgotten so the actual story can continue. How it is explained away by Deku as they sail away as heroes is just laughably absurd and ultimately makes the entire film a pointless endeavor.

What hurts the most is significant talent was stretched thin at Studio Bones to make this movie happen while they were simultaneously working on season 4, which is visually apparent both here and in the series.

Recently, a rumor has been floating around that they want to make 10 - yes, ten - MHA films. After seeing this one, you can tell they're already out of ideas, and I really hope they have a change of heart and decide to focus more on the stories that actually matter. Not only does it seem they have tapped out the potential for spinoff films, but the power creep required to out-do the final fight in this movie would make Akira Toriyama blush.

If you are a MHA super-fan, there's no need to rush to see this film. You may enjoy it - especially if you are a big fan of the Deku & Bakugo rivalry - but don't expect any events that take place to ever have any more relevance than a fanfiction would. And at the end of the day, that is basically the function of this consequence-free film.

I know before even writing this, I will be in the minority regarding my thoughts and feelings on this film. I will do my best to exclude spoilers but some talking points will probably require minor hints at what happens.

Story: 6
The story for this film is as cookie cutter as it gets for a shounen anime, especially a MHA film. There's a villain who, surprise, wants to rule the world and use powers to make his own kind power-based fantasy realm that doesn't work if you think about it for more than a second or two. He, of course, has to be tied into the ... League but that isn't really used much in the film, much like the last MHA film. As seen in the trailers, the film revolves around two kids on an out-of-the-way island and how 1-A defends them and the island from harm. Basic superhero story stuff. The story, however, begins to falter as it goes further and further forward with the villains seeming much more overpowered than needs to be with no real way to beat them except the classic trope of "Try to do what you're already doing but better!" After the necessary team up fight the two main heroes of this film, Izuku and Katsuki, do what they have to do and save the day. Some might consider that a bit spoiler-y but y'know, this is a superhero film. Where the story loses a lot of points for me is how the dynamic duo take down the main villain. I won't say what happened or how it happened as it was truly unexpected but holy **** was it absolute rubbish. At what was supposed to be this film's ultimate climax and explosion of emotion and "We got this" I.... burst out laughing at how unbelievable it truly was. That's all I'll say regarding it as I can't explain much without completely ruining it.

Art: 7
The art and subsequent animation that generally falls under this category was rather lackluster in regards to an anime film where animation tends to be a bit better and the drawings have a little more time put into them. As you would do, I spent a lot of the time comparing this to the last films art and animation (which I've viewed multiple times and even once before seeing this film in the theatre) and I was really let down by how just truly "eh" the film looked. The big fights and quirks looked more or less like they do in the actual anime which I felt kind of let down by. Overall though, this film still managed to achieve the MHA aesthetic and feel so that's why the art gets the highest score of this review for me.

Sound: 5
WARNING: Being in the US, the theatre was playing the film in dub so that's what I'm reviewing
The sound in this film was probably the biggest let down out of the whole film. Starting with what I found to be the worst part, the voices. I watch most anime subbed with dubs here and there and have actually watched most of MHA in both dub and sub as I usually really enjoy both voices for most characters. This film broke me. The dub was bad. Like really bad. Like I was wishing for them to switch to Japanese most of the time bad. The characters sounded washed out, reverberated like they were in a metal box, and overall some of the worst voice acting for this show and most anime I've ever heard. The line delivery was weak and the lines themselves felt like they may not have been translated as well as some other things. Conversations were awkward and people didn't always feel like they were actually talking to the people in the scene with them. After the voices comes the SFX in general. Again, the SFX just didn't hit me like most do in an anime. The explosions felt far away, the ambiance sounds (such as the ocean or the general summer sounds) sounded really poorly balanced and like they had been done by a "made for home release film" company. The SFX just weren't there for me. Now for the main part of sound that I never knew I'd miss as much as I did until it wasn't there: The music. The music in this film just isn't present in the way MHA usually uses music. Hype moments are punctuated with dull tracks, slower moments have light music at best and the climax of the film has some of the most awkward and weird feeling music I've ever felt and listened to. Due to the nature of the climax, I understood what they were going for but it just didn't land for me and I felt really disappointed by it as a whole. Overall regarding sound, the voices were lackluster, the SFX were very average at best, and the music just didn't play for me in the way I wanted an action film's music to hit

Character: 5
This film quite possibly contains some of the lamest and unoriginal characters that have ever existed in the MHA universe. MHA usually has a plethora a fun and unique characters with weird powers that they use in a way that you fall in love with, regardless of the side they're on. Heroes:Rising does not really have that. As you discover in the early parts of the film, the villain is literally just an "All-for-One" clone, but a different person. He steals quirks and uses them to try and accomplish his weird goal of remaking Earth in his image. He's literally evil because he is evil. He is, naturally as aforementioned, accompanied by 3 "henchmen" that each have their own powers that make them equally as lame. One is just an infinitely scaling, all powerful animal dude that I was bored with every moment he was on screen. Another is literally just the Inhumans' character Medusa and the final one is a dude that controls bandages. They were so painful to watch and really unbelievable when together. The chemistry didn't exist and I often found myself wondering exactly why they all were even working together anyways. Aside from the villains there are the people of the island and the two Deus E....I mean kids from the poster. The people are typical MHA people who all have quirks or are more or less normal and they were fine as background characters. The two children, however, were certainly characters alright. A young boy, Katsuma, and his sister, Mahoro, are like a tiny Deku (except Katsuma has a power) and Kota respectively. One wants to become a hero but doubts himself and his power and his sister hates heroes and think they are a bad thing...until she is miraculously saved by one and instantly loves them. They, as primary characters that were deemed so important they were protected beyond everything, are drab and feel like they've been copy-pasted into the situation so our heroes can save the day. I did not like the added characters of this film. After these added characters, I feel I'm obliged to talk about the two selling points of the film, Izuku and Katsuki. This film was supposed to be them learning to fight and work together better so they could become a true duo for the future. They had those moments. The moments where you saw them as two friends fighting and combo-ing together to try and take down a villain and show how they were incredibly similar individuals in their convictions and overall goals. Like a lot of the film, these moments were sadly punctuated with a lot of fluff and action that just didn't seem like them as characters, even after they had grown. The climax was the highlight of this for me in where a sacrifice has to be made and it truly doesn't feel like either of them earned it or truly understand what it would mean if it actually happened the way they thought it was going to. I hated it. It felt forced and rushed and like the two characters didn't actually know what they were doing, even when the film was trying to sell you on the idea they had started to work in a sense of tandem and as a true duo, not two people fighting against the same guy at the same time. The rest of our class of 1-A had some nice moments as individual characters with many of them being forced to overcome personal obstacles or fight through limitations and...go Plus Ultra, but ultimately the rest of the cast fell very flat.

