Rkpandey

Note: Tl;dr at the end for the lazy ones. *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* Inspired by American superhero comics, Horikoshi Kouhei's Boku no Hero Academia (or 'My Hero Academia' in English) manga started publishing two years ago, but got gained a lot of popularity only after the release of One Punch Man anime. But being honest here, I must say that I was somewhat disappointed by it. Story: 6/10 The story is rather childish. In the world of My Hero Academia, on one fine day, out of nowhere, new born babies started having some random super powers which are called 'quirks'. With that, evil villains emerged, and with that heroes emergedtoo, which soon became usual and was accepted by the society. Our main protagonist of the show, Izuku Midoriya, who is always bullied by his childhood friend Bakugou Katsuki who has a great quirk, wanted to join the prestigious 'Hero School', UA, and become the best hero in the world like 'All Might'. But he discovered in his childhood that he is 'quirkless', but finding the potential in him due to various situations, All Might passes on his quirk to him which is somewhat like ultimate strength, speed and endurance. But due to his weak body and lack of practice, he always hurts his body due to the recoil. Anyway, he manages to clear the UA entrance exam and now he must struggle in the school to pass out as a pro hero. Okay, so far so good. But from this point, the excitement goes downhill. Bad jokes, predictable events, childish plot, and what not, makes it seem more like an American Cartoon than a Japanese Anime. Art: 7/10 Bones Studio, very popular for it's work in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, delivers some of the best artworks out there. But this time, it gambled with My Hero Academia. The graphics are very sketchy and it feels like we are reading a comic book. It may be a hit for some people. But honestly speaking, it was a miss for me. Sound: 9/10 There is no doubt that Porno Graffitti, the most misunderstood band name, did an amazing job for the OP with the song 'The Day'. The fast and catchy song and the visuals along with it are very good and fits the mood. 'Heroes' by Brian the Sun is another great ED. And guess what? Kaji Yuki performed the role of Todoroki Shouto! Also other talented voice actors like Okamoto Nobuhiko, Suwabe Junichi, Kitamura Eri, Yuuki Aoi, Inoue Marina did a great job. The OSTs during the action scenes are really good too. Character: 6/10 This is the biggest negative point for the show. The characters, are well, lame. Everyone is either silly or one dimensional or simply annoying. They all have unique quirks which make them different from each other. But still, they are lame. Bakugou Katsuki is the lamest and the most annoying of all the characters. He exists just to bully Midoriya Izuku to make the anime more shounenish. Midoriya Izuku is no good either. A lame-ass who usually cries over stupid things instead of fighting like a man. He is a fan boy who cries tears of happiness like a girl when he is able to see some pro hero. That's seriously lame. All Might, the strongest hero in the world is the silliest childhood-hero like character. He has got some weird hairstyle and dialogues without any punch. He has one alternate form in which he shrinks to a thinner size with a gunny un-proportional face and body, which may have been shown for comedy, but I found it silly. Eraser Head is the only character whom I found interesting and mature. Reminded me of Kakashi Hatake from Naruto. :P Enjoyment: 8/10 I enjoyed the show only in some parts of it (mostly the action part). The rest of the show was silly, childish, predictable and it felt like it was targeted for pre-teens. But anyway, if you have already watched a lot of good anime, then this anime is suited for casual watching. Overall: 7.2/10 If you are a pre-teen or younger, you will like or maybe love this show. It has all the scenes and factors which today's generation kids love (I guess). If you are a matured adult who is not into silly comedy, bullied-kid-turned-into-superhero or someone who finds funny villains evil, you should probably avoid this anime. Tl;dr: +Sound +A few action scenes +Good for audience below the age of 16 years -Poor plot, many loopholes -Silly and annoying comedy -Silly and annoying characters -Comic book sketch-like art -Not good for mature audience It's like a rip off of Marvel, DC and One Punch Man. But a bad one. Good for casual watching, if you have already watched a lot of good anime and have nothing new to watch. If you like shounen super power anime, then you will like this anime. I have a feeling that the sequel is going to be better. Let's wait and see.

