I don't watch a lot of shounen shows because I just don't like them in general but My Hero Academia is quite different from other shounen shows out there and it's one of the main reasons why I enjoyed the series so much.
[Story]: (8/10)
My Hero Academia wasn't my most hyped anime because I thought it was going to be a typical shounen anime that we already have seen..*Ahem* The big 3 and countless more shounens out there. *ahem* but this series really surprised me. My friends who knows me knows that I'm the kind of person who likes to cheer for the underdogs because cheering for people who are very talented and can beat opponents easily is very boring. There's just this different kind of excitement that you get when cheering for the underdogs and that's what I got from watching My Hero Academia.
The plot of the series is basically about a young guy named Izuki Midoriya. 80% of humanity has this power called "quirk". In other words, abilities and superpowers. Midoriya is one of the 20% who doesn't have a quirk but he still dreams to become a hero and never gives up. One day, he met his idol, All Might (the greatest superhero in the world). All Might saw something interesting about Midoriya. He knew he has the potential to become a hero so he passed down his ability to Midoriya and decides to train him. Midoriya then decides to join U.A, the most prestigious school in the city, and he learns what it truly means to become a hero.
Izuku's determination.....His drive to become a hero is what got me cheering for Midoriya. In the earlier part of the series, we see Midoriya doing everything he can to try and become a hero despite the fact that it's impossible to become one unless he has a quirk. I don't know about you guys but I got this strange feeling, like someone's gripping my heart whenever I see Midoriya backed into the corner. It's just very painful to see someone fail even though they worked so hard to try and achieve their goal. Yes, I admit, there were tears in my eyes and I cried a little bit because I felt for him. No surprise; he managed to overcome his own weakness, with the help of All Might, and this is what led him to become a hero.
I don't think there's anything more to talk about the show in terms of story because it is still a pretty typical shounen story. A villian whose plan is to do villainous things disrupts the people's way of life and the good guys comes and saves the day.
What sets this series apart from other shounen shows out though is the fact that Midoriya is not an overpowered MC. He inherited a powerful quirk from All Might but we see him, throughout the series, still struggling to use his currently obtained quirk. He isn't some one man army that can easily defeat a villian by going super saiyan mode. Speaking of one man army, that term doesn't even exist in this series. I was actually surprised to see all of them devising a plan and working together. This series encourages teamwork.. When was the last time you've seen that in a shounen series?
I honestly wish My Hero Academia could have been a 2-cour series because based on the pacing of this season, it felt like a whole giant setup to what was about to happen in the next season. I mean, I'm not complaining or anything. In fact, I'm glad the pacing was slow because they took all the time they need to focus not only on Midoriya's character but also the other main and side characters. Although, I'm glad that the 2nd Season was confirmed right after the show ended and now....The Waiting Game begins!
______________________________________________________________
[Art/Animation]: (9/10)
I've been reading Marvel comics for as long as I can remember and when I first saw the show's art-style, it honestly felt like I was watching a Marvel comic being animated. It didn't even feel like I was watching an anime at first. I just love MHA's unique artstyle. I do have a bit of complaint when it comes to the animation. Mainly, the fighting scenes. Half of the time, the fighting scenes are very unappealing to watch because it's inconsistent as hell. For example, 15 seconds of somewhat smooth fighting scene then it switches to an "animated slide show (with those white moving lines on the sides)" effect. I just didn't like it. The character designs are also pretty good but with few female characters being subjected to fanservice. There's not a lot though so thank God for that.
______________________________________________________________
[Sound]: (10/10)
No brainer, My Hero Academia easily won the best Soundtrack of Spring 2016. The battle OST's are so goddamn good and the insert songs....My god, the insert songs is what made the action scenes so worth watching. Now the OP and ED theme song(s)
The OP theme song is "The Day" by Porno Graffiti. The name of the band is Porno Graffiti hmm?? Yea..I'm not even going to make a joke about that name because I don't have the energy as of the time I'm writing this. Anyways, the song is ok. Nothing too special and I'll doubt I'll remember it in the future. The ED theme song is "HEROES" by Brian the Sun. Haha, that moment when the ED theme song is a whole lot better than the OP theme song. I love the singer's voice, the buildup before the chorus and the chorus itself.
______________________________________________________________
[Characters]: (9/10)
We don't really get a lot of characters like Midoriya. Maybe, we do but not as a protagonist so this series was kind of a breath of fresh air in terms of a protagonist being powerless. Izuku Midoriya is one of the few main characters that got the most screentime and character development so I'm only going to focus on him and not so much on the side characters. The side characters were pretty entertaining though but I don't want to get into that right now.
I didn't see Izuku Midoriya as some cliched shounen-type protagonist who can defeat any enemies he wants and if he can't defeat said enemies, it will later turn out that he has some hidden special power that he never knew had. I just saw Midoriya as some regular powerless kid who has a dream/goal but he couldn't achieve it at first due to his circumstances. Of course, he gets a quirk later on in the series but like I said earlier in the review, he doesn't turn into an overpowered "one man-army" character. The series emphasizes teamwork and that's one of the few aspects that I love about this series. This becomes pretty notable at the final arc of this season when the students are forcibly separated into small groups and are forced to work together to defeat the villains. How were they separated? If I answer that question then I'm going to cross the spoiler zone so I won't answer the question.
The character development for Midoriya was amazing. As you watch the series, you'll notice the changes in Midoriya's character as he tries to become a hero but first, he has to go through certain obstacles to achieve his dream. One of the key factors to his character development is Bakugou and All Might.
At first, All Might is like how everyone see's him. He's a symbol of peace and his a perfect hero. While the former may be true, the latter is what will surprise the viewers. He may seem perfect but every time he gets out there and do his usual hero stuff, I can't help but feel nervous for him and this is actually the first time I feel nervous for a character who's very powerful but has a weakness that's obviously holding him back.
I'm surprised that all of My Hero Academia's supporting characters are very entertaining to watch. Even though they're not as fleshed out as the main characters, each one of them has a unique personality and it didn't feel like they were just there just to fill up the tables in Midoriya's class. Each one of them is likable and we get to know them when the show decides to give them a slight introduction of their character and their quirk. It's really interesting how the show wants you to see the supporting characters as part of the team and someone you should care for rather than throwing them in the trashcan and not giving them a slightest bit of screentime just because they're a "supporting character". For example, Tsuyu is a supporting character and she's really beginning to be my best girl of the series due to how they portrayed her in the final arc. For now though, Uraraka is still my best girl of the series.
______________________________________________________________
[Enjoyment]: (9/10)
Like I said earlier in my review, MHA wasn't my most hyped series because it's a shounen series and I got tired of that genre long time ago. MHA was something different and it's a shounen series that I really enjoyed so much. I might get back to watching shounen again
______________________________________________________________
[VERDICT]
My Hero Academia is a shounen series but it sets itself apart from other shounen shows out there. Instead of your usual overpowered MC defeating villians, this is more of an exciting and emotional series that focuses on the MC's character growth on his path to become a hero. If you're a fan of the shounen genre and you want something new then MHA is definitely recommended. If you're not a fan of the genre then you might still want to check out MHA because it is a different take on the usual shounen shows that we get these days.
[OVERALL]: (9/10)
Pros:
+Different take on an overdone shounen genre
+Focuses more on Midoriya's character growth rather than him being an Overpowered MC.
+Unique art-style
+Intense OST and insert songs
+Great cast of characters
Cons:
-Action scenes sometimes felt like an "animated slide show"