Enjoyment and Overall: 6
Despite my many gripes with the film, I found myself enjoying certain aspects of the film and there were some cool action sequences. Sadly, these moments could not totally eclipse and overcome the glaring flaws of this film that caused me to laugh at the emotional climax and spend more time analysing and finding issues than enjoying what the film was trying so hard to be, a fun and fast paced superhero action film.

Long-running battle shonen adaptation spinoff movies have a number of inherent limitations caused by the very nature of their existence. Because they are attached to an adaptation despite being original works, they are functionally filler arcs and cannot do anything that would change the status quo, and any sense of genuine peril to said status quo loses all tension as a result of this.

The first movie knew this very well, and so was as much of a fanservice movie as it could manage, focusing on fun character moments and action sequences, and framing it all around a story theme that not only builds on but ... also improves the lore of the Hero Academia universe. Ultimately, it was one of my favourite movies of its kind.

This movie does not fare as well.

A lot of this movie centers around its villain, Nine, who is a much more present threat than the villain of the first movie, whom despite my near encyclopedic knowledge of this franchise I can barely remember the appearance of, let alone their name. Nine is essentially an off brand All For One, being able to steal up to Nine quirks (hence the name). While he is somewhat generic he works fine within the context of the movie, and is an active agent in the plot and a plausible threat.

This movie's best accomplishment is getting all of class 1-A to be relevant and actually have something to do, some of whom have their best fights in the franchise here against Nine and his subordinates. And this movie really does go all out on these action sequences, not only having some of the franchise's best animation but also some of its best choreography. The coordinated team attacks by the members of Class 1-A are the highlight here and also give some of the less powerful class members a chance to do something useful. This is accomplished through a very awkward logical leap in its premise, however, in that the entire class has been abandoned with no supervision on an isolated island with no superpowers, this being in spite of everything that has happened to them in the series so far and them regularly highlighting on several occasions the importance of security.

Being that this is for some reason set a lot later in the manga than where the anime has currently adapted up to at time of release, this could potentially be chalked up to the Hero Commission knowing the League are biding their time until spring, but that's still a significant stretch.

There's going to be some significant spoilers from here on out, so consider yourself warned.

The biggest development in this movie is the final battle twist, wherein the seemingly undefeatable Nine is taken down by Deku transferring One for All to Bakugo, and the two of them both using it in tandem. While it doesn't drive the plot the same way that the first movie's theme did, the main theme of this movie is the rivalry between Deku and Bakugou, and this is not only an inspired solution to an otherwise unwinnable battle, but also resonates excellently with the main motif of the movie.

Unfortunately it absolutely does not stick the landing.

Being that the status quo cannot be changed by this movie, it's obvious that One For All had to go back to Deku in the end. However the way this was accomplished was incredibly hamfisted - the excuse they give is that Bakugo passed out before it could transfer, which makes no sense given that he was still able to use it immediately (that in of itself being something that strains the suspension of disbelief) or possibly just that it was the will of One for All itself or something to that extent, which is a tremendously cheap copout. It's left intentionally vague exactly why but either answer is insultingly bad, which is made worse by how obvious the best solution to this conundrum really was.

Bakugo should have voluntarily returned the quirk.

This would have been a much more logical resolution - Admittedly they would have had to handwave why Bakugo's quirk wouldn't transfer along with it, but that'd be much easier to sell than what they actually did. This would have been an excellent way to resolve the character drama between these two throughout the movie, and certainly a much better resolution than Bakugo simply forgetting the whole thing happened.

The tension in the final battle is also undermined by the characters repeatedly receiving major injuries that are totally forgotten about and vanish entirely - sometimes in the middle of the battle, such as the shot through the stomach Deku takes, which heals up (clothes and all) immediately afterwards. This goes against what I've always considered to be one of My Hero Academia's great strengths, that despite some degree of artistic license the battle damage taken is generally realistic and permanent.

Ultimately the problem with this movie is that the tension is irrelevant for any change that you know will go back to normal, and in order for it to work the plot has to resonate on an emotional level. And despite that landing in some places, broadly, it doesn't.

If, like me, you're a big fan of My Hero Academia, you'll still enjoy this movie (which, for all its flaws, I did have fun watching). But if you're not invested enough in the characters to care about their side stories, odds are this movie will not do anything for you.

Everything about this movie... WOW WOW WOW! 100 times better than the first. I never thought I would be able to see anime in the cinema. When the characters came on the screen I was so damn happy and excited. Will do my best to keep spoilers to a minimum!

Story: 10/10
The best part about this film is that every one in class 1-A is included and have equal and awesome moments and screentime!! My favourite aspect of this movie is that they don't have pro heroes to rely on, they have to do everything themselves. We get to see how they all react in an ... actual deadly situation. I honestly am so proud of them all. On top of this, all of the awesome and underrated characters like Aoyama, Toru, Denki and Ojiro got their time to shine! Denki was particularly amazing haha. They all did great! My love for them all have skyrocketed. Especially my boy Aoyama, finally getting the recognition he deserves.

