My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected into 26 tankōbon volumes as of March 2020. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers in a world where they have become commonplace, but who still dreams of becoming a hero himself. He is scouted by All Might, Japan's greatest hero, who shares his quirk with Midoriya after recognizing his potential, and later helps to enroll him in a prestigious high school for heroes in training.
The manga was adapted into an anime television series by Bones. Its first season aired in Japan from April to June 2016, followed by a second season from April to September 2017, then a third season from April to September 2018, a fourth season from October 2019 to April 2020, and a fifth season has been announced. An animated film titled ' was released in August 2018. A second animated film titled ' was released in December 2019. There are plans for a live-action film by Legendary Entertainment.
The series has been licensed for an English-language release by Viz Media and began serialization in their weekly digital manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2015. Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the website and app Manga Plus in January 2019.
The manga won the 2019 Harvey Award for Best Manga. As of December 2019, the manga had over 26 million copies in print. Both the manga and anime have received an overwhelming positive response from both critics and audiences, and is considered one of the best of the 2010s.
Synopsis
Setting
The story of My Hero Academia is set in a world where currently most of the human population has gained the ability to develop superpowers called, which occur in children within the age of four: it is estimated that around 80% of the world population has a Quirk. There are infinite types of Quirks, and it is extremely unlikely to find two people who have the exact same power, unless they are closely related. These particular abilities have allowed the development of a new category of people: Heroes, who face the evil-voted individuals who use the Quirks for selfish and criminal purposes, commonly known as Villains. In addition, Heroes who choose to exercise heroism at work level are recognized as Pro Heroes. Unless the individual is registered as a Pro Hero, the voluntary use of his or her Quirk in public places is considered a crime, except in exceptional cases.Quirks have been collected into three categories:
- -type Quirk is the most widely used, which gives the ability to produce and release substances or alter the materials within certain limits. As the name indicates, this type of Quirk needs conscious use and, at times, good concentration skills, especially for prolonged use;
- -type Quirk allows the user to temporarily transform his body or part of it in order to obtain physical enhancement or additional skills. With some exceptions, the alterations due to this type of Quirk affect only the users themselves;
- -type Qurik always keeps passively active amplifying or altering functions and abilities of an organism and, for this reason, induces in the wearer far greater bodily mutations than other types, which makes wearers of this type of Quirk easily recognizable. Managing control of these skills requires training and, however, the resulting mutations can cause problems or inconvenience for users.
Plot
dreams of becoming a Hero despite being bullied by his violent childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo for lacking a Quirk. Both youths idolize one of the world's greatest heroes All Might, who they both met with Izuku being one of few to know of an critical injury All Might has been concealing from the public eye to maintain morale. All Might also reveals the nature of his Quirk "One For All" and passes it down to Izuku to succeed him after seeing the youth's determination in the face of danger. As Izuku begins his path to becoming a hero in attending alongside Bakugo and the friends they make in Class 1-A, a nemesis to the "One For All" users named All For One conditions his apprentice Tomura Shigaraki to destroy the current society and its heroes.Media
Manga
My Hero Academia is written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It originated from the one-shot My Hero, which Horikoshi wanted to turn into a series following the end of Barrage. It began its serialization in the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 7, 2014. As of March 2020, the series has been collected into twenty-six tankōbon volumes. The series is licensed for the English-language release in North America by Viz Media, who published the first volume on August 4, 2015. As the series is published in Japan, it is also released simultaneously in English digitally by Viz Media's Weekly Shōnen Jump. As of August 7, 2018, 14 volumes have been released. Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the website and app Manga Plus in January 2019.A spin-off series entitled My Hero Academia Smash!! by Hirofumi Neda started in the Jump+ digital app on November 9, 2015, and finished on November 6, 2017. Five tankōbon volumes were released as of November 2017. The series has been licensed by Viz Media. Another spin-off series, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, began being published by Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2017. The series is licensed for the English-language release in North America by Viz Media. The first volume was released in English on July 3, 2018. A third spin-off series, My Hero Academia: Team Up Mission by Yōkō Akiyama, began serialization in Saikyō Jump on August 2, 2019, with a prologue chapter debuting in Shōnen Jump GIGA on July 25, 2019.
