The rivalry between Class 1-A and Class 1-B heats up in a joint training battle. Eager to be a part of
the hero course, brainwashing buff Shinso is tasked with competing on both sides.
But as each team faces their own weaknesses and discovers new strengths, this showdown might just
become a toss-up.
(Source: Funimation)
~~~__This review is full of spoilers, so go ahead at your own risk. __~~~ ___________ ~~~The anime of My Hero Academia season 5 is over and already a few people are muttering about how the sixth season will be adapted. I personally believe that since the MVA arc was concluded in season 5, the sixth season will finally bring the entire Paranormal Liberation War arc. What I'm sorry to say, is that this season has been a disappointment of an adaptation. I am a lover of the series, in fact I caught up with the manga and it is one of my favorites on the list, but although that, I have not been able to appreciate this season. The first part of the series, which is the one dedicated to the joint training arc, was extended as long as possible, the episodes lasted a lot, half of them were summaries, and they felt like fillers. Then, I don't understand why, but bones decided to mix the Villain Academia arc with the Endeavor training arc, a fatal mistake, which after about 16 episodes of Joint Training arc, was left neglected. I can understand that it was important to develop all the characters in order to ensure a more solid future for the series, but to do that, they created something beyond boring, ended up developing too much unnecessary characters, and neglecting the MVA arc. Long story short, what we saw was a my villain academia arc that has been badly adapted, overlooked, and in some parts skipped due to bad adaptation pacing. We have been more than patient, and during the series I have done nothing but repeat to myself "now comes the best", when in reality nothing good has arrived, because when it really came it was either neglected or postponed. What's positive about this season is, as always from bones, a beautiful and stunning animation that constantly pulls up the series, a great cast for the dub of the scenes, which I remember improving a lot of the part where Deku gets his Black whip, and listenable ost, leaving out the openings that are more based on personal tastes. img400(https://64.media.tumblr.com/fb333ecb5104ff7e9c7a89b9ce162ac6/408111f16176e2b4-ab/s1280x1920/d2d8de33cbb36103491c3a75f37ccf532482df6b.png) img400(https://media.comicbook.com/2021/05/my-hero-academia-black-whip-1270244-1280x0.jpeg) img(https://64.media.tumblr.com/12bcddd542f2fe4220386c47339603bc/ae4adeb91ed72650-5c/s540x810/a6a60f4039e5d2faad1646bcd8bb525266c5def5.gifv) The only time this season really surprised me was when Shigaraki had his backstory and his awakening. It felt well adapted, no censoring, really good ost and dub, and as always, a great animation. Those two episodes really hit me, and were the best episode in this season. But that wasn't enough to fill the precedent mistakes. img(https://files.catbox.moe/mup1sr.gif) img(https://i.imgur.com/jGBfQR7.png) img(https://i.imgur.com/DcW05Pb.png) Beyond that, the season has been a disappointment for many of BNHA's fans, a felt-rushed experience that actually "ruined" the manga, and certainly has given a critical hit to anyone who wasn't a fan of the series. Personally, I hope people who didn't like this season will take a look at season six as well, because if they adapt it how it needs to be, it will definitely be the peak of BNHA. I highly recommend to those who want to see a better version of what happened this season to read the manga, because it is definetely more fluent and paced better than this. ~~~
This is my first review written in English so please bear with me if you encounter weird grammar or overused vocabulary. I’m trying to improve lol Until very recently (roughly a month ago I believe?) I didn’t really care much about MHA. I watched the first season, and it was good but not anything remarkable. I dished it out as a well-done, but still generic shounen and that’s it. After season 1 I didn’t bother continuing mainly because Netflix in Germany is shit and offers only the first season so watching the other ones is too much of a bother than it’s worth (that’s what I thought). But thanks to some friends of mine I actually tried the second season and oh boi from there I fell down into the MHA rabbit hole very rapidly. You can probably already tell by now but this review will be about all 5 seasons so far. So if you want my score for each season you need to have a look at my anime list (especially because I don't determine the overall score by average) And yeah, I won’t bother summarizing the plot and all that shit, you know already what happened you watched the anime too. So let’s start with the actual review. MHA’s biggest strength is probably the execution. Like I already said, season 1 doesn’t try anything new. It’s generic, but well executed and that’s where its main strength lies. The quirkless Izuku being gifted a marvellous quirk from his idol All Might (which he worked hard for, of course) is pretty commonly used in superhero stories but who cares? It definitely works. And now don’t tell me that the line “You can be a hero too” plus Yuki Hayashi’s soundtrack didn’t get you hyped up. Actually, all of the soundtracks this anime has to offer are great. Ranging from “You say run” to “Rampaging Evil”, each one of these is a great addition for every scene. Accompanied by Bones animation the show definitely has great production value to make all of the great moments in the story shine. Again, at that point of time I didn’t think that MHA is a masterpiece or even great. But it was good, and it was difficult to find anything in it which I actually disliked. img2200(https://i.imgur.com/NNP4n3y.jpg) Season 2 and 3 were the seasons which actually made me realize the potential of the “simple, but good” concept. If you look at it objectively, it didn’t change too much in its approach to season 1. We had a linear story with little to no plot issues, we had character development, we had finally a tournament arc, which was great by the way, and as usual, high production values. Not one scene feels wasted, each of these has a purpose and while not trying anything crazy new or mind-blowing the story