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My Hero Academia Season 7 Review

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All right folks, it’s time for what I dare say is the best season of My Hero Academia. The whole thing is basically a big string of fights with only some select periods of downtime. We’re clearly approaching the end game as every character gets some final moments to show what they can do. It’s a really satisfying watch and it’s also impressive to see how many seasons the show has got. It sadly won’t make it to 10 seasons since the manga ended but this was a generational run.

We start off with Star and Stripe showing up to foil Shigaraki’s plans and buy the heroes some more time. With her incredible abilities she is able to make a difference while Deku and the other heroes finally pull out the traitor from their midst. Now they are ready for the final showdown with the league of villains. All for One and Shigaraki are both in the picture. This whole war may very well ride on Deku and his mastery of the One for All quirk. Is he ready for the burden of protecting the planet or are we about to see a lot of deaths coming up?

Any show that is 7 seasons deep is going to have some incredible advantages like being able to jump right into the action since we’ve already had whole seasons of development for the characters. This show is no exception. For example we have Star vs Shigaraki in the very first episode which is really quite the way to start things off. Now the fight is a on the controversial side since we all know that Star should have won this match rather easily. Her moveset is one of the few on the planet that is a terrible match for him. Shigaraki is top 3 in the verse at this point in time and yet Star is still stronger. It still feels like her part of the story is a bit rushed but this season will be tough for power level viewers.

Shigaraki is already said to be All Might level even without his powers. So that should mean he turns everyone into a red mist instantly during the battle with the exception of Deku and possibly Bakugo depending on his full speed. Instead various heroes are able to hang out during the fight. I don’t buy it but hey that’s how it goes. At the end of the day power levels are not something that will drag a series down no matter how much I might disagree with an outcome. I’m here for the pure hype and epic storytelling either way.

Also as you can expect the animation is still great here. The fights get a very large budget and all of the characters are at the pinnacle of their power so things get really explosive. The series doesn’t take any breaks here and every fight is given a good amount of respect. The spectacle won’t disappoint. Meanwhile the soundtrack is good as always. The openings may not be the greatest but they are still a step up from some of the earlier ones. The series has a pretty rich amount of tunes to choose from during the battles as well after 7 seasons of hype. The good variety means that a lot of songs get to shine.

Naturally the season ends off on a pretty big cliffhanger for the next/final season. You will be at the edge of your seat waiting for the next set of adventures after this season ends. A good cliffhanger goes a long way and it’s just another example of how you should handle a season. Never end on a closed note when you can leave some plot threads open. I mean that was pretty much inevitable here but still a good rule of thumb.

In terms of characters, Star is the biggest new character to jump in here. She’s a lot of fun and has way more backbone than the average character. She is actively defying orders to get out here and fight the enemies. Also props to the rest of her unit who go in with her in order to contribute and fight. They are especially at a huge risk here since they don’t have any kind of super powers to fall back on. Star even gets a brief origin story and background to explain how strong she is. I love the concept behind the power as well since it is strong while also being unique. It really shows you just how powerful a quirk can be in the right hands. This was also just a super good spectacle to start the season with.

All for One is really the opponent here even though it’s Shigaraki’s body. The latter will still make his presence known later on but for now this was All For One’s show. He still makes for a good mastermind villain even if you can see how he is quickly losing control of the situation here. All Might also really knows how to push the guy’s buttons and get him to make big mistakes. As a result he makes several errors in this series but hey that’s just how good All Might is. The villain may lose a lot of hype here but he is still one of the strongest villains out there and a true threat to have to account for. I’d also argue he should have easily been wiping out the various heroes if things were going as they should.

As for Shigaraki, he is a lot of fun as always. At this point the guy just really wants destruction and will do whatever he has to in order to accomplish this. The whole thing is super personal to him at this point as well so he goes out of his way to make the whole thing as traumatic for Deku as possible. It’s always good when the main villain and hero absolutely hate each other like this. Although Deku exits his rage modes rather quickly and does his best to still try and reason with Shigaraki. It’s to a dangerous extent to be sure but that’s how he intends to be a hero.

Now during the big battles we’re taken to several different battlefields thanks to the heroes’ plan of dividing the villains up. So I’ll mainly go into the characters based on what battlefield they’re at although I’ll jump around a bit as it goes on. First up we have the girls battle as Tsuyu and Uravity go up against Toga. Deku is also there briefly and lets himself get jumped quite a bit. Lets be honest here Deku should have immediately beaten Toga in an instant before she could even make too many clones and that would be it for her. He would have made the rest of the arc way easier but instead he sandbags and then runs off. It wasn’t his best moment but it’s how it goes.

Generally speaking Deku is still a solid main character. I like his mindset and he’s a good kid trying to do the right thing. At times I would like to see a bit more imitative out of him and maybe some longer rage modes though. With his abilities it seems like there is just so much that he could really do to establish world peace. So what I would say is…get to work on that! We do get to see his tactical mind at work during the end season battle with Shigaraki though since he can’t let the guy touch him or the ground. In either event the situation would get disastrous and so he has to use his abilities creatively. That’s a really fun battle.