The sheer amount of character development between Deku and Bakugo alone was.. wow. I was literally speechless. It could not have been presented in a better way. The lengths they went to to save Katsuma and Mahoro was so moving and emotional. While we're at it, the villains were also amazing.

THAT CLIMAX... IF YOU SEEN IT YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!

There are a few manga spoilers, which isn't the greatest if you're an anime only viewer, however these are not major. If you don't actually have the context anyway then chances are you won't even notice.

HAWKS!! That's probably the most noticable spoiler. You probably know who he is already because he is a massive fan favourite, but if you don't there isn't a lot to worry about. He is beautiful though. So happy to finally see him animated.

And to top it all off, Horikoshi, the author, originally wanted this movie to be the ending of the entire series, so that should tell you how well thought out and amazing it is. I would have been totally satisfied if this HAD have been the ending. Taken me so long to actually process everything that happened.

Seriously, if you can, go see it in the cinema. I want to go and see it again but sadly it was a one time show... seeing everyone and all of the fights on such a big screen was so surreal. My jaw was dropped the whole time. Makes me sad that I will never get to see it again there.

Art: 10/10
The animation during those fight scenes... absolutely unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it in anything BNHA-related in the past. It was so damn beautiful and seeing it in the cinema made the experience even better. The visuals... were so on point. The fights and the emotions the animation portayed was just.. I can't. The backgrounds were beautiful as well. If you have the chance, see this in the cinema. Much better experience than you would get at home. This film was made to be seen on the big screen. So beautiful.

Sound: 10/10
The seiyuus in this were on point. Everything they did was performed perfectly. Daiki Yamashita (Deku) and Nobuhiko Okamoto (Bakugo) put in so much emotion in this. It was breathtaking to see. Everyone did such a good job. Honestly I do not think I could fault it even if I tried. The music during those scenes was also amazing. Awesome placement. And they used one of the only songs that has actually made me cry in the past (you know the one).

Yuichi Nakamura (Hawks) did awesome in his debut. Couldn't have picked a better seiyuu honestly. So happy that Hawks got into this film before his actual debut in the manga.

ED song was also great. Great way to end it off.

Character: 10/10
Bakugo and Deku's development in this was amazing. EVERYONES development was amazing. The decisions Bakugo and Deku made in this film was just... perfect. It really shows how far they have come together. Bakugo has come so damn far. I cannot help but be proud. Those two made me cry a lot. The climax of the film... no one could have predicted it.

Everyone else also grew a lot. I loved Todoroki's scenes (and Endeavor too hehe), he has come a long way to accept his flames. Everyone worked together. The chemistry between them all was great. Especially with Tokoyami... he did great. Everyone did great. Even Mineta did great, I actually don't hate him anymore.

The villains! Beautiful designs and awesome quirks. I love Nine's story and why he did what he did. Shigaraki was so badass too. The others were also great. In every fight I was on edge, I couldn't tell who was gonna win or what was gonna happen.

Katsuma and Mahoro were great too. Their quirks are so unqiue and cool. They did so well throughout the whole movie and I love them both.

AND HAWKS!! HAWKS WAS IN IT!! AND HE WAS PERFECT!!

Overall: 10/10
Honestly I cannot find one fault with this film. I had to give everything a 10/10 because honestly, I have never seen something so perfect. Everything was done perfect. It gives my scoring of a 10 a whole new meaning. Nothing I have seen so far equals to a 10 in comparison.

I saw the subbed version, so I have no idea if the dubbed was just as good - but knowing the dub voice actors, I would assume yes.

My only sadness is that the subtitles were not working for the first 5 or so minutes, so I cannot properly review what happened there. But the visuals were awesome. It wasn't the actual movie's fault, so it doesn't damper my score in the slightest.

In my overall opinion, and this isn't just the hype getting to me, I have to say that this movie was way better than any of the arcs so far (in the anime anyway) and so so much better than the first movie.

Just got done seeing My Hero Academia Heroes Rising aka the Deku & Bakugo movie!! Because if the first film was a Deku and All Might one, then this is for Deku and Bakugo. The two absolutely take center stage in this movie. All of Class 1A is there of course helping but it's mainly about the two top bros.

The film is pretty top notch. Better the first I'd say personally. The first was a rescue mission while this was an escort/protect mission per se. Much more enjoyed this film with the heroes defending an island from invasion as opposed to the first having ... them save a scientist at the top of a tower. Anyways, the films are similar in setup but i think this one used that setup better. Which makes sense because it's the later film.

Story like I said is kinda similar to the first. That of Class 1A going away from mainland Japan this time though for practice at being real heroes. The island they go to was a cool setting. Away from the hustle and bustle of the main story settings so they could really rip it all up.

Once the action gets going it doesnt really stop. Almost the entire second half of the film is pure action. After the villains get to the island it's balls to the wall. Nine as a villian speaking of is cool. His motivations are of course about as complex as a shonen movie villain is going to be but i liked him. His backstory was short too but i liked the connection to the Doctor and the League of Villains. Done better than how the first film felt like it shoehorned that part in. His cronies were pretty cool too. Chimera and Slice put on some good bouts.

Which is where the rest of Class 1A shined in this film. While the main bois took on Nine the others backing them up did badass. Everyone in the class helped out big time. It really was a group effort to defend the island and mainly Katsuma and Maharo. Who were just the cutest in this film. I loved them really. Very sweet kids, Katsuma wanting to be a hero warmed my heart. They really were like mini versions of Deku and Bakugo it was great.

Now the action. Holy shit, i mean everyone knew it was gonna look good this is Studio Bones we're talking about but damn!!!! That final fight. Oh my god. Jaw dropping a couple of times. Deku and Bakugo vs Nine one of the best MHA fights period after this. A climax that absolutely delivered. Seeing not just them two but all Class 1A working together really wowed me. On top of the bois finally teaming up which was spectacular.