Anime series
On October 29, 2015, the series' official Twitter announced that My Hero Academia would receive an anime adaptation produced by Studio Bones. With the anime announced, Toho registered the domain name "heroaca.com" as the anime's website. The anime is directed by Kenji Nagasaki, written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and featured character designs by Yoshihiko Umakoshi and music composed by Yuki Hayashi. The anime stars Marina Inoue as Momo Yaoyorozu, Yoshimasa Hosoya as Fumikage Tokoyami, Daiki Yamashita as Izuku Midoriya, Kenta Miyake as All Might, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Katsuki Bakugō, Ayane Sakura as Ochako Uraraka, Kaito Ishikawa as Tenya Iida, Aoi Yuki as Tsuyu Asui, Ryou Hirohashi as Minoru Mineta. The anime premiered on MBS and other Japan News Network stations in the Nichigo time slot at 5 P.M. on Sundays in Japan. The opening theme is "The Day", performed by Porno Graffitti and the ending theme is "Heroes", performed by Brian the Sun.In March 2016, Funimation announced they had licensed the international rights for streaming services, the home and broadcast release, and the merchandise rights. Universal Pictures UK distributed the first season in the United Kingdom and Ireland on behalf of Funimation, with Sony Pictures UK distributing the second season for Funimation, and Manga Entertainment distributing subsequent seasons for Funimation. In Australia and New Zealand, Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment distributed the first two seasons, on behalf of Funimation, with Madman Entertainment distributing season 3 onwards, in partnership with Funimation.
A second season was announced in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine's 30th issue of 2016. It premiered on April 1, 2017, on Nippon TV and Yomiuri TV, and ended on September 30, 2017, with the staff and cast from the first season returning to reprise their roles. The first opening theme is "Peace Sign" performed by Kenshi Yonezu and the first ending theme is, performed by Little Glee Monster. The second opening theme is performed by amazarashi and the ending theme is by LiSA.
A third season was announced in the 44th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine of 2017. The English dub premiered on April 7, 2018. The first opening theme is "Odd Future" by Uverworld, while the first ending theme is "Update" by Miwa. The second opening theme is "Make My Story" by Lenny Code Fiction and the second ending theme is "Long Hope Philia" by Masaki Suda.
On April 19, 2018, Funimation announced that the series would air on Adult Swim's Toonami block starting on May 5.
A fourth season was announced in the 44th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine of 2018. This was later confirmed with the airing of the final episode to season three on September 29, 2018. On December 19, 2018, the My Hero Academia website confirmed a release date of October 12, 2019, along with a key visual. Funimation had premiered the first episode of the fourth season at Anime Expo on July 6, 2019, with the English dub. Kenji Nagasaki is serving as chief director of the fourth season, with Masahiro Mukai as director. Funimation and Madman Entertainment will premiere the first episode of the English dub in Australia at Madman Anime Festival Melbourne and Perth on September 14 and October 4, 2019, respectively. The first opening theme is "Polaris" by Blue Encount, while the first ending theme is "Kōkai no Uta by Sayuri. The second opening theme is "Star Marker" by Kana-Boon, and the second ending theme is "Shout Baby" by Ryokuōshoku Shakai.
A fifth season was announced in the 18th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in April 2020, and at the end of the final episode of season 4.
Theatrical films
An anime film was announced in December 2017 and features an original story set after the manga's "Final Exam" arc. Titled ', the film had its world premiere at Anime Expo on July 5, 2018, and the Japanese theatrical release began screening on August 3, 2018, with the staff and cast from the anime series returning to reprise their roles. Funimation announced that they would release the film theatrically in the United States and Canada from September 25, 2018, to October 2, 2018.In October 2018, Legendary Entertainment acquired the rights to produce a live-action adaptation of My Hero Academia.
On March 23, 2019, it was announced that a second animated film for My Hero Academia was in production. On July 7, 2019, the official Twitter account for My Hero Academia revealed the title as ', and scheduled the film for release on December 20, 2019.
