My Hero Academia Season-1
My Hero Academia Season-1: Of Grit and Determination
This is my first review of Japanese anime on this blog. I'll be dealing with the first season of Boku No Hero Academia or My Hero Academia. Quick on the heels of superhero-themed anime such as One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100, this series depicts a world were superhero powers are abundant, a world where more than 80%of the population have some kind of superpower or the other. An incredible world isn't it? Well, this tale is about one among the other 20%.
Izuku Midoriya, our protagonist grows up adoring All Might, the Symbol of Peace
. But unluckily for him, he doesn't have any Quirk or superpower. Quirkless in a world where Quirks are the norm, he was bullied relentlessly by the intemperate Katsuki Bakugo. But when he intervenes in an incident involving a villain, he's offered a chance at getting into the famous hero-prep school called UA. He has to undergo a trial by fire and plenty of broken bones before he gets there under the tutelage of a great master. This feel-good shone anime about struggle and grit is well worth a watch. While the episode pacing could be a bit better the background music and animation fit the theme. The plot is beautifully written, and the tone oscillates between slapstick and inspirational.
I liked the fact that Izuku is not the stereotypical shonen hero with a pea for a brain, but a lot of the characters seem cardboard cutouts of archetypes except Shigereki to some extent
Score: 3.5/10
SPOILERS AHEAD
I'll be highlighting some of the character's attributes here, painted with a broad brush of course.
"Not all men are created equal."
This line from the series perfectly sums up the Midoriya experience. Born into a world where being as a professional hero is the primal desire of every adolescent, he's not blessed with a Quirk. He is basically a subversion of the Shonen Hero archetype of a hero with a golden heart lacking in talent and brains as exemplified by Naruto.
All-Might seems to play on the stereotypical all-American superhero with blonde hair and bulging muscles. His aptly named moves like "Detroit Smash" only reinforce this connection. For some reason, he reminds me of Jiraiya from Naruto.
Katsuki Bakugo is definitely an interesting character. While his initial behaviour reminded me of Draco Malfoy, he doesn't have that much of chip on his shoulder due to his social status. He has serious ego issues and anger-management issues.
Shoto Todoroki and Tenya Iida represent the epitome of intellectual and physical capability. While Tenya is the expected heir to a family of heroes, Todoroki seems to be the disinterested genius. I wouldn't be surprised by him doing a Sasuke, that is going to the dark side.
Finally, I'd like to close the discussion by analyzing the disgusting man-child of a villain Tomura Shigaraki. He seems to have clear mental health issues as well as an obsession with killing All-Might. Why does he have this mindset?
I suppose Season 2 will answer this query.
This is my first review of Japanese anime on this blog. I'll be dealing with the first season of Boku No Hero Academia or My Hero Academia. Quick on the heels of superhero-themed anime such as One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100, this series depicts a world were superhero powers are abundant, a world where more than 80%of the population have some kind of superpower or the other. An incredible world isn't it? Well, this tale is about one among the other 20%.
Izuku Midoriya, our protagonist grows up adoring All Might, the Symbol of Peace
. But unluckily for him, he doesn't have any Quirk or superpower. Quirkless in a world where Quirks are the norm, he was bullied relentlessly by the intemperate Katsuki Bakugo. But when he intervenes in an incident involving a villain, he's offered a chance at getting into the famous hero-prep school called UA. He has to undergo a trial by fire and plenty of broken bones before he gets there under the tutelage of a great master. This feel-good shone anime about struggle and grit is well worth a watch. While the episode pacing could be a bit better the background music and animation fit the theme. The plot is beautifully written, and the tone oscillates between slapstick and inspirational.
I liked the fact that Izuku is not the stereotypical shonen hero with a pea for a brain, but a lot of the characters seem cardboard cutouts of archetypes except Shigereki to some extent
Score: 3.5/10
SPOILERS AHEAD
I'll be highlighting some of the character's attributes here, painted with a broad brush of course.
"Not all men are created equal."
This line from the series perfectly sums up the Midoriya experience. Born into a world where being as a professional hero is the primal desire of every adolescent, he's not blessed with a Quirk. He is basically a subversion of the Shonen Hero archetype of a hero with a golden heart lacking in talent and brains as exemplified by Naruto.
All-Might seems to play on the stereotypical all-American superhero with blonde hair and bulging muscles. His aptly named moves like "Detroit Smash" only reinforce this connection. For some reason, he reminds me of Jiraiya from Naruto.
Katsuki Bakugo is definitely an interesting character. While his initial behaviour reminded me of Draco Malfoy, he doesn't have that much of chip on his shoulder due to his social status. He has serious ego issues and anger-management issues.
Shoto Todoroki and Tenya Iida represent the epitome of intellectual and physical capability. While Tenya is the expected heir to a family of heroes, Todoroki seems to be the disinterested genius. I wouldn't be surprised by him doing a Sasuke, that is going to the dark side.
Finally, I'd like to close the discussion by analyzing the disgusting man-child of a villain Tomura Shigaraki. He seems to have clear mental health issues as well as an obsession with killing All-Might. Why does he have this mindset?
I suppose Season 2 will answer this query.
Comments
Post a Comment