MHA – Enjoyable and overhated

Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post. Hope you all are safe and healthy. I’ll admit that it took me a long time to start this because I was biased since I’d seen people say MHA was not good but I’m glad I started it. Also, this review is kind of different since I switched from the anime to the manga at the beginning of S4. The basic format is the same but what I’m saying here talks about both the anime and the manga. So let’s get into it. MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.

In a word where people have begun to develop superpowers, otherwise known as ‘Quirks’, heroes and villains are common. Every person with a quirk dreams of becoming a hero. In such a society, Izuku Midoriya is born quirkless that is without any superpower. Having always been a fan of All Might, the no. 1 hero and the symbol of peace, Izuku still dreams of being a hero, aiming to enroll at UA High School, the school with the best hero course. One day unintentionally, Izuku is captured by a villain and All Might who happens to be on the scene defeats the villain, saving Izuku. After having a chat with All Might, Izuku comes to know of a secret that All Might hides from the entire world. Through an event that makes All Might believe in Izuku, All Might passes down his quirk to Izuku so he can enroll in the hero course in UA. Now armed with a quirk that has potential far beyond his understanding, Izuku beings a journey to become the world’s greatest hero.

There are a lot of characters in this series and I mean a lot. The fun thing is almost all of them grow through their time at UA to become better and deal with their issues. The MC, Midoriya Izuku who at first seems like a classic tale of zero to hero, grows to understand the truth behind the world of heroes that shatters his false ideals. Bakugo who is Izuku’s childhood friend and rival, is a brash and arrogant boy who suffers from an inferiority complex towards Izuku. There’s Uraraka Ochako, a cheery girl whose motivations are much different than a normal person’s motivation for becoming a hero and yet she is still pure hearted. And my favorite character, Todoroki Shoto, a boy who struggles with his own identity and his relationship with his power as well as with his family. these characters all go through their character arcs to grow and the sheer number of characters is also amazing though some are left static, we do get to see most of their ideals and values.

The anime at least up until season 3 has some really good animation and music however the anime’s pace does seem to be off in comparison to the manga. The series in general is comedic at certain times when needed and sometimes when unneeded aswell. The series is also highly emotional and will drive you to tears more than once, the intensity of each scene, the backstories, the interpersonal relationships of the characters, there’s a lot about these characters and this story that will make you cry. There’s also the intense battles and the new techniques developed in battle which shows a lot of creativity. There’s also the fact that the series manages to grasp the concept of ‘heroes in training’ extremely well. There’s just the fact that the series can be way too chaotic at times with plot points are left open for a long time with no mention of them at all, enough to make you forget them. The ending arc does tie them back together but it still can get very chaotic at times, even in the manga.

While the series manages to show a lot of things such as how certain quirks can be damaging no matter what, how there’s inequality even ina society with heroes in terms of how people are treated, there is one thing that stands out and shines to me, the one thing that made me like the series a lot, ‘Heroes can’t save everyone’. This is related to the characters at UA, being naive and believing that heroes save everyone and gradually coming to terms with the fact that they too will have some regrets. This is mainly Deku’s ideal that heroes save everyone and this same ideal combined with the reality that he has learnt sets up the ending in such a beautiful way that I can see it being good if executed well.

The anime is ongoing at 113 episodes divided over 5 seasons while the manga is in what seems to be the final stretch, at 354 chapters. The finale of the series is extremely exciting and emotional and is set up really well, it all depends on how it is executed now. With exciting fights, brutal realities and a story that only gets darker as it progresses, MHA is a slow start that burns into a great fire. I’ll give it an 8 personally.

So that is it for this post guys hope you got some value from this.  Thank you guys for reading to the end hit me up on Instagram and Twitter with your thoughts and if you have any ideas on what I should write about. Stay safe from the COVID-19. Thank you again and I’ll see you all next week.