progressed at a neatly pace with well-made execution while keeping us constantly entertained. And slowly, but surely, we started to care more and more about the characters and the world which MHA takes place in. Some may think that I’m giving this show way too much credit here, but I honestly do think that MHA really brought something back which I miss in A LOT of shows. I still remember how pumped I was when watching Naruto and Digimon when I was little and what made these shows great to me definitely wasn’t because they’re trying something new or have crazy twists. (Short disclaimer: I don’t want to badmouth these two things, they’re great in their own way ofc) What I enjoyed was that it got me hyped, that I cared about the characters, that I cared about the worldbuilding, and that I just had a fun time watching. MHA season 2-3 was great just because of that. And it made a solid foundation for what this show has in store next. img2200(https://i.imgur.com/UilcpHz.jpg) In season 4 and 5 the show decided to shift a bit in direction and tackled darker themes. We actually saw consequences from events in the previous seasons and a lot more insight into the more sinister side of the quirk society. Similar to how parts of Deku’s world crashed down when he met Eri and realized his own helplessness, it’s a shock for us viewers as well because until now we mostly saw the world from his perspective and it was easier to distinct between “good” and “evil”. Now we are offered more perspective and more background for the villains and their motives/beliefs which is not only great character building but elevates the world building to another level as well. (Another good reveal is Mirio. It showed us that Deku was lucky to get OFA, deconstructing MHA’s earlier theme “Anyone can be a hero”) You can literally FEEL how much All Might contributed to peace as symbol and now that he’s missing, everything which stayed in the shadows during his radiance is slowly coming to the surface as well. This not only makes the threat of the villains even more believable but also gives characters who weren’t in big spotlight before a chance to shine. The biggest example probably would be Endeavour. He had great character progression during these two seasons. But lets talk more about the villain side, to be specific about Shigaraki. Season 4/5 and most importantly MVA truly showed us the potential Shigaraki has as a villain. Which doesn’t mean that he was a weak character in the previous seasons of course. I loved that Shigaraki was parallel in development to Deku. Both of them are inexperienced and not fully certain of how to use the power given to them but slowly they learn and develop, while pushing opposite Ideologies. Taking turns influencing the story they adapt to each other. Every scene with Shigaraki is simply a pleasure to watch just because of his beliefs and progression as character. Shigaraki and Deku are opposites, one being good and the other one being evil. While this does sound simple enough, it’s actually very interesting because stories rarely have an literally EVIL villain. Most of the time villains have background motives which you somewhat sympathizes with and which you may could understand and relate to. But Shigaraki doesn’t need justification for his goal: He wants total destruction. And that’s because society and AFO warped his beliefs and views to a point where he despises the image of a hero. Remember when Deku said that he can’t understand Shigaraki? I’m sure Shigaraki would have problems understanding Deku too. Reason for that is that their viewpoints and values are so fundamentally different they can’t possibly understand each other. You may sympathize with Shigaraki because of his childhood and appreciate some aspects of his character like for example him caring for his comrades in the League of Villains. But you can’t deny that the goal driving him is without doubt 100% evil and very hard to actually comprehend because he clearly has different values. MVA wonderfully showed us that by Shigaraki freeing himself of his shackles in the past. In conclusion, as you probably noticed by now lol, I really like Shigaraki as villain. He’s awesome. img2200(https://i.imgur.com/IcoPNkq.jpg) However, as much praise I have for the show there are was also a worrying decrease in production quality in S4 and especially S5 which tampered with the enjoyment I had while watching. Lack of animations and sakuga, lots of use of still frames in crucial moments ( for example Mirio vs Overhaul and Shigaraki decaying everyone in Ep 21). Directing/Pacing was messy and the dialogue doesn't feel as organic as in previous seasons. Especially in season 5 there also seemed to be heavy censoring plus cut out content from the manga, which is sad to see considering that the anime according to manga readers used to SURPASS the manga. I don’t think that Season 4 and 5 is an absolutely awful adaptation in comparison to the average anime adaptation but it’s a huge difference nonetheless and I hope that season 6 will have a healthier schedule and more time to go back to the quality MHA once had. Overall I still enjoyed both seasons because of their wondeful peaks but they could’ve been much, much better honestly. That’s why I feel like while Season 4 and 5 moved the plot in a good direction and presented lots of interesting developments, both seasons aren’t great on their own. __TLDR__: MHA is a great show excelling at using common shounen troupes successfully thanks to great execution. The slow but well-made world- and character-building shines especially in the later seasons, and I can’t wait where all of it will lead to in season 6. MHA is, without doubt, one of the best anime, if not the best, modern battle-shounen can offer. Now that we reached the end I also want to pay respect to arguably the best animator of this show: YUTAKA NAKAMURA webm(https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/60425cd86e95b9daa9ba6a8bbe20c160.mp4) Thanks for making so many moments in MHA absolutely amazing. He's not the only goat at Bones of course, but he is the one I noticed most so I wanted to address that at least once :) Thank you for reading! Feedback, etc. is always appreciated. (Disclaimer: The score shown below is my overall score for all seasons. It's not the score for the fifth season!)