As for Tsuyu, she’s not bad but heavily outgunned in this fight. There simply isn’t a whole lot that she can do in this battle. Toga is much too powerful for her so at best Tsuyu can try to beat a few clones and buy some time. Uravity’s also out of her depth to be sure but at least the gravity gives her some more options. I wouldn’t say she looks all that good though because of how easily she finds herself buying into Toga’s sob story. Look, Toga’s gone through some tough stuff but that really isn’t enough to justify any of this. The more Toga talks about her tough life, the more you’re rooting for the heroes to just take her out already.

Everybody has a sob story and everyone’s gone through tough times. It doesn’t mean you can suddenly just be murdering everyone in your way. That’s not how this works…that’s not how any of this works. So Toga missed me with all of that but as a fighter she does well. In fact she should have easily won this match and I didn’t buy how long the heroes lasted against her. That’s just not happening no matter how you slice it. Toga has a good amount of speed to keep up with Deku and was making millions of clones. Those would overwhelm the heroes with sheer numbers even if you ignore how good the stats are.

In another battlefield we had the big Dabi family drama. Dabi continues to be the best villain in the series as he really puts Todoroki and the others in a tough spot. You have to remember that his body is literally not set up to be a proper match for the fire ability and yet he pulls through it with sheer will power. His body is a large collection of numerous burns everywhere and it doesn’t stop him from pressing on. The guy is absolutely deranged and a total psycho but that’s what makes him a solid villain. You really don’t see Todoroki, Endeavor, or any of the others being able to take him down. The guy is just too powerful and skilled at this point.

Todoroki is trying hard though and even uses some new techniques. At this point he has also been training for a very long time and his movements have become more precise. I still would pick him to lose quickly though and you can see that’s a theme of the final arc in general. The villains all got crazy power ups and abilities to the point where they were made to perhaps be a little too broken. There’s just nothing the heroes should really be able to do in order to even make this an even fight. The author should have maybe given them some more powerful quirk evolutions or something.

For a while there Endeavor is on a different battlefield but he eventually joins in. Endeavor is one of those characters working on his big redemption arc. To me he ultimately went too far back in the day so I don’t see him as anything other than a villain but of course it’s better to be working to improve himself now than to not be doing anything. He also has constant reminders of how everything went wrong with how Dabi is always showing up to cause more damage. Dabi is one of those really persistent villains who appears around every corner.

Then of course we have All for One taking on All Might. I was always a big All Might doubter after he lost his powers so it’s really impressive that he is still fighting on such a high level. To an extent it might be a little cheesy but you know at the end of the day it is fitting for his brand. He was always the beacon of hope and being a little cheesy goes along with that. At the same time, now that he is no longer the symbol he is free to be a little more unhinged and really get into the fight. Trust me when I say you haven’t seen All Might quite like this before. It’s a nice change of pace.

Finally you’ve got the main battlefield with Shigaraki taking on all challengers. The guy goes on a crazy run here as he just keeps getting back up. Nejire is powerful with her energy blasts but for the most part all they do is slow him down. I give her a lot of credit for getting in there and risking her life against an opponent who is really out of her depth. Likewise Tamaki gets past his fears and also uses his true powers here. Ultimately they may not have done much against Shigaraki but it showed how everybody was really going plus ultra in this fight. They were not going to just roll over.

Mirio even gets some action. His power is still broken in that he can’t be hit but he’s also not strong enough to damage Shigaraki which means that the guy basically just ignores him the whole time. That’s a rather embarrassing place for Mirio to be in but it’s just a rough matchup. Mirio’s desperate measure to distract Shigaraki really ends up being the only cringe part of the season. I think there were definitely some better options to go with that would have been a whole lot better.

Mirko is never one to miss a big fight so you can bet that she was here as well. Her close quarter skills are still legendary and she gets some good bows in. At this point she has mainly been power creeped out of the action but she still keeps on fighting to the end. She shows the true power of being an S rank hero. Certainly more than Edgeshot who is mainly useful in a support role but doesn’t do much when it comes to fighting. I suppose he’s not the strongest physically to start with so I can cut him some slack. The guy never did much before o at least this way the guy got some proper screentime.

Monoma was a secret MVP here as well. The guy helping to seal off Shigaraki’s powers for most of the season. If he wasn’t here then the deck would really be stacked against the heroes and they’d have been dusted. The guy always talks a lot and can be annoying if you look at it the wrong way but I rather appreciated his gusto. He’s the kind of guy who backs up his tough talk which is the important thing.

Aizawa is also doing well to stay in the fight considering his injuries. By this point most people would have folded but he will keep on fighting to the end. He’s definitely a worthy teacher to the characters. Even his pal Present Mic gets some good moments here even if he was too slow to stop Kurogiri from making his big comeback. I was glad to see Kurogiri doing something since he was on the sideline for so long. The heroes were lucky on that since his teleportation would be a real big problem otherwise.

