My point being is that season six felt like a make or break season (for me at least). Season five featured probably the least interesting arc in the series that very much felt like filler and the much hyped “My Villain Academia” arc being butchered because they had to sacrifice a few episodes to promote the third movie, but those few episodes did feature perhaps the best moments from the season with the Todoroki family drama. It couldn’t start off slow like the previous seasons, not with the way it set itself up. It had to come out swinging to get people engaged again otherwise people would just not care. It would very much feel like it was going through the motions again and the same problems that was creeping up in previous seasons would start rearing their ugly heads again. If this season failed, then apathy would have fully set in for how long this series plans to go for.
So what did I think? Was this series a step back in the right direction? Honestly yes. This has been the most enjoyment I’ve had in MHA since season three and it actually might be my favourite season to date and there are three main reasons as to why I think so.
Reason 1: It spends no time p**sing about
A problem that seems to get worse with each season is that each season needs to spend sometime just reintroducing everyone and remind us what has happened before getting to what’s actually new. It makes it feel slow and as more seasons have aired, it just gets more and more annoying when you know who they are, what their quirks are what has happened, only for it to keep reminding you each season. This season is not the case. It gets right to the point and right where we left off from season five and continues on from there. It speeds up the pace and as such, improves engagement because we have got some interesting stuff to begin with. It know what we want, so it gets right to it. It gives us that immediate engagement to get invested quickly and efficiently.
Reason 2: Changes to the status quo
The show’s story was starting to get too formulaic for its own good where one arc would focus on school stuff and the other would focus on the big bad villain(s) of the season and how our characters would stop them. It was solid at the time but as the tone and story shifted away from the school stuff to be more serious, society shaking stuff, the school stuff just got in the way. I know the show is called My Hero Academia but the school stuff was gradually getting more in the way and the important things that were happening outside the school where the world was getting ready to be shaken up; which they kept teasing how fragile the Hero Society is but never did anything drastic with it. This season however, we finally get some payoff of multiple seasons worth of world building that actually has some serious impact on the story, the world and the characters in a way that we really haven’t seen since the season three halfway climax and it’s done so in a non formulaic way where its not trying to do half and half. It’s treating it like, “This is real and this is happening” sort of way that has significant impact on the show going forward and it gets me excited to see what happens next.
Reason 3: It’s just exciting to watch again
Of course whatever reason you may have, the most important thing is that, “Is it fun to watch?” Seasons four and five were honestly routine and boring and nothing we have not seen before. Season six felt refreshing as there are really big stakes in this season. Character revelations that make it interesting. The action felt intense and weighty. Knowing that if the hero’s fail, the consequences could be catastrophic. It felt like everything that MHA has been building up, the storylines that have been progressing and everything that was teased was meant for this season to be the culmination of all that and with everything behind that, it made this season felt like this was the season it was going to have to deliver and in my opinion, it did.
Combining these three reasons helped make season six the most impactful to the series in terms of engagement in the narrative and its characters. By doing some things different, it made for a more enjoyable experience that makes me excited for what the series brings next. It actually makes me excited to watch My Hero Academia again because of how well this season delivered. Through its twists, revelations and shakeups to show’s world building, season six feels different than other seasons and considering where the series was going, it was meant to be a good thing. But that’s all in the story and character department, what about the production department?
My Hero Academia has always been solid in terms of art style and animation and it can get better when it needs to. I understand why people complained with the animation when you look at Mob Psycho 100 season three which Bones was making at the same time as this season. But Mob’s simplistic and rough art style allows for that added flexibility to go nuts with the animation. Whereas MHA is more visually presentable. This season is no different, it still continues that good art direction and solid animation and get better when the scene calls for it. Although, it has slightly improved, mainly because there is constant action this season so the animation has to catch up to make the scene more exciting.
The sound department I think stands out a bit more. I thought the show’s ost was really good this season. It mainly comes down to how well it’s used to set a tone and mood but I thought this season in particular is where it packed a punch. It flows along really well with what is going on screen and does its job of enhancing whatever scene its in. Whether it would be something ominous or to ramp up the action. The ost certainly delivers in that space.
As for the Openings and Endings, they are a mixed bag with it leaning towards the negative side. The first opening by SUPER BEAVER has a very nice comic book aesthetic for the first half of it, but then it ditches the comic book aesthetic and it just devolves into another bog standard MHA opening with the song not really doing much to shake that feeling and it ends being kind of forgettable. However, It’s this season’s second opening, "Bokurano" by Eve, that makes this a mixed bag because I think this is one of the best MHA openings. It mainly comes down to two things. First, the tone of the opening is refreshingly different from other OPs due to it being rather grim but has bright spots of hope; helped by the song being more positive as it goes on and the animation looking really good. Definitely one of my favourite MHA openings.
As for the EDs, I’m not really a fan of either of them. The first one is very average. Titled, "SKETCH" by Kiiro Akiyama is about as average when it comes to EDs, using still images and using overly long shots of Deku and Shigiraki, even though I thought the song was fine. The second ED is hardly better. For most of it, it just uses screenshots of previous seasons until it has a nice moment with all of Deku’s classmates from U.A. But it just really bugs me when it reuses scenes from previous seasons and it takes up the majority of the ED so I just think it’s lazy.
Conclusion
My Hero Academia season six is a step back in the right direction for the series. Being the best season we’ve probably ever had. With its change of pace and nonstop action, season six felt refreshing after the last two seasons were letdowns and staggered any momentum the series had. Now it feels like it’s starting to get that momentum back and I’m all for it. I didn’t want this series to shrivel and die as we’ve seen too many popular shows have the same thing happen. So this season does give me hope that MHA won’t go the same way. Of course, the ball is now in its court. It now has to continue this return to form and not lose it again. I hope it doesn’t though, I like MHA. So here’s hoping that the future is bright.
Story: 8.5/10
Improved pacing and changes to the status quo makes this a more enjoyable narrative to follow
Characters: 8/10
Character revelations and significant growth improves on what was starting to grow stagnant.
Animation: 7.5/10
Continues to be very solid, helped by the constant action this season provides.
Sound: 6/10
Soundtrack put to really good use here, but hampered by lacklustre OP and EDs.
My Personal Enjoyment: 8.5/10
The most fun and excitement I’ve had watching MHA in a while.
Overall Score: 7.7/10 Recommendation: Watch It
