Come Now, Midoriya—This Will Be Your Hero Academy!

~My Hero Academia~
Origin, Entrance Exam, Class 1-A Beginnings,
U.S.J. & Sports Festival Arcs
Vol. 1-5
By Kohei Horikoshi
Translated By Caleb Cook
Amazon ~ Powell's

One day, people began manifesting special abilities that came to be known as "Quirks," and before long, society became full of these super-powered humans. But with the advent of these exceptional individuals came an increase in crime, and governments were unable to deal with the situation. At the same time, others emerged to oppose the spread of evil! As if straight from the comic books, these heroes keep the peace and are even officially authorized to fight crime.

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…


It's honestly been quite some time since I first came across My Hero Academia (or Boku No Hero Academia as it's originally titled). Having watched the anime since shortly before season two started airing, I've been keeping up with the stories of Midoriya and the rest of the heroes (and villains) for a couple years now—but only in the anime. It wasn't until I started getting into official mangas this year (partly thanks to the Vampire Book Club, and partly thanks to Geoff Thew's [aka Mother's Basement] recommendation to do so) that I decided to go ahead and see what the manga had in store.

I think the important thing to know for anyone going in blind is that this isn't your typical superhero story. Sure, the characters have super powers, each (mostly) unique to themselves, and this is an origin story showing the youth learning the ropes of becoming heroes, but there are no secret identities here. There's no lying or hurt feelings to keep their loved ones safe, or running from the press in order to maintain normalcy in their lives. Heroes are a part of society, a government-sanctioned job, and thus we don't need the constant drama of secrets and lies.

Well, for the most part. Izuku (Deku) Midoriya still has some secrecy to his Quirk, in that he was given it instead of born with it. In the generations since Quirks first started appearing, about 80% of the world's population now has Quirks, which tend to manifest by 4 years old. At age 14, Izuku knows he won't ever have a Quirk, powerful or otherwise, but still dreams of being a hero. But when he shows the Number 1 Hero that he possesses the character of a true hero, he is determined to be worthy of being All Might's successor, and is thus given a Quirk and a secret of epic proportions.

Of course, secrets lead to drama and it's not long before we see this drama play out. In Vol. 2, once Izuku's accepted into the prestigious U.A. Hero Academy (for high school and hero studies), he's quickly confronted with his childhood friend-turned-bully, Bakugo (Kacchan) Katsuki, who assumes Izuku has been lying to him all these years. When they are pitted against each other in a class exercise, tensions quickly turn explosive as Bakugo tries to reestablish the norm and assert his superiority over his newly powerful classmate.

While seeing the variety of super powers, and learning new techniques is fun, this is where I first started to see the potential of the series as a character study. Up to now, we've been seeing Izuku's story about him going from zero to hero through hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck. Now we see start to see the flip side, of a kid literally gifted with great power from the beginning, praised as special and powerful and worthy of great things, suddenly having the tables turned on him, not only by being thrown into a new environment filled with other powerful people, but also have one of his subordinates appearing to be just as powerful as he is.

It's no excuse for Bakugo being a bully or a jerk, especially when he's seemingly had no discipline for doing so, but it does humanize him as someone going through a huge change and being torn up by it. He's going through the big fish/small pond/discovers ocean scenario, but with teenage hormones and stresses. Add in Izuku—who has repeatedly gone out of his way to help Bakugo, even while seemingly being helpless himself—suddenly showing amazing abilities, which further disrupts Bakugo's "norm," and it's no wonder that he explodes.

While Izuku doesn't know all of Bakugo's struggles (nor does the audience, for that matter), he is extremely observant and analytical, as shown by his numerous notebooks of hero analysis, as well as his murmuring asides during the story. He can sense that there's more to Bakugo's rage and despondency than just the outcome of the exercise, thus feels the need to reassure him that he isn't alone in feeling out of place, that Bakugo isn't the only one facing new challenges and changes, and that Izuku hasn't been playing some cruel joke on him for the past ten years. Unfortunately, his way of relaying these feelings is much less emotional and more factual than it should have been, with him coming right out and giving away his (and by proxy, All Might's) big secret, but I'm sure that won't have any ramifications down the line, right?
The next part that had me really excited came with the villains. Not just because heroes vs villain battles are usually epic and amazing to witness, but because the villains actually brought up valid criticisms of society. Granted, I've had more encounters with the villains than this first snippet, so I know where things go from here, but even their first encounter sets up some really deep cuts to this supposedly idyllic superhero society.

Looking back, it's not exactly hidden. I mean, the first lines of the story are, "People are not born equal," over a scene of a young Izuku being bullied by Bakugo. And we see this time and time again as Izuku is constantly put down, not only by Bakugo but all his middle school classmates, and underestimated by All Might, by the other applicants in the entrance exam, and even his own mother. Even the very first battle of the series, one Izuku witnesses between some pro-heroes and a giant villain, hints at the cracks in their society:

Speech bubbles are read in order of right-to-left

Nevermind that "using" one's Quirk implies having control of it in the first place, which (we will eventually see) is a big assumption to make, but the majority of robberies are committed out of desperation. Another onlooker explains that he "tried to steal a purse and started rampaging when he got cornered," and the only thing we hear this "villain" say isn't an evil monologue or some rehearsed manifesto, but simply, "GET AWAYYYYYYY!"

Is he dangerous? Definitely—he's rampaging on top of elevated train tracks, holding up public transportation and posing a threat to both people and structures. Is he a menace to society? I mean, he did attempt to steal another person's property, most likely going for their money, and apparently assaulted someone—though whether this was a part of his robbery or following being cornered, we don't know—but we don't know if this was one in a long line of deviant acts, or a one-time act of desperation. Is he evil? Not likely, as he seems much more desperate and panicked than actually malicious. In the few panels we do get to see him, he literally says only those two words, and seems to only be reacting to the pro heroes pursuing/fighting him. One could easily argue that he needs assistance in deescalation rather than outright confrontation.

