Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia)

One day, a four-year-old boy came to a sudden realization: the world is not fair. Eighty percent of the world's population wield special abilities, known as "quirks," which have given many the power to make their childhood dreams of becoming a superhero a reality. Unfortunately, Izuku Midoriya was one of the few born without a quirk, suffering from discrimination because of it. Yet, he refuses to give up on his dream of becoming a hero; determined to do the impossible, Izuku sets his sights on the elite hero training academy, UA High.

However, everything changes after a chance meeting with the number one hero and Izuku's idol, All Might. Discovering that his dream is not a dead end, the powerless boy undergoes special training, working harder than ever before. Eventually, this leads to him inheriting All Might's power, and with his newfound abilities, gets into his school of choice, beginning his grueling journey to become the successor of the best hero on the planet.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Boku no Hero Academia ranked eighth in the 8th Manga Taisho Awards and fifth in the 2016 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! for the male readers division.

The series has been published in English as My Hero Academia by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump imprint since August 4, 2015. It has also been simulpub through MANGA Plus. Boku no Hero Academia has been published in Italian by Star Comics since February 3, 2016; in French by Ki-oon since April 14, 2016; in German by Carlsen since July 26, 2016; in Spanish by Planeta Comic since October 2016, in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC; in Turkish by Gerekli Şeyler since March 2017; in Indonesia by m&c! since October 4, 2017. It has been licensed in Polish by Waneko.

A video game titled Boku no Hero Academia: Battle for All has been released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on May 19, 2016. Another video game, titled Boku no Hero Academia: One's Justice, was released in 2018 for Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.

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Characters

Todoroki, Shouto

Main

Midoriya, Izuku

Main

Bakugou, Katsuki

Main

All Might

Main

Uraraka, Ochako

Main

Aizawa, Shouta

Supporting

Kirishima, Eijirou

Supporting

Toga, Himiko

Supporting

Dabi

Supporting

Asui, Tsuyu

Supporting

Reviews

Apr 23, 2015

Sekaiou

Recommended

Preliminary (39/? eps)

It's the rising star of Jump, the so called "next Naruto/One Piece." Yes, it's of the mold of the two. Yes, you can see the similarities in holistic structure, but what is it that makes Boku no Hero Academia a compelling read for shounen fans looking for something to pass the time?

Story- 7
The premise is simple: Many people have superpowers, the boy has none, he gains powers through strange means much later than others, and he enters THE school of superpower training. Right.
It is only a 7 because the premise has been set and there are simply developments going on at the moment-- this manga ... will likely be written for a while and being 39 chapters in is kind of early for the story to develop. That being said, story isn't a strong suit CURRENTLY, but the quality of writing has been gaining steam in recent weeks (for a shounen weekly) and Horikoshi Sensei showing flashes of brilliance from time to time, I think this will be higher soon enough.

Art- 10
The style is typically cartoony, but this is only because of the whole superpower premise. Sure, it isn't realistic, but if you look at the art in context, it is exceptionally well done. Horikoshi has certainly developed his own style that we could distinguish after reading Boku no Hero Academia for a few chapters. The art is detailed all around: the backgrounds, character designs, facial expressions; you name it. To top it all off, it's consistent, and really, that's all we could ask for isn't it?
(Note to fellow readers: I think Midoriya freak out faces and Bakugou psycho faces are insanely good)

Character- 9
There are only so many characters: Izuku (main character), Bakugou (MC main rival), Todoroki (MC rival 2/upcoming close friend), Uraraka (heroine), All Might (the hero Izuku looks up to), and plenty more who are nameable, but the list would be too long.
The fact of the matter is that they are nameable. Readers can distinguish between these characters not only because of their different physical designs but their personalities as well. The characters who seem as though they'll be relevant in the future are being developed with their own pasts. And these character layouts are just so different from most shounen manga we've seen in the past 30 years or so.
For example: Izuku and Bakugou. (Minor spoilers ahead) Midoriya isn't your typical main shounen in the sense that he's an idiot who loves to eat and such, but he thinks for himself. He writes notes on people he think might be rivals with as material he could possibly get on them. He analyzes everything down to a science, fanboys about them, and anticipates how anyone could fight each other due to their specific circumstances. He overthinks, sure, but he does it beautifully and relatably that I think most of us would understand.
Then we have Bakugou, the rival. He is so mean: bullies people around him, taunts them, and destroys their souls. Yet, at the same time, we can see another layer under him that wants to be a hero the same way Midoriya does, just coming to conclusions in a different manner than Izuku. He also analyzes, albeit to a much lesser degree; he lets the powers he's used to do the other half of the work for him.
The characters really express Horikoshi's respect for Togashi: thinkers who manage to be realistic but at the same time captures our attention by being over the top at the right times, motivating us to be the best we can be. Really, characters are a strong suit here.

Enjoyment- 10
I love reading this each week. I look forward to the art, the character development (there's always some), and hope for the day that the story takes a turn and just skyrockets and makes this manga THE big thing. It's just a good part of my day when I read it.

Overall- 9
Some shounen veterans might say this number is too high, but I'm giving this manga a 9 due to ALL factors, especially my investment in it. Although at the moment it's an 8, I think it will become a 9 because of the direction Horikoshi is taking it each week. It has strong development, consistent art, and good writing overall. If you like shounen, you will definitely enjoy reading this: it has all of the normal stuff in blood, tears, and determination, but readers of all will definitely enjoy reading this for the character development if nothing else.

