Monday, March 2, 2020

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising


With their full class roster now possessing a Provisional Hero License, the superstar students of UA Class 1-A are sent to Nabu Island, to act as it’s protectors.  As Deku and his friends gain experience and admiration from helping the citizens, they soon discover this island will be the setting for their ultimate test.  A villain named Nine has escaped custody thanks to the League of Villains.  With the power to absorb Quirks, Nine travels to Nabu Island to claim the powers of a child that can make him invincible.  Deku, Bakugo, Todoroki and the rest of Class 1-A are on their own for the first time without All Might or their teachers for help.  Now is the time to show how far they’ve come as students and as heroes.  It’s time to go PLUS ULTRA like never before and show the world that the next generation of heroes is ready to rise to the occasion.

2019 was a year in which a brand new Shonen Anime took the community by storm: Demon Slayer.  Rightfully so, it is a fantastic series.  But I bring that up firstly because My Hero Academia’s presence was rather small in 2019 due to it’s 4th season starting so late in the year.  And while the 4th Season is both a little bit of hit and miss for me, I can tell you that all the magic we all love about the adventures of Deku and UA High’s Class 1-A is given the best treatment in their second (and possibly last according to series author Kohei Horikoshi) theatrical outing, managing to blow Two Heroes out of the water in pretty much every way possible.

Heroes Rising seems to act more like a traditional Shonen Anime Film from the beginning, particularly in it’s story set up.  Granted, im sure this movie fits somewhere into the TV Series timeline…but it’s not quite as clear as with Two Heroes (I believe it takes place after the end of the current 4th Season especially since Bakugo and Todoroki both still lack their Provisional Hero Licenses in the series).  But even without that nitpick, this is a movie that throws the loveable young cast into a movie level event with some backstory from the show and their trademark heroic optimism and allows them to run free without constraints.  Indeed, one major step up from Two Heroes is that there is a natural reason for Class 1-A to all be on Nabu Island, rather than them all conveniently showing up one after another for no reason other than they are characters in My Hero Academia.  The entire class gets one major moment to shine, which can be tough to do with a cast of around 20 characters.  This isn’t just done for fanservice effect.  Heroes Risings’ title says it all: it’s time to see the kids in action without supervision or guidance.  Theyre on their own to protect Nabu Island and show how far they’ve come since starting at UA High School…and they do their work so well it’s hard to not feel proud of everyones progress.

Naturally, in a cast of a couple dozen, the spotlight will fall on Deku more than anyone else.  Except this time, rather than promising a particular storytelling approach and not delivering (aka Two Heroes not doing more with All Might’s backstory with Dave), we get what everyone has really been waiting to see for a long time: Deku and Bakugo working side by side and back to back against an overwhelming threat.  Bakugo went from one of my least favorite characters of all time to one of my all time favorite characters in My Hero Academia over the span of the 3rd Season.  If anyone is showing true growth from their not so humble beginnings, it’s him.  A lot has changed between him and the kid he used to bully (and yet still wanted to be his friend…seriously Deku…).  Deku and Bakugo are eternal rivals, vying for the spot of #1 Hero.  But theyre not above working together, even if Bakugo’s too stubborn to word it like that.  Plus, the two play surprising mentors and guides to Katsuma and Maharo, a brother/sister duo who they share the core of the story with.  Maharo starts off a little annoying but grows to appreciate the heroes much like her younger brother does, becoming Bakugo’s chief cheer girl while her brother adores Deku.  Deku and Bakugo may have a long way to go before they reach All Might’s level of strength.  But in terms of sheer, tear inducing inspiration…these two go freaking PLUS ULTRA more than ever before and they deliver some of the hardest hitting feels in the entire franchise so far. 
If there’s one are where Heroes Rising doesn’t quite rise to the occasion with, it’s the Villains.  This is kind of a common trope with most films based on Shonen Anime franchises: the main antagonist usually comes off as one note and sorely underdeveloped, preferring to be an overpowered mad man with delusions of gradeur who needs to be punched repeatedly by the good guys.  There are exceptions to this rule, like the new sympathetic, humanizing take on Broly from Dragon Ball Super: Broly.  And My Hero Academia’s TV saga has given us some stellar baddies with Stain, Overhaul and fan favorites like Toga and Twice.  Nine…isnt’ one of those memorable baddies.  His motivations are about as basic as you can get and his dialogue and powerset feel so…standard.  Even his power to inexplicably summon a terrifying looking storm just make me think “ok he can summon The Nothing from The NeverEnding Story…impressive?”  There’s really nothing new here with Nine, just absorbing powers and a penchant for monologuing about how he’s going to change the world in some way for the worse.  Speaking of nothing new, the inclusion of series antagonists, The League of Villains, feels totally unnecessary.  Maybe it’s to tie things into the overarching plot of the show, eventually.  But Heroes Rising works so well as a stand alone movie that it doesn’t need the extra baggage from the show.  Even major players like All Might and Eraserhead are kept in distant supporting roles and not much is lost by their lack of on screen presence. 

I should mention that Heroes Rising boasts some of the best animation in My Hero Academia to date, topping any of the epic feats seen in Season 3 and 4.  As I said, everyone in Class 1-A gets in on the action more naturally and you get to see some fun combos and team ups when they put their Quirks to use against Nine’s equally not so memorable henchmen.  The most epic moments are saved for the final battles of the film and the animation goes so far beyond its impossible not to lose your breath watching it.  The final showdown between Deku and Bakugo and Nine is the stuff that legends are made of in the realm of Anime.  It’s bright, it’s loud, it’s…well Plus Ultra in every sense of the term.  Studio Bones has outdone themselves and should be proud of delivering animation that exemplifies the finest hour of Deku and his allies so far in this epic franchise.

When an Anime can move me to tears, it’s done it’s job well.  When it leaves me gasping, cheering, widening my eyes in happy disbelief…and crying, it’s done more than that.  My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is the very best of the My Hero Academia franchise showcased in a feature film that is everything Two Heroes should have been and more.  The large cast is well handled and the new supporting characters lend their own dramatic and heartwarming touches to the overall story as well.  The Villains are kind of a letdown but…let’s face it, theyre here to eventually get beaten and that happens in a fashion not done so well in a Shonen Anime in a really long time (even bigger than Goku and Vegeta vs. Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly).  Heroes Rising is the My Hero Academia event fans have been waiting for and I’m glad we didn’t have to wait a long time after it’s December 2019 release to see it here in the States.  Deku, Bakugo and their classmates…theyre the heroes our world deserves.  Optimistic, fun loving and possessing the heroic hearts I feel are lacking in many American comics these days…they make you wanna clench your fist, hold it high in the sky and scream PLUS ULTRA!!!  If this is indeed to be the last theatrical feature film for the franchise (that makes me nervous about how much is left for the series itself), this isn’t a bad high note to go out on.

9/10

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