We also got some backup as Lady Nagant showed up later on. Her sniper skills are still top tier and the blasts that she fired can actually hurt Shigaraki which is real impressive. Nagant already came in clutch for just surviving the bomb from last season so to see her back in action already is really something else. She’s not the only old character to make a big appearance as Gentle and La Brava show up as well. La Brava’s hacking abilities come in real handy to break up the enemy’s coordination and then Gentle buys a lot of time for the heroes by physically lifting the battlefield.

It really keeps up the theme of teamwork as everyone has a role to play. If any individual hero was gone then they would all be in trouble. Even someone like Hawks who is super injured at this point manages to get in there and help out. That guy is about as determined as Mirko with how hard he keeps fighting even when things are at their bleakest. He really needs a good vacation once this series is over.

I should also mention we have the Spinner plot where he and his cronies are heading over to a hospital to mess things up. The various characters all mention how this is really going to hurt the case of people with mutated quirks who already have a hard time. Unfortunately Spinner is already virtually mindless after All For One gave him a powerful quirk. As a result Spinner looks pretty terrible here. I suppose there wasn’t much that he could have done here either way when All for One was the guy messing him up but it’s still sad for his fans who were waiting for this fight.

Shoji gets a bit role thanks to this though. He steps in to stop Spinner and since he has had one of the smallest roles among the students, that was nice to see. I’m not a big fan of Shoji myself but having more scenes like this certainly can’t hurt. Some characters like Ida and Kirishima don’t get quite as much to do this time. They each have supporting roles though so their presence is still felt. Jiro and Mina get more offensive roles here as they actually deal some damage when they get into the fight. Likewise Tokoyami gets some hype as his shadow ability is still one of the stronger ones. All for One deciding not to take it was definitely a big mistake.

Aoyama is a character that I didn’t end up liking here. He just made too many mistake and while I understand that the circumstances were difficult he could have done better. Being a hero means being able to find a way through that circumstance and not doing anything is actively helping the villains. Hagakure did well in her brief role although I would have liked some more action for her. She has basically missed out on the whole series thanks to her quirk which is a shame.

Shinso gets a good role here as his mind control power comes n handy. It really is a great power and has a lot of utility in a big battlefield like this. Gigantomachia would be particularly susceptible since he’s not the smartest guy around. The villain does look strong as always though and is definitely a true powerhouse. Not someone that you should underestimate even if he is on the slower side.

Finally we have Bakugo who really steals the show here. He has what I’d call a basic quirk but he has kept on honing and improving it until he’s actually to the point where he is keeping up with Deku. It really is a big achievement and Bakugo should feel really proud of himself. He fights hard and very strategically, his action scenes tend to have the most intense animation as well. Bakugo has really come a long way and gotten tons of development over the years. True star treatment that is absolutely deserved.

There was definitely a lot going on here and even more characters that I didn’t mention were involved. The war arc will continue into the next season so I look forward to all of the great animation. If you haven’t seen this season yet then you should definitely change that. It’s intense and fast paced which is always an absolutely dominant combo. The battles are all very interesting and this is the big payoff that the franchise has been building up to so there was no way it would end up being bad.

Overall, My Hero Academia shines once again. It’s definitely going to blow you away once you watch it. Bakugo and Deku both fighting at their peak is definitely something that fans have looked forward to ever since the opening season. Gone are the days when they would be fighting each other (Which was Bakugo’s fault anyway) and now is the time to put aside all differences. The animation has been consistently great so I don’t really have any worries for the next season.

Overall 9/10

My Hero: One’s Justice Review

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My Hero Academia is a pretty huge franchise so it was only a matter of time before it got a big fighting game like this one. I was glad to finally get it, but it is safe to say that the game isn’t super high budget. So it delivers on getting you a fun fighting experience but you aren’t likely to be picking this one up over its rivals anytime soon.

The game starts off with Deku being trained by Gran Torino. He has to use his One for All abilities more efficiently and this is the way to do it. He will have to move very quickly though because the villains are on the move. They aim to kidnap one of the students and then destroy All Might. If the Symbol of Peace goes down then we could be entering a new era of darkness. Can Deku really stop the madness??

So the gameplay is your classic 3D fighter type. You have your standard attacks, power moves, unblockable moves, super attacks, and your assist moves. There are a decent amount of moves but most tend to just be worse than the basic combo. There’s not much need to ever touch some of those attacks but granted I’m not sure how things look at the highest levels of competition. It could be very different there. The balancing just seems a bit off. Like Deku’s standard combo is close to 10 hits long and does a ton of damage while Bakugo’s just lands like 5 hits without nearly as much damage. It’s an odd combination to be sure.

As far as the graphics go, this is one where I think the game did pretty good. I like how bright the colors are and in particular All Might really stands out. They aced his costume here and the guy feels powerful to play as. He’s basically a stronger version of Deku here. There are a lot of fun special effects to the environment and buildings as you fight and there are even some fighting cutscenes where we see the fighters go at it. Again it’s not what I’d call a very high budget title but it looks good enough.