~~~__*Note that this review will have spoilers in it and this is my first review, so expect it to be pretty bias__ Alright, so My Hero Academia. I know it, you know it, we ALL know it. Ever since it first aired in 2016, it instantly became extremely popular and got tons of people into anime. It's honestly one of, if not the most popular anime of this generation, and even people who don't even watch anime know what it is, and the 5th season just finished after airing on March 27. Did it live up to the expectations of the people who loved the other seasons of MHA? Not quite, in fact, some MHA fans even said that this season was disappointing and the worst season of MHA so far. Well, what do I think? Do I think that this was the worst MHA season? Sure, but this still has some stuff that makes this good. Let's talk about the first arc of this season first. A lot of people say that that arc has some pretty slow pacing, and I can agree with that, the pacing was just pretty slow so it honestly kinda just ruined that arc for me, but the matches are still really thrilling and awesome to watch, especially the 5th match, the moment when Deku suddenly unleashed the Blackwhip quirk accidentally during the 5th match was a surprise to behold, and Uraraka and Shinso trying to stop the BlackWhip was so hype to see, but there were some matches that felt underwhelming, like round 2, for example, like why did the mushroom girl put mushrooms inside Tokoyomi's lungs when doing something that could cause someone to die is illegal for these training sessions? That makes no sense, but the other rounds were still good, even though the pacing was sort of eh. Now comes the 2nd arc. It was sort of boring to just see Deku, Bakugou, and Todoroki train with Endeavor while we see Hawks find out more and more about the Meta Liberation army and their plans, but what I liked about this arc was the drama involving the Todoroki family. It felt like something that you wouldn't see in a typical battle shonen and it was a nice idea to have this be in the anime. Endeavor trying to redeem himself and be better to his family was honestly so nice and heartwarming to see and him ultimately leaving his home so that his family could finally live happily was also a really good moment I never expected to see in My Hero Academia. Finally, the My Villain Academia arc. My personal favorite arc in this season. I'll just keep this part short. Seeing the League of Villains face off against the Meta Liberation army was so hype to see and Shigaraki's past was just so brutal to watch, just seeing him end up killing his entire family and almost having nowhere else to go was so sad to see. This arc was honestly a very great battle shonen arc that made this season worthwhile. Overall, this season was actually pretty good. Even though it wasn't as good as the other seasons, this season was still worth checking out and it definitely wasn't as bad as people say it is either, at least, in my opinion, anyways. Here's hoping that season 6 manages to be just as good, if not better than the previous seasons, though.~~~
Before I get started with the review, I would like to say that I am a fan of MHA, and that this might not be the most nonbiased review, as my personal thoughts for the season are lower than the score down below and I will make some comparisons to the manga ( I'm not a manga purist I swear, most of the time I prefer anime.) And yes this is your Spoiler Alert, but I'll put a TLDR at the end for people who haven't seen it, and would like an opinion. Also this is a long review lol So... img220(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR7W0jA_hzBQPUSiEv30Fw-py_K9i07SFxyom0kbLz8HeEiWcdOlgxF50nXITVddtl-ojI&usqp=CAU) __ Joint Training Arc__ This arc is mostly uninteresting, with average action, decent characters and varying levels of quality of the animations. But is littered with awful pacing and bad flashbacks. The story in this is just Class A vs Class B, which I do think the idea is pretty good for and I like the idea for, as like a short mini arc like the Battle Training Arc from Season 1 and the Final Exams Arc for Season 2, while I don't think either arc is great or even anything above a 7/10 I still like them. In the manga, It wasn't that good, but the art looked great, and when Deku Unleashed Black Whip it was AWESOME. But here, it was just too long, and it didn't have as much as a Kick you get from what you may get normally. The pacing was also so dragged out, it was like they tried to make it so that it could wait for Endeavor's arc. I'm not gonna go too deep into each match for better pacing ( did you see what i did there), i'm just going to say that Match 3 is my favorite because SHOTOOOOOO actually has development outside of Haha someone hates me cuz me dad lol and because of the actually amazing animation. Black Whip is cool but didn't like the design very much in anime ( Getting that out there) and the action had cool quirks and alright setpieces but nothing out of the ordinary outside of Match 3. Aftermath of His Start from Season 1- 9/10 ( Keeping this for a score just cuz) Before Battling 6/10 Match 1 5.5-6/10 ( Decent Fight) Match 2- 5/10 Match 3- 8/10 Match 4- 4 or 5/10 ( Kinda wish it wasn't a huge wash, even if it supported Bakugo's Dvelopment) Match 5- 6 or 7/10 Aftermath- 7/10 Overall while not as bad score wise than i'd give the Provisional Lisenceing Exam Arc or The School Festival Arc. This arc still falls in the bottom 3 of MHA arcs, because of how it impacts the season negatively overall, kinda like if you had a scrape on your knee every time you try to run faster than you already have. ( That was an awful metaphor lol) 4.5- 5/10 __Endeavor Agency Arc__ The best arc of the season, fight me. I prefer the Manga, but I also think that it's the least tampered with stuff in it, and it shouldn't be dragged down just because of Join Training's Arc existence. My biggest problem is that why the fuck is the entire arc in season 5, like I would honestly like it a lot if they put in Todoroki asking Deku and Bakugo if they wanted to