The official My Hero Academia thread

[Etrurian emperor]

I've watched My Hero Academia like everyone else(except my stubborn family) and I've noticed several members of the forum are kinda into the series. And unlike the Naruto one a topic about the series isn't a decade too late. So give us your spicy super hero hot takes, your likes, your dislikes and more.

I'll start out with some takes of my own. Some positives and some negatives

-Deku is perfect. He's very lovable and easy to root for, and despite people generally saying he's not an underdog he does start the series with immense potential for growth. He's kinda like Ignatz in that he's very shy and skittish around people which we can gradually see decrease over the series. Deku seems to be a deliberate subversion of the typical shonen hero. Where most protagonists are cheerfull, bratty, fearless and typically extroverts Midoriya is none of that. He's a real introvert, he wears his emotions on his sleeve which includes lots of crying, and while not a coward he's more someone who forces himself to be brave despite being scared witless at first. And where most shonen protagonists are dumb or at least very dense Midoriya starts out the series as more of a strategic presence since he can't fight yet, and he remains a smart cookie throughout the series. 

Since he's so endearing its easy to root for Deku, and since he's the opposite of most shonen heroes he's a breath of fresh air.

-Speaking of perfect! Fatgum is amazing. It was so easy to make him a comic relief character and go ''lol he's fat!'' all the time, but instead he's an actual character. Fatgum gets depicted as very competent, a good fighter and despite it revolving around him being fat his fighting style isn't a comical one. The way he's such a good dad to Kirishima and Amajiki, two boys who really need it is also just cute. 

-On that note Kirishima is great too. Just a big, excitable and thoroughly friendly puppy. Further seasons go on to expand on him and reveal he's actually an introvert who behaves more outgoing to give himself more confidence and become more manly. It adds something to his relation with Midoriya which while not as close as with Bakugo he's always depicted as pretty chummy with. 

-I don't hate Mineta but I don't like him either, and I certainly don't respect him. He seems like someone mandated by the marketing department. Every time he appears I can just see the editor standing behind the writer's shoulder and reminding him that My Hero needs its obligatory okatu moments.  

-The more we see of All for One the less I think of him. I recall being really hyped when he first made his grand entrance but now I just want him to go away. He's always been more plot device than character which is fine when he was a dark mirror to All Might but.....

Spoiler

Him trying to replace Shigaraki as the main villain despite Shigi being an actual character sits poorly with me. AFO had served his role in the plot. He made place for his successor and that's how it should have stayed. 

-Kurogiri is wasted. He's amazing. He's got a fantastic design, his Quirk is unique and interesting and its cute that he's a supportive mom who spoils Shigaraki. But then he's exiled from the plot very early on, and to wrap salt in the wound the villains gain a teleportation quirk that could serve roughly the same function as Kurogiri. Shigaraki rising to power without his mom is something I'm fine with since it shows his independence, but at some point Kurogiri should have returned to him. I know they went into his past but I kinda don't care. The relation that introduced aren't as interesting as the relation between him and his charge. 

-Not all UA students are born equal. Some minor students like Aoyama got at least some character moments between arcs, but others like Koda and sugar boy got absolutely nothing to work with. And sadly the writer went on record that his editors kinda forbid him from giving best girl Mina some prominence. 

-The show has an interesting take on villains. They're kind of the underdog who are much weaker than the heroes so its they who need to gradually more powerful.

-I care about Eri because other characters feel about her so strongly. Deku nearly bursting into tears while having a giant smile after finally making her happy is sooo cute. But I actually don't give a hoot about Eri on her own. I feel she's more of a plot device than a character. I had the same feeling about Nier's Yona too so maybe its got something to do with the delicate little sister trope. 

[Slumber]

I really am not a fan of how the manga is going at the moment.

It's starting to make Shigaraki's development over the last few arcs feel pointless and wasted, and I hate how it's introducing big characters and then getting rid of them in the span of a few chapters.

And the hyperfocus on Deku is getting a little tiring. It seems like Bakugo and Todoroki will be getting some spotlight soon, but it leaves the rest of 1A in the background. Again.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Slumber

[vanguard333]

1. I'm not sure how much of a hot take this is, but I think Two Heroes is the only My Hero Academia film worth watching. The other two aren't awful or anything like that; it's just that there's not much that they offer. Two Heroes on the other hand ties itself very strongly to the main plot by diving into All Might's past and shows us something awesome that we will very likely never see again:

Spoiler

All Might and Deku fighting alongside each other against a major villain.