The soundtrack may be limited but the tunes are really good. I definitely liked the main danger theme quite a lot and fortunately it plays a ton of times. In terms of replay value, there is a good amount here. The actual story mode is only about 2 hours long, but there are a ton of side stories. Over double that of the main campaign in terms of levels since you have the villain story on top of that. So all together you’re probably looking at 5-6 hours for completing all of the story mode missions and then after that you still have mission mode and the classic vs mode. Certainly a good amount of stuff considering that the game is super cheap.

I think the game should have been dubbed since that would have made things more exciting but I was glad that the story mode was fully voice acted at least. That was a pretty nice decision. Instead of the comic panel format though, I would have preferred full cutscenes all the way, even if it meant just showing scenes from the anime or something. I’ll be curious just how similar the second game looks. If it’s almost identical to this one or if it goes for something a lot different.

Either way though, finally getting a big video game is an important step. Of course it has quite a few mobile titles and the free to play online one but a console fighter is always a good idea. A lot of titles don’t necessarily start out with the best one out of the gate and things should only get better from here. 3D fighters may not always be the most popular form of gameplay but I’ve played a ton of really great ones so I can definitely tell you that it’s possible.

In a way this game will take you back to a more nostalgic time of the Gamecube/PS2 fighters. A fairly simple fighting game with a limited roster but one you can have a good time with. At the end of the day you want a game that is entertaining and this one definitely does achieve its goal there. You’ll get an extra bump of excitement if you’re a huge MHA fan but as long as you like a good fighting game then you’re set either way.

Overall, One’s Justice is a pretty good game. It’s definitely not great though. The combat itself is a bit sluggish and more limited than the average 3D fighter. You wind up spamming the same moves over and over again. After all, why bother risking your chance at an ultimate move when your standard hit combo does around the same damage with far less risk? Still, I always enjoy a good fighter and there is a decent amount of side content here. That’s definitely something to keep in mind. I look forward to seeing how the sequel goes.

Overall 7/10

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Review

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This series finished up quite a while ago so this review has been on the backburner for a minute now. My Hero’s done a good job of fleshing out the franchise by having several spinoff manga and this is certainly the most popular one of them. It helps that the story beats here would actually end up being important to the main series and the final battle is legendary for how long it was. In the end this was definitely a pretty good title and one that was getting better the longer it went on. I still hope we get to see Koichi appear in the main series some day but until then at least he got plenty of adventures here.

The story starts by introducing us to Koichi who is a big fan of All Might. He even has a hoodie based on the guy and so he does his best to save people and lead a good life. Unfortunately civilians are not allowed to use their powers unless specifically authorized. That makes Koichi a vigilante and someone who must be stopped. His powers allow him to slide across any surface which is why he’s called the Crawler but he’s not really an offensive type fighter so going up against the heroes would be tricky. Fortunately he meets up with Pop, a vigilante who likes to sing and dance, and Knuckle Duster who is a brawler that beats up villains. Together these 3 would make for quite the fighting force.

Before we get into the big story arcs we get some introduction stories to help get you used to the cast and they work rather well. The artist is also able to improve quite a lot. You can see a good amount of difference from the first chapters to the last ones and that worked out really well since you want a lot of great spectacles for the climax. The series does not hold back there at all. You can always tell what is going on here so I give the art a lot of credit there and the characters all tend to be very distinct. I’d also note that the art was never bad even at the start, I liked the shading, particularly for Knuckle Duster as it really helped him be like Batman. There was just more and more detail as the series went on.

The series had a mild fanservice issue initially as it would seem to follow Pop wherever she went. Her outfit definitely isn’t combat ready as they would say but as the series goes on that basically vanishes which is great. This is a series that can absolutely stand out on its own merits and doesn’t need to rely on any tricks like that. Since this is a spinoff that takes place before the main series, the author is able to really make the most of the timeline by adding in a bunch of references and foreshadowing. Quite a few heroes appear here from time to time including a rather large role for Aizawa. Even Endeavor and All Might join in on the fray and we also have a flashback arc which brings more in. There are important plots like Aizawa’s backstory that you have to read in this series to get the full context.

It’s rare to have a spinoff that is so important but Vigilantes pulled it off. So lets talk about the first main arc. Even though I was talking about the pre arc adventures, the first arc’s story is ongoing in the background almost immediately as the series starts. Basically there is a drug known as trigger out there and someone is giving this to a lot of people with quirks. This causes their quirks to massively power up but its at the cost of their sanity and this starts turning people to the side of darkness. Knuckle Duster’s mission is to get this off the streets and he may even have a more personal reason for wanting to get rid of the stuff. Koichi and Pop end up agreeing to help out and that’s how they all get mixed in with this. They have to stop the ringleader at all costs!

This was a good way to kick off the series. We meet a whole lot of characters and there are also a good amount of villains for the heroes to all fight against. Between the guest stars and original characters there was something to be enjoyed for fans of each part. Tensei gets to appear in a few stories here and since we heard a lot about Ida’s big brother but never got to see him fight before, that was definitely a lot of fun. He seems like a good guy and isn’t quite as strict about everything as Ida is.