Overall I'd say this film easily is better than the first. They have similarities but here they ironed out the rough spots imo. Only downside i can see is there being a minimal amount of Hawks but honestly not his movie so being there at all is good with me. The action was dope. The comradery between Deku and Bakugo after how far they've come is really the centerpiece and it's done so well. I loved this film a lot. It's a really great movie.

9/10

This movie is insulting. Not only does it have no fucking impact on anything MHA (glorified and well animated filler episode that runs an hour too long), it's just a terrible movie through and through. It focuses a lot on my least favorite character (Bakugo) who I can frankly do without. The animation is great, so great in fact, Season 4 got gutted because of it because on the BEST arcs (Shie Hassakai) in MHA was passed over to make this dumpster fire look better. The story is a travesty and beyond forgettable. I could not find any enjoyment in this besides the animation. Bakugo ... is obnoxious as usual, they literally do the same thing they do in each filler episode we have each season, like damn, I know each of these character's quirks, get to the action already. The new characters were just boring. Just give the villains back to Horikoshi, that mfer wrote Overhaul and Stain. The climax had me groaning. It was just cheesy (spoilers ahead) when they decided to give Bakugo One for All but oh, magically at the end, it stayed with Deku. THE WRITERS WROTE A VILLAIN TOO POWERFUL THAT THEY BROKE THE CANON OF THE SHOW AND EXPLAINED IT IN A THROWAWAY SCENE. Just to scratch the surface of plot holes, how in the fuck is this guy stronger than Overhaul and never mentioned once before. Stories are all about set ups and payoffs, there was no setup for the story and the payoff was beyond disappointing. Fuck this movie, 2/10

BREAKING NEWS: MHA is STILL on a downward spiral, as author is completely lost on ways to further extend his cash-cow series. On-site reporters note "...but it still looks good tho lol."

-[What's in a Shounen? Good Animation and Nothing Else.]-
OH BOY, here we have the second movie installment in a franchise that had already expended its usefulness after its 3rd season. This show, as of season 4, has absolutely nothing left to say. It has returned to the equilibrium state of shounen anime, meaning, it's completely empty.

So what's left of the shambling corpse of MHA? Well, "Da graphix good tho" is a completely valid ... praise of this show. Despite being dead, even a corpse can put on a show. Really! Watch any LiveLeak video. Crazy stuff. The animation is by far the best aspect of the movie. It looks amazing during fight scenes. During the rest of the movie, though, the animation is on the lower end of average. There's so little effort put into normal scenes that you'd swear that you're watching a powerpoint rather than the product movie of a multi-million dollar franchise. It's seriously lazy. By the way, I don't count adding the stock anime intensity lines as animation. They're literally just putting in a transparent template and zooming. It's goddamned lazy. However, again, I concede that the sakuga was great (when it finally happened).

-[Bad Writing]-
The story was dumb. Despite the fact that class 1-A is the target of 93% of all hero-related hate crimes, the Japanese government somehow thinks that it's a good idea to send these children a million miles away from any backup. Obviously, this was explained in like 5 seconds in the movie as "Well they gotta learn somehow right lol" and glossed over in an instant. After 1-A is separated from the rest of superhero civilization, some random, c-grade, non-recurring villains decide that they want to steal a cell restoration quirk from some kid who lives on some random bumfuck island in the middle of nowhere. Then they do it. That's pretty much it. I mean, nobody was expecting the story to be anything impressive, since this is a selectively-cannon side story of a show who's main narrative already isn't good, so it's whatever.

But how about that writing? It sucks. The choreography is great, but that's it. Characters become ape-brained when they're out of combat. The main antagonist's philosophy is inconsistent and also, rather dumb. Yep, it's a shounen alright.

Finally, I'd like to hone in on a specific piece of writing that comes in near the end of the movie. Get ready for this one, guys. Sit up in your gamer chairs. They actually make a decision that would majorly affect the status-quo of the entire show! That's crazy, right!? Yeah, it is!!! Until they write it out in literally the next goddamned scene. XDDDDDDDD boy I love anime. BY THE WAY EVERYONE, this anime is rated 8.13 out of 10! HAHAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, fuck exactly 41,000 people for propping up this garbage.

-[Heroes Rising, Franchise Falling (Everything Else)]-
The OST was (I believe) the same minus one song in the ending fight. The characters are the same generic shitstains as usual. Deku and Bakugo are the only dynamic characters yet again. Unfortunately, that doesn't prevent the writers from somehow believing that anybody wants to see the 1-A side characters do random bullshit. We don't. Writers, believe me, you will never build the side characters up enough to justify their screentime in a 100 minute long movie. Nobody cares about bargain-bin JoJo, Tapeman, or 8-limb-guy. Leave it. And anime viewers, I say to you as well. Leave it. Please, for the love of God, leave it. 6/10.

Let MHA die.

I am writing this immediately after having seen it in theaters. Went with my friends and we all were upset with how it turned out. I was completely disappointed with this movie, having expecting some on the early MHA levels, like the previous movie; I was just let down.

Bad News first:

My major complaint with the movie is just how freakin predictable everything about it is. From the fights to just everything. I knew exactly how everything was going to turn out the second it started. The hero fights the villain, another hero intervenes, both lose. Then enter the end of the movie, the villain returns, ... heroes fight, and push the villain back just barely. Villian releases final form, hero's release final form. Hero's win but just barely cause at the end, they're all beaten up, unconscious, get some words out but end up slipping into the cold black of sleep.

There you go. I just told you the entire plot of the movie word for word, scene by scene.

Now with some spoiler, so don't read past here unless you don't care.....

First off the villain, the main baddie. Completely just basic. Usual cliche "create a world in my image" guy and they took the basic a step further with the whole "power will rule" motto that only the kool guys are in to, you know the reeeaaaallll edgy ones. Yeah. That. I was so completely underwhelmed by him. Well I was underwhelmed by just about everything to be completely honest. But yeah, the villain is straight meh, and for a superhero show, the villain makes the show. Shiguraki was in there but you could easily tell the two scenes he had were nothing more than just to hype him up for the future arcs cause his screentime is next to pointless, kinda.