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Jul 1, 2017

lunarxlunar

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (92/? eps)

(This review only included the first 95 chapters since I decided to drop this manga due the the problems that will be mentioned in this review)

Personally, I have no problems with shonen manga having very common themes like rivalry, friendship and dreams etc. or having sort of childish humor. (If the gag talks more about the character I'll like it anyway.)
Some people like to despise shonen manga, saying something like kiddies shonen blah blah blah but I think there's potential for shonen manga. I love one piece, first part of naruto, dragon ball and hunter x hunter. I think if you tell a story ...

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Aug 24, 2016

DeeWatchesAnime

Not Recommended

Preliminary (28/? eps)

This review is for those who saw All Might on the cover and thought this manga might resemble a decent read, but this is cut from the same cloth as Naruto or Hunter x Hunter. The main character, Deku, is the absolute star and if you don't care about a high schooler's boring, emotional, cliché-ridden rise to prominence, there is little else at offer in this story.

To get right into it, the manga opens on the premise of a world where superpowers have become commonplace. One superhero, All Might, stands above all and is idolized by many. Unfortunately, All Might's time is running short ... and he must pass on his power. All Might in his infinite wisdom chooses a loser named Midoriya who is shown to be a complete pushover who nevertheless, won't stop trying! (If you've read any shonen manga before you'll know where this is going.)

Midoriya and his edgy rival join the superhero high school along with a plucky teenage girl who randomly befriends Midoriya because that's what happens at high school. A bunch of events happen. Not very interesting events, basically your average shonen stuff, the kids race and throws balls really far, they vote for class president. There are some fight scenes that I'll get to later. This whole section is where you're assumed to care about the high school characters' personalities, but they're all tired stereotypes. You have the prefect, the dumb blond, a teacher who'll really put the class through their paces but has a heart of gold. God help you if you are like me and hate a high school setting, it's pure torture.

This manga has many, many similarities to Naruto. You have the fake out "I will expel you if you fail, oh you failed, that was the point!" cliché from the teacher at the start of the school year. Melodrama between Deku and his rival because his rival is a massive unlikable douche. Many, many flashbacks even in the first volume because that's not lazy. The author has stated his main inspiration was the masterpiece Naruto and it's obvious if you suffered through that garbage for any length of time. The art style loves to focus on EXTREME CLOSE-UPS of characters supposed to evoke emotion, but it's so predictable. The writing takes absolutely no chances and is as cookie cutter as it gets.

Fights in this manga center around the idea that you are tired of good fights, so lets throw in tons of "strategy" of people talking and nothing happening. Then the protagonists win in a handful of panels. That's what happens in the first real "fight" of the manga around 20 chapters in. This was also done in Hunter x Hunter to great fanfare from the MAL crowd. I can see why it would have its appeal by subverting rules set by series like DragonBall, Kinnikuman or JoJo where fights have any impact or long-standing effects, because apparently this approach isn't a thousand times more overdone at this point. The main character broke his limb for the tenth time! I wonder if he'll go to generically have it healed up for the tenth time too...? Really keeps my interest.

The art and pacing of this manga has its ups and downs, some designs like All Might are good, unfortunately he immediately is shown to have a weakling form that looks like a starving The World Ends With You protagonist. That's not not necessarily a bad thing, but he is by far the best designed character. Being on the cover is basically a statement that he is an extreme compared to the boring, lame high schoolers. They dress in ridiculous outfits you'd see at a high school fair, though elementary school might be more accurate, and of course there's a sexy student whose cleavage is always exposed. She apparently designed it this way herself, I wouldn't mind if she wasn't 14! I also liked Noumu's design, but he is a Goomba for all intents and purposes, not a character.

One of two main villains of this manga is an absurdly edgy and shallow character called Shigaraki. The author will dangle the keys in front of the reader that he might do anything impactful, but after almost 30 chapters nothing happens after the big confrontation, everyone is fine and Shigaraki just returns to his boss. The boss character's design, looking it up, is fun but he blatantly does nothing and is replaced by Shigaraki because Shigaraki is a beloved character, apparently. Shigaraki talks in his own EVIL EDGY WOBBLY TEXT but what he's saying is obviously meaningless and for effect. I might have read further if this first encounter wasn't such a letdown and red flag.

I will give some credit to the art and humour, as it's the one enjoyable part of the manga. The art style is cartoony and befitting of a comic book, superhero setting, only let down by constant flashbacks a la Naruto. The humour especially with All Might at the start is good, but once you get introduced to the other high school characters it goes into the cringe Naruto territory. Many side characters exist purely because their quirk, or superpower in Hero Academia terms, is a gag, most have essentially a gag personality.

I am personally in the mindset that shonen comes in two forms, there's DragonBall, Kinnikuman and One Piece, and there's Naruto, Hunter x Hunter and Fairy Tail. This definitely comes in the form of the latter, where every character is trying to be either cute, edgy or comic relief, the story is insanely predictable and obviously cashing in on the latest craze without any real plan for the future. After being strung along once or twice by these kinds of series I don't get how manga readers continue to be fooled, but if this is your first manga I can't blame you. If you like those three series I mentioned, or even one of them, you may like this, and there's nothing wrong with that. Just be warned too if you hate any of them that this manga will be as much of a letdown.

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