Welcome Back
My past two reviews on this show have been largely negative. It may even seem, to people who just looked at the scores I was giving the seasons, that I hated My Hero Academia and all that it stood for. But that's not true. It's SO not true, because this season right here, THIS is My Hero Academia. This is what it stands for, and this is what I like.
Ever since season two I have wanted this anime to stand tall and deliver on its high amount of promise and potential. But for a while I felt like it wasn't doing that. I felt like it just forgot about everything it set up and all its own themes, content to become the most bottom of the barrel shounen while raking in those big shounen bucks from fanboys who will literally watch anything if it has good animation and inspiring music.
I think I was right about that at least partially. Even if the real reason was to prolong the plot so that shueisha could sell more magazines with Deku's face on it, My Hero lost its way.
But I'm happy to say... it's back. It's REALLY back. Not only back, but better. It surpassed season two in its first episode alone.
Bitch im back out my training arc
Enough about the past, let's talk about the present. Everything set up has been paid off now, and is still being paid off. The my villain arc paid off tremendously, with Shigaraki of all characters becoming not only the best character in the show, but one of if not THE best shounen villain of all time. The show proves just how incredible a villain's journey can be, juxtaposed against a hero's, while delivering on an epic premise of generation-spanning wars between good and evil and the ideals therein.
It makes a strong case for and against everyone's definitions of heroism and makes you question what it means to be a hero, continuing what the Stain arc started. Shigaraki's existence challenges the idea of heroes and the writer knows it, using him to full effect. He's terrifying and chaotic but also measured and purposeful. You both want and don't want him to break out of that giant purple test tube, and even though the writing's on the wall, the audience is still enraptured in the hero association's mission to commandeer him.
The ensuing action and fight is more epic than anything in the Avengers movies. Hirokoshi has become his heroes and surpassed them in that regard.
Each passing episode heightens the drama and offers even more explosive progress on what's been built up. The Todoroki family scandal, all for one and one for all and their successors, mental struggles and different ways of dealing with having a power and a will that's been passed on, the oversaturation of society with heroes, the liberation army, the villain league's varying motivations. It's all coming to a head at long last. Even the teamwork class A shenanigans have become a real story beat to get invested in.
Not only is the story at its peak but the animation ain't so bad either. It might actually be the one time in history the show looks better than the trailer animation-wise. The music is well used to contrast s4's horrible use of it. The characters as well... they focus on the interesting parts of deku's character, not the uninteresting ones in this season. Bakugo's screen presense is mercifully minimal. And best of all we get to explore cool new characters like Miruko who had one of the coldest and most brutal action scenes in shounen in the first few episodes alone.
There's no more to say, because it feels like this season is an answer to a question. The question of "does this even matter", "Is this going anywhere", and "when is this gonna get good again".
Clearly, the answers are "trust me", "yes", and "now".
Gentlemen, the four seperate nonsense training arcs and slow paced melodrama were worth it.
This is the reason My Hero Academia exists and we're here to witness it.
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