have an internship with his dad at the end, and then we see them arrive at the agency, which is like the manga, which they don't do, because we are literally spoiled to the end of the PLF/MVA, like imagine if you haven't read the manga and went in blind, it's just for background if you have to see the PLF/MVA there. Also, don't say you have to promote ur movie, you could release it later and, to make it so the some MHA fans have some content, like JJK and Demon Slayer are doing . However I still loved the arc, the Todoroki family scenes were honestly my favorite part of the season, and seeing Bakugo and Deku dealing with the awkwardness is great. I also really like Shirakumo's backstory and wish we could have gotten more info on it and every time Hawks appears, even though it spoils what happens, it's so cool to see what the PLF may do. I would also say we got good action .Finally while i didn't like Uraraka Saving the hijacking airplane, it's also in the manga and I didn't like it there ( And we got good fanservice). Overall, A really good arc that's just really godamn misplaced 7.5/10 Also if i see this image one more time imma die inside img220(https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000508991415-9bvmw5-t500x500.jpg) __PLF/MVA arc and Pacing Issues__ The PLF/MVA arc Is an extremely rushed arc that has great backstories, varying quality of animation, decent enough stakes, and good characters. So you want to tell me that (Excluding toga's backstory ep and ep 25), you want to fit an entire good new take on a story, with great character backstories and nice action and something that will change the course of in the entire series into 4 EPISODES. Ok, that's a bad idea in the start, but then you need to fit in your movie about Endeavor Hero Agency, you misplace them. When I read PLF, I didn't really read it, I skimmed it at a friend's house and thought it was alright, but wanted to be really uplifted with my opinion of it from the anime. Was I? Yes, Twice's episode is the best in the season, and I loved shigaraki's origin, but when you start to enjoy it, it moves to another scene, because they need to fit into 4 episodes. It really shows that bad pacing really impacts a result of quaility. Twice was my Favorite character in this season outside of Endeavor, Shigaraki was cool and had a good backstory, Toga almost dies so she's cool, Dabi, Spinner and Compress exist. Gigantomachia reminds me of Bizzaro from DC so I like him, and the PLF are cool obstacles, with re destro being the best. Also I love this hand pose img220(https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/11139/111399459/7310318-rikiya_yotsubashi.png) Overall a 6 or 7/10, too rushed for me to like it as much __Characters__ Izuku Midoriya- Tanjiro's about to sue you for stealing his character lol. For real though, I just think in this season, he just has nothing really new to add to the table, outside of his relationship like an older to Eri, which is well developed. Like Black Whip? That's kind off new, but it's another advancement to OFA, and we haven't seen that before. I have the same thoughts of him as I do Tanjiro, which is sad, because Deku is the best character in S1 and S2. ( I still like him in the season though) Katuski Bakugo- Decent, In Match 4, he does really good and makes sure no one's left behind, so I can accept this minor development, and I can say that I like his relationship to Deku, to actually having respect for each other. ( I think I have a positive outlook because of Manga, Idk) Shoto Todoroki- Cool Guy, gets some good development with him and Bakugo getting his provisional license, and also with his new move. I also like seeing him having to struggle with Endeavor wanting to atone, and I like that. Also this lol img220(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/82/4e/00/824e003827c8b721e5e1d7ddeb8582f2.jpg) Endeavor- Best character in the whole damn show now let's be real, his development is written amazingly, and the show show's that he can be cool, and that he regrets his past actions a lot. We get to see how this affects him, and when we see this, it's beyond amazing. My only gripe is that I don't think endeavor would be a good teacher, but that's me, I don't know it would be good to see him learn. Class 1-A ( And Shinsou, Aizawa and Allmight) - All decent characters, and I did like seeing them in the joint training arc, and we did get to see them overall in the Join Training Arc. I would honestly just say that Mina was a little annoying, and that tokoyami could have replaced her in match 5. Aizawa also was cool, and we got to see what happened with him and Shirakumo, and I loved that backstory. All Might was just there, but I don't have negative opinion on him and I did like him trying as a teacher. Finally Shinsou did get focus and I was really happy about this. Hawks- I do like the subtle signs to Hawks' backstory, and him sneaking into the PLF was a really cool well development to see. His relationship with twice was also pretty cool, I hope nothing happens with that because they have cool dynamic. Overall Hawks is also cool, because he's literally the living embodiment of corrupt governments, and how evil the "good" can be. __Other__ Opening 8 and Ending 8 are really good, But Opening 9 is an amazing 25 second then is just weird, although I did like it going from MHA to MVA. I would also say ending 9 wasn't good song wise, but had good visuals with Hawks. The tone of this season was kind of off, because I think it's trying to say to enjoy the lightheartedness while it lasts Class 1-A basically goes to war against the PLF, and it doesn't do that in the best way. I'd also they filler was bad, because you could have focused on something cool for ep 1, like an MHA sport kind of like JJK or stuff with Class 1-B not more ehro assignments, to show what Class 1- A may be on a daily basis, which we could've got, but we didn't. __TLDR__ My Hero Academia Season 5, while still being decent is the weakest season overall in MHA's Catalog because it could have used better pacing, keeping the arcs, and giving the producers and animations more time to make it with less restrictions. Hopefully MHA Does Better in Season 6 __62__ img220(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQRCtzMVUAUgKbO.jpg:small)
