Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire
There’s no denying that, once-upon-a-time, My Hero Academia was the eye-catching Shōnen babe that proudly stood tall amongst its other Shōnen sweethearts due to not only its simple-yet-effective super-heroic milieu, but how it insolently boasts its inviting premise in manner that wholeheartedly knows its spewing genre-related formulae to a likeable degree. Within the past few years however, fans and devotee’s have seen a new crop of Shōnen series that have challenged the status quo; essentially re-inventing the wheel when it comes to shows such as this which circulates its particular narrative structure around a protagonist achieving his/her’s dream and/or goal. Indeed, the newbies of the likes of Vinland Saga, Jujutsu Kaisen, Spy x Family and Chainsaw Man have, in recent years, each respectfully taken up the anime-viewing consensus amidst Kohei Horikoshi’s beloved manga adaptation who’s 5th season providing a rather lack-luster and rather uneventful series of events that, alarmingly, doesn’t compare to preceding seasons which proudly exhibited its strength through the divulgence of varying characters. Indeed, as demanding as it was to finally see the upbringing Tomura Shigaraki and his path into villainy – in strengthening his league of villains within the Meta Liberation Army Arc – it’s fair to argue how much of these events that took place in the previous season aren’t as memorable or impactful in comparison to other meaningful moments of My Hero Academia that solidified the aforementioned show’s status quo. Upon viewing the show’s latest 6th season, much hope is restored in a premise which significantly elevates the antics and provides meaningful moments and character choices and actions which pave towards consequences that have been found wanting for a good while. To state it simply, despite all the glorious moments that have come before to comprise this show’s significance, there’s an argument to be made of just how much this latest and 6th season is seen as My Hero Academia’s peak…
Immediately following the ending events that took place in the previous season, this sixth season follows the culminating bout between the Heroes with the students of U.A. High School – including Izuku Midoriya – and the villains of the Paranormal Liberation Front led by Tomura Shigaraki. With information gathered by Hero Hawks, whilst undercover at the merged-villain group, the Heroes ultimately confront them pre-emptively; leading to an all out war that could very well change d the superhuman society. The second half of the season depicts the aftermath of the war; the Heroes continue to save civilians and capture villains while dealing with their casualties resulting from the loss of the public’s trust. When All For One escapes from Tartarus and the secrets of “One For All” begin to be revealed to the public, Izuku realizes his powers make him a special target for the at-large villains and therefore his presence at school endangers his classmates. Izuku decides to leave the school in order to assist the Pro Heroes as they attempt to lure the villains out of hiding.
Based on the best-selling manga by Kōhei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia has always thrived when presenting Horikoshi’s unique take on American superhero comic books and illustrating the small and large ways having 80% of the population become superpowered would impact society. Heroes as complacent celebrities who care more about the glory than saving people (but without the depravity of The Boys) and the public, in return, treating these Heroes once as idols and the next minute as sycophants fawning in their own deranged view of heroism, and this new and latest season 6 cultivates every plotline, theme and previous character interactions and emotions into an explosive boil to truly marvel at. Arguably, unlike in previous seasons which doesn’t necessarily follow Horikoshi’s manga panels in an accuracy that’s equally understandable to fathom – considering the animation in return has to feasibly comprise still frames into free-flowing animation that can look beautiful to the eye at times – there’s a perception to clearly see here as to how much this latest season significantly dedicates its time in faithfully capturing the stills seen within the original manga work. Indeed, just as much as the events of the manga – which are depicted in this latest season – gravitates your visual space with gut-wrenching moments that are vividly displayed through expressive actions and emotions of the characters, much of the same can be seen through the animation as well and doesn’t disappoint. To do this, studio bones didn’t just adapt each panel or line of dialogue but layered on different elements as well. This was most recognizable in the heart of this season, Deku and Bakugo’s relationship. Here, bones used elements from the manga, like the cover of volume 29 to add depth to an already emotional sequence. ‘Bakugo Rising’ worked in the manga because Horikoshi took the time to show that he never forgot the mistakes he made and the way he hurt Deku in the past. In the animated adaptation of this, it’s even more realized and introspective. This continues into the latter half of the season when Bakugo saves Deku again, this time from himself. While much more happens this season outside of Deku and Bakugo, their relationship is the best example of reaching beyond the manga to craft something even more detailed.
