Oct 15, 2017
Boku no Hero Academia is often credited with revitalized the saturated shounen genre. Many people see it as a show that incorporates the best aspects of shounen battle anime without deconstructing the genre or incorporating a dark twist. While it is refreshing to have a show that doesn't try to be unnecessarily edgy or intellectual, Hero Aca still falls short in numerous departments.
Story 7- Hero Aca premise about a boy born without powers is a world where over 90% of the population manifests a special ability or quirk, had me hooked from the very start. It's a premise that is easy for anyone to
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relate to, and one with a strong emotional foundation to get viewers to care about the primary characters from the very start. Even now, as a college student, I can relate more than ever to wishing that someone would give me one chance to succeed in the competitive world, much like how All Might passes on One for All for Deku. This premise is enough to keep the show moving for the first few episodes, but midway through pacing becomes a massive issue. Despite being only 13 episodes long, after episode 5 the show slows down dramatically and passing from arc to arc can begin to feel like a chore
Art 5- Considering that Hero Aca was produced by studio bones, a studio is known for vibrant color pallets, expressive character animation, and bombastic fight scenes, I was expecting the animation to be top tier. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Outside of a few instances of hype animation, the artwork for Hero Aca is incredibly flat. Characters are stiff and barely move. Backgrounds feel boring and lifeless, especially in classroom settings. While there are some pretty great fights, they are not outstanding enough to make up for the generic animation overall. When compared to Mob Psycho 100, Space Dandy, and even Soul Eater the animation simply doesn't hold up
Sound- The soundtrack of Hero Aca is by far my favorite aspect of the series, aside from its premise. HERO A never fails to send chills down my spine while You Say Run is always timed perfectly with fight scenes. The OP is pretty standard but still manages to build hype.
Character- The problem with Hero Aca's characters is that they introduce too many too fast. The first 3 episodes center entirely on Deku and his relationship with All Might and Bakugo. These three episodes flesh out these characters tremendously in such a short period of time, especially Deku. Afterwards, we are introduced to supporting characters Uraraka and Iida, but before they can be fleshed out even remotely as much as Deku, we are introduced to an entire class with 16 addition characters as well as numerous instructors, and then a group of villains on top of that. Remember each characters personality, quirk, or even name is nearly impossible on a single viewing.
Enjoyment/Overall 6- While it may appear that I am being overly critical of this series, I am only doing so for two reasons. For one, while I feel that Hero Aca has a great premise and a great main character, it has a long way to go before it can be viewed as the savior of the shounen genre. The second reason is that the 2nd season of Hero Aca is absolutely phenomenal and corrects most of the issues I've discussed above. While Hero Aca may not be a masterpiece, it is the predecessor to something quite possibly revolutionary.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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