By contrast, World Heroes Mission only really served to take time away from making season 5.

 

2. I really liked the interplay between serious arcs involving danger happening outside the school and lighthearted arcs about school activities: the midterm exams happening right after the Hero Killer arc, the School Festival arc happening right after the Work Study arc, the Joint Training arc happening right after the Pro Hero arc, etc. I thought it was a great way to handle the overall tone of the show, helps it stand out from its fellow shonen battle anime, and while some might see the school arcs as lulls, I see them as great opportunities to slow down for some character and worldbuilding as well as for the characters to get stronger in time for the next serious arc. Lets not forget that the arc that many fans see as the one where the series grew the beard: the Sports Festival arc, is one of the lighthearted school activities arcs. Right now in the manga, I understand that right now everything's in chaos and it's the darkest hour and all that, but four serious arcs in a row is really taking its toll in my opinion. I don't know; maybe a Final Exams mini-arc or something like that would be a big help.

 

3. The Dabi twist has to be the most predictable character identity reveal since Tobito. That said, like Tobito, the reveal isn't any less suspenseful or good just because it was extremely heavily foreshadowed; it's still a really good reveal with a lot of really interesting ramifications.

 

4. Speaking of which, I like the character development Endeavor has undergone; I particularly like that the author hasn't tried to shy away from the complexities of a situation like this.

Edited December 1, 2021 by vanguard333

[Etrurian emperor]

13 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

 

3. The Dabi twist has to be the most predictable character identity reveal since Tobito. That said, like Tobito, the reveal isn't any less suspenseful or good just because it was extremely heavily foreshadowed; it's still a really good reveal with a lot of really interesting ramifications.

 

I recall really not liking Dabi before the twist because the um...''mystery'' around his identity was all he had going for him. He never said or did anything, was the only League member without character development and he explicitly wasn't part of their camaraderie either. He was all hype and no bite. 

But after the twist I really like him. Not because it was a surprise but because it was executed well. That he suddenly became a lot more expressive helps too.

Quote

And the hyperfocus on Deku is getting a little tiring. It seems like Bakugo and Todoroki will be getting some spotlight soon, but it leaves the rest of 1A in the background. Again.

I was fine with the focus on Deku. The war traumatizing him and him eventually having a complete breakdown was good character building. Its everything else I find more questionable. Mostly the things having to do with AFO.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Etrurian emperor

[LoneStar]

I'm curious to see how the other League members feel about AFO taking over, they see that Shigaraki is losing himself. Even though they weren't all buddy-buddy they must feel weird about losing him this way, Dabi is the only one I expect not to care much.

Like some of you have mentioned the character development for most of the cast is pretty lacking. I get that Deku is the main character, but it's weird having all of these characters not doing much, but it looks like things are starting to change.

Spoiler

Even Invisible Girl being the traitor has less of an impact since there was hardly any connection, but that probably adds to her motives. Since she's the invisible girl that everyone forgets, I don't even remember her name off the top of my head.

 

[vanguard333]

3 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I recall really not liking Dabi before the twist because the um...''mystery'' around his identity was all he had going for him. He never said or did anything, was the only League member without character development and he explicitly wasn't part of their camaraderie either. He was all hype and no bite. 

But after the twist I really like him. Not because it was a surprise but because it was executed well. That he suddenly became a lot more expressive helps too.

I know what you mean. I do think Dabi was kind-of interesting before the reveal, but only because of stuff like his competence at leading the capture of Bakugo and moments like when he remembers the hero Snatch and says that he actually does think about the relatives and loved ones of his victims. But yeah; the reveal was executed extremely well.

 

3 hours ago, LoneStar said:

I'm curious to see how the other League members feel about AFO taking over, they see that Shigaraki is losing himself. Even though they weren't all buddy-buddy they must feel weird about losing him this way, Dabi is the only one I expect not to care much.

