Entering My Hero Academia’s next season, fans of the anime series can re-visit these movies to enjoy the many adventures of Deku and friends.
Highlights
- My Hero Academia movies tie into the main series, enhancing character connections and offering unique side stories for fans to enjoy.
- “Two Heroes” introduces All Might’s past and showcases teamwork, while “Heroes Rising” focuses on Class 1-A facing a powerful villain.
- “World Heroes’ Mission” takes on a global threat, with mixed reviews but high box office success, showcasing humanity’s struggle with quirks.
My Hero Academia is an experience unlike no other, with Mangaka Kohei Horikoshi drawing heavy inspiration from American comic book heroes and bringing it into a new era of anime with children aspiring to one day become pro heroes. The quirks they possess act as their powers, with each holder having their own unique powers that come with strengths and weaknesses. Those who choose to use their powers for good run their chance of becoming a Pro Hero, while the contrasting quirk users join the underground society and use their powers for evil. The show’s success is evident with My Hero Academia‘s seventh season on the horizon, and the series doesn’t appear to be losing steam any time soon.
Typically, anime movies don’t reflect the main story in any way — usually referred to as non-canon. However, My Hero Academia is special in this regard, as the movies are tied into the main series story, either through reflecting on some backstory or offering viewers an experience akin to a side mission. It’s not necessary to watch all available My Hero Academia movies to be caught up with the main series, but it does enhance the overall connection to each character involved. Luckily, there are three to catch up on, and they range from 95 to 105 minutes, with a fourth installment set to release in August 2024. Whether fans are just starting to get into My Hero Academia or are veterans of the franchise that have yet to experience these tie-in movies, here’s the rundown and what to expect from each edition.
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My Hero Academia: Two Heroes – 2018
Starting off with the lowest-ranking My Hero Academia movie on MyAnimeList and second on iMDB, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes hit the big screen in 2018 to some mixed reviews. Those who loved the movie preached its high quality of animation and fluid movements, while detractors criticized the story for being hollow and having no impact on the main story due to all the characters surviving each ordeal.
The film opened to a $4.49 million weekend in its first weekend, and hit the one-million ticket sales mark by August 2018, one month after its release. Surprisingly, it sold another 1.3 million tickets by October of the same year, bringing in a total of 1.6 billion Yen. Internationally, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes was a instant success, becoming Funimation’s third-highest-grossing licensed film and falling just short of the 2016 release of Your Name.
The story of My Hero Academia: Two Heroes introduces a presence from All Might’s past, David Shield, a former classmate who has since become a scientist and works on new gadgets to help strengthen the quirks of heroes. Flash forward to the present day, All Might and Izuku Midoriya receive an invitation from David’s daughter, Melissa Shield, to visit their island and re-acquaint with her father.
Naturally, the two accept the offer and head over to the island, and the reunion of former friends doesn’t feel forced, rather it adds some lore and humanity to All Might’s character. Oddly enough, as the two make it to the island, they find the other classmates of Class 1-A have arrived as well, after receiving their own invitations. The group pays it no attention, but something is awry.
It wouldn’t be My Hero Academia without the theatrics of a villain up to no good, and that’s where My Hero Academia: Two Heroes introduces the film’s bad guy of the day. This is likely where the rating of the movie drops off, as the villain does feel shoehorned in and lacks the motivation to do harm. Instead, he arrives on the island to confront the scientists and steal their gadgets, because with the possibility to boost one’s quirk, the villains will always snake their way into the story. The terrorist villain known as Wolfram attacks the scientists and steals a headpiece meant to amplify the abilities of a quirk, but the audience quickly learns that David’s partner, Samuel Abraham, orchestrated the entire plot. To make matters worse, Wolfram has multiple quirks, thanks to receiving extra powers from All For One.
Fortunately, the action sequences are pleasing to the eye, and My Hero Academia fans are treated to a combined One For All attack from Midoriya and All Might. In typical fashion, the heroes save the day and the big bad guy is taken down, but the story goes beyond this trope. The audience gets to learn about some of All Might’s past and how far he’s fallen off since his fight with All For One left him depleted. The film also does a wonderful job of introducing another quirkless character in Melissa, who offers a nice throwback to when Midoriya had no quirk himself, before receiving All Might’s One For All. My Hero Academia: Two Heroes is a nice complimentary story to the main series, but does little to magnify Midoriya’s importance as the number-one protagonist of the show. Thankfully, the next two films will do a better job on this problem.
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My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising – 2019
Of all three films released thus far, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is by far the highest-rated film and is beloved by the fandom. Fan approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes scores the film at 90%, and the critical reception seems generally favorable by both fans and critics alike. The box office numbers in Japan echo this sentiment, as it remained in the top-three film releases in its first two weeks, making $15.1 million in Japan in three months, and $28.7 million worldwide. Surpassing the totals of My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, the second film of the series did a better job of tying the story directly to the main series without taking away the tension of the timeline. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising features some of the best animation quality, and the fight scenes are as beautiful as ever.