It feels like every year, we do the same song and dance. A big shonen anime comes out, everyone thinks it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it gets overhyped into oblivion. It gets so overhyped, in fact, that basically everyone even remotely interested in anime ends up watching it, exposing it to a wide enough audience that its flaws, invisible to those initial fans, become much more obvious. Those flaws begin to dominate the conversation, people begin to turn on the show, and what was once so fresh and exciting becomes old-hat normie garbage. After that, it’s only a matter of time before a new big shonen blows up in much the same way, and everyone starts acting like this new show is so much better than the last one and totally won’t suffer the same cycle of overhype and overcriticism. It happened with Attack on Titan, it happened with My Hero Academia, it happened with Demon Slayer, and you can bet it’s gonna happen with Jujutsu Kaisen once the Chainsaw Man anime comes out. Shonen, it seems, lives and dies through mass exposure, a genre inevitable doomed to reappraisal and mockery by the same forces that make it a cultural juggernaut. It’s almost depressing how predictable it’s become watching it all play out. On the bright side, knowing about this cycle means it’s easy to get ahead of it. You can skip past the process of overhype and overcriticism, stop worrying about how many people are talking about it, and just focus on the show itself. That way, you’ll know way ahead of everyone else which shows will actually last the test of time, and you can enjoy the spectacle of watching everyone else come to the conclusion you reached ages ago. I remember when Attack on Titan was losing cultural prominence and people were losing interest in it, but I never doubted for a _second_ that it was gonna stick the landing. And lo and behold, season 3 part 2 came out and suddenly the show was more popular than it’s ever been. Not all mega-popular anime deserve to be mega-popular, but inevitably, the ones that do deserve it will win out in the end, and all the time people spent bitching about its low points will be so much dust in the wind. All this is to say, don’t be surprised when My Hero Academia once again becomes the most beloved shonen on the planet heading into its final stretch. Because this show has _far_ from run its course yet. Yes, even after all these years, I still maintain that My Hero Academia is really that good. It takes superhero tropes and spins them in fresh, exciting ways. It’s constantly shaking up its formula and finding new stories to tell within its world that advance the grand narrative. It’s the rare shonen that actually balances its oversized cast well, giving them all interesting things to do. And at its core, there’s a real, inspirational heart dedicated to exploring the concept of heroism, and what it really means to do the right thing in a world that commodifies virtue and monetizes good intentions. Was it overhyped at the beginning to the point that people were blind to its issues? Definitely. Is it so over-criticized now that people can’t seem to appreciate its strengths anymore? Absolutely. MHA was never perfect, but it’s a damn lot better than it’s currently given credit for, and it continues to be one of the best vanguards modern anime could ask for. And I will be _damned_ if I’ll see it dragged through the mud because we’re overcorrecting for being too nice to it at the start. In the interest of fairness, though, yes, season 5 has not exactly been this show’s best season. The overall animation quality continues to slip, with fewer Wow moments and much more dead air. The first half feels a little too long, while its second half feels a little too short. You can feel the show dragging its heels through long stretches of this season, waiting too long to get to the point as it fills time to make up the required 25 episodes and reach an acceptable stopping point. On average, it’s probably the weakest entry since season 1, and it’s definitely the most _inconsistent_ season production-wise. Clearly, the demand to make a new tie-in movie for every season is taking its toll on Bones; every great animator they sacrifice to work on the film means another scrap of passion must be subtracted from the show itself, and the consequences have never been more visible. And in contrast to the clear thematic arcs of previous seasons, season 5 feels kind of unfocused. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but very little of it connects with anything else. It feels like a season of table-setting, putting a bunch of pieces in place so future seasons can take them and run with them. If so, I hope those future seasons really step things up, because nailing the payoff on a lot of things this season is setting up is bound to make it feel stronger in retrospect. Honestly, though? Most of these issues are only really a problem in the season’s first half, the Class A-1 vs Class B-1 training session. This is the most wheel-spinny MHA has been yet, mostly existing just to throw a bunch of cool superpowers against each other for ten episodes without much of consequence or character development until the final match. And it’s not really _bad_ on those terms; MHA has a strong enough cast that it can survive just bouncing them off each other mindlessly for a bit. It’s just lackluster and mostly unimportant, especially when the production isn’t strong enough to really bring the battles to life. Once we get to the second half, though? Hot _damn_ does this season pick up fast. And from the lows of this training arc, we springboard into two fantastic arcs back-to-back that put this show right back on track. The first of these arcs is my personal favorite: Endeavor’s redemption. Over the course of my anime-watching “career,” I have seen so many shows try and