With much delight from myself, what’s pleasing to see which the series has been giving us snippets of here-and-there is the revelation and the deepened mythology surrounding the power of One For All – its origin and consequences – with big acknowledgements which gives the central story a sense of urgency and, in return, pivots Deku – the current wielder of One For All – into the spotlight; which oddly feels rewarding and warranted at this point. Compared to the ample times My Hero Academia gracefully dedicates its story space for other characters and how they subtly contribute to the diverse and deepening lore of said show, it feels welcoming to see Deku really take a front seat for the majority of this season and how much of a pivotal role he plays. His development this season is a joy to watch and the standout element of season six particularly in the later stages of the season when we get to see a driven yet deranged version of Deku who’s Batman-esque persona tries to keep the city together but subsequently scares everyone who comes into contact with him. Not far behind him are the rest of his classmates of Class 1-A and how much can be seen as to how much they have been forced to grow-u during a time of crisis and become their own heroes in their own right. A standee from the varied cast is seen through Deku’s rival of Bakugo who gets his own much-deserved hero moment during a particularly great fight scene and an aforementioned sequence involving Deku that wonderfully magnifies the two characters’ respective arcs; much to the same degree as what Goku and Vegeta throughout Dragon Ball.
Additionally, My Hero Academia Season 6 is a season of parallels and payoff. As explored before, it looks at the past fairly frequently in order to show the audience where things are now. To show how they’ve changed and grown. But more importantly, this season pays off on every setup established in seasons prior. It delivers on the big swings, adds depths to the little ones, and shows how our characters have been pushed to grow by the terrible circumstances they’ve been thrust into. Indeed, it very much feels as though this season isn’t afraid of asking its audience to process harsh realities like how an abusive father can atone for his life or how you can move forward through survivor’s guilt and even how its mentioned in the second half of the season how pro heroes are resigning due to the pressure and demand of the public. Imperatively, these many harrowing story beats and contextual motifs are eloquently flowing across the plethora of episodes and land as touchstones in the series’ overall narrative. The darkness explored in My Hero Academia Season 6 isn’t a moment in time, but the rippling effects that moment causes and how every character reacts to it.
Where My Hero Academia consistently succeeds throughout its many episodes, and especially in its one-off theatrical features, is the manner in which it presents a clean and eye-popping animation style that wonderfully bursts into life at the right moments. Where there is an argument to be made of previous seasons animations style and how misgiving it can be to perceive within the background of many different locations – where landscapes, buildings and trees are displayed in a way that appear unfinished – it makes-up for that particular inconsistency in applying vivid and expressive detail within its imperative fight sequences. As much as the infamous fight between All Might and All For One in Season 3 was a display of the production soaring to new heights – since the animation style crescendos the subtle narrative nuances of the two fighters’ relationship with eloquent drawn marks of character motions that provide the necessary impact – it’s equally apparent to see in season 6 and how much expression is conveyed in every emotion/movement in the imperious sequences. It’s the animators versatility in providing different action scenes that make these scenarios so memorable and how the use of different colour across the two arcs also speak to how methodical every element of every scene is and the attention with which everything was created.
There’s no denying that My Hero Academia has had its fair share of highs and lows and its latest and most bold season yet is a heroic triumph that wondrously culminates every character and story thread into a vivid bombardment that delivers on an outcome that doesn’t shy-away. Indeed, its a series which, very much, succeeds in delivering an ultimatum that interweaves interlinking story-beats into a clash and aftermath that provides a necessity of dark and serious undertones; something which the said show has subtly hinted before here and there. If anything else, this latest season rather reminds the naysayers of the last season why this anime, compared to its other Shōnen compatriots, is so popular and proves that there are still many reasons to be excited about its conclusion; an ending that’s as equally gargantuan as the culminating events of Avengers: Endgame. As a series, My Hero Academia hasn’t transformed into something new, but it’s grown and matured and hasn’t lost its focus in producing moments of grandeur that will, surely, live-long in the memory…
On that note, it’s time for me to end this week’s anime review. As always everyone, thank you for reading my latest anime review of My Hero Academia’s sixth season and I hope you’ve all enjoyed the read! If anyone has an opinion on either my review or the animated series itself, you’re more than welcome to share your thoughts down below. Thank you once again for reading my latest Blog Post and I hope you all have a nice weekend! Adieu!
★★★★★ – Alex Rabbitte