Stain also gets to show up here and he leaves quite the impact. His fight with Knuckle Duster is really good and we really got to see how this battle helped to shape his ideology for later on. Stain got to keep his hype all the way through and even stood up to Kuin, the true final boss of this arc. It made for a really solid event during this arc and one that you weren’t likely to forget afterwards. So like the other guest stars this was enough to enhance the story without taking the spotlight away from the original characters too much.

For one original character that was rather low key the whole time, we have Soga. Soga is someone who is around for the entirety of the series but it’s easy to overlook him because he doesn’t fight all that much and doesn’t have any real powers. He basically becomes something of an assistant for Koichi. He makes sure that things go without a hitch whether it’s dodging the cops or fighting villains. He handles the strategy element so Koichi can focus on just landing attacks and taking out villains. I can’t say he ever really stood out to me but he’s effective at what he does.

Makoto is a character who gets a really big role. She takes over as Koichi’s agent of sorts and helps him quite a lot. Her stance on vigilantes isn’t nearly as drastic as the police officer’s but ultimately she is still on the fence about the whole thing. When the chips are down she does help Pop and Koichi though. The series tries to spin in a little romance here but you could interpret it as her just testing Koichi to see what he would say. It’s a little hard to say, I remember it feeling ambiguous. Vigilantes isn’t afraid to throw in some romance in general as there is some with Pop as well but ultimately it never becomes a focus and that’s for the best. I don’t think there is really a lot of time for romance here.

Captain Celebrity makes his first appearance during this arc although he would return later on. Think of him like a discount version of All Might. He’s got the strength, speed, and flight but all to much smaller extents. His powers may not work the same way as All Might’s but he can make them appear like that which is the important thing. I like his confidence and thought he was a quality character right from the start. If anything I’m surprised he didn’t do more in the climax or show up in the main series yet as this is the kind of international hero that would make a lot of sense to appear. Captain Celebrity can be a bit vain and you can probably tell that from his title but he is the kind of character that is fun to root for.

Finally we get to the main villain Kuin. She’s the mastermind behind the first big chunk of the series and definitely does really well. She can use her bees to great effect whether it’s fighting at close range or going for a more long range assassin type of attack. Kuin gets a full backstory and everything and lasts longer than you may have expected. The series did a good job of really developing her so you definitely aren’t likely to forget her by the end. Her power set was also unique and let her go toe to toe with several fighters. Even by the end of the series I would say that she could still be considered rather powerful in her prime and the power creep effect never really happened to her there.

In this arc is when we start to see the professional heroes showing up but unfortunately I would say they tend to come across as really annoying. Yes the vigilantes aren’t going through proper channels so the cops do need to do something about them but half the time they’re actively helping fight the villains so shouldn’t you prioritize getting those guys out of the way first? That feels like it would easily be the most efficient way to do it right? Of course it ultimately goes higher up to the very laws themselves. I always felt that the laws in the MHA verse are super restrictive with how civilians can’t even help each other without breaking the law even in an emergency setting. It’s no wonder that the Vigilantes become so popular.

Koichi lives in a rather small town that is apparently often overlooked by the police. So if he doesn’t help them then odds are that nobody else will. So he just has to put on a disguise and help out because otherwise they would be after him too. It’s a rather stressful way to operate and you just feel like that shouldn’t be necessary. So the pro heroes aren’t fully to blame here but they could handle things better either way. At least Aizawa will pretend to look the other way at times which is a decent start.

He skirts the line the most there and he should understand that the casualties would be worse without the vigilantes. Fans of Aizawa will appreciate that he also gets his own flashback arc so there is a lot of room for development there. Someone like Endeavor is solidly back in his antagonist days so he shows up here just to throw some fire around and doesn’t care as much about collateral damage. He’s lucky that Koichi isn’t one of the more aggressive characters because by the end of the series I’d say that he surpassed Endeavor by a longshot. This is one guy who wouldn’t go down easily.

All Might’s role is much smaller than most of the heroes because he would end each arc too quickly but he looks good. It’s nice to see how he just shows up and dominates the field at any given moment. That’s what you would expect from the #1 hero, particularly since he hasn’t been too weakened yet and should be at full strength. The cop who always follows him around (Tsukauchi) also gets a fairly big role. This guy is more of a stickler for the rules though so I can’t say that I was a big fan of him. He’s the kind of guy who absolutely would try to arrest a vigilante even if the city was burning down all around him. He needs to work on his priorities a little better.

After that arc we start to set up more seeds for the future. Villains using the trigger drug are still around so someone appears to still be mass producing the drug. A mysterious speedster known as Six also starts to make some moves and this villain is difficult to stop because of how crazy fast he is. In an instant he can land any number of blows and fighting anyone with speed like that is difficult. The main plot is about Captain Celebrity though and he is targeted by the new mastermind. Koichi will have to try and help out while Knuckle Duster takes care of Six but are they ready for this?

