The main character, Izuku Midoriya is a young boy who is born without powers. As such, he is mocked by peers, especially a childhood bully named Bakugo. As evidenced from many flashbacks, he is mocked because of how useless he is while the most of his class all developed powers (or otherwise known as “Quirks”) It goes far to the point where he is even nicked named “Deku” for being useless. Although the initial story establishes Deku as a weakling, this changes after he meets All Might, a superhero who is famous in their world.
A general idea about the show is that Deku is constantly trying to prove himself and to others. Early episodes shows that he is fearlessly loyal to his friends and those he wishes to protect. This also includes Bakugo because Deku always wanted to sur him after seeing how cool he is. Meanwhile, it’s evident that Deku has potential to become a powerful hero himself. All Might gives him the opportunity by letting Deku borrow his Quirk. After training and determination, Deku establishes himself as a newcomer to keep an eye on while Bakugo grows more jealous of his rival’s abilities. That’s also one of the interesting aspects of the show – the character relationships. Deku develops many relationships throughout the series. These include the rivalry between himself and Bakugo, the student-master relationship with All Might, and various friendships at school. Through these relationships, we see how Deku brings the best and worst out of characters. And believe me, there’s quite a lot of characters with their colorful personalities in this series.
With such a large cast, you may be asking yourself “how does the director plan to adapt this show?” Unfortunately, the series is structured to be a 1-cour with a mere 13 episodes. The ongoing manga has over 90 chapters while pacing of the adaptation seems slow. The plus side is that the “slow” also translates to faithfulness as every episode in the series is consistent and leaves nothing important out. As a fan of the manga, I’m proud to say that the series accurately does what it needed to do. I can’t speak for everyone though as the comedy can occasionally feel like a hit or miss for some fans. Although on a subjective level, it’s very popcornish humor that is there for some good fun.
As for the character casting, the show does a neat job at characterizing most of them. Each of them has a different personality, a different Quirk, and unique persona that makes them individually talented. Some of the more prominent characters such as Iida, Uaraka, Todoroki all get their screen time that will be memorable for fans. In the meantime, it’s important to visualize that each character also has a reason to become a hero. So in retrospect, the characters aren’t there just to push Deku’s story but also have story themselves. The downside is that the characterization is condensed for this adaptation as result of the minimal episode figures.
It would also seem inevitable that the show is inspired by other genres and shounen jump works. The generic Exam Arc can be easily compared to series such as Naruto or Hunter x Hunter although with different styles. Meanwhile, there’s the whole underdog premise with the main character trying to make a name in their world. Still, the show is definitely fun to watch as it also seems to be inspired by American comic heroes. Popular series in North America such as The Flash, Arrow, etc all have heroes and there’s some resemblance that can be taken to for this series. All Might stands out as the poster boy, Deku is the most prominent underdog, while Bakugo is portrayed as the hardcore antihero. And of course, we can’t forget about the villains either. In contrast to the heroic resemblance of the good guys, the villains are designed to look malevolent. The show does a nice job at introducing them without shoving them down the audience’s throats. Villains such as Stain and Kurogiri looks legitimately menacing. It also invites the anime only fans to wonder about their intentions, roles, and how powerful they really are. Because really, the show is literally saturated with all sorts of powers. You name it. We got super strength, explosive punches, gravity manipulation, superhuman flight, ice and fire control, invisibility, and even a girl who can use frog-like abilities. For a world with about 80% humans capable of using supernatural powers, it comes with a cool features.
Adapted by studio Bones, the show creatively designs its characters that matches a fair amount of consistency. Let’s face it, Kouhei Horikoshi is an underrated mangaka and his previous works weren’t considered major successes. Here, we got this show that has superheroes, action, and it just seems like every shounen fan’s wet dream. The character designs, while looks generic, is also creatively attractive. Every character has their own unique appearance and those who are heroes are equipped with a stylistic costume. I can’t say this enough but if there’s anything to this show, Boku no Hero Academia should definitely deserve some sort of reward of ‘Best Character Designs of the Year’. The action is well choreographed as well when you see punches landing or super powers connecting as how it should. Furthermore, character expressions brings out the best of personalities whether it’s fierce (Bakugo), Charming (Urakara), or heroic (All Might). Deku’s reactions are mostly comedic although when he gets hyped up, there’s a lot to keep an eye on as well.
Ah Yuuki Hayashi. I was ecstatic after seeing his name appear as the music director as his work on Haikyuu!! Is nothing short of wonderful. Indeed, the music and soundtrack of the show is a solid demonstration of his talent in this show. It is crisp, intense, and cinematic all the same time. For a battle shounen series like this, it’s important to capture every important scene and the music delivered just that – making them relevant. The OP and ED theme songs are also creatively crafted with flamboyant choreography and style. Finally, praise should also be given to the voice acting especially for All Might and Bakugo as their character personalities really shines when you listen to their voice.
So in the end, what should you expect from this show? There’s a lot and if you’re a big fan of battle shounen, then this will be a wonderful treat. From diverse character cast to the high dosage of superhero action, Boku no Hero Academia is a very fun show to watch. Despite my issue with the pacing, it is still consistent on most parts with the manga. With the announcement of the second season, there's still a lot of potential waiting to be explored. All in all, the show is recommendable to anyone. Whether you’re a new viewer getting into anime or a seasonal fan of shounen series, it’s a show that’s nothing short of exciting.
