Boku no Hero Academia 4th Season

After successfully passing his Provisional Hero License exam, Izuku "Deku" Midoriya seeks out an extracurricular internship with a professional hero agency. At the recommendation of his mentor All Might, Midoriya lands a position under All Might's former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, now a famous hero in his own right.

As Midoriya's classmates further their own abilities through various internships, up-and-coming villain Kai Chisaki utilizes his terrifying powers to gather favor in the criminal underworld. Known by the moniker Overhaul, Chisaki's ambitions collide with the League of Villains and its leader, Tomura Shigaraki.

Through his work with Sir Nighteye, Midoriya discovers Chisaki's crime syndicate and the villain's hostile relationship with a mysterious young girl named Eri. Fearing for the child's safety, Midoriya and his upperclassman Mirio Toogata must work together to put an end to Chisaki's reign of terror.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Midoriya, Izuku Main

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

Todoroki, Shouto Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Bakugou, Katsuki Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

All Might Supporting

Miyake, Kenta Japanese

Aizawa, Shouta Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Kirishima, Eijirou Supporting

Masuda, Toshiki Japanese

Uraraka, Ochako Supporting

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Toga, Himiko Supporting

Fukuen, Misato Japanese

Dabi Supporting

Shimono, Hiro Japanese

Asui, Tsuyu Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Okamura, Wakana Producer

Nagai, Kouji Producer

Oyabu, Yoshihiro Producer

Reviews

Apr 4, 2020

ziIIa

Recommended

Boku no Hero Academia 4 was one of the most underwhelming of the series I’ve seen yet but also the most exciting season I’ve seen yet. The transition between Season 3 and Season 4 was mainly the cause of the first arc being underwhelming and awkward to even begin with. Despite this, the series was still able to barely push out of the boulder it trapped itself in and put momentum into it.

Despite the first arc being called dragged out by many people, I would beg to differ. The first arc may not have been as straightforward as how a shounen anime should have been, ... I believe it was the right choice to have done it this way. The grief Midoriya and the others felt, the stress and effort they were put under when strategizing for this invasion were all build-up to the climax of the arc. They poured all their effort into strategizing for the invasion and it portrays how both sides were going to deal with the opposing parties. The determination and grit Lemillion and Deku held wouldn’t have been portrayed well enough without the so-called “unnecessary drag”. Eri wasn’t the only one suffering, everybody was. It was the right move to have portrayed that.

Putting the considerably unstable and controversial first arc aside, we reached the second arc—the School Festival Arc. Well, basically my favorite arc every anime that ever had it. However, I really liked how Boku no Hero Academia moved with this arc. Believe me or not, I’m not a big fan of battle shounen. That also goes to show that I’m not the biggest fan of Boku no Hero Academia either. However, one thing that caught my attention the most is the festival arcs. They do exceptionally well in that factor, and this School Festival arc allowed me to reassure myself with that claim.

In the Sports Festival, they were able to portray and develop the students of Class 1A. One of the notable ones would be Todoroki, his backstory heavily portrayed who he is now, and his battle with Midoriya changed him. There are a lot more I could talk about it but this is not the right review, so I’ll hold back my words and use it for a more appropriate occasion. Now back to the School Festival, I loved how this time they portrayed and developed the more underrated characters, one of them especially is Jirou—best girl. She felt unappreciated and this was the perfect time for her to shine. But most importantly, this arc’s main focus wasn’t just about having fun, it was also to make a certain girl smile again. To get her out of the self-deprecation she is in and the stress she’s put herself under, just to see Eri’s precious smile again was something that just made me go, “TAKE MY MONEY“. I’ve been there before, emotionally scarred and ended up being a self-deprecating freak. People may find her smiling again being trivial and some may not even be concerned about it, but to me, I treasure it a lot. Being able to stand up again and face humanity is a great feat.

We also had a small follow up with Todoroki and the rest about their licensing exam, which also gave us a quick outlook on what’s happening to the world. My favorite one being quirks getting more and more complex. Reason? It’s realistic, just like how humans constantly evolve, get smarter and make more complex things; Quirks constantly evolve and start to give itself more and more variety, with the result being those children. This can potentially be an arc in the future and I’m curious to see how they deal with it.