tackle the subject of abusive parenting, and so few manage to avoid shooting themselves in the foot. But the way MHA grapples with the consequences of Endeavor’s abuse, the effect it’s had on his family, and his struggle to come to terms with the damage he’s done, may genuinely be the new gold standard for abusive parenting arcs in anime. It’s raw, it’s nuanced, it pulls no punches, and it genuinely commits to making Endeavor work to atone for his mistakes. It doesn’t use his desire to be better as an excuse to handwave all the ways he’s hurt his wife and children, and painted such a complex understandings of all the different ways people can react to domestic trauma. Do you want to run from an abuser and never see the again? Do you try to fix them? Are you willing to give someone a second chance if they’re genuinely committed to changing, or is it better if you leave each other’s lives for good? There are no easy answers here, but watching the characters grapple with those questions- and the ultimate conclusion they reach- grabbed me by the balls and refused to let go. It’s _really_ fucking good. The second arc, of course, is the much-hyped My Villain Academia, the moment where Shigaraki and his League of Villains take over the protagonist roles in a battle against a new, dangerous third party. Essentially, it puts the show’s antagonists through their own personal shonen arc, complete with tragic backstories, last-minute power-ups, intense emotional breakthroughs that push them towards self-actualization, and, of course, enough Power of Friendship to power the entire east coast. Not only is this idea brilliant in concept, but it also ties in perfectly with one of MHA’s biggest themes: no one is born a villain. Almost everyone who’s turned evil in this world is a victim of circumstance, someone who slipped through the cracks of an imperfect world that didn’t give them the tools to save themselves before it was too late. This world is build around the veneration of heroism, but in these villains’ stories, we see how its construction of heroism falls short for the less fortunate... or, in some cases, actively contributes to their descent into darkness. Shigaraki’s backstory alone is some of the most haunting shit I’ve seen from anime in a long time, a wrenching portrait of a boy abandoned by everyone and everything that could’ve saved him, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation by those who wanted to turn him into a monster. I’ve never been this invested in the show’s villains, nor this excited for the moment Deku and his classmates finally face them head-on. And judging by the cliffhanger ending for this season, that moment may be sooner than we thought. It’s easy to be down on a show like My Hero Academia. With every bit its production slips and every moment it doesn’t live up to the heights of season 2 and 3,you can’t help but hyperfocus on everything it does wrong instead of continuing to appreciate everything it does right. But its high points are still too high to ignore, and it’s still doing too many things well to write it off. Season 5 may be a low point in its history, but the fact that its low point is still so damn high is a testament to why this show deserved to conquer the world in the first place. My Hero Academia is still good, and I’ll be happy to say “I told you so” when the final seasons blow everyone’s socks off and make them fall in love with it all over again. Oh, one last point in its favor: this season had the least Mineta out of any season yet. That, folks, is what we call _progress._
___ #~~~- My Hero Academia 5th Season Analysis -~~~ #####~~~This analysis contains spoilers read at your own risk~~~ ~~~img300(https://i.imgur.com/IA9Ezaq.jpg)~~~ ___ Everyone can see the large elephant in the room here, this season felt stagnant and was a transition season for S6 in which this season was meant to build up the hype. There was controversy with arc rearrangement where essentially the Meta Liberation Army and Joint Training Arc were swapped around. However there were major high points in the season too, Shigaraki's Origin being the peak. The Re-Destro storyline was cut off in this adaptation where the introduction in the manga was much smoother. Despite some short comings and feelings of stagnation this season does do one thing incredibly, make me excited for the future war between heroes and villains. I haven't felt hyped for a new season of My Hero Academia since season 3 with the battle between All Might and All For One! With the reorder of the arcs I believe it was a smart decision by Studio Bones. ___ #~~~"The Re-Destro storyline was cut off in this adaptation where the introduction in the manga was much smoother"~~~ ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/ss0Qbt4.jpg)~~~ ___ The Joint Training arc was a complete waste of time; Bones really didn't lead with their best foot forward, it was soul numbing. There were some saving graces that made it have plot importance though, the first being Midoriya gaining further insight on the vestiges of previous One For All users. In the final fight of the arc Midoriya goes berserk, he becomes unable to control this new power that he learns via brainwashing by Shinsou is called Black Whip. Once Midoriya learns to control Black Whip for longer periods of time it'll be invaluable and the first step of many to inhabiting all of the previous One For All quirks. This is a super cool way to have Midoriya becoming stronger and allow for more variation in fight possibilities too. I'm excited to see how fast he'll learn them and what types they will be! ___ #~~~"A super cool way to have Midoriya becoming stronger"~~~ ~~~img(https://c.tenor.com/mKDAZuhddGgAAAAC/blackwhip-my-hero-academia.gif)~~~ ___ The other thought-provoking character progression of this arc was Hitoshi Shinsou. With his seemingly one dimensional quick Brainwashing one would think after learning its weakness it's easy to avoid. However with the resolve of Shinsou wanting to become a hero, he progresses with a voice modification mask. How could one not