At this point, I'm curious about if the league is even still the league; they've lost so many members at this point and they're not exactly looking for new recruits. It might've been interesting to see their numbers get somewhat replenished by the Tartarus breakout through the villains that got captured during the mission to kidnap Bakugo getting released and rejoining the group, but Muscular and Moonfish were defeated right away, and Mustard didn't appear at all. Where was Mustard (please no condiment jokes)?

Edited December 2, 2021 by vanguard333

[Etrurian emperor]

I actually liked Heroes Rising far more than Two Heroes.

Two Heroes is fine. But its also Anime movie the movie. It feels overly conventional. And while I really like class 1A and all the classmates the movie decided to focus on I found their presence distracting. Deku conveniently running into large swats of his classmates and all those classmates conveniently being the ones the audience likes the most( and Mineta) felt really artificial. I really liked Melissa. She was a great buddy for Deku and had some really cute interactions with him.

I liked Heroes Rising so much more because it gave class 1A far more to do. The whole class was there and they all had reasons for being there. Seeing the entire class join forces to fight a villain made for really fun scenes. Seros of all people being MVP was an especially nice touch. The villain was completely lame as a character but I enjoyed him as a juggernaut that required the entire class to face him. The twins were fine enough. More plot device then characters but its always nice to see Deku getting on great with kids. It adds something to Midoriya that underneath the wimpy exterior lies a perfect big bro. 

[vanguard333]

On 12/2/2021 at 1:21 AM, Etrurian emperor said:

Two Heroes is fine. But its also Anime movie the movie. It feels overly conventional. And while I really like class 1A and all the classmates the movie decided to focus on I found their presence distracting. Deku conveniently running into large swats of his classmates and all those classmates conveniently being the ones the audience likes the most (and Mineta) felt really artificial. I really liked Melissa. She was a great buddy for Deku and had some really cute interactions with him.

I honestly didn't mind that; it did stand out a little that so many of his classmates were there, but the reasons for them being there made enough sense that I honestly didn't mind or find it that artificial; Shoto was there because his dad got an invite and couldn't be bothered to attend so he sent Shoto made sense, Iida being there because his family was invited but only he could attend because of his brother's injury and subsequent retirement made sense (and was a neat reminder of the Hero Killer arc), Bakugo being there because he won the Sports Festival with Kirishima being there as his +1 made sense, Yaoyorozu being there because her family's immensely wealthy and sponsors the event made sense, Ochako and Jiro being her +1s made sense, Kaminari and Mineta being there because they found a part-time job on the island... is the one that's pushing it a bit; I mean, it makes sense that the island would be looking for temporary additional employees on the day of an important event, but Kaminari and Mineta managing to find two of those jobs seems a bit unrealistic. Not to mention, Mineta getting to the island by getting a job on the island... I get that he's supposed to be clever, but he's also lazy.

 

EDIT: After seeing the big reveal in the latest My Hero Academia chapter, I started thinking about something: given how there does seem to be a lot of social stigma against the quirkless in hero society, and given how most members of the league of villains joined because Stain's ideology resonated with them on some level (Mustard because he hates the hero schooling system, Dabi because he hates his dad, etc.), it could've been really interesting to see a member of the League of Villains that was quirkless and joined the league because they hated how the hero society puts quirks on a pedestal.

They could've made an interesting villainous foil for Deku and a certain other character, and given how Spinner's able to be at least somewhat threatening despite his quirk just being that he can stick to walls, I'm sure that a quirkless villain could be made threatening and competent in different ways (perhaps relying heavily on ambush tactics and gadgets or something like that), especially since they'd only have to be essentially an elite minion, not a major arc villain.

It also would've been hilarious to see them clash with the even-more-quirk-revering Meta Liberation Army; they could've said something like, "You guys already have society loving you because of your quirks, and you want more?! You all sicken me."

Finally (manga content ahead; the anime-only should not read this as this is heavy spoilers):

Spoiler

With New Order now attacking all the stolen quirks inside Shigaraki and with him desperate to get rid of it, him having a quirkless member of the league could've led to that person telling Shigaraki to give New Order to them, as them being quirkless means they have no quirks for it to attack.

