Boku no Hero Academia, or My Hero Academia is the One Punch Man of this season that is nothing at all like One Punch Man. What I mean is that almost everybody has been hyping up the manga ever since it's release in 2014. I'm not a huge manga reader, so MHA is completely new to me, and when this anime appeared in the Spring 2016 season, I decided to add it to my list of anime that I would watch that season, and what did I think? Well, let's find out.
Story: 6/10
In a world where a majority of Earth has superpowers, otherwise known as Quirks, one of the 10% of Quirkless, known as Midorya Izuku, or Deku as his classmates call him, is a complete fanboy for the heroes of the world. He's especially fond of the Symbol of Peace, All Might, who is his inspiration to become a hero, despite his lack of powers. The story of the anime is very simple, an eager teenager wants to become a hero, and this isn't something that we haven't seen before, so if you're expecting something different from the Shounen genre, you won't find it in My Hero Academia. However, if you're fine with these types of stories, you won't have a problem here.
Art/Sound: 8/10
Bones Studio. Must I say more? With some exceptional series in the past like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Eureka Seven, it's no surprise at this point that Bones is reliable when it comes to action anime, so it gets a plus on my part. Also, the terribly named Porno Graffiti did an excellent job with the anime's opening: "The Day." Upbeat and catchy, I saw myself watching the opening every time I watched a new episode, and it reminded me of why I still watched the show like I did.
Characters: 7/10.
Oh boy, are there a lot of characters in this anime. While they don't try to overload you with characters, the anime does do a good job at introducing characters and giving them some interesting personalities. One character I liked the most was Iida; I liked his strict and serious attitude, and some of the funniest moments came from when he would take a situation way too seriously, like explaining how "prestigious" his school is. However, the main characters aren't all that bad either. Young Midorya isn't an overpowered badass like you may think he is, he has his flaws, he feels emotions, and he stands up to his fears even if it means he'll damage his body even further. Some characters show up from time to time, but you never get to know the characters further, only their powers. Some characters get the spotlight, some don't; it's that simple. One character I thought would get more screen time and even possibly win best girl of the show was Mina, who is some sort of alien-like character. She stood out the most out of the side characters, and it's a shame that she didn't get as much screen time as she could have, considering 3 other characters got as much attention as Iida, Bakugou, or Uraraka. Speaking of which, out of all the main characters that I had a problem with, Bakugou was the one I had the most issues with. Throughout the entirety of the anime, it's proven time and time again that he's only there to be a rival, nothing more, nothing less. We never see any sort of compassion from him, even during the final scenes, the only hints of character development we see are when he fights alongside Deku. Anyways, i'm rambling too much, let's move on to the final verdict.
Final Verdict:
My Hero Academia may come off as cliche for a lot of viewers. The story is nothing we haven't seen before, and in an era when superhero-related media is extremely common, this anime may come off as just another attempt at attracting people into the anime/otaku community. However, I can't say that My Hero Academia was terrible, either. I liked most of the characters to an extent, the soundtrack was solid, the art-style appealed to the anime, and the story is fairly solid. Overall, I enjoyed this anime all the way through despite it's hit or miss characters, and with the second season coming soon, I have no doubt in my mind that this anime will have a nice and comfy spot on my anime shelf.
My Hero Academia gets an A-.