This arc was especially good for Captain Celebrity because he got a whole lot of character development as a result of this. We got to see his true heroic side. He may posture a lot for the cameras but at the end of the day he’s still a hero and certainly didn’t lose sight of that. Koichi also started to slowly improve his powers. Perhaps a little too slowly as he tries to be really careful about not causing any harm with them which is good but when he even fires a tiny blast Pop and some other characters always get on his case. I feel like it’s a bit overdone. As long as Koichi is pulling his punches and just knocking people out then I don’t really see the issue with it. This saga was a little more low key than the first one but it was definitely solid.

Then there is the Aizawa arc with Oboro, his old childhood friend. We get to see how the two of them and Present Mic were the best of friends. The 3 of them aimed to really take the hero world by storm and they had the quirks to do it. Aizawa was still more on the quiet side like in the present but Oboro had a way of getting everyone excited and so even Aizawa bought into it. Unfortunately as Oboro isn’t in the main series you can probably guess that things don’t go very well for him. It does make things very interesting for a character in the main series though and it’s an emotional arc. I had a good time with it and while Oboro may not have been around for very long, he definitely left quite the impact. I’d enjoy seeing more adventures with these 3 in the past, it actually gave me a lot of Naruto vibes.

After that we go into more of a romance focused arc. Pop is still confused about her feelings for Koichi and this allows her to be in a vulnerable state which Six takes advantage of. He turns her into an evil mind controlled fighter so Koichi has to try and stop her without hurting her. The tough part about that is the pro heroes aren’t so lenient, particularly Endeavor. So Koichi in a way has to take this guy down as well and it won’t be easy but at this point his powers have continued to evolve. The tough situation really helped to speed up his development on that front quite a bit.

Props to the series for trying to focus on the romance here but ultimately they were good friends so you’re cool with it staying that way. I was glad that we got to see Pop fight with her powers now that she was on the dark side though. As a hero you didn’t get to see her battle all that much at all so this way she can really go in. It was also nice seeing the pro heroes so that’s why this made for a very well balanced arc and further helped set up Six as the big villain to come up.

As the series prepared to enter the final stage we finally got Knuckle Duster back in his younger days. We saw how he used to be a very powerful hero and he got to go undercover to check out an underground fighting circuit. We get some fun guest stars here like Rappa, Mirko, and the High-End. There are quite a few solid battles in here and all of these fighters are quite powerful. It really makes for an impressive collage of characters here. So this flashback didn’t feel like some minor flashback.
Instead it was a great showing of the heroes working together back in the day and how Knuckle Duster could even convince villains to help. You get the feeling that Rappa was really close to becoming a full hero if things had turned out differently. The High-End was also really powerful even back before he got powered up further by All For One. Mirko being here for the fights also makes a lot of sense since she loves to get in on the chaos. The arc may not have had Koichi and friends but it was a really fun change of pace.

Then we enter the final arc which is rather massive as you would expect. It’s finally time for Six to make his big move and he holds nothing back. He has half of the city exploding and with his speed even the pro heroes don’t know what to do. It’s fun to see Endeavor and all of the pros but you know that they stand no chance against this guy. Only Koichi can possibly do something but even he is at the end of his rope. With Pop currently out of action that makes the stakes a lot more personal as well. We get to see a lot of teamwork between all of the heroes that Koichi has helped out in the past and the civilians as well so it’s really a great team effort.

You may figure that Koichi is completely out of his depth here since Six ends up being one of the strongest characters in the franchise but fortunately like Deku, Koichi is effectively able to use multiple quirks at once. In a way it’s even more impressive because it’s technically one quirk that he mastered so well until it could act as multiple. He found so many uses for the glide ability that it would make you surprised to see how far he had come. It definitely made for a great climax and this arc has a whole lot of memorable moments.

The author also did a good job of handling Six’s speed. When someone can move this fast you will always find some issues with it but Six’s speed has some defined limits and the characters make good use of it. So the climax ended up working out rather well. Six is also my favorite villain in the series and it was nice to see him getting so much action. This is definitely a villain that you won’t be forgetting anytime soon. He’s really memorable and the series even gave him some ties with All For One. It really helped make the finale more and more grand. At one point I thought it was going to tie in with the first chapter of the main series in a specific way but didn’t go down that route.

As a main character Koichi is really solid. He’s fairly unassuming and may not have that Shonen aggressiveness that you’ve come to expect from a lot of heroes but he gets the job done. Even by the end of the series he thinks of himself more as an everyman who will help to take down the villains but isn’t expected to be the main act. He is a supportive fighter for most of the series so that makes sense and it’s only near the end that his powers really begin to go crazy. So he’s very consistent and ranks fairly high up there in the verse. In terms of power level he’s absolutely on the highest tier but even in terms of character he’s one of the better ones. That was important since you need quality characters to keep your series high up.

Then there is Pop as the main heroine. It’s a little unfortunate that she got sidelined for so long since it kept her from appearing more. She did well as a villain but as a hero she never really got to use her powers to the max. I suspect that she would have been quite good in combat but we didn’t really get to see to what extent that would have been true. Pop helps to encourage Koichi throughout the journey though and he would not have made it nearly as far without her. She’s a good friend to have.