And that's where the next villains come in. While definitely not acting on the fly, with any panic or perceivable desperation, they bring the message of social injustice to the forefront. Higeki Shigaraki, the scary-looking-dude with the disembodied hands gripping him all over, is this series' big bad, and despite his obvious malice, he does make a good point. If violence is inherently evil, then why are heroes praised for it while villains get all the blame?

But while Shigaraki blames the heroes, and constantly aims to knock them off their pedestal by forcing them into impossible situations (or by killing their hypocritical Symbol of Peace), the series shows us time and again how while his methods are flawed, their message isn't completely wrong. In short, the system isn't fair, it's flawed beyond the public's comprehension, and it is actively hurting those who don't fit the mold.

I mean, just think of how many people came along with Shigaraki. This guy looks and sounds terrifying, yet he inspired 72 people to agree that killing All Might was a worthy goal. Since we never see any of them again, it's hard to fully analyze them, but we can gather a few clues from their brief appearances during the course of the U.S.J arc. Many of those we see are non-humanoid in appearance, which, from what we know in our current world, can often cause fear simply by being "other". Their quirks, while powerful, may also be scary. And their shunning from others, possibly even their friends or family members, have likely caused mental health issues to manifest or worsen, only serving to ostracize them further. Thus it's likely that, though these 72 individuals did agree to attack a school and aid in killing a government official, many of them truly didn't see any other options open to them.

And though I do have knowledge of future events coming in to aid here, I find this study of societal injustices and inequalities utterly fascinating. I started experiencing this story (through the anime) years before the tragedies of 2020, and yet I'm seeing more and more glaring parallels between our worlds. A government-sanctioned law enforcement that commonly turns to violence before deescalation? A system of education and a society at large that favors the haves and (at best) ignores or (at worst) villainizes the have-nots? A younger generation being thrown into the thick of things because they can no longer be sheltered from the dark reality of the world, and also expected to fix things in the future? Yeah, some fantasy, huh?

Speaking of that younger generation, did I mention that this is a huge ensemble story? Sure, Izuku caries the majority of the story, since we're largely following his perspective as he grows from zero to hero, but there are a ton of characters vying for your attention and favoritism. From Bakugo and All Might, to the other 18 members of Class 1-A, to the U.A. teachers, to even the (slowly expanding) group of villains, there are tons of personalities, designs, and abilities to keep you hooked.

My personal favorites of the series so far, besides Izuku, are: Shota Aizawa, the class's homeroom teacher, for his personality; Fumikage Tokoyami for his design; and Shoto Todoroki for his backstory and powers. But there are tons of characters I would classify as my faves for their later actions or revelations, and there are no doubt tons of fans for characters I'm not personally as interested in.

I absolutely hate Minoru Mineta, both in the manga and the show, as he is little more than a perv, more often than not saying something while drooling or being slapped for making comments about boobs. Unfortunately, according to one of the between-chapter character pages, Mineta is slightly based off of the author, who admits to being a perv himself, so it's unlikely he'll ever be banished outright. From what I've seen of him in the anime, he does get better, but I've heard that he's been downplayed there, so I'm kinda dreading seeing his progression in the manga. Still, even he is not fully without merit, as the author also explains that his Quirk allowed for a strategic, non-violent take-down of the entrance exam villains, which is how he earned his way into the hero class in the first place.

The art style is pretty stellar, with the chapter pages in particular showcasing excellent shading and dimension. One of the chapter asides states that a full-body shot of All-Might uses up two entire pens-worth of ink, and I believe it. Even in black and white, the art of characters and backgrounds alike really pop with detail. There's not a ton of gore, despite the violence on display throughout, and about the worst we get is some body horror with Izuku's mangled limbs (which is usually just dark with bruising and drawn at odd angles) and a some blood during All Might's fight. Actually, All Might does have blood flowing from his mouth quite regularly, too, but that's often played more for comedy than horror.

The tone of the story also tends to lean more into comedy until the action takes the stage. This is a story about kids growing up, so there's plenty of awkwardness and goofing around in between the more serious moments. Even the sports festival, which is billed as a huge opportunity for the kids to prepare for their futures, has a good amount of levity built in, with the girls getting tricked into wearing cheerleader uniforms (dammit Mineta!), Ida's experience in his first tournament round, and the medal ceremony with that exaggerated art style and All Might's ad-libbing.

I may have waxed a bit long on the serious material earlier, but most of that is more obvious on re-watch/read when you know what you're looking for. The majority of the story is just a kid's journey toward becoming a great hero, with the stakes raising slowly over time. Even the U.J.A. event, which appears to be a huge thing at the time, is just the tip of the iceberg. Past this point, things are going to get a lot more complicated. There's a lot more depth to explore, both in terms of characters and society, and I can't wait to continue that exploration. Really all that's stopping me is the line at the library.

Overall, this series is a fun, heartwarming, and fascinating ride. I'd highly recommend reading or watching it to anyone who is interested in stories surrounding superheroes, coming-of-age journeys, large ensemble casts, rivalries, exploration of similar societies or social justice reform. If you somehow hadn't heard of My Hero Academia yet, or simply have avoided this "hyped" series, I hope you've found my review helpful and will take my recommendation to heart. While no media is without its problems, I think there is a lot to enjoy with this one, and though it's not fully complete yet, nor am I yet caught up with everything currently published, I'm very hopeful for things to get better, both in their world and our own. And so I leave you with that iconic school motto: PLUS ULTRA!!!