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by vanguard333

[Etrurian emperor]

I don't dislike Bakugo but all in all I think he's kind of boring. He's s bit of a ''Fates character'' in that he typically only has one reaction. When things happen Bakugo is usually screaming, barking orders, refusing orders, and insulting people. What keeps him from being detestable is that this is usually accompanied by a lot of eye rolls and disinterest of the other students so he's mostly bark instead of bite. In contrast to his childhood where he really was a nasty piece of work. Even the writer admitted that Bakugo saying poor Midoriya should just kill himself was a bit too far and not the feeling he was going for. What's interesting is that Bakugo's bully behavior actually costs him something. He has to see his former victim immediately get universally popular in their new class while he himself gets kept at arms length for several seasons due to his awful behavior. 

In the grand scheme of things I don't find his arc very interesting. Bakugo going from a childhood bully with an irrational hatred towards Deku to being his pall again is character development, but it takes so long and at that point we're already introduced to Endeavor who's a far more nuanced version of Bakugo, and who has far bigger things to atone for than being a teenage bully. 

[vanguard333]

@Etrurian emperor I'm not a fan of the Bakugo character either. He's a different take on the typical antagonistic shonen rival, but he's still ultimately an antagonistic shonen rival. The fact that it took so long for him to finally apologize to Midoriya for how he treated him also didn't help. At the very least, he did cause what is quite possibly the funniest moment in the entire series: him having to be chained to the 1st place podium at the end of the Sports Festival arc.

You'd probably like the character Yuno in Black Clover: he's initially presented as a typical shonen rival, but as early as episode 1, it's made clear that he actually looks up to Asta a lot and that his faith that Asta can succeed is absolute, and that he's a friendly and supportive rival rather than an antagonistic one.

 

Anyway,

On 12/1/2021 at 1:31 PM, Etrurian emperor said:

Some minor students like Aoyama got at least some character moments between arcs

I'm not sure if this aged really well or aged really badly.

[Fabulously Olivier]

- I'm a huge Suneater stan.

- Also Hawks.

- And Tsukuyomi.

- Deku is a phenomenal protagonist.

 

- Bring back Gentle Criminal. Give the best villain a redemption arc.

 

- Lida is horribly underused. He's great early on and then falls to the wayside for no good reason. Huge disappointment.

 

- I absolutely can't stand Mineta. He might have worked as a very minor comic relief Class 1-B student (let's trade him out for Lizardy or Vine), but he absolutely wears out his welcome as a Class 1-A mainstay.

 

- And yes, let's get it out of the way because you knew I'd say it. I'm self aware, and I'll make the joke for you. My Musou Academia. Make it happen.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Fabulously Olivier

[vanguard333]

3 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

- Lida is horribly underused. He's great early on and then falls to the wayside for no good reason. Huge disappointment.

His name is Iida; it's not an L; it's an uppercase i.

Anyway, I agree that his prominence in the story has dropped a lot after Shoto's rose. I'm not sure if I'd go to the point of saying that he's underutilized, but I see what you mean.

 

3 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

- I absolutely can't stand Mineta. He might have worked as a very minor comic relief Class 1-B student (let's trade him out for Lizardy or Vine), but he absolutely wears out his welcome as a Class 1-A mainstay.

Maybe Shinso will replace him?

In all seriousness, I agree. I think Mineta could've worked if he had gotten a lot more character development a lot more quickly in order to not be annoying. He has an interesting quirk and he's smart, yet lazy... but 99% of his character is that he's a blatant pervert, and it's extremely annoying (though at least him getting inevitable comeuppance for his actions is usually hilarious).

Edited December 11, 2021 by vanguard333

[Etrurian emperor]

11 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

- I'm a huge Suneater stan.

Amajiki's pretty good yeah. Its cute how he looks like the typical anti hero(exactly like Sasuke actually) but is a total dork who often uses his ''scary'' hood to cower in. And despite this he's still a total baddass. 

11 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Bring back Gentle Criminal. Give the best villain a redemption arc.

And La Brava of course.

[vanguard333]

10 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Amajiki's pretty good yeah. Its cute how he looks like the typical anti hero(exactly like Sasuke actually) but is a total dork who often uses his ''scary'' hood to cower in. And despite this he's still a total badass. 