Another complaint I had was the whole ending to the whole fight as well. Basically just a Dragon Ball Z reference with the main characters. Spiky Hair pointed straight up into a tip on both Deku and Bakugo, Deku's hair turns blue and Bakugo's turns yellow. They literally just went super saiyen, that's quite it. All of it was because Deku transferred One for All to Bakugo, which speaking of, that whole mess had the most predictable ending as well because OF COURSE it doesn't actually transfer over cause dead people said "no".

To sum up the bad stuff. The plot is extremely predictable. The villain is just meh, there's no tension whatsoever, and everything was so underwhelming.

Sigh..... Now for the good stuff:

The art and sound is good. That's it. It's MHA, didn't know what you expect. Art is phenomenal as usual and the sounds and voice acting are great.

The movie was not bad, don't get me wrong. But at the same time, it wasn't good either. It was okay and just okay. 5/10

I entered the theater expecting to go Plus Ultra, become the 4th Hokage, and maybe even find the mythical One Piece. I left questioning my existence and how cinema has deteriorated. Martin Scorsese was right, My Hero Academia is a disgrace to the cinema. I would much have preferred a Mushishi live action.

For you newcomers to my reviews, I will dissect my opinion into 5 crucial sections, henceforth known as napkins.

Napkin #1
Story (3/10)
I'd like to take you back to a date in time when the great Kublai Khan approached the Japanese with the demands for a peaceful surrender. However, the Japanese refused to and ... managed to stave off the Mongol invasion due to several Typhoons wrecking attempts at a naval landing. According to the film, the Mongols should have met Deku, who could have shared his quirk with everyone in the army through unexplained means, never to be touched on again. I once attempted to share my passport, but was apprehended for apparently not yelling loud enough, having a flashback, and yelling PLUS ULTRA. Life is cruel.

Napkin #2
Art (7/10)
The animation is good, however I'd advise Bones to stick to what they are good at and make Noragami S3. The end fight is animated well, with Tokoyami’s fight really putting in work. I used to think crows were just scavengers, but I have now adopted one from the local cemetery.

Napkin #3
Sound (6/10)
The sound is solid, but the standard MHA uplifting and inspirational. Nothing is especially new or noteworthy, just good. Now I hate to sound like a broken record, but the music and OPs of Noragami were fare superior. Get back to work please Bones.

Napkin #4
The characters (2/10)
Class 1-A, or as I call them, forgettable ding dongs, is filled with side characters who lack any development, emotion, cool powers, or ideology. Can eating sugar to enhance energy really be called quirky. My grandma does that with her sweets and insulin, but she does not go Plus Ultra. Nonetheless, the main cast of: Todoroki, who is hot, Bakugo, who is angry, and Deku, who is green, leave much to be desired. My favorite character, All for None is not even present for the majority of the film. The power system is lacking and Todoroki can be replaced with a flamethrower welded to a refrigerator, voiced by Yuki Kaji. The only quirky part about this movie is that it made nearly $30 million dollars at the box office.

Napkin #5
Enjoyment (5/10)
When the climax of the moment arrived, I did not "Pog out of my mind" as my young son often says. Instead, I found myself bewildered as to what string of coincidences, plot armor, and poor writing left me here. I did not receive any fanservice (Momo x Jiro appreciated), nor was I given a satisfying villain death or final battle. I received a trope sandwich with two mediocre main characters sealing the deal. I am saddened by the state of the Shounen industry and am currently seeking investors to attempt to buy Shounen jump and demand only Jujutsu Kaisen be printed. Thank you.

Conclusion
Now that all napkins have been set at the table, we must choose to take the one on the right or on the left. On the right we have a solid film with a great power system and dynamic characters pushed to their limits by a compelling villain. On the left, we have a well-constructed and enjoyable Shounen that doesn't do anything special but checks all the boxes. However, at the table across, a child throws up their food while their older sibling looks on in dismay, disappointed in how the nice food and presentation was ruined by the child’s poor manners and digestion. My Hero Academia Heroes: Rising is that child that chose a new course, throwing up in the restaurant and leaving before paying the bill. Simply put, this is middling Shounen akin to Dragon Ball and Osayumi Punpun. Omedeto Heroes: Rising, you bored me!
Score: 5/10 Average

To save everyone's time this film was - a disappointment

I was going to wait to watch this movie, But everyone was talking about how excellent and astonishing it was, So I went out of my way to see it in theaters. It wasn't worth my money.

Positives
- The art and animation were outstanding, studio Bones went out if their way to animate this movie, Which was a problem for MHA season 4 because Studio Bones probably spent their whole budget on the Art for this instead of focusing on the actual anime.
- The sound was fine, Nothing To impressive
- It was better than ... My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
- The New two supporting characters Mahoro and Katsuma are just some cute and adorable kids

Now the negatives
This movie was way too predictable, It's just another Shounen Anime/ Superhero movie, I knew everything that was going to occur, And I was rolling my eyes at some scenes. The movie at the end is where it went downhill for me because everything that happened during the whole movie, The whole build-up didn't matter at all.

Characters- The biggest reason why this movie was a waste of my time, There is ZERO character development, About a whole hour of this movie was a battle between different villains, And due to the finale all the character development with Deku and Bakugo was gone which means the movie isn't canon just like the last one.

The new main villain Nine was weak, He was boring and to me didn't feel like a threat, He was just a mini All for one, and any character who wasn't Deku or Bakugo didn't do anything.

The whole movie could have just been an arc for season 5, this whole film was just episodes put together and had a weak ending that doesn't touch the polt for the series. The only thing that saves this movie was the Art and Deku and Bakugo's interactions with each other.

I know i'm gonna be in a minority on this film, but i don't really care. What i do care about is telling you that to fully talk about this movie some MINOR plot points have to be spoiled. but I tried my hardest to avoid anything big. Anyway let's start by just saying wow.

