The My Hero Academia anime is instantly likable from the very start of episode 1. I watched episode 1 of My Hero Academia having never read the manga preceding it, but the anime doesn’t assume you have any knowledge of the wildly popular manga behind it.My Hero Academia anime is from the folks at Studio Bones, who are responsible for Fullmetal Alchemist,Cowboy Bebop, and Space Dandy, so I had high expectations going in.
The premise of My Hero Academia is that almost everyone has superpowers. Note that keyword: almost . This means bratty little kindergarteners with superpowers can gang up on one brave, shy boy who shows no powers, aka Quirks.
When this boy’s mother is told that her son has no Quirks, she sobs for his loss, but the kid - our protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku - doesn’t give up on his dream of becoming a superhero. He fills notebooks with his studies of heroes and idolizes the Texas-sized All Might, the world’s top-ranking hero. We see Deku in Junior High, still tiny with huge eyes, but clearly the outcast in a classroom filled with superpowered youngsters.
My Hero Academia has a profusion of color and style in the character designs. Even more notably, the characters are really distinctive from one another and wildly expressive in a way that almost seems Western at times. More than one moment of wild emoting from Deku reminded me of Invader Zim, while the poppy backgrounds sometimes swapped in for extra emphasis gave even more of that comic book feel My Hero Academiaborrows from.
The expressiveness makes for a lot of funny moments, like Deku trying frantically to speak as he flies through clouds and wind causes tears to stream from his eyes and his mouth to flap around his teeth, or Deku bowing urgently about a thousand times a minute. It also makes Deku feel super relatable - he’s so little, his eyes are so huge, his hair is such a mop - and super rootable for. How could you not root for someone who’s picked on so badly, whose position seems so hopeless, who takes such copious notes?
Also in service of sheer expressiveness are the many dynamic camera angles. I don’t know if they’re taken from the manga, but the camera angles are really dramatic and varied. The music is also great, with crescendos that sweep and soar to near-cinematic heights just when they need to.
The My Hero Academia manga is apparently notable for its fair heaping of fanservice, which we get a sample of at the very start. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of pervy humor, but when the enormous Mt. Lady wagged her butt and said “Pleased to make your ass-quaintance,” I had the first real laugh I’ve enjoyed this entire spring anime season so far. I hope they keep the fanservice that light, as excessive striped panty shots or pointless boob activity has been the wrinkle in my enjoyment of many an anime.
One Punch Man is the logical comparison for My Hero Academia, and in some ways it does feel like One Punch Man’s eager little brother, but while both series are really funny and about superheroes, My Hero Academia is less of a genre satire than a straightforward tribute. With its bite-sized hero as the eyes through which you see the world, it’s also more aimed at children.
In episode 1, My Hero Academia sets up a whole lot: an interesting world, a lovable character who starts at the bottom, that character’s huge dreams, a glimpse at the heroes (and villains!) who populate his world, a rival and bully, backstory here and there, and most importantly, a fast and punchy pace that sweeps you from scene to scene.
Should you watch ‘My Hero Academia’?
Definitely yes. My Hero Academia is a delight. There’s not a part of it that I don’t respond to, from premise to execution, animation to music. This anime is well-poised to be, if not the new Naruto, close to it. Don’t miss out.
My Hero Academia airs on Funimation every Sunday at 5 AM EST here .Need more guidance this spring anime season? Check out our episode 1 impressions of Ace Attorney, The Lost Village and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and keep checking back atiDigitalTimes as we continue to add more titles from this spring anime season to our preview review list.
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