True. Plus, his quirk is really interesting; he literally is what he eats. No disrespect to Mirio or Nejire, but Amajki is probably the most interesting of the UA big three and not just because him being a dork that looks like Sasuke and holds his best friend in high regard reminds me of Yuno from Black Clover.

 

By the way, after seeing Dabi in the most recent chapter talking to

Spoiler

All for One, I found myself remembering the Dabi reveal and thinking: "It would've been interesting to see All for One's reaction to the Dabi reveal. Given how the story likes to treat All for One, it would probably have done something disappointing like making it that All For One knew who Dabi was the whole time, but it could've been interesting and hilarious to see All for One be among the many to be surprised by the Dabi reveal."

What do you guys think? Do you think All for One knew who Dabi was the whole time, or do you think he was just as surprised as everyone except the readers were?

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by vanguard333

[Fabulously Olivier]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:05 PM, vanguard333 said:

True. Plus, his quirk is really interesting; he literally is what he eats. No disrespect to Mirio or Nejire, but Amajki is probably the most interesting of the UA big three and not just because him being a dork that looks like Sasuke and holds his best friend in high regard reminds me of Yuno from Black Clover.

 

By the way, after seeing Dabi in the most recent chapter talking to

  Hide contents

All for One, I found myself remembering the Dabi reveal and thinking: "It would've been interesting to see All for One's reaction to the Dabi reveal. Given how the story likes to treat All for One, it would probably have done something disappointing like making it that All For One knew who Dabi was the whole time, but it could've been interesting and hilarious to see All for One be among the many to be surprised by the Dabi reveal."

What do you guys think? Do you think All for One knew who Dabi was the whole time, or do you think he was just as surprised as everyone except the readers were?

 

Spoiler

If anything, much like with Shigaraki, I wouldn't be surprised if AFO had a hand in manipulating that outcome all along. It's just who he is.

 

[vanguard333]

On 12/13/2021 at 6:47 AM, Fabulously Olivier said:

  Hide contents

If anything, much like with Shigaraki, I wouldn't be surprised if AFO had a hand in manipulating that outcome all along. It's just who he is.

 

Spoiler

I hope not; while seeing All for One as a manipulator is interesting, not everything has to be a result of him manipulating things, and it's far more interesting that Toya's fall into villainy was 100% the result of his whole family's failings, including his own.

 

EDIT: Recently, I realized something regarding Kurogiri: (Naruto spoilers ahead)

Spoiler

Kurogiri is basically Obito. Think about it:

1. They're both former friends of the main mentor character who happens to have ocular powers (Aizawa and Kakashi respectively).

2. They both got crushed to death from a building/cave collapsing on them while they were saving someone.

3. Both were then modified by a main villain and developed teleportation powers.

4. Both then ended up assisting the development of a major antagonist (Shigaraki and Pain/Sasuke respectively).

The main differences that I can see are the following:

1. There was never any pretense of Kurogiri being the main villain, unlike Obito.

2. Obito willingly turned to villainy and never had any loyalty to Madara or to Pain or Sasuke, whereas Kurogiri is a prototype Nomu programmed to be loyal to Shigaraki.

 

EDIT: Another hot take: speaking of Dabi and All for One, while I don't like (spoilers for the anime-only)

Spoiler

All for One reasserting himself into the main plot like this, I do like him calling out Dabi on being the exact opposite of a team player. Think about that: All for One: a narcissistic sociopath, calling Dabi out on being the opposite of a team player; that has to hurt Dabi at least as much as the burns do.

 

EDIT: Something I recently realized: the plot has carefully kept track of the bullets that permanently erase quirks: who has them, how many are left, etc., but is it just me, or have all the characters forgotten that there are also still bullets that can temporarily erase quirks? Overhaul distributed the temporary ones to multiple small-time crime groups, yet there wasn't even a mention as to whether or not those ones have been found.

Edited December 25, 2021 by vanguard333

[Lord_Brand]

I adore the Midoriya/Uraraka relationship. Feels very cute and wholesome. Midoriya reciprocating Uraraka's feelings (even if neither wants to admit it) is a nice, refreshing change of pace from the usual "chaste/celibate/romantically ignorant" shonen hero.

