My Hero Academia - Review
Link to the author's (K. Horikoshi) personal website
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Type: Illustrated
Tags:
- Average Age of Main Characters (16)
- Length (10 / 10)
Link to Goodreads
Blurb: 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…
Review: In many ways this is the most quintessential shonen manga out there. Highschool kids, main character with some heavy initial obstacle that later becomes a strength, clear villains, and incredible fights. It reinforces why such tropes are standard for shonen battle manga by delivering a quality story that is appealing to a wide audience. A fair warning that the story is flipped on its head for the second half of the manga though. It becomes incredibly gritty, dark, and different to the manga of the first half. I personally didn't like the change. The mood was too bleak for me given what I had come to expect.
I really enjoyed Deku as a main character, and especially liked his relationship with Bakugo and All Might. The general setting was well thought out, and I liked how they delved into the impact such a hero system has on society. The story never felt dragged out too (exception for the final arc that did feel too long). The arcs did a great job of building on each other while introducing new arc specific problems and motivations. They seemed to naturally fit with anime-length seasons, which I think combined with the outstanding animation is why the series has blown up to be so popular. I recommend reading this if the blurb catches your fancy, or give the first season of the anime a shot and decide from there.