It's hard to put this movie into words. On the one hand this might be one of the most enjoyable shounen series movies out there, but on the other it feels like it tries way to hard to be fanfic. That's not a bad thing though. The first movie in ... the My Hero Academia series dose this as well, but where the first movie introduces a macguffin to give us our over the top final action scene that means nothing in the long run, this movie breaks all known rules about the show that we know.

Let's talk about the pros first though. If you're a fan of the character dynamics in this show you'll enjoy the first hour of this movie. Much more then I expected of the run time was devoted to the side characters which IMO is the shows best qualities. Everyone you enjoy in the 1-A class is there and everyone get's allotted amount of screen despite the overall run time. On top of that the movie is some of the best looking MHA has been. I dare to say it even matches the Deku/Todoroki fight in season 2. Even the CGI at the end doesn't FULLY take you out of the movie regardless of the absurdity. The new villains look insanely good aesthetically speaking and it's a real shame we won't get them in the show.

As for the cons of this movie...oof that final act. Logic and continuity get thrown out the window and what we the audience are left with is very beautiful fanfic. Fanfic that at the end of the day means nothing in the context of the show. It's all pointless. That wouldn't be my big issue though if the didn't spend so much of the movie trying to "foreshadow" things that "will" come up later. Answers to questions that we already know, or ideas that didn't go anywhere, and breaking the know rules of our characters powers to get a finally that feels like it came from the mind of someone who watched the show without reading the dialogue. That IMO is the shows biggest flaw... well that and rehashing All for Ones ideology and powers for our main villain.

At the end of the day is this movie worth watching? Yes...to a degree. If you like see a What If story and don't care to much about poor writing and just care about having a fun time then sure. This movie is INSANELY fun at it's core, but if you get bothered by continuity issues and boring antagonists then you should probably sit this one out...or at least the final act.

This movie was great! ....Until the ending!

*Spoilers below*

Thought this movie was on the same tier as the first MHA movie. However, this time they use all the characters in class 1-A and they pretty much all have cool moments (something the first movie really lacked). You don't see much of any characters outside of class 1-A, faculty included, but I don't think that played much of a factor in the quality of the movie.

It starts out slow, but what anime movie doesn't. Picks up halfway through and has non-stop action until the end. Even the story was pretty good, as well as the villains.

...Then ... the ending happens.

After getting beaten to a pulp against the final villain, Deku decides to transfer One For All to Bakugou (through a fist bump?). Somehow Bakugou instantly gets the quirk and has no problem using it whatsoever (yeah, I too remember when it took Deku a couple of days to receive the quirk's powers after inheriting it through All Might. And then taking a couple of seasons to be able to use the quirk correctly). Then this weird slow-vocal version of "You Say Run" plays through the final scene (this paralleled the weird 80's music in the ending of the horrible live-action Netflix adaption of "Deathnote" if you've seen that). After that All Might comes in and explains that Bakugou "conveniently forgot everything!" and "no longer has One For All" because the transfer "somehow went wrong!"

IMO, the movie legit might've well just had ended with Deku waking up and saying "Oh man, so it was all a dream!"

Movie wasn't bad-- very entertaining-- just the ending was straight up garb and unexplained.
This is proof MHA fans will like anything. If this was Fairy Tail it would be getting bashed to pieces.

And congratulations to MHA: Heroes:Rising for becoming my 100th completed anime! Or it would have been my 100th completed if I TECHNICALLY didn't finish probably the last ~3 minutes, meaning that I am eternally grateful to my very legal website for cutting the movie short. The TL;DR is the movie is shit. All shounen movies are, with the exceptions being demon slayer and jujutsu kaisen.

Spoilers beyond this point, but who really gives a shit.

Story 1/10
Pretty average shounen stuff to start off with. Not really much to comment on. Bad guy wants bad thing so good guys stop bad guy from doing bad thing because being ... bad is bad. If it had stopped there it would have been a 5 or 6 due to the lack of originality. However, there is one part of the story that I wish I had just convinced myself to drop this movie midway (yes I actually considered that). In the final climax of the movie, Midoriya sees no way that they can defeat generic villain #72316973416, so he lets Bakugo inherit All for One, a power that had been entrusted to him and would have ramifications for the rest of the series. Not only would Midoriya become quirkless again, but All for One would enhance Baukgo's explosions ten fold (which did actually happen and it was very cool), however, this inheritance has flaws. Firstly, when Midoriya first inherited All for One, All Might clearly said that it would take some time for the DNA to be injected by his organs, making it impossible to use the quirk immediately. HMMMMMMMMM. There are about 3 other plot holes that immediately come to mind after just finishing the film but this review would be too long. Promising beginning, beyond shit ending.

Art 7/10
The art is actually the best and most consistent part of the movie. Everything flowed well. If it wasn't CG. Unfortunately, there was a lot of CG, some of it well integrated, others sticking out like a sore thumb. However, the reason I say this was the best part was because of the ending fight. That art was stunning. Mod Psycho level. However, 5 minutes of great art doesn't make up for 100 minutes of mediocre art.

Sound 7/10
Same as art. Had its place. Not really much else to say.

Character 6/10
The only person that I feel made this movie bearable was Bakugo. Seeing his toxic personality was really funny, but that's all there really is to it. At least I didn't come out literally hating the entire cast (except for Bakugo and All Might) for several months after watching this, so I guess that's a positive? The villain is really forgettable. I'll probably forget his name tomorrow honestly.

Enjoyment 2/10
This is really where the meat is. If you just want a dumb, action fighting movie to sit down to and enjoy, this would be a 10/10 in my opinion. It's just constant fight after fight, which is good for turning your brain off. However, if you wanted something more, then this is just horrendous. The CG sometimes really pulled me into reality and the constant asspulls just was too much for me? All for One can steal quirks but only if it's not the main character? Pro heroes are really competent but we can't seem to find Shigaraki. When he's in the city. In broad daylight. Next to number #2 hero Hawks. When he's surrounded by other people so he can't keep up his secret persona as a spy. Real competent. All for One can be transferred to other users, but only if they're not unconscious for an arbitrary amount of time. We need a vessel to test the quirk factor of All for One. Seems pretty important. Let's never mention it in the anime or manga. The list is endless.