My brother and I have also had fun coming up with our own Quirks, characters, and story scenarios. If I may share a couple of my own:

Mind/Emotion Reverse-Polarization: A pair of siblings whose quirks allow them to reverse the polarity of the target's mind/emotions. This doesn't turn good people evil or vice versa, exactly, but it can, say, turn Bakugo into a mellow, mild-mannered boy akin to Midoriya or Iida into a lazy slob with poor manners. Basically, the Quirks reverse one's mental discipline, intellect, emotional intensity, and emotional positivity/negativity. Though I'm not sure about the exact circumstances, I thought it'd be funny if all the students of Class 1-A were affected, which Aizama would discover upon entering his classroom. Mineta and Denki, typically the dumbest members of the class, have to explain to him what's going on. Just to make matters more interesting, the class has to respond to a villain threat and deal with it while under the effects of the polarization Quirks.

This next one involves spoilers:

Spoiler

War Machine: A veteran hero who sees little action nowadays thanks to the sheer power of his Quirk, which grants him all the abilities of war machines like tanks and fighter jets. He's durable and resilient enough to shrug off explosions, can morph parts of his body into military-grade weaponry such as gatling guns and missile launchers, can sprout jet engines on his limbs to fly, and weighs over seven hundred pounds, helping him stay grounded when firing off high-velocity weapons like the aforementioned gatling guns. This combination of abilities is most likely the result of Quirks inherited from his parents and other ancestors, a product of the "Quirk singularity" phenomenon.

His raw power is surpassed only by All Might and All for One. He even once defeated All Might in a training match; they both had to hold back to avoid completely destroying the arena they were training in, and the war machine hero was able to force All Might out of bounds using a rocket-powered punch. He could have easily become the new Number 1 Hero following All Might's retirement, as few villains would stand a chance against him, but the risk of collateral damage and innocent casualties is too great to deploy him in civilian settings, which is where the majority of villain attacks take place. To put it another way, most heroes are police-grade, while he's military-grade. You wouldn't send in a tank or call in a missile strike to deal with purse snatchers or bank robbers. You'd end up causing more harm than the villains you're trying to stop.

Thus, after spending years honing his abilities, studying, and pushing himself to pass every exam and obstacle thrown his way, he's rewarded with a quiet life, forced to stand by and dwell in isolation and obscurity until a time should come when the world needs to unleash the might of a walking war machine. His existence is kept secret to all but a few for fear that villains would seek him out and attempt to harness his abilities for their own ends. However, his tough-as-nails personality and discipline just might make him an ideal mentor for one explosive young hero-in-training.

His main weaknesses are electricity and deep water; all that weight and durability does jack all to protect him from electric shock, and he sinks like a rock in deep water, putting him at great risk of drowning. His Quirk requires large amounts of carbon, hydrogen, and iron to form weapons, ammunition, and fuel, resulting in a diet easily reaching 10,000 calories a day.

 

[vanguard333]

On 1/3/2022 at 9:21 PM, Lord_Brand said:

I adore the Midoriya/Uraraka relationship. Feels very cute and wholesome. Midoriya reciprocating Uraraka's feelings (even if neither wants to admit it) is a nice, refreshing change of pace from the usual "chaste/celibate/romantically ignorant" shonen hero.

Yeah; Midoriya and Uraraka have a really good dynamic.

 

On 1/3/2022 at 9:21 PM, Lord_Brand said:

My brother and I have also had fun coming up with our own Quirks, characters, and story scenarios. If I may share a couple of my own:

Interesting. One that I came up with a while back was that Britain's top hero team model themselves after the Knights of the Round Table; they call themselves the Round Table, their hero names are all that of Arthurian knights, and the #1 hero is of course King Arthur. Their different quirks are also nods to the different powers and abilities that the knights had in the legends.

For example, Sir Gawain: since Sir Gawain in the legends had his strength rise and set with the sun, I was thinking that the hero with his name would have a sunlight quirk that's stronger and far more versatile than Aoyama's naval laser, but is balanced by his quirk literally being solar-powered: the light his quirk uses comes from the sunlight his body absorbs, and he can only store so much light. Incidentally, this power would actually be very similar to a British superhero from Marvel Comics: Pete Wisdom: a superhero with the solar-powered power to create energy blades from his fingertips.

I came up with this idea because the Star and Stripe arc got me wondering what the other international heroes are like.