My Hero Academia is a near-perfect example of a shonen, capturing all the intense action, drama, and fulfilling relationships the genre is well-known for. However, there is one area in which the series continually falls short, and now that the manga has concluded, there is virtually no chance for the pressing problem to be rectified.
Almost every moment in the series works well, portraying Izuku Midoriya’s surprising transformation from an average Quirkless teenager to the wielder of the world’s most powerful Quirk, One For All. However, looking back on everything that has unfolded over the seven seasons of the show so far, there is one glaring issue that had a relatively straightforward fix. My Hero Academia is very heavy on battles and action sequences, but there should be more lighthearted U.A. High School arcs, since these are unfortunately few and far between, even though they are some of the most popular and well-received storylines of the entire series.
More Arcs at U.A. High Would Provide Breaks From the Action
The School Festival Arc, for Example, Was Both a Hiatus From Fighting and an Opportunity for Class Bonding
The story of My Hero Academia is obviously built around the fight between good and evil, which resulted in Deku and his U.A. High comrades participating in the battles, since more manpower was needed than just the Pro Heroes could provide. From the end of season 1, when the League of Villains attacked U.S.J. during student training, the U.A. High students were forced to join the war, whether they wanted to or not. As a superhero shonen, fights should be at the core of the premise, but there is definitely room for more slice-of-life elements than currently appear in the story.
Since Class 1-A is only around 15 to 16 years old during the two-year span of time My Hero Academia covers, it would be beneficial to capture a wider picture of the students’ lives by adding in more common high school experiences. The U.A. School Festival Arc is one of the best arcs because it offered not just a carefree hiatus from the drama and conflict of the more serious battles, but it also allowed friendships between the class to develop further as they bonded over music, strengthening the relationships between these characters in preparation for the war that would come later.
Lighthearted Storylines Would Also Help the Series’ Pacing Overall
Jumping From One Serious Arc to Another Makes the Series’ Two-Year Time Span Feel Unnecessarily Hurried
My Hero Academia may cover about two years of high school, but it barely feels like that, since much more attention is dedicated to off-campus battles. Even school-related activities, like internships, for example, receive longer arcs, but because they take place away from U.A. High, these moments make it feel like not enough of the story was spent at the school Deku dreamed of his entire life of attending. By the time the students graduate in the time skip at the end of the series, there is a sense of incompleteness because not enough moments occurred within U.A. High itself.
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My Hero Academia’s Movies Wasted the Best Chance to Fix the Franchise’s Main Issue
One of My Hero Academia’s big underlying problems could have been fixed in the movies but was not possible due to the author preference.
It is no secret that My Hero Academia suffers from a pacing problem, feeling very rushed at times because of the series’ brief two-year time span. Because the narrative hops from one villain clash to the next with little time to breathe in between, the timeline often feels unnecessarily hurried, with serious events like Bakugo’s kidnapping by the League of Villains glossed over quickly to move onto the next plot point. By interspersing more casual events like school dances, plays, and studying sessions, the impact of more significant scenes would be more heavy-hitting, with the needed time to properly play out.
The Issue of Lack of Character Development of Pro Heroes Would Be Solved by School Arcs Too
More School Arcs Would Also Offer an Opportunity for Underrated Pro Heroes To Show Their Talents by Training Students
Another related, but separate complaint about My Hero Academia’s story is the fact that it often underutilizes specific Pro Heroes. Some Pros, like Endeavor and Hawks, for example, receive fleshed out character arcs and ample opportunities to take the starring role in fights, but others, like Gang Orca, Midnight, and Mt. Lady, are often forgotten in favor of higher-ranked Pro Heroes. Because so much is happening in the relatively short series, and it mainly centers around high school students, the Pros are obviously not the primary focal point, but adding more school arcs could solve this concern as well.
Many Pro Heroes, like Shota Aizawa and Cementoss, do not just work in the field, they also spend part of their time instructing students at U.A. High and passing on their knowledge through classes and training sessions. Not only does much of the positive growth of students occur during these trainings, workshops, and camps, including more behind-the-scenes moments like these would offer a way for the story to include more Pro Heroes apart from battles where they all join together to fight a common threat. In this way, more U.A. High arcs would benefit students’ and Pros’ character development alike.
My Hero Academia Would Feel Relatable and Grounded With Time Spent at U.A. High
The Story Should Feature More of the Students’ Overall Journey, Not Just the Outcome
Finally, arcs like the School Festival add a sense of relatability to My Hero Academia that would not be there otherwise. It can be a bit difficult to put oneself in the shoes of a superhero, but seeing these students taking tests, hanging out after school, and attending U.A. High events can stir up fond memories of viewers’ own high-school days, as well as add a level of familiarity to an otherwise difficult to fathom series. Of course, My Hero Academia should not be completely relatable, since a lot of the joy of watching it comes from escapism.
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However, normalcy mixed with the more unbelievable and heroic scenes would create a perfect mix, portraying a fun twist on the real world rather than something completely different. My Hero Academia is a fantastic series to rewatch, and some of the happiest arcs to revisit are the school festival, students moving into the dorms, and the heroes dreaming up their Ultimate Moves. These scenes capture what My Hero Academia is all about: the gradual journey to becoming a hero, and the students’ school experiences that allowed them to achieve this goal should have appeared more prominently in the story.
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
- Cast
- Aoi Yuki , Ayane Sakura , Christopher R. Sabat , Yûki Kaji , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Luci Christian , David Matranga , Justin Briner , Kenta Miyake , Clifford Chapin , Daiki Yamashita
- Release Date
- April 3, 2016
- Seasons
- 7
- Franchise
- My Hero Academia
- Production Company
- Bones
- Number of Episodes
- 113