Overall 3/10
I actually think I'm being generous here. This movie has put me off all shounen movies. It's convinced me that the truth that I have heard is actually the truth and not some random shit people that don't like shounen say: All shounen movies are a waste of time because they're inconsequential. I didn't want to believe it, but it seems true. This movie is actually one of the highest scored superpower shounen movies on MAL and if it's THIS BAD, I really don't want to know what the rest are like.

Conclusion:
Good premise, bad execution, worse ending. Don't waste your time with this piece of garbage. Anyway, I'm gonna go rewatch Redo of Healer. At least that has a plot.

I am going to be honest. This movie was really cringy. The way the climax fight was won was dumb. The climax fight of the first movie was really good, but the climax fight for this one was bad. I don't really feel very excited seeing Deku with Bakugo compared to Deku with All Might. Bakugo is a arrogant, self-centered jerk. He treats Deku like garbage and I don't like any scenes with him involved. The plot was bad. The villains' logic was bad. This movie reminded me of Deku's fight with the muscle quirk guy in cringiness. Deku keeps saying "... protect him/her..." or ... something like that and it gets really annoying. I think that all the fights where the people are fighting to protect another person are cringe anyway in this anime.

Hello! I just saw the movie today and it is... WOW!

This will not contain spoilers (I will try my best!)
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This movie, compared to the first, gave a good amount of focus to each of the 1-A students! Everyone gets a time to shine, which is delightful! We get to see everyone's powers on display in an actual deadly and desperate situation, not just the sports festival. Yes, Mineta gets his moments too, get over it.

I was quite confused about where this movie takes place in the canon story line of MHA as a whole.. it contains a manga character and manga elements. I, for one, ... have no problem with this, due to me being an avid reader of this series.

As for said manga elements, HAWKS! He's there and hes everywhere! Though I would've loved to see more of him (where is my Hawks spin-off?), it was nice to see him before his official debut in the anime. He was great, as always.

Next, Bakugo and Deku! WOW, their characters were so great in this movie.. Yes, Bakugo too! He really took me back and I loved how they both fought and developed in this movie. I got way too emotional about them going to such great lengths to save those kids (forgive me, the names escape me).

The climax was INSANE! I will leave it at that!

One thing that surprised me was how little Todoroki did in this movie... He got his moments but I guess I expected him to do more..? My main man Kirishima got to shine though, along with the underrated Aoyama!

In conclusion, great movie! See it if you can! You won't regret it (or maybe you will if you cried like me).

8/10 (it would be a ten if it wasn't for the sub par animation during the non-action scenes.)

Obviously this is quite subjective, but to me this is the worst My Hero has fallen. I've watched all of the show, the previous movie and am current with the manga as of chapter 293, so I think its apparent that I really like this franchise. I love Deku, I love Bakugou, I love the clear influence of western comics and I love the quirk system. I enjoyed reading the manga the most, but the first season is the best shonen can be imo. I have mixed feelings about the next three season with some things I like and some I hate. All that being ... said, this is the only thing that I can truly call bad in the franchise as of yet. The story is just abysmal. The main villain has no motivation over, "The strong should rule the weak" and while the other villains in my hero are nothing extraordinary, at least their motivations are properly set up and have compelling backstories. Here its like they didn't even make an attempt. None of the new characters are expanded on in any way whatsoever and our favorites from the show don't really do anything interesting or indicative of their previous characterization. Deku is for some reason just entirely brain dead through out this entire movie and doesn't ever have a plan when going into a fight. While the last movie wasn't fantastic either, at least the characters got some time to shine and it ended on a high note. Also, the final fight in comparison with the first movie's was really disappointing for me as I found it quite ugly and not very exciting. Anyway I'm dissapointed. Definitely wouldn't watch unless you're just a die hard fan who just gets joy from seeing the characters on the screen.

SPOILERS
I was excited to watch the new My Hero Academia movie since I heard that it was better than the last but I was very disappointed.
The main problems I have with the movie is the ending and villains.
The villains in this movie are as generic as generic gets, with having non-existent back-stories and having cliche motivations
The villain of the movie was just a lamer version of all for one with no real personality or motivation.
The whole movie felt like filler up until the end. The things I like about this movie is the team fighting and the animation and character interactions; ... getting on to the ending, my problem is how Deku just gave Bakugo one for all, and also how Deku can go 100% without Eri with no explanation at all.
I also disked how they cut the sound effects in the end, it really lazy in my opinion.
I hope the next film will be much better

Before I start off with the review stuff, I want to say a couple of things: I love Boku no Hero Academia concept, characters, voice acting, story arcs. The entire thing is a flawless diamond.

I gave the 1st one a 9/10 and the regular seasons are extremely fun and interesting to watch so I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the expectations. I know I'm part of the minority but allow me to explain my reasoning for such a low score.

Animation:
1) incredibly inconsistent. Visually the movie showcases a ton of different styles throughout and it breaks immersion ... and looks weird. It's like you have 10 teams of different animators and each team worked on 10 minutes of the film and at the end everything was edited and voilá: a visual mess.
2) I don't usually like CGI but most of it was okay-ish.

Sound:
1) Bakugou's voice actor has been struggling with his vocal cords to the point where he needed/needs treatment and that was a bit obvious on this film, since he did this job before taking a medical leave. This is not a complaint of course but I want to let everyone know that might not be aware that it's not his fault.
2) I hated the last song of the movie (before the credits).