Finally we have Knuckle Duster to round out the main trio. He’s a really tough fighter and should remind you of Batman. I’m pretty sure that’s the whole idea and it works well. While All Might takes out villains during the day and makes a big spectacle of it, Knuckle Duster works as a vigilante by night who takes out any villains that happen to get in his way. That’s just how he rolls and he gets a lot of the best stories here. He is often fighting opponents who are out of his weight class and so he has to fight smart.

Upon first glance you may figure that he’s your average bruiser but he does use his head a lot and fights strategically. That’s what separates him from the average character and it works out quite nicely. He may not get the most screen time in the series but he gets enough to leave you very satisfied the whole time. It’s always easy to root for an underdog like this who has no powers but is mixing it up with all of these crazy fighters anyway. Knuckle Duster is someone who absolutely will not back down!

I have to give another shoutout to the final climax. I just can’t end this review without talking about it because that was so much fun. This is one of those times where reading the series live was so neat because the fight just kept on going and going. I can’t recall a fight that was so much fun to see live like that since probably one of the final Bleach fights. A long battle where the villain is surpassing his limits as well as the hero makes for a very satisfying conclusion because you know that they both gave it their all. You want a villain to be determined in his goal and to keep on giving the match 100% or it just wouldn’t be nearly as high tier. It helps that Six was the best character in the series, that guy was intense!

Overall, My Hero Academia Vigilantes is a great series. It may start off a little slow but each arc keeps the series moving higher and higher and that’s the kind of trajectory that you want your series to take. Better to start off light and get great by the end than to start off great and slowly go downhill to the end. You always remember the ending after all and a satisfying one goes a long way. The series is a bit long for a spinoff so if you decide to read through this series you will definitely have a lot of content. I definitely recommend jumping in whenever you can. This is one title that you don’t want to miss!

Overall 8/10

My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes Review

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It’s time to look at the new Hero Academy film! With the franchise growing more and more popular it’s about time we got a full length film. The last few big films for the various Shonen titles like DBZ and Naruto have been great so I was confident that this one would be no exception. It definitely is a great film and continues the show well. While the heroes are still limited a bit by their own decisions, they at least help by the end and show the world that sometimes you have to step up. Once they get their hero licenses then it will be even easier for them.

The film starts off with Deku and All Might heading over to America. They were invited by Melissa, genius inventor, to go say hi to David who used to be All Might’s partner. The two of them drifted apart over the years as All Might wanted to save people with his abilities while David wanted to retreat to his lab. Surprisingly David seems happy to see All Might and I’m glad the film didn’t go the drama route there. Most of Deku’s classmates have also decided to tag along for fun so Deku has to be careful that they don’t figure out his connection to All Might. The reunion is cut short though when villains attack the tower and take hostages. None of the pros can make a move so it’s up to the kids. The problem is that they don’t have their hero licenses so according to the regulations they have to ignore the terrorists. Can the heroes still save the day?

Naturally it makes sense that in a world where 70-80% of the population have super powers there would be rules to restrict people from using their abilities at random. If everyone decided to play hero then there would be no point to the hero schools and the government would lose money. At the same time, you gotta realize that if someone’s in trouble in front of you then it’s time to act. I have little doubt that most main characters would reach this conclusion like Ichigo, Naruto, etc. The problem with Deku is he doesn’t really learn that lesson. In fact, the manga goes out of its way to teach him the reverse of it. There were several occasions where Deku stepped in to help out, but then he was rebuked by the adults for saving lives. It’s as ridiculous as it sounds. Sadly the words have stuck and since then Deku has started doing his best to follow the rules even if it means abandoning those in need. It’s a rather disappointing look for him in season 3, this movie, and be prepared for season 4 where he makes his biggest mistake yet.

While I’m not saying that the rules shouldn’t apply to Deku, I’m saying that he shouldn’t care. You’ve always gotta make some tough choices on whether to follow the rules or not. The fact of the matter is that some rules and laws are simply bad and immoral. Others are seemingly harmless but depending on the circumstance they provide no benefit. This is one of those times. The rule makes sense, but must be ignored when people are in danger. The idea that these heroes are all around and simply don’t want to make a move because they can’t attack villains is terrible. Fortunately Bakugou and Todoroki completely ignore this once the fighting starts.

That’s enough on the Deku part. He does good when he’s in a fight at least although he is heavily nerfed at different points to ensure that the film doesn’t end too quickly. It’s still a cool concept to be completely overpowered next to the rest of the case although the series rarely delves into that. Deku is a little out of character here with how easily he gets flustered and resorts to his pre arc personality, but he’s not bad either. He’s better than some of the other students. It’s probably no surprise here that Bakugo is the best character. He sees someone he doesn’t like and an attack is already underway. He won’t hesitate to make the hero call and his abilities are definitely really useful in a battle. While it will be hard for him to keep up with some of the other characters since his abilities can only improve so much, he won’t back down from a fight.

Next up Todoroki is also pretty solid here. As always he is another one of the characters who thinks that fighting the villains is the right move. What puts him slightly under Bakugo would be the fact that he is more likely to listen to the others and not break the rules. His abilities are definitely quite solid though and they work a lot like Gaara’s. His tag team fight with Bakugo is definitely one of the better fights in the movie. It’s very fast paced and the more battles the better.