Overall, Boku no Hero Academia Season 4 has its share of flaws, one thing I think they’ll still have to work on is transitioning. However besides that, the OP and EDs are as great as ever, the characters are still as fun as ever. And most importantly, you’ll have a blast watching it!

On a side note, stay healthy, stay at home and keep watching anime!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 4, 2020

Johan__Liebert_

Mixed Feelings

My hero academia, after having an explosion in its popularity while season 2 was airing, is arguably the most popular shounen right now that is not One Piece. And the hype is mostly deserved be it for having a well-balanced cast of characters, or for the fantastically animated and choreographed fights, the latter of which had a massive dip in quality this season. This entire season does not live up to the extreme hype perpetuated by the manga community.

The animation is very stiff even relying on still frames at times; the characters feel like they haven’t progressed at all since the beginning of season ... 3 even though some of them went through huge developments; the main antagonist, Overhaul, isn’t explored through introspection, and the potential he had is lost when reliance on flashbacks is preferred for the “justification” of his motives.

Every season of MHA can be broken down into two sections, viz. the villains attacking UA, and the villains planning on attacking UA, and this season is no different. The season can be split into two parts – Overhaul arc, and the Cultural Festival arc. Herein lies the pacing problem of the show, the splitting of a season into two works for seasonal runtime but in reality, the actual plot, the story that it set out to tell, has been lost somewhere. It has been 88 episodes since the debut of the first episode and we have seen very little plot progression. The overhaul arc was unnecessarily long, eating up 17 episodes when it could’ve been truncated to 12. The said arc, though entertaining, did little for almost all characters, except Kirishima and Mirio, and was of even less import in the big scheme of things.

For me the characters in MHA have always been the highlight. The characters are quintessential shounen characters but are imbued with subtle nuances and traits, but after witnessing them in this season I feel like they’re slowly regressing back to being just your average shounen protagonists and sidekicks. Bakugo for example, who had a change of personality in the preceding season, is more or less back to his previously angry self for no reason. Sure, there are changes to his prior disposition, but they don’t seem to follow up. Midoriya had some interesting moments in S3, for example the aftereffects of his fights with Muscular and Bakugo were enduring to watch, but this season he has reverted back to being the character who says “I want to become stronger” a lot. Kirishima and Mirio get some good character work done on them and I’m thankful for that. Kirishima’s backstory with Mina did feel like a plot device as we’ve almost never seen them interact as friends on any prior occasion, but suddenly it’s revealed that Mina was in the same middle school as Kirishima? I call BS.

Sir Nighteye, Mirio’s mentor and All Might’s former sidekick is introduced this season, who had chosen Mirio to be the successor to All Might and was against the fact that All Might had passed on One for All to Midoriya. This leads to the development of some great character dynamics between Midoriya and Nighteye, which, unfortunately were only touched upon superficially. It had potential to lay solid groundwork for Midoriya’s development, but no such task is undertaken by the author.

One unfounded complaint I’ve heard about this season is that only a few characters get the focus while the rest are discarded which is a problem only if you see it as one. Other characters do get the spotlight at various instances in the previous seasons, but the seasonal nature of the show makes it seem like characters are forgotten at times. Take the Chimera Ant Arc in Hunter x Hunter for example. In this arc two of the main protagonists are not given any screen time for 60 straight episodes and no one batted an eye.

As for the main antagonist this season, Overhaul, was neither exceptional nor bad, he was just OK. He didn’t stand out as much as Stain did, but he felt like a rehashed version of him. I liked Overhaul aka Chisaki as a character, but his motivations are baseless and his ‘means justify the end’ scream hypocrisy. He proclaims that quirks are diseases and should not be allowed to transfer on the next generation, but at the same time invents drugs to increase the potency of one’s quirk.

Speaking of antagonists, it doesn’t feel like the main antagonist of the series, Shigaraki Tomura, has done much progressing since the beginning of the series. I really hope he gets some major role in the upcoming seasons, because I’m honestly starting to get tired of him. At least he’s stopped scratching his neck and being pissed about anything and everything, which is a plus, I guess.

