To anyone with a soul, the beginning of Izuku Midoriya’s story is easy to understand. He grows up admiring the number one hero, Saitaaaaa...ll Might, and wants nothing more than to be a badass superhero like him, until he soon learns that he simply lacks the genes to do so. Yet, he continues to follow his dream and tries to become some sort of analyst or something, perhaps being a hero with knowledge. Gotta respect someone with determination like this.
One thing leads to another, and eventually Izuku really does end up with a great power, and starts his journey to become the greatest hero ever. But he doesn’t get this power through a sheer amount of luck or through bloodlines, he actually earns it through hard, daunting work.
Without a corny, exaggeratedly tragic backstory, or a free super-overpowered ability, we get a typical shounen hero, one that’s very believable and respectable. Izuku Midoriya isn’t really an interesting character, but the basics of him are absolutely perfect.
The one thing that is exaggerated a bit is the rivalry between Izuku and his childhood rival, Gary Oa--oh, sorry. I mean Bakuman, that’s his name. There’s nothing wrong with the rivalry, it’s just a standard “hey this guy’s better than me, I wanna beat him!” versus “HAHAHAHA SCRUB I’M AWESOME GET GOOD SMELL YOU THE FUCK LATER”, but the anime furiously hypes this rivalry up to the point where it’s obvious that the they’re buying time so the episode can fill twenty-four minutes. Like… I get it. Just fucking punch the guy, already.
Flashbacks, a common shounen trait, are used pretty commonly in general, but they didn’t bother me nearly as much as this one episode did. If anything, they go along with the show’s slow pacing to add some real impact to the show’s big HYPE!!! moments, which are extremely satisfying. This plays into Izuku’s power, which is some sort of super-strength, but using it will essentially crush the body part it’s used from. This means that not only is it severely limited, but using it involves making a clear, conscious decision, leading to each attack being a huge, swift moment with a lot of build-up.
So I guess it’s kind of an orgasm, have fun thinking about that from now on.
But the biggest moments for me were those involving All Might, the #1 hero and almighty (heh) symbol of justice. In a tale all about superheroes and learning how to become one, it’s good to have a character that embodies the role perfectly. He’s the strongest, he’s the nicest, and he doesn’t afraid of anything. His relationship with Izuku is a charming one (no homo tho) and has a struggle of his own, adding to his ideal personality, and his one big fight in the series made for the most exciting scene in all thirteen episodes.
Other superheroes, young and old, play a part in the anime, but not as significantly. For now, most others play as bystanders that observe and take a small part of the action. Everyone’s powers are rather basic and linear: super-strength, gravity, explosives, fire&ice, etc., but they’re made a little more interesting with just a bit of ingenuity.
Battles are often accompanied by some really exciting music, much of it being orchestral with a few pieces having some electronic layers that mingle well with the instrumentation. Much of the other tracks have a good driving feel, such as the vocal-included rock track known as ‘Hero A’. If you don’t remember what that is, it’s the one that says “MY HERO!!” And uh… other things, I guess. Yeah. The seiyuu are pretty great; Izuku’s annoying whiny voice is made a little better with his emotional range and mature narration, Bakuman’s hateful, raging screams are intense as hell, and All Might has a pretty hilarious and great dichotomy between his booming, powerful voice in his superhero form and the frail, weak tone of his true form.
The OP is a good rock song, and while not as overall powerful as a mighty hero, its beginning is a striking, hype-filled section with a great hook. The visuals matching it are rather basic in direction, but effective enough, as it gives a brief look at the main character and the supporting cast with their powers. It’s good to have an action montage and actually know what the fuck is happening in it. The ED is of similar caliber, but not as dynamic or emotional as the OP. I didn’t care for it much, in comparison.
The art style is decent overall, with some great moments where it counts. Battles feature some great animation and a lot of environmental effects like smoke and fire incorporated perfectly. The characters themselves look pretty interesting, and facial expressions always lined up with the vocal performances, both soft and hard. The villains, appropriately named by the show as Villains (don’t get confused, now), are the most interesting, with the endgame’s baddie having one of the strangest appearances ever, with an edgy-as-fuck voice to match it. In a way I wanna laugh at how ridiculously emo he is, but it’s also so crazy that I can buy into it.
In the end, Hero Academia is pretty average, pretty basic. And I respect that. It doesn’t take risks and attempt something it’s not, but the amount of heart it has prevents it from feeling cheap or stale. If you want just a simple little action shounen, it’s right here. But for anyone who craves a little more, maybe you should stick with Hunter x Hunter.
Story - 6/10
Art - 7/10
Sound - 9/10
Characters - 6/10
Enjoyment - 9/10
HYPE - FULL/10
Overall - 7/10
Favorite episode - 12
Favorite character - All Might
Recommendation level - High