The other classmates range from bad to just being around. I won’t really talk about the ones who were stuck at the hotel. Ochako is still too nervous throughout. She’s got a ways to go if she wants to be a pro her. Mineta and Kaminari look pretty bad here as they are ineffective in combat and aren’t even fighting for the right reasons. Kirishima and Jiro are all right, but don’t do much. Kirishima’s abilities are definitely quite useful though so the film makes sure to keep him away from the action. Can’t have too many heroes outshadowing the villains right?

Now we get to the bad characters Iida and Yaoyorozu don’t look good here at all. As always they really like to listen to the rules even if it means letting everyone die. They’ve gone pretty far off the deep end. Iida is beyond redemption in the franchise and while Yaoyorozu isn’t quite as bad since she doesn’t try to get in the heroes’ way, she’s not much better. The two of them just don’t realize what it means to be a true hero and until they learn that lesson it is going to be hard for them to move up the ranks. They aren’t particularly helpful in the fight either as Iida forgot how to do basic maintenance on his tech and Yaoyorozu’s abilities are simply too defensive.

As for the pros, All Might is really the only one who gets to do much here. As always he is the strongest by a long shot and it’s easy to see why he is the symbol of peace. In the flashback his design looked quite a bit different. Sort of like the overconfident athlete kind of character which works pretty well. He was always earnest and the overconfident appearance was simply his look, not his personality. It’s always nice to see him from back in the day although I don’t imagine he got a lot of practice in since the villains never seem to be in the same league as him. In the present he is naturally a lot weaker than he used to be. The film does a good job of keeping him out of the fight through the hostages since it doesn’t matter how strong you are if humans get in the way. Once the hostages are safe he is finally able to let loose against the villain.

The final fight delivers as you could probably have guessed. Seeing All Might and Deku team up was a lot of fun. The other students also got to help and in a way that wasn’t cheesy. (Invisible Rasengan..) They were able to help clear the field for the two heroes while being aware of their limitations. The glove that Melissa gave Deku was also a nice way to see Deku go all out a little more than usual. Having such a gadget is definitely great and while it did shatter, it would be cool to see something similar be implemented in the manga at some point. This final fight had quite a few phases and climaxes so it certainly wasn’t rushed and was even a tad bit longer than I thought it would be. That is certainly a great thing.

I also liked the final boss. He was a metal user who is a lot stronger than he seems. Even before the enhancement he is strong enough to give Deku a reasonable fight. Yes, Deku should have wrecked him, but we’ll assume that his shock simply slowed down his reaction times. The villain had a lot of great dialogue and a cool design. His super form at the end was also pretty neat as it had a bit of a cosmic look to it. All Might definitely had enough of the villains though as he attempts to murder them by blowing up their chopper as he got David to safety. There’s almost no way the villains could have survived that so it was a bit unexpected. I suppose since All Might knew he was going to change soon he figured that he had to wrap up the fight.

It almost goes without saying, but part of what makes the fight so good is the stellar animation. The battles are very flashy with the action moving very quickly. The backgrounds are bright and a lot of nice details are in the film. It’s definitely theater budget. While there are 1-2 scenes where character faces are completely blank without any details, I have to assume that this was a stylistic choice similar to how All Might’s eyes are never shown to make him seem like his game face is always on. That’s always been a pretty cool look. The soundtrack is mostly just tunes from the show although I think we did get 1-2 new themes. The music is pretty sound and complements the film.

As for the two original characters made up for the film, I can’t say that I was a big fan of David. The guy just doesn’t think things through and isn’t the smartest bulb out there. It’s hard to feel any sympathy for him to be honest. As for Melissa, she’s a fun character. She has good inventions and is a useful companion during the film. While she may not have a quirk, she doesn’t tend to panic and helps out whenever she can. You can’t really ask for much more than that.

Naturally I do have to quickly mention Godzilla since part of the marketing for the film kept on showing him. Well, the bad news is that his role is extremely small. His screen time is less than 10 seconds in the entire film. That’s…..pretty disappointing for fans who were looking forward to his appearance. It’s not exactly the Legendairy experience that everyone was looking for, but I guess they weren’t milking his reputation for this film. Heh. I like the roar they used. As a casual Godzilla fan I couldn’t tell you which era the roar was from, but it was definitely retro.

Overall, My Hero Academy The Two Heroes is a pretty fun film. It does a good job of hitting that balance between being an extended episode and feeling like a special adventure. The action scenes are solid and the pacing is really good. While a lot of the students aren’t really ready for these battles and make the wrong calls, they are still just kids so they have plenty of time to improve their game. It was nice to see America for a change along with this high tech island. A film is always a good time to take the characters out of their usual environment. The film also includes a recap at the beginning for people who haven’t seen the anime. It’s pretty well done and includes all of the information that you would need so even if you haven’t watched the show I believe you could watch this and still understand what is happening. You’ll still enjoy it and while you may not get the 100% experience, it’ll still be a great time.

Overall 8/10