Like My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, this film also takes place on an island, but that’s where the similarities end. Unlike the first film entry, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising includes all aspiring heroes of Class 1-A and no Pro Heroes, leaving the young students on their own for a period of time. Arriving on Nabu Island for a safety work program, the students are met by the Shimano family, which at the time consisted of two children — Mahoro and her younger brother Katsuma. While the team bonds with the new ensemble of characters, the Shimano family’s father is attacked by this story’s main villain, Nine. It wouldn’t be a My Hero Academia story without the involvement of at least one villain, who also happens to have ties with All For One. This bad guy wishes to drain the blood of a quirk user with healing properties to complete his form.
Nine’s arrival on Nabu Island gives the heroes of Class 1-A and 1-B their biggest challenge yet, as they are faced with a powerful villain and no back-up. Unlike the first film, which centered around a few main heroes while the rest of the cast took a back seat, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising does a phenomenal job with including the full cast of heroes and making good use of their quirks. Through teamwork and proper strategy, the heroes break up into smaller groups to take on the numerous villains scattered across the island. This allows plenty of side characters and secondary heroes to shine and showcase their abilities and the results of their hard work and training. The attention to detail goes a long way in developing some of the characters that didn’t get much exposure in the first film, and pays tribute to their studies in the main series.
Does the story’s plot and conclusion do much for the main series? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean the film itself was a write-off. Tying into My Hero Academia‘s main story, fans get several glimpses into each hero’s powered-up quirk and how much they’ve grown since their last adventure. The timeline of the film is a bit odd, as the stakes don’t seem as high as when they faced off against stronger villains and greater threats. Some may not care about a film knowing that everyone will make it out unscathed, as they’re featured in future episodes of the current season, but it doesn’t mean the film on its own merit is bad. Make a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising for what it’s worth — a good action anime film with plenty of combat and some light-hearted humor.
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My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission
In many ways, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission finds itself in a unique position, as its mixed reception indicates that while many loved this film, there are those who felt it was a drop-off from the second film. Box office numbers indicate its success, as it eclipsed the numbers of My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising by earning $2.91 million on opening day, a 229.2% increase compared to the second film’s debut. It not only became the highest-grossing film of the franchise to date, it was also in the top-ten of all film earnings in Japan in 2021. Unfortunately, the critic scores vary from average to low scores, and a few favoring reviews mixed in, indicating My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission was a hit or miss among fans and critics.
Unlike the previous two films, where Midoriya and the cast visit David and Melissa Shield or Nabu Island, My Hero Academis: World Heroes’ Mission brings worldwide danger to the table. A terrorist group named Humarise is focused on setting off bombs scattered around the world, with the intention of wiping out every quirk from existence and resetting humanity. Wishing to live in a world without any powers, their aspirations are quite deadly as the results would leave 80% of the world wiped out. This danger eclipses the missions of the previous two films and feels like a threat fans would expect from the main series. The film also takes place between the end of one season and the start of the next, which helps with tying the story together and avoids it feeling out of place.
The idea of quirks ruining humanity and becoming a threat to the globe isn’t a new one, as My Hero Academia has touched on this topic a number of times throughout the seasons. In fact, powers in many stories discuss this subject, including shows like X-Men ’97, which pits humanity against mutants with powers and the discrimination towards anyone with inhuman abilities, painting them all with one brush. The turn of events places a large focus on humanity as a whole and how they begin to lose theirs through expeditions to wipe out those who are not like them. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Rising does a great job with making the villainous group feel dangerous and magnifying the seriousness of their threat, but the story’s conclusion can’t go any other way but with their defeat, as all heroes involved are around for the following season.
The only other downside of My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Rising is the dizzying effects of the animation, in which the film tries out new styles to deliver a different experience from the past two films. The latest film features a bigger focus on 3D-style animation, rapid cuts, and multiple camera shifts, which does well with immersing the audience into the scene, but can be too much at times. There are some beautiful effects added, such as the coloration of the glowing lights on the hero’s suits and the quirk powers receiving more love from the animation department. The final fight is a bit long compared to battle sequences from the previous two films and the main series, but is packed with emotion and spectacular choreography. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is a fun experience for new and experienced fans alike, but could be outclassed by the 2024 film, set for release in August.
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My Hero Academia
In My Hero Academia, Young Deku is born into a world where people commonly have something called quirks, also known as superpowers. He himself is born without any, but circumstances lead to that changing. He enrolls at the UA High School, a prestigious academy where the worlds future heroes learn how to use their powers.
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
