My journey into Anime has been a slow one and it’s one that I’ve really enjoyed but I started by watching the films of Hayao Miyazaki, then Cowboy Bebop and then picked up a few different things like Akira, Ghost in The Shell and Attack On Titan but I kept hearing people mention this one about superheroes that I absolutely needed to watch because of my love of Comics and let me tell you : You absolutely should be watching My Hero Academia!
For starters there might be many of you saying : “Well I don’t watch anime cause I don’t know where to start” or “I don’t like things with subtitles” or “I don’t like the art style, the crazy storylines or the weird humor.” Well, I have answers to all 3 of those let’s start at the most common one and one that has affected me in the past.
1. I don’t like things with Subtitles
This one just annoys me. I understand if you don’t like subtitles but there are dubbed versions for a reason and they even change up certain sentences so they’ll make more sense to western audiences. Please don’t let this stop you.
2. I don’t watch anime cause I don’t know where to start.
Alright, now this is a reason that I understand because anime can be daunting at first. There’s thousands upon thousands of films and shows for you to watch some even going as far back as the 1970’s and without a clear idea of where to start then it’s really easy to get lost in the mix. Fortunately, My Hero Academia just started about 4 years ago and it’s not that difficult to get caught up. There’s only 3 seasons out so far and I never felt lost while watching the show. The basic premise of the storyline is that the characters and storylines are brought to the audience in a very palatable way that you can easily keep up with but the show never feels like it’s dumbed down for western audiences. It’s true strength lies in the characters themselves, each one manages to stand out whether it’s their personality or their power set. Everyone is very different and no one really gets overlooked. This is more noticeable when you watch it in a quick setting because yes, there may be a few episodes where you go without seeing a few characters but then they’ll show up and do something incredible. I never felt like anyone was fighting for screen time.
The use of the powers is what impresses me, each one is very unique in the way that they’re used. It shows that they actually put some real thought into them besides “How cool would this look?” Admittedly this happens later in the series. At the start a few of them look pretty basic but just trust me on this one.
3. “I don’t like the art style, the crazy storylines or the weird humor.”
I mean, then yeah you may not like this. But before you totally give up on it, pick up a comic book from the 90’s. Now look at some of the craziness of it. Some of the art was super weird and arguably pretty bad, the storylines were all over the place(Magneto’s armor once became sentient and became the villain known as “Onslaught” Seriously, look it up.)
Now, pick up some of the 80’s X-Men. They have wild but brilliantly written storylines by Chris Claremont. Some of the best artists to ever grace the pen such as John Byrne, John Romita, Terry Austin, Jim Lee, Louise Simonson, Bob McLeod and a slew of others.
Now trust me when I say that these guys knew what they were doing. They brought together the styles of Anime and Comic Books together in a beautiful way. The stories flow seamlessly from one arc to the next and I personally never felt like there was a drag in the pacing which is something to say in a story this involved.
Honestly though, the main reason that you need to watch this show is because of this kid right here :
That’s Izuku Midoriya better known by his Hero name, Deku. He’s the main character and he’s honestly one of my favorite characters in any form of media. If you’ve read any of my past articles then you know that my favorite type of hero is the one that is purely altruistic for the sake of altruism itself and that’s Midoriya. At first glance it looks like he just wants to be cool but it’s his drive and determination to help everyone around him that makes him into this paragon of a character. Is he perfect? Nope, he struggles more than just about anyone else on the show but when it comes time to get the Job done, Izuku Midoriya.
And yes, if you prefer your heroes to struggle with who they are as a person, well I have great news for you in the form of Shoto Todoroki but you have to watch the show to find out more about him!
In closing, if you’re an anime or comic book fan then you owe it to yourself to at least
Finished the show and want more anime suggestions? Then check out Red Lanyard’s Series of articles starting here :