root for Shinsou's story, I'd love to see him in 1-A. ___ #~~~"Shinsou progresses with a voice modification mask"~~~ ~~~img(https://c.tenor.com/zxF1eAN3eT0AAAAC/shinsou.gif)~~~ ___ Nevertheless the negatives heavily outweigh any small gleams of positives. The pace is demonstrably immobile, slow as molasses. The Joint Training Arc could have been summarized into a few episodes, meaning time could have been spent on more important storylines. The fights were pointless ways of presenting how both 1-A and 1-B's powers have evolved while dragging them out to bizarre amounts of detail. Like I stated before, Bones stumbled hard face-first into a stagnant start of a season. ___ #~~~"Pointless way of presenting how both 1-A and 1-B's powers have evolved"~~~ ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/qMCXLnr.jpg)~~~ ___ The Endeavor Agency Arc is the awkward middle story in which Endeavor's character progression heats up! In terms of characters in My Hero Academia, Endeavor ranks top 3 for how well they advance as heroes/villains. Shigaraki ranks #1 in terms of evolution, however that's for later in the review. The Todoroki family is in shambles after Endeavor's feverish descent into attempting to surpass All Might at the expense of his family. Endeavor wants to be better and wants to be there for his family, I love the concept, it's eye-opening seeing a dysfunctional family mend their problems despite how difficult it is. The easy path for Endeavor would have been to avoid his family but he shows in this arc the only way to progress is not turning a cold shoulder. Natsuo, the second son in the family doesn't believe in Endeavor's atonement arc as a result he gets turned into a hostage by the villain Ending. Ending is obsessed with Endeavor's arrogant and ruthless image, he constantly pursues the latter hoping he'll be killed by Endeavor. Ending does anything and everything like having complete disregard of human life simply to attract his anger. However in the fight, Endeavor breaks down at the sight of Natsuo, this presents how he's changed as a man, no longer is he entirely merciless. This shatters Ending's image of Endeavor and ultimately allows the hero study group to figuratively surpass Endeavor and save Natsuo. It's a great example of showing without telling and paints a great picture into the deeper psychological implications of Endeavor. I'm excited where the Todoroki family storyline will maneuver into! ___ #~~~"Eye-opening seeing a dysfunctional family mend their problems"~~~ ~~~img(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HighlevelAmazingBichonfrise-size_restricted.gif)~~~ ___ The Meta Liberation Army Arc is the Joint Training Arc on steroids while having a story that's actually compelling! Everything boils down to Shigaraki Tomura's Origin. Just like with Shouto or Midoriya's origin it's the peak of the season. I adore the way it's portrayed, the build up the slaughter of his family where he gains his main motive as a villain in more ways than one. First meets with All For One, the first human to empathize for Shigaraki, using his families eradication as a means of stimulating Shigaraki's newfound hatred for heroes and began grooming him as his adoptive son. It's exhilarating putting the pieces together as his second motive for being a villain is put into full force. Shigaraki feels most at ease when he's able to use his quirk without holding back, to be liberated with the power of destroying everything he touches. To become the true Symbol of Fear and to join forces with the Meta Liberation Army. I love how it powers up Shigaraki in such a badass way while also connecting it back to the morals of true liberation. ___ #~~~"Liberated with the power of destroying everything he touches"~~~ ~~~img(https://64.media.tumblr.com/fd5effa1c604af7924fe4c85bb4e038e/39558729007927d9-0f/s540x810/a72b22792c980f6d7828934ed2a177d2134139f7.gifv)~~~ ___ Another strength of The Meta Liberation Army Arc was the growth of other League of Villains characters like Toga and Twice. It's great how relatable these characters become from absolute dire situations that in turn makes instantaneous evolution. As an anime only viewer it's self-evident where Dabi's storyline is going with Endeavor, they even teased earlier on. Seriously that'll make the Todoroki family even more complex, I'm really excited for it. I find it comical how much I'm rooting for the villains in My Hero Academia, their transformation made that really apparent to me. With the League of Villains merging with The Meta Liberation Army, the Paranormal Liberation Front is profusely powerful! Throughout the series, Shigaraki has been lacking in the amount of support, he needed influence with numbers. The Paranormal War will have the heroes at a clear disadvantage and I'm all for it! The stakes have never been this high in My Hero Academia. ___ #~~~"Dire situations that in turn makes instantaneous evolution"~~~ ~~~img(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/EmotionalFreshCanine-size_restricted.gif)~~~ ___ The Arc rearrangement has allowed S6 to properly build up to The Paranormal War Arc. This feels like endgame material, deaths are on the table, though it's hard to tell if My Hero Academia has the gall to commit. There's potential for something surpass season 3's All Might vs All For One fight! Nonetheless, that doesn't stop this season from being mediocre because of the beginning. As a complete package this season was a mixed-bag. Instead of spending a whole core of a season on The Joint Training Arc it could have been condensed into a few episodes. This would have made the pace not be so sluggish and allow other storylines that people care about an opportunity to shine. Nobody wants a glorified montage to present what we already know about. But it showed off the progression of the classes quirks! Sure, but that's not worth an entire arc. Anyhow, both heroes and villains have improved and each side has played their chess pieces. Hawks is a wild card in all of this too! I'm excited to dive head first into S6 with the Paranormal War Arc! ___ #~~~"I'm excited to dive head first into S6 with the Paranormal War Arc!"