ZephSilver

Boku no Hero Academia is an anime that lives and dies by the conventional. While that could be seen as a negative feature in most scenarios, for a superhero shounen that understands its limitations, it's actually quite refreshing. Being satisfied with maintaining a status quo in a medium that constantly pushes the envelope may seem like the wrong direction to take until you come to realize the confines the show is working with. While some shows of this nature tend to sabotage themselves with poor narrative decisions, most are usually knocked off, not by their content, but by their desire for more, despite not havingthe material needed to back it up. Shounen stories by design are meant to facilitate the fundamental building blocks of easily digestible themes. It's for that reason that the main demographic targeted is first and foremost young boys to teens before concerning themselves with any other group. While some titles have successfully escaped this genre's trappings to garner appraisal from a more demanding audience (Fullmetal Alchemist, Hunter X Hunter, etc.), most of it tends to fall apart when they attempt to push beyond the capabilities of its written material (Owari no Seraph, Blue Exorcist, etc.). This isn't to say that a creator shouldn't attempt to do more if they think they're capable of pulling it off, just that knowing what material you have to work with is also key to creating a successful work. You can't exactly create thematically rich content from something that didn't contain it in the first place, but what you can do is make the best product possible with the hand you're dealt. And this is where Boku No Hero Academia (My Hero Academia) comes in. It's a shounen story that isn't ashamed about its humble offerings, nor does it display delusions of grandeur for accolades out of its reach. While other content creators are busy navel-gazing, Academia uses that time to create something that's full of whimsy. It's an anime that lives comfortably in its realm of customary standards. And really, isn't that enough? Academia doesn't work because it offers more than other atypical shounen titles, it works because it decides to be the best it can be in its current position that it's given. And what better way to show strength within one's limitations than by having the story revolve around characters that put forth their best effort in the face of adversity. Academia tells a story that I'm sure most anime viewers are familiar with. The classic underdog story; the naive boy growing into his own, the bonds he forms with like-minded individuals, and the life lessons he learns along the way. It's a simple tale, one of perseverance, childish ideals, and believing in oneself. Izuku "Deku" Midoriya is that naive boy, and the object of his admiration is that of All Might: the idealized embodiment of peace and justice. The story chronicles his attempts to become an admirable hero like the one he looks up to, as well as seeing him overcome the obstacles he's bound to face in the uphill battle that he's undertaken to get there. Set in a universe where superpowers manifest itself in 80% of the world's population, becoming a professional hero has become commonplace. These innate abilities that people find themselves with are referred to as "Quirks." Naturally, the 20% that's born without a Quirk is at an inherent disadvantage to the rest of the population. And as you would guess, our protagonist Midoriya is one of these unfortunate people that life handed lemons to. Despite his situation, our protagonist still desperately seeks out the chance to become a hero. But it isn't until a fateful encounter that his dream could become a reality. Fast forward a few months later, and Midoriya finds himself at the gates of one of the most respected schools for heroes in training. And so begins our tale. The first thing you'll probably notice about Academia is just how expressive its art and animation looks. The show looks like colored panels jumping right off the pages of its manga counterpart. This is further illustrated by the dynamic movement of the characters, instantaneously eye-catching character designs, and an ultra-vibrant color scheme. Studio Bones rolled their sleeves up with this one, delivering a visual spectacle that they're known to be capable of. A firework display of showboating talent that the studio has earned across the many years in the industry. And since they're adapting the material verbatim, none of their infamous plotting issues makes its way into the narrative, making Academia into a cohesive body of work, the likes of which wasn't pulled off by Bones since their adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. It's the studio at its best, which not only spotlight its talents to others but also helps Academia to shine its brightest. To further heighten the visual treat, we're also given a soundtrack composed by Yuuki Hayashi, which was, for the lack of a better term, hype-inducing. Lending his talents to Kiznaiver, Death Parade, and other