Story:
1) the pace of this film was awful. They should've made the movie 15 minutes shorter, at least. The uninteresting/unfunny stuff kept going for too long and when that happens, stuff gets boring to watch.
2) Another villain, another Quirk-stealer. C'mon, can't anyone think of any new ideas?
3) SPOILERS: I adore all characters and absolutely love Bakugou. However, to have Deku transfer his One For All to him so they can defeat a villain was awful to watch. I don't give a flipping flipper how much I fangirl Kacchan, One For All is Deku's quirk and anything that could potentially threaten that, is a massive turn off. Obviously, in the end it turns out that Deku failed to transfer his quirk because he passed out before it could be completed but the entire thing was cringy, awful and got me enraged.
4) SPOILERS: Instead of having our favourite heroes in the making save the entire village, I'd much rather watch them struggle and just hold on with team work and creativity until the Pros arrive in the nick of time and help resolve the situation. At the end of the day, they're still a bunch of kids that go to high school and Pros exist for a reason. There's plenty of Pro Heroes that have excelent abbilities and quirks that are worth to watch in action. It was a huge missed opportunity.


Basically if it wasn't for the pacing and the lack of creativity surrounding the story (villain's quirk and ending) and Deku and Bakugou stuff in the Spoiler tag above, it wouldn've have been a bad film. But these things ruined any chance of me having a good time watching this movie and that's why I believe it's fair to give this one a 5/10.

This review is being written by a self-proclaimed My Hero Academia super-fan, so obviously it will be a little biased. However, I will do my best to keep this as bias-free as possible. I write my reviews based by scores on story, art, sound, character, enjoyment, and overall from 1-10.

Story - 6 (Fair)

The story of the movie was rather typical of shonen movies. A lot of adventure and action, extensive fighting scenes and convenient exposition. Although, this movie is different from the first in the sense that it solely focuses on Class 1-A running their own ameteur hero agency. All of the students get ... their moments to shine, but the focus of the story is Bakugou Katsuki and more obviously, Midoriya Izuku. Two new child characters are introduced, as well as four new villains that are implied to be in cahoots with the league of villains. The LoV appears both at the start of the movie and after the climax, but their role is rather small. Pro-heroes also have some screen time, but it's mostly either exposition or to get a rise of emotion out of the audience. There is a fair amount of violence, an abundance of blood. The setting is Nabu Island, a far away island off the main island of Japan, which is important to note for the story.

Art - 9 (Great)

I'm a big fan of Horikoshi's art style in general, but Studio Bones outdid themselves this time. Fighting scenes were often fluid and colorful. They utilized different types of lights for certain character's quirks. The art helped the story in regards to symbolizing the power that each character holds, as well as setting the atmosphere when needed to make such a change. The animation team was conscious of what type of mood they wanted to convey through the art, and as an audience number, I greatly appreciate that.

Sound - 7 (Good)

The music selection was mostly the same sound bytes that is used in the show itself. However, some new music was produced specifically for this movie and all was helpful, like the art, in setting the atmosphere for fight scenes and casual scenes alike. There are lots of explosions (thanks, Bakugou) and geographical accidents that cause a lot of noise as well.

Character - 6 (Fair)

A lot of characters don't receive a lot of development in this movie. This is typical for a shonen movie, as the protagonist is the priority. Midoriya gets a lot of development, though can be comparable to development he's already made in the anime itself. Bakugou also receives some development, but he earns it as he starts to work with others (minor spoiler). The child characters are notably similar to Bakugou and Midoriya in regards to becoming heroes, but this had to have been done on purpose. The audience will see a lot of similarities between the male child and younger Midoriya. Pro heroes don't get much development, because they don't nearly have enough screen time as Class 1-A.

Enjoyment - 8 (Very Good)

Like I mentioned in the beginning of my review...I am a big fan of My Hero Academia! I enjoyed this movie greatly, but because of certain parts of the movie which I will not spoil...I felt minority disappointed. I teared up, I laughed, and I worried for the kids of Class 1-A as they continued on their journey to become heroes.

Overall - 9 (Great)

A great shonen movie to see, experience, and think about days afterward. 2020 will be a good year for both the anime and manga of My Hero Academia. Character development and story is somewhat lacking, but enjoyable nonetheless. Sound is pretty average for the My Hero Academia franchise, but the art was super impressive!

Hopefully my review is helpful or resourceful for people who want to see the movie but can't due to where they live. If you have any more spoiler-y questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them through messaging!

Out of all the Shounen movies I've seen, this is on the low end of the list. It's probably obvious what I hated the most about it, which was the climax. The last movie was stated to be a canon movie, but when it came to this film, I was unable to find a clear answer if this was the same case. It was always a vague answer, but I feel that doesn't excuse how it ended. Also, this movie came out during season 4, but it takes place that hasn't even happened yet. It even spoiled some things from ... the manga. So, this movie spoils stuff for you.

Story: This will have spoilers. The plot is like the last movie, simple. Even the characters in the movie state it. I enjoyed the story when it "try" to give every UA student something to do. So, I'll give it points on those, but again, the ending ruins it. One of the reasons the movie was so Bakaugo focused was because he was voted most popular three years straight. Because of that, he got to weld OFA for a visually breathtaking fight but then retcon it. It just feels lazy. So, I'll go over Two Heroes than Heroes: Rising anytime.

Art: The art was great. As much as I hated the final fight, I will not say that it looks terrible. It looks great, very clean. Great flow. Very bright and colorful, especially since it takes place on an island. When it has the chance to show off bright colors, it'll take it.

Sound: My main complaint with the last movie was that it didn't have anything original for the movie. The climax, again, had some original music to it. Everything else is the official score from the MHA. Just wish it took that extra risk some more. VA is done very well.

Characters: Again, I'm happy they tried to get every UA student to shine. At least with one attack or action. Other than that, it's too Bakaugo focus. Also, I know I'll get hate for this, but he is one of my less favorite characters. I also hate how Izuku just gave up OFA, again, it just feels weak.

Enjoyment: If it ended better, it would have been higher up. But it didn't so, it's low on my list.

Overall: If you are a die-hard MHA, then watch it after season five to where the timelines make more sense. Other than that once or none is good enough.