Friday, September 1, 2017

FIF#31-My Hero Academia

In a world, very different from our own, everyone is born with super powers, known as Quirks.  Only the very best can master their abilities and become true heroes.  The best of the best is All Might and Izuka “Deku” Midoriya is his biggest fan.  However, Izuka has a problem: he has no Quirk.  Teased endlessly in school, his dream of becoming as good as All Might is just that, a distant dream.  That is until fate brings Izuka face to face with his idol and he learns an unexpected secret.  Now, Izuka has a Quirk of his own, provided by All Might himself, and he’s about to start his journey to becoming a hero at U.A. High School.  Even if Izuka can survive the rigorous training ahead, there are forces deadlier than he could ever imagine coming after All Might and the school.  It’s up to Izuka to master All Mights “One For All” Quirk and lead his class to become the next generation of super powered saviors.
 
Looks like the superhero boom has finally made its mark in Japan.  My Hero Academia is the second, super (no pun intended) big hit to come out in the last couple of years (after One Punch Man) to notch an Anime slice out of the superhero market.  Whereas One Punch Man was more straight parody, My Hero Academia is more like Naruto with kid superheroes…and it works for the most part.
 
They definitely dial up the inspiration emotional spectrum in this series.  While MHA has plenty of laughs, seeing poor Deku declare his dreams even when he’s on his knees can bring tears to your eyes.  Those tears will become a river whenever All Might tells Deku that his dream, nearly impossible as it is, can happen.  Wow.  I feel like that’s something that’s been missing from DC’s current crop of super hero films: Hope (except Wonder Woman, that did things right all across the board).  And MHA is all about Hope as much as it is the battles and the zaniness of living in a world where superpowers are the norm.
 
As you might expect from a Shonen Anime (that hopefully wont last nearly as long as Naruto or dare I say One Piece), MHA has a huge cast of characters: from Deku and his class, to All Might and the staff of U.A. High, to the deranged and nightmare fuel inspiring villains.  This early on, I still don’t know everyones names by heart.  I cant even really recall the real name of Deku’s rival, I just call him “Kaachan” like Deku does.  There are a couple of stand outs.  All Might and his heavy American style look and state named attacks does make me scratch my head a bit, but he’s still more the hero than Zack Snyder’s Superman, saving the day with boundless hopeful speeches and a winning smile.  I also really like Tsu, whose power is basically being a frog.  She says whatever is on her mind, even if it isn’t too hopeful or inspiring.  Plus her look is really neat too.  As for Kaachan…why the hell was Deku his “friend” for as long as they have been?  The constant flashbacks to how Kaachan has belittled Deku and his lack of Quirk is so unhealthy, im surprised Deku even still has a dream to become a superhero.  I feel like Kaachan is the Vegeta of the series, minus the charm and bad ass qualities that make the Prince of All Saiyans so memorable even today.  So yes, it was a total “F YEAH” moment when Kaachan was berated for his performance during an exam, both by teachers and the students.  It was good to see him knocked off his invincibility cloud.
 
MHA is fun and, having cleared the first season, I’m looking forward to seeing how the apparent tournament style second season plays itself out.  I’ll admit, the show didn’t grab me right away, as it has many others (seriously, MHA second season was one of the biggest hits of the season along with Dragon Ball Super and Attack on Titan Season 2).  But it did keep me intrigued enough to keep going and, like I said, when the show wants to inspire, it does that really well.  Here’s hoping Deku finds his dream…and doesn’t take as long as Naruto to get there.


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