One of the most disappointing aspects of this season has been the lackluster animation. The fights don’t have the fluidity they possessed in the earlier seasons. For the climax of one of the biggest fights this season, Mirio vs Overhaul, we get an amazing slideshow which anyone could’ve made given they had access to the manga, photoshop and MS Powerpoint. They totally made up for it in the succeeding fight, but the stagnant animation and lack of music towards the climax of the previously mentioned fight really takes away much of the poignancy off the payoff.

The animation is by no means bad, but it’s not what I’ve come to expect form My Hero Academia. I hope they’ll fix it in the Blu-ray.

The music is great as always. I wasn’t a fan of either the first or the second opening and ending songs, but that’s just me. Rest of the music, though misused at times, was great.

For me, this season of MHA has been the weakest season yet. I’m more disappointed in the writing and pacing in this season than I am in the animation.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 4, 2020

bend_over

Not Recommended

*Spoiler Warning*

My Hero Academia is slowly but surely becoming Fairy Tail 2.0.

Every time I hear something good about "My Hero Academia", it has mainly to do with its writing and how beautiful it is. There are also so many great developments from many characters, so they say, but I don't see any of this. I really don't. I'm probably being a bit too nitpicky with the show but I really wouldn't mind at all if only people would stop calling this show's writing a magnum opus when you all know that's not true. I, personally would call "My Hero Academia" a cringe show and not ... in a good way, either. It's a show that gets on my nerves, can't stand, and yet, I've seen all 4 seasons of this damned franchise and I will finish everything with a little hope that its writing will be a little better, but I don't think it will ever happen since you know, I'm reading the fucking manga and it's looking real bad there as well.

The third season starts with a filler and despite my hatred for fillers in general, the first episode was genuinely a good episode (as far as fillers go) but it was still a recap of the story and honestly I would have gladly done without. Then it starts with the arc of "Saving the girl from the bad guy, because we're heroes even though there are so many other people out there that need our help and we should dedicate our time to them as well but who cares about them as long some one random kid is saved and let's cliche the fuck out of it". Oh yeah, it's just happen that the girl has the power of rewind time (VERY convenient for what's going to happen later). Fortunately for everyone, she has not control over it, so our boi, Deku - was able to save her and in the meantime Mirio lost his quirk powers, a random dude dies, some chicks do nothing, random stuff happens at random, 3-5 episode fillers, a not-so-good animation is not-so-good and predominantly we get to see many bad dudes. They show up now, but not before, because why exactly? I see, because the plot didn't want them before. Oh Yeah, It's All Coming Together.

Basically the whole premise of this season is basically to save her (and give her the happy life everyone needs, lol), a kid nobody cared before, and I can't believe it took that many episodes to save her who to tell you the truth, can't give a damn about. Like, no. She's that one girl everyone wants to protect but why though? Because she's cute? Because, you know, she's a kid? Dude, if I were a hero, i'd go from town to town to look for people who need my help. I'm not gonna take days staying around her as Midoriya and others do because... reasons? In fact, I don't think I exactly know why it was so necessary to save her... no, I actually know the reason of such thing, it's because we have to make our main character somewhat revelant. Whatever happens, Deku will take care of the main villain of the arc.

What bothers me is the coincidence that both Midoriya and Mirio stumbled upon her just after Midoriya somehow got Nighteye's approval on becoming his student and before somehow after Nighteye himself apparently had a plan to bring down Chisaki and his gang that just happens, the little girl both our heroes stumbled upon, I think a day before, is in that group, too. In my entire life i've never seen a more convenient thing than this part here. Think about it. If Deku never went to Nighteye, all this would probably never happened, and thus, the girl would have suffered even more before someone really was able to save her (if not never saved), but because Midoriya is the main character, he'll save her anyway (which he did), even going up against a probably much stronger enemy but because she has the power of rewind throughout the fight she was able to repair Deku's body, so he wouldn't explode and all this make the entire fight, a complete ex machina + asspull and bullshit, too. Look, the problem here is Deku and nobody else. He's writen in such a nuance that is so repetitive, nausating and predicable.

