G-4rce Anime Reviews: Boku no Hero Academia

Warning: this review may contain spoilers

I was taking a break from new anime for a couple of months. Can't keep up with everything, ya know. I ran into this video on Youtube by jackontc, whom I knew from his One Punch Man OST recreation. The video was a recreation for the Boku no Hero Academia OST and it hooked me, so I couldn't help but find out what kind of anime would have such kick ass music like this. I quickly saw that this anime was the #1 hottest new anime on KissAnime, so I decided to go ahead and join the bandwagon.

Reception:
8.42 on Myanimelist
Ranked #140

My Thoughts and Review:
I'm going to make one thing clear with this anime: overall, it's a bit weak. Storyline and characters bash it pretty hard, so why the hell do I love it so much? I mean, I'm the type of anime watcher who looks for a strong story, and normally I would just drop an anime that doesn't have one, but what is the big deal here? Why is Boku no Hero Academia so addicting? This anime is sort of like Sword Art Online: you either love it or you don't, and a majority of people loved this one. Its flaws are easily recognizable. One, the main plot is very basic and predictable. Two, most of the characters are pretty one dimensional with only a few unique qualities. Let me get into the nook of this...

So the main idea of the anime works like this: people in the world are born with a "quirk", basically some sort of inhuman ability or or superpower. Apparently, this spawned a new breed of good and evil, where people with quirks are destined to become heroes and join the never-ending battle of super villains. The main character, Izuku Midoriya, or "Deku", has always dreamed of becoming a hero and joining UA, an academy for heroes. Early in his life, though, he has found out that he was born without a quirk, which typically made him sort of an outcast in the society of school where all of his other classmates, and even teachers, did have quirks. Deku's role model is All Might, the world's most famous superhero. Deku actually meets All Might in the series (who didn't see this one coming?) and receives a quirk from him, which is One For All where someone can pass on their superhuman strength quirk to others. Deku is finally able to enroll in UA and is ready for a bright future ahead of him. Okay, we got past that. Underdog story; all you need to know. Characters now... Kacchan is one of the secondary faces in the anime. To keep a long story short, he's a dick. He's one of those characters that you want to meet boot with balls every time you see him, but you still like him for some reason. Deku actually has a very complicated relationship with Kacchan. He's Deku's friend/bully/rival and he's a very narcissistic breed of bitch. He wishes to be the best hero of all, with every other hero below him. In tune with this attitude, Kacchan will become very pissed whenever someone actually does something better than him, especially Deku who used to be without a quirk, and suddenly ends up doing awesome stuff left and right. One thing I must say about this character, though, is that you may hate him but like him at the same time. Yes, he's a huge prick, but he's a very important character in the series and he adds a bit of much-needed depth to the story. So all in all, he's not an entirely unlikeable character. Toshinori Yagi, or All Might, has built the closest relationship to Deku, after Deku finds out about All Might's long-kept secret. He gives Deku the most support of any other character in the series, and he's a likable guy. Other characters in the anime are pretty much just thrown in there because it's a Shonen anime and it needs a lot of characters. Now I must say that other characters in the anime don't have much development, but you shouldn't expect any because this is just the first season. Season one focuses heavily on Deku, All Might, and Kacchan.

Okay, all that aside, we must get down to what it is about this anime that made me continue watching it. One, I really like super power anime. That will at least get you to gain some of my interest. Two, the story itself is unoriginal, but it's NOT uninteresting. The developers of this anime managed to keep it from dragging on and it's not a hard plot to understand with no need for plot twists. All they had to do was keep the excitement high. Three, the action sequences are hype as hell and will have you sitting at the edge of your seat. Every time a fight scene comes up, it's just dazzling and highly entertaining to watch, and it seemed like the writers put very little effort in making this happen. Every action scene just connects with the audience in a spectacular fashion. The final fight between All Might and a very powerful villain named Nomu is, hands-down, already the best anime battle of 2016. I can't count how many times I hit the replay button for that one scene. The animation was top-notch and there was just so much grit behind every detail. Four, the music is the hotness. I actually bought the soundtrack, something I've never done before, but I just had to do it because hearing the songs in the anime itself spoke to me and said "Boy if you don't order that soundtrack I'll kick your ass". My favorite track on the CD is, of course, "You Say Run" which is the actual song for the recreation that jackontc did. Both the real deal and the recreation are just fire action tracks, and the song itself plays a very, VERY heavy role in the action scenes of the anime. Some songs are skippable on the CD, but the soundtracks still features a very healthy amount of epic ones.

All in all, Boku no Hero Academia has really caught my attention. It may not be in my Top 10 anime of all time list, but I'm already a huge fan of it. This anime is badass. Childish, but badass.

Overall 8/10:
BnHA has its flaws. As a matter of fact, it has many flaws, but it doesn't drag on to the point where it just gets downright annoying, like Naruto Shippuden, no offense to the fans. And it feels like all those boring moments were all worth it once you get to the climactic action scenes. The developers did such a superb job with the animation, execution, and music in every action scene that they're just too epic and too much damn fun to miss out on. If you love shonen anime, then Boku no Hero Academia delivers. A second season has already been confirmed, and I'm excited for it. This anime has a whole lot of potential, and hopefully this one will be like Hunter x Hunter and Katekyo Hitman Reborn, where it starts off childish, but soon becomes more intense as it goes on.

Worth watching? Hell yes. Go watch it.

Comments

I'll watch it.the post is good plus I like super hero anime as well - leafstar

Great review! There haven't been a lot of anime reviews on this website, honestly. Especially now that CastlevaniaFanboy128 retired. Me and Skullkid755 were the only two anime reviewers prior to this anime review. Since you've done a great job with this anime review, I think it would be nice if we would act as a trio of anime reviewers on this website. What do you say? - visitor

That actually sounds pretty cool. Sure, I'll join! - visitor

Yeah, I decided to make it an anime reviewers alliance now. I made a new post for it just now. It's called A.U.R.A. (Alliance of United Reviewers of Anime). You might want to check it out. - visitor

I'll be sure to do so - visitor

Pretty good revew - Skullkid755

Thanks - visitor

Now I know this isn't related to the anime review, but I just wanted to share with you that I made a new anime list called Greatest Anime Series Licensed by Aniplex of America. I hope you like it, Mcgillacuddy. - visitor

Okay I'll check it out - visitor

Thanks. It kind of really shocked me when I first found out Funimation lost the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Aniplex of America acquired it. All I can predict is that it will be even more expensive to buy Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood now that it's licensed by Aniplex of America. - visitor

FROG GIRL FROG GIRL FROG GIRL FROG GIRL FROG GIRL FROG GIRL - TwilightKitsune

I like this anime but it has a lot of clichés - visitor

You just HAD to pick on my favorite, Naruto Shippuden. Like Bleach, I've watched a lot of Academia, and it just doesn't grow on me. The quirks are interesting, like the jutsu of Naruto, and there are likewise many characters. But most of the Academia characters are not attractive. The show lacks balance: it is tediously talky, with brief moments of repellent violence. The urban setting lacks appeal. Shippuden's soundtrack is much superior, as are the characters. Academia tries too hard to be impressive, and doesn't succeed. - Crwth