My overall feelings with this are as follow: this is a good shounen. Sounds simple, and that's because it is! I'd put this at the same level as something like Naruto, and that's because they both make the same mistakes, as well as have the same strong points. If you like shounens, read this. If you are looking for something to surprise you, this might just do the trick. I'm not a fan of shounens, and I enjoyed my time with this regardless, don't underestimate it!
If you care at all about any more of an in-depth take, here goes (beware for very minor spoilers).
Strong premise
...
to start it off, well paced action, my only real complaint about the first half of the series is the bad quality comedy. Especially at around volume 15, the manga drops in quality a LOT. The Gentle Criminal arc and everything prior to that is quite bad.
But luckily, as the mangaka figures out how he wants to close things out, the quality SKYROCKETS for the final couple arcs.
The villain focused arc is where he manages to reignite that spark that drives the series, although I'm not a fan of the tsundere girl, Twice has got to be the best character in the entire manga. Not only does he bring a style of comedy that fits the theme (a la Deadpool), he has a SUPER dark backstory that also fits perfectly with the entire mood switch! This encompasses the entire villain arc and closure to it, as well as the Shigaraki family arc, focused on Endeavor and Hawkeye.
All I have left to mention is the art. This guy is a fucking GENIUS. I don't think it's quite as complex as something like Berserk or Vagabond, but the fact that he's managing to pull off some of these spreads in a WEEKLY SHONEN is completely nuts. It's hard to convey how surprised I was when turning pages and noticing how good and gritty the artwork is. Bravo! In fact, the mangaka uses this change of artstyle in a very deliberate way, and it elevates moments of tension as well as action focused shots.
Some more specific nitpicks:
- There's a couple "heat of the moment" plot points, but this is a shounen, so you have to take that for granted.
- The main cast is quite unlikeable. That is, apart from Todoroki, who is the only enigmatic guy that gets a very good development arc. Our protagonist, together with everyone else, feels very one-dimensional and static. It's kind of ironic how much better the manga becomes when it's NOT about the main cast of characters lol.
- Eri's power is like a wildcard that the mangaka can end up using however he wants to make the manga unpredictable in a cheap way. I'm kind of opposed to it, but he didnt overuse it so it's fine.
- As cool as Star and Stripes is, she comes outta nowhere and feels to me like a big ripple issue stemming from how underutilised the global worldview is. Setting your fantasy shounen manga in the real world presents some real diffculties that are rarely dealt with correctly. In fact, this exact same thing happens in JJK!
- Something interesting to mention is how the anime completely butchers the source material. I had a pretty bad opinion of MHA which I now realise originates from the anime.
It's all in the details. The anime loses all that makes the manga feel cool, such as gritty art or fucked up scenes, and even things like pacing feel slow and tedious. As an example, the small reminders the manga does with character names + quirks are small and painless, but in the anime they are intrusive and eye catching. The animation is also quite subpar, which I noticed is a very weird pattern in anime adaptations, that I'd like to touch upon some other time.
- There's some chapters around the end that feel very rushed and underworked, but it's a very small number in comparison with how long the manga is.
Compared to other mangas that commit this crime ALL throughout, this is not that bad IMO. I guess you really do get quality stuff when your team consists of 6 assistants huh...
Overall, this feels like manga made by a manga reader. This is the case with a lot of mangakas, but in this case it really feels like he knows what shounen readers like to see. Which yea, if you like shounens, this is just right for you.
With all that said, I'm REALLY looking forward to his next work, but I hope he decides on a change of genre. I think he's very proficient at making dark and gritty works, as those are the best parts to come out of this story, and he could definitely cook up something amazing if he decides to embrace that!
7.5
Apr 5, 2025
Boku no Hero Academia
(Manga)
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My overall feelings with this are as follow: this is a good shounen. Sounds simple, and that's because it is! I'd put this at the same level as something like Naruto, and that's because they both make the same mistakes, as well as have the same strong points. If you like shounens, read this. If you are looking for something to surprise you, this might just do the trick. I'm not a fan of shounens, and I enjoyed my time with this regardless, don't underestimate it!
If you care at all about any more of an in-depth take, here goes (beware for very minor spoilers). Strong premise ... Aug 12, 2024
This manga is the biggest pile of hot, steaming garbage I have ever read.
The author manages to fill in 200 chapters with constant pedophilia, rape, violence and countless other fucked up shit. The comedy is bad, and I cant believe the sort of ideas it fed japanese kids back when it was publishing. How this averages an 8.88 on MAL is beyond me. If you argue it tries to criticise all these fucked up things by making the characters normalise them, you have an enormous copium addiction. The last couple volumes try so hard to be super philosophical and deep when all it really manages ... Jul 10, 2024
Houseki no Kuni
(Manga)
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One of the most recently published manga I have read. Calling it unique is an understatement, as I'm not even sure who this appeals to. It has strong shoujo manga tropes, as well as an all-girl lesbian fantasy feel to it, but somehow mixes a religious and psychological backdrop to it all. In fact, the character cast feels like a japanese version of Steven Universe, the setting is very unique and the art is also very refreshing. These are obviously all very good things, but these pros quickly became cons the longer the manga went on for.
- The character cast is too unstable (as ... May 5, 2024
DISCLAIMER: (Romance and slice of life is not my cup of tea, but I gave this a fair chance regardless.)
This is a comedy, school drama, fictional, romance story. The cast is composed by 2 male characters and around 6 female, of which the male that isnt the MC gets screentime in around a third of the episodes (and no development whatsoever). The episodes are structured in pairs, functioning as miniature character arcs that develop each girl in the cast, starting with the MC's girlfriend. The anime mixes in clear fantasy into the story, causing the characters to get affected by supernatural phenomena that can't be ... |