I can predict what he'll do because he has the same personality he had at the beginning. He has been doing stuff over and over again with the same outcome that wouldn't put him in any danger. He ain't in danger and probably never will. Did you see how he beat Gentle? Did you? It was a total bullshit of a fight. Deku was down. He was annihilated by gentle and yet, he won? How that happened? He doesn't surrender. He's persistent. Yes, this is what the author has made of him. Persistent. You'd think that does mean shit, amirite? Yes, but who the fuck cares anyway, he's the protagonist, logic means shit here anyway. Both Gentle and La Brava would have won since the beginning but because he's the main character and because of his own victories he'd became a much mature person, according to the author.

Has he become one?

No and probably never will. Being a cringy kid and shooting clichés every two seconds doesn't make you one. Being over obsessed with "justice" doesn't make you one. Being the overprotective person doesn't make one.

My Hero Academia is badly written. The series has way too many characters that does not flesh out a single one. They are all here because they're told to be and when they fight, they do win but they win in "Deku style". You know, the villain has the upper hand but because of a flashback or that set character endurance they force their body to its limit and win, by one blow. Have you noticed this patern? You never see a flashy fight but rather a dull one when some people hit each other non-stop for a few seconds multiplie times and the winner is the most obvious you can think of. I tell you, on this season there should have been at least 5 deaths. Some characters have a plot armor beyond belief. They won't die no matter what. Anyways, as I said, the writing is bad, so I chosed a random scene just to prove it to you:

- Uraraka gets knocked out by a big dude.
- Asui too gets knocked out by the same big dude.
- The big dude is about to deal up to the 9th strongest hero.
- It is not so clear whether one of the strongest heroes would win against him or not.
- Uraraka sees Deku (Toga in disguise).
- Uraraka, real shit, despite I can't move and despite being almost unconscious by the enemy's power, I have to force myself moving because (this is repeated later in the episode, but this time she sees the real deku) we are taught by seniors not to give up and somehow move the villain to where Deku (Toga in disguise) had said, with Asui, in case you didn't figure that out. Asui came outta nowhere to help Uraraka and split some clichés alongside Uraraka. Did she also saw Deku? I do assume she stopped "being unconscious", by seeing him, right? Above all, how they both were able to escape from that big dude's power? Whatever that fucking thing was, it was something that made both girls lose senses. You'd think even if the bad dude were to be defeated, it'd take a minute or so for them get conscious, but nope, it only took less than 5 seconds for them completely be fine and be able to use their powers at full. Man, some of these scenes are incomprensibile.

It all goes like that. Instead of using strategies to defeating the bad dudes, they get overpowered by them, rarely goes vice versa and by the end of the fight, heroes win. Now, how come the heroes win when they're clearly not strong enough to have the better? The answer is pretty simple, they SHOULDN'T. What they should, though, is to have a proper training such as fighting with professionals, until the proper gets unconscious more and more times until the victory goes the vice versa. It's gonna take a while but because it's writing is really bad they'll face off a villain anyway and eventually win, presumably without too many consequences if not any. They obviously do it but it is very rare. Students should be pressured many times to learn the dangerous that is the outside.

Also, let's talk about Uraraka a bit since now we're here. Is there anything useful she can do without yelling "Deku" every two seconds? We all know she loves him, and i'm happy for her but she only needs to hear his name or see him fighting to make herself do something is something i'm not happy of. She should have some character development, at the very least, by the end of the story. At least I hope because as for now, she's quite literally useless. Most of the girls are, in fact. At no point any of them got their shining moment. What a shame.

Least but not last, allow me to spare two words about something that I, for the love of god don't understand. I am obviously referring to the "characters power and their name" via text that appears on everyone's appearance. And not only that, do you guys remember Hizashi? He's that one character no screen time was given, instead the author has found a clever way to making him talk as much as one can by repeating the same stuff over and over again. If it's a new power and Hizashi explains it, i'll be completely fine with that but because we're given explanation to powers we have the knowledge of already, it's making me to believe it's just added there to pad some time. Considering this is the 4th season of the franchise, I doubt it's gonna stop anytime soon but it really should. It's annoying and distracting.

My Hero Academia is highly praised and I have nothing against that but people need to know that its writing it's not pioneer and overall it'll never be. Whatever the reason you are watching this anime, I say, hats off to you on appreciating these characters and their story. I really couldn't. I tried, but I just couldn't since most of the characters are both uninteresting and annoying.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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