~~~ ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/DaNG0lG.png)~~~ ___
So, let's finally talk a bit about the fifth season of My Hero Academia. Leading up to it, I had heard quite frequently that this particular season suffered from pacing issues, exacerbated by the simultaneous production of the movie, which negatively impacted the series due to the dual workload. Personally, I can definitely see some minor problems, such as the lack of an overarching structure to tie together the individual segments of the season, resulting in somewhat clumsy transitions, and the anime relying more on recaps to stretch out a few minutes. However, overall, it's still within acceptable limits, only occasionally and to a limited extent really standing out as negative. The individual segments were still strong, although unlike for many others, for me, the quality somewhat diminished as the anime's narrative progressed. To start of, I really enjoyed the first segment (the tournament between Class A and Class B) because there rarely was a segment of the show that so carefully portrayed all of its characters, their personalities, and their abilities like this one did. Particularly with the sports festival, I had criticized that many fights felt like mere footnotes, which was different this time. Considering many of the Class B students were still entirely unknown until then, sufficient time was taken to introduce them into the story and establish them as characters. I was particularly impressed by how most fights managed not to portray any team or member poorly: everyone had their shining moments, whether through a clever tactical maneuver or by applying a new technique they had honed in training sessions at school. The only exception here was Bakugo's team, which quickly swept the other away. However, that also worked quite well narratively because it stood indicative for Bakugo's development: the opposing team had relied on his usual behavior to refuse any form of cooperation. But since he explicitly does not do that this time around, he shows his training progress not in the form of a new technique or a clever tactic, but in the further development of his character. Although he takes away from the other characters in this way, the moment is so strong for him as a character that the fight still creates a coherent overall picture. In line with this were the new revelations regarding One for All, where Deku unleashed a technique he had never been able to control before. It definitely arouses curiosity about why it was specifically Deku who learned the different specialties and I like the idea that now that he can control One for All's power better and better, he also has to work on mastering other techniques. However, after the conflict was established, he mastered at least the initial one too quickly for my liking. Essentially, in the arc that followed, he only had to think for a moment and suddenly could control the whips perfectly. That seems somewhat disappointing considering his previous struggles, as Deku and his progress have always been very plausible and credible, which is lacking this time. There were also strong character moments outside of the fights: the Christmas party with Eri, the family dinner at Endeavor's, and especially the moment when Present Mic and Aizawa confront Kurogiri and their backstory is illuminated. It suddenly becomes clear why both characters are constantly together and seeing how they completely fall out of their roles – the always cheerful and joking Present Mic, who falls into a state of pure rage, and the stoic Aizawa, who starts crying. But Endeavor was also excellently characterized: his obsession with surpassing All Might, him achieving that without actually overtaking him and, in the process, learning to take responsibility, abandoning his tunnel vision and realizing how much he has harmed his family and thus, trying to make amends, is a tragic story that doesn't absolve Endeavor of his guilt, but is all too human, which makes his intentions honest and credible. He represents a kind of corrupted version of Deku's hero ideal, which leads him to lose all empathy in his pursuit of his goal and to blindly pursue this ideal monocausally, without understanding its essence. That's why Endeavor, with all his conflicts, is also the perfect character to represent this second phase of My Hero Academia, where after the glorious, dominant hero era under All Might, a much grayer and morally more ambiguous phase arises. Accordingly, the last arc was conceptually and thematically extremely interesting. I had already said in Season 3 that Tomura was paralleled with Deku as All for One's student. Now that the League of Villains as a whole is undergoing a parallel journey to the Yuei students, facing two major tests – controlling Gigantomachia and defeating the Liberation Army – to finally catch up with them, is thematically fitting. It also shows a development within the entire group, as they previously immediately rejected anyone who wanted to work with them, but now that they are willing to compromise, they were able to mobilize a huge army, which could also be dangerous for the heroes. Thematically, this section worked, but the simultaneous opportunity to humanize the villains and make their characters more understandable was only achieved to a limited extent, mainly due to somewhat uninspired direction. Scenes like, for example, between Twice and Himiko, had the potential to be extremely emotional, but unfortunately were relatively bland in terms of audiovisual presentation, something that also affected Tomura's backstory. I don't know if more time necessarily would have achieved more, but compared to the rest of the series, I felt that there was still a lot more potential here, which is unfortunate. Overall, I still found the season to be good, and I also believe that the individual segments were mostly well-directed, but they could have used a bit more composition to turn them into a coherent whole.