Monthly column on the games, tech, anime, comics, movies and shows that I was interested in, but just didn’t find the time to get to.  Once per month, I write this column about items that I finally cross off.  Fortunately / unfortunately, this list never ends.   This month I catch up on My Hero Academia.

The popularity of My Hero Academia caused it to pop on my radar.  Here is my review on My Hero Academia Season 1. From the first 15 minutes of episode one, I thought I was going to absolutely hate this anime.  

Before the flaming commences for that last sentence, I did end up loving the show.  My Hero Academia is based on a world where most of the population has evolved to have superpowers called Quirks.  The main character Izuku aka Deku is born without one of these Quirks.  With this setup, I thought we were going down the storyline path of a character with the Yamcha/Ash Ketchum complex of never being able to win due to his lack of a Quirk, or he would only be able to win due to intelligence and creativity. 

One For All

Luckily Deku catches a lucky break and inherits superpowers when he meets the top hero All Might (a trope on Captain America/ America in general).  If this did not happen, I honestly probably would have stopped watching this show. 

who we are

Liked:

It’s about overcoming the odds. something our audience can relate to

Tasteful and relevant gaming and RPG references. Ochako’s outfit reminded me of D.Va from Overwatch.

Deku’s mom always being supportive

The creativity in the teamwork and how the Quirks played off each other.

Deku is able to think on his feet as well as use his power.

who we are

Disliked:

The aryan white savior trope with All Might

Bakugo rivalry reminded me too much of Gary from Pokemon

Villain origins and backstory aren’t well explained.

Overall I would highly recommend checking this anime out if you haven’t already.  The animation is fantastic, the characters are interesting, and the themes are extremely relatable.  I was a huge fan of how Deku was consistently able to think on his feet when the odds were against him, but also powerful enough to overwhelm his enemies and rivals.  The aryan white savior trope of the most powerful hero All Might threw me off a few times, but they did show his vulnerability often enough for it to not be a huge turnoff.  The Japanese stereotype of unshaved “scruffy” men made me laugh also as I experienced a bit of this during my week in Japan.  I do wish the backstory of the villains was fleshed out a bit more, as the audience is expected to just accept that they are there.  I related to Deku constantly going too hard with his Quirk, as it is reminiscent of when I’d workout at the gym too hard only to burn out for days.  However, sometimes you do have to go beyond to get to that next level.