This is perhaps the most conventional of the new unconventional shonen series; future installments may well change the score for this young series, but not what it is. On one hand the contrived plots, runaway power up and awkward comedy of other shonen titles is absent. So the journey from zero to hero, the great shonen story, is real and deadly serious as Naruto's never was. The real anguish of power level 0, the competition from a world of top-tier heroes, not a sole flamboyant rival, and the vomit-inducing, bone-shattering labour, renewed at every stage of the series, make this definitely the series biggest strength. The aforementioned rival is a decent character, likewise the over-serious friend and love interest. The teacher-student relationship is perhaps stronger, thought not yet more poignant, than Assassination Classroom. Not a single fight scene yet is boring; many are simply electrifying.
However, this series is still shonen. Hard work and courage are the powers to conquer the world; characters look set to develop more in their powers than their personalities. The villainous characters particularly can be pegged as lightweights straight away. Character motivations and the plot they determine exactly (a break with reality in itself) seem simplistic and already set in stone. Character relationships and animation, though certainly good, seem particularly conventional compared to Mob Psycho 100. The superhero satire isn't so good as One Punch Man (Mumen Rider beats MHA, even its the only thing he can 'beat' ahaha). Worldbuilding is sketchy, and, with everything else, streets behind Fullmetal Alchemist. But this is certainly worth following for fans of good shonen, and good adventure.
