Boku No Hero Academia [TV]
In a world where being born with superpowers called a “Quirk” is the norm, a quirkless regular middle schooler Izuku Midoriya dreams to join the band of heroes that he grew to admire and love, and save the world. Despite being constantly bullied by his schoolmates for having no quirks, he does not give up on his dream and turns his attention into meticulous data gathering about the heroes instead.
After being the only one to selflessly risk his life and save his childhood bully from an evil villain, Midoriya catches his most adored hero’s attention, All Might. Acknowledging Midoriya’s brave and heroic nature, All Might has chosen him to be the successor of “One for All”, a transferable quirk which gets stronger each time it is inherited.
Having finally acquired a quirk and months of extreme training, Midoriya is admitted into the famous U.A. High School, an academy dedicated to superhero training, and is quickly introduced to the harsh reality of what it means to be a true hero.
About the Show
Boku no Hero Academia is a superhero action comedy-drama anime series by studio Bones. Its first season aired a total of 13 episodes through April 3 to June 26, 2016, and its second season has premiered on April 1, 2017. As of March 2017, its manga counterpart has already sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Main Characters
Izuku Midoriya
Initially a timid and skinny kid, Izuku Midoriya developed a muscular body after going through rigid training supervised by All Might. He is obsessed with gathering data about heroes, and has recorded all the information into his notebooks. Whenever faced with a situation where someone else is in danger, he selflessly rushes to help despite being afraid.
Skills and Quirk:
Midoriya’s quirk “One for All”, allows him to be able to execute short bursts of superhuman strength, but injures the part of his body that he uses afterwards. This causes him to be disabled most of the time, and require healing in order to be able to fight again. With the help of the data he gathered from different heroes, he compensates with his weakness through well-thought strategies.
All Might
All Might is a popular superhero and a teacher at U.A. High at the same time. Friendly and full of dramatic flair, he is loved by most, specially by Midoriya. Due to sustaining a serious injury from a previous battle, he can only use his superpowers for a limited time, which he keeps as a secret in order not to encourage his enemies. Whenever his time as All Might expires, he turns into a short and sickly person who often coughs blood out.
Skills and Quirk:
During his superhero form, All Might is almost a force of nature. With his super strength, he can jump very high that almost gives him the ability to fly, and deliver punches that are enough to send shockwaves that can clear the weather. He also very agile and durable, being able to withstand a high amount of pain.
Katsuki Bakugo
Katsuki Bakugo is a prideful, arrogant, and almost villain-like student of U.A. High. He bullied Midoriya during their time in middle school, and nicknamed him “Deku” which means useless. Despite his life being saved from a villain, he still despises Midoriya and sees him as a rival.
Skills and Quirk:
Matching his violent personality, Katsuki’s quirk enables him to create destructive explosions through his sweat, mainly from his hands. He is immune from the explosions he create, allowing him to safely use his quirk in the battlefield. With the Grenadier Bracers, his destructive powers are greatly enhanced.
Ochako Uraraka
Cheerful and outgoing, Ochako Uraraka is the first friend Midoriya made upon enterting U.A High. She also calls Midoriya “Deku”, but only does so because she thinks it gives out a vibe of never giving up. She is training to be a hero in order to earn money, and help her family.
Skills and Quirk:
Ochako’s quirk is called “Zero Gravity”, giving her the ability to manipulate the gravity of anything she touches. This also allows her to make herself and others float, although for a limited time. Whenever using her quirk for long periods of time, she will become nauseous and puke.
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is Midoriya and his class’ homeroom teacher. He often looks exhausted and carefree, but is actually very strict.
Skills and Quirk:
Eraserhead possesses a strong quirk and great hand-to-hand combat skills. His quirk, “Erasure”, allows him to disable other people’s quirks until the moment he blinks. Due to opening his eyes most of the time, Eraserhead suffers from dry-eye irritation. He also has a cloth made from steel wire alloy and carbon nano fibers, which is capable of capturing and immobilizing his target.
Tomura Shigaraki
Tomura Shigaraki is a villain and the acting leader of the League of Villains. Their goal is to destroy the symbol of peace, All Might. He has a sinister and twisted aura upon him, and his body appears to be clasped by multipled disembodied hands.
Skills and Quirk:
His quirk “Disintegrate”, allows him to disintegrate anything he touches with his hands. With his extreme speed and agility, Tomura Shigaraki is a villain to be feared. He can fight on par with heroes like Eraserhead, even managing to give him a serious damage.
Kurogiri
Kurogiri, also known as Black Mist, is Shigaraki’s right-hand man. His body is mostly made up of black fog, except the metal that protects his collar bones. Despite speaking politely and in a formal way, Kurogiri is as sinister as his comrades in the League of Villains.
Skills and Quirk:
Black Mist possesses a strong quirk called “Warp Gate”. This particular quirk allows him to create portals that could transport him and his allies to different locations, therefore very useful for infiltration. He can also dismember anyone who is halfway through the portal by closing it.
Noumu
Noumu is an artificially developed beast created to fight on the same level as All Might. He is very muscular in physique and his brain appear to be unprotected by a skull.
Skills and Quirk:
Designed to counter All Might, Noumu is a very powerful villain. Not only does he possess immense strength and agility, he also possesses shock absorption and increased regeneration, making him extremely durable and very hard to defeat.
Episode List
Episode 1: Izuku Midoriya: Origin
In this episode, Izuku Midoriya and the world of villains and superheroes is introduced.
Episode 2: What It Takes To Be a Hero
All Might and his condition is revealed to Midoriya in this episode. This is also where Midoriya displays his heroic and brave nature by saving his bully from a villain.
Episode 3: Roaring Muscles
This is where Midoriya’s journey to being a real hero starts. All Might declares him heir to his quirk and supervises his training.
Episode 4: Start Line
After a rigorous training with All Might, Midoriya takes the entrance exam for U.A. High School and passes by the skin of his teeth.
Episode 5: What I Can Do For Now
Eraserhead and the class of heroes in training is introduced in this episode. They are faced with a practical exam, in which whoever marks last will be expelled from the school.
Episode 6: Rage, You Damned Nerd
The students are given costumes, some of which boosting their quirks. They are given another test of skills, only this time they will be fighting each other as teams.
Episode 7: Deku vs Kacchan
Bakugo and Midoriya’s team fight each other over a mock objective.
Episode 8: Bakugo’s Starting Line
After losing the mock battle to Midoriya, Bakugo realizes that he still has much to improve and vows to become stronger.
Episode 9: Yeah, Just Do Your Best Lida!
After refusing the responsibility as class president and passing it to Lida, the class proceeds to USJ for field training. The situation quickly turns sour as the League of Villains appear, cornering and outnumbering them.
Episode 10: Encounter with the Unknown
The class is scattered throughout USJ by Black Mist’s quirk and battles for their lives against the villains.
Episode 11: Game Over
Lida manages to escape the USJ and hastily calls for help. Moments just before Shigaraki could kill Midoriya and his friends, All Might finally arrives to protect them.
Episode 12: All Might
This is the episode where Noumu and All Might engage in an epic hand-to-hand battle. After finding himself in a pinch against the beast, All Might is left with no choice but to exceed his body’s limit.
Episode 13: Upon Each of Their Hearts
After defeating Noumu, All Might loses much of his strength and almost got killed by Shigaraki. The teachers of U.A. High School finally arrive, capturing most of the League of Villains and saving the students.
Last Words
Boku no Hero Academia (ie My Hero Academia) is largely inspired by American superhero comics. With its current set of heroes and villains, it is generally a fun series to watch.