projects, Hayashi is quickly making a name for himself within the industry and is a talent worth keeping on your radar for future works to come. With veteran Sound Director Masafumi Mima lending his talents to the project, together these two men help shape the auditory section of Academia into what it is. It's a commendable effort that's deserving of the praise received. And just like the presentation of the show, the characters are just as lively, with a broad range of personalities and superpowers to boot, as to be expected from a show dealing with superheroes. While they're all fairly stereotypical, what they lack in layered character detail, they more than compensated with spunk and attitude. Their eccentricities added to the show's tone and lighthearted nature. They're in no way innovative or new to the genre they're a part of, but they still serve their purpose for the content at hand. This extends to our protagonist Midoriya as well. He is your archetypal lead in every way possible. Replacing him with almost any other shounen protagonist would yield very little change. What is interesting about him, however, is the handicap that he's strong-armed into working with. Because of the inherent nature of his power, he is forced to make compromises to avoid extensive injury to himself. Since he spent his entire life taking notes of the anatomy and capabilities of other heroes, he's more astute than his peers. This allows him the ability to plan accordingly, especially under stressful conditions that force him to be quick on his feet. As the show goes on, this analytical prowess of his doesn't go to waste. He brings this talent to each physical encounter he's placed in, making combat situations a balancing act between outsmarting his opponent, as well as mitigating potential risk to himself. Speaking of physical encounters, since our protagonist makes an effort to think tactically in the midst of battle, the skirmishes he gets into are far more entertaining than what you'd typically expect from superhero brawls. Of course, he's still a kid, so these tactics may not be the most riveting things to see play out, but it still beats seeing senseless bishounen cock-fights that resort to shouting and punching wildly to achieve results. This was also prevalent in other physical altercations throughout the show. Again, while not the most imaginative fights, they were still a cut above the usual standards of the battle-shounen formula. This doesn't mean that hotheaded characters grew a few brain cells all of a sudden, they still acted in a brash manner befitting their personality; but for those that have powers or limitations that needed adjustment, they found ways to innovate whenever it was necessary. With the trend of superhero stories becoming ever-present across all storytelling media in the last few years, the marketplace has gotten to a point where it's on the verge of stagnation. For the general populace, that point may not be that prevalent yet, but for those vigilant viewers that recognize the pattern, it's a backlash shit storm just waiting to happen. Boku no Hero Academia is just another drop in the bucket. Inconsequential. A blip on the radar. But that's also the beauty of it. It's not an anime that hurts the medium, nor is it unwarranted to most that sit down to watch it. It's just an honest-to-god shounen. No gimmicks, no underhanded attempts into duping its viewership to take it more seriously than they need to. It's just a sincere piece of media made for the sole purpose of entertaining its audience, and perhaps even more than that for those wide-eyed youths that sit down to view this type of story for the 1st time. That sort of honesty in a time when desensitized audiences have grown jaded to what's offered to them might just be the remedy needed. I always want to see the medium push forward, but when a break is necessary, I more than welcome the likes of shows like Academia. It's fuel in the fire to keep going. Easygoing entertainment that I could trust at face value won't give me the runaround. Academia is a rare case where it's good because it's average, and I know that may leave many of you questioning how something could possibly be both, but really, that's the only way to explain this show's predicament. We could commend a show for trying and succeeding at doing more, as one should when a title pushes beyond what's standard fare. But at the same time, there's nothing wrong with appreciating a title that chooses to be good in a way that's not necessarily innovative in the market it's a part of. This will be an instance where the score of "5" isn't used to insinuate inferior goods, but rather one of accurate assessment of the product at hand. It's a good show for its target demographic, just an average one given its placement in the broader landscape of shounen material. Its modesty is endearing. And in a time when titles either conflate their worth or uninspiringly follow a checklist for a quick profit, Academia proves that just being yourself is never a bad thing.