Video games
A video game based on the anime, My Hero Academia: Battle for All, was announced in November 2015. The game was developed by Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console, where it released in Japan on May 19, 2016. A second video game, titled My Hero: One's Justice, was released for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on October 26, 2018. The game has sold over 500,000 units worldwide, as of January 2019. Izuku Midoriya, All Might and Katsuki Bakugo also appear as playable characters in the crossover game Jump Force. A third installment of the video game series, My Hero: One's Justice 2, was announced for release on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It was released in Japan on March 12, 2020, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.Musicals
My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Stage, a stage musical adaptation, was first announced in 2018 and ran in Tokyo and Osaka from April 12 to April 29, 2019. The play was directed by Tsuneyasu Motoyoshi written by Hideyuki Nishimori, and choreographed by Umebō. Shunsuke Wada composed the music. A second stage play titled My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Stage: A True Hero, was scheduled to run from March 6 to April 25, 2020, with the cast and staff returning. A concert event titled My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Live will be held in July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Stage: A True Hero's original run was cancelled and postponed to July 2020, where a complete version titled My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Stage: A True Hero Plus Stage Ver. will run instead while My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Live is postponed to a later date. After one staff member contracted COVID-19, the production committee announced that My Hero Academia: The "Ultra" Stage: A True Hero would instead be live-streamed; however, the play was delayed again after another staff member contracted COVID-19.Reception
Popularity
The story has been noted to take inspiration from elements in superhero comics, such as the aesthetics of its characters, and due to the popularity of the series, characters of My Hero Academia were used to promote the Marvel Studios film . Before the anime adaptation's premiere, manga author Masashi Kishimoto praised Kōhei Horikoshi's work, believing it would be a success overseas; Horikoshi, meanwhile, has cited Kishimoto's Naruto series as a primary source of inspiration.Sales
Volume 1 reached 7th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart with 71,575 copies sold. It sold out almost immediately on its first printing. Volume 2 reached 6th place, with 167,531 copies and, by January 18, 2015, had sold 205,179 copies. As of March 2017, there were over 10 million copies of My Hero Academia in circulation. As of August 2018, the manga had over 16 million copies in print. As of December 2018, the manga had over 20 million copies in print. As of December 2019, the manga had over 26 million copies in print. My Hero Academia was the 6th best selling manga in 2019. In 2019, My Hero Academia ranked 37th on the 19th "Book of the Year" list by Da Vinci magazine.Critical reception
Nick Creamer of Anime News Network ranked the first volume as a B. Creamer considered that the series uses the classic formula of other Weekly Shōnen Jump series, but highlighted its artwork, depicting it as "detailed, angular, and tremendously consistent" and lauded the way the story applies "self-awareness" to classic superhero tropes. He called the story "absolutely professional" and concluded; "It won't surprise you, and so far the characters aren't exactly leaping off the page, but it's fast-paced and entertaining and very sharply drawn. It's a mature work from a professional who clearly knows his craft." Barnes & Noble listed My Hero Academia on their list of "Our Favorite Manga of 2018".Alex Osborn of IGN gave the anime series positive marks, saying "The first season of My Hero Academia delivers thirteen episodes of fantastic action, elevated by a heartfelt story that's wrapped around a core cast of memorable and relatable characters." Osborn went on to state that the villains were underdeveloped.
Accolades
The manga was nominated for the 8th Manga Taishō in 2015. It was nominated for the 40th Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category in 2016. The manga won the Sugoi Japan Award and the "Japan Expo Awards" in 2017. It was also nominated for the 44th Angoulême International Comics Festival for Best Youth Comic in the same year, and the 30th Harvey Awards for Best Manga. In 2019, the manga won the Harvey Award for Best Manga.Paste ranked My Hero Academia among the top 40 anime of all time. In November 2019, Polygon named it as one of the best anime of the 2010s, and Crunchyroll listed it in their "Top 25 best anime of the 2010s". IGN also listed My Hero Academia among the best anime series of the 2010s.