After the first two movies, all the events of the anime, and the stress that is reading the manga weekly, you’d think I’d be ready for whatever My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission’ had in store for me.
But listen.
This movie goes beyond in the nail-biting, edge of your seat, checking Wikipedia to see if everyone makes it out alive department. Izuku Midoriya has always been a bit of a danger magnet (or rather, a reckless little so and so who will celebrate being able to use his legs after a doctor warns him about his battered arms), but this time he may have bitten off way more than he can “All Might hair strand” chew.
Synopsis
When a sinister organization threatens to wipe out all superhuman powers, the fate of the world is on the line. With two hours until the collapse of civilization, Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki manage to work as a team, but there’s still one problem. Deku’s on the run for murder.
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Anime movies like the ones we get in My Hero Academia are always a fun little AU of sorts. The movie never really affects the overall plot from the series, nor do you need to be up-to-date on the series to get a grasp of what’s going on. However, if you are a fan of the series, there are things you’ll recognize, such as the move sets the characters have and how they interact with one another.
In the case of this movie, you’ll recognize things like the Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki team up since they do an internship with Endeavor’s agency in season 5. Also, the Quirk Doomsday Theory will have a bigger impact on you if you’ve been keeping up with the series, but you won’t be completely lost if you’re not there yet.
That being said, there isn’t much of the typical “Deku tells us about the world of quirks and his time at U.A.” narration. I don’t think it needs to be there as there is enough context in the movie for newcomers to understand the situation. Honestly, I appreciate the movie diving right in, introducing us to our new villain, Flect Turn, and how he’s in his feelings about quirks and their impact on society.
There’s not a lot of hand-holding about the world of My Hero Academia, instead, the movie trusts that the audience is already down for the ride.
And PHEW. It is a RIDE!
That’s not to say there aren’t any moments of downtime, but once the movie gets going it REALLY gets going. Deku and his team get their mission. Deku is suddenly wanted for murder (boy Twitter had a field day with THAT news). There are bombs all over the world that need to be deactivated.
Aaaaand … GO!
The characters you expect to shine do so in spectacular fashion (namely, the trio with the new outfits that I need figures of). Bakugo is still the angry pomeranian in the middle of his “I’m not here to make friends” phase, but we’re at the point where no one believes that because clearly, he’s Shoto Todoroki’s bestie. Deku is as wholesome as mom’s apple pie, and since Endeavor is trying to atone for, well, being Endeavor, he stresses over Shoto like a beefy fire dad who just needs his son to return his messages.
Along with them, though, comes the addition of movie-only characters, which is always hit or miss in anime films based on ongoing franchises. If you’ve been watching anime for a while, you know that the movie characters for these ongoing series tend to only exist in the movie, so they don’t always get the attention needed to actually care about them.
With this particular film, I’m delighted to say that Rody damn near steals the show. He’s so likable and is a lot of fun to watch, which is good since he’s a major part of the story. I came in wanting to watch more of the Endeavor internship trio dynamic (which still happens) but honestly, Rody and Deku made a great pair. I never had a moment of wishing someone else was getting the attention Rody got and instead found myself invested in his story.
Flect Turn is also one of my favorite villains, the one standing behind the scenes who you think can’t throw hands, but the minute he decides to turn his attention on you? It’s over.
On the flip side, unfortunately, the rest of the teams in the movie don’t get that much screen time. We get glimpses of the likes of Tamaki, Fat Gum, and others doing work around the world, but if you were hoping to get a giant team-up moment like we did in the second movie, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, then this movie might disappoint you.
The main priority here is Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki (and Rody, too), and while that is a bit of a bummer as someone who cheered when seeing Tamaki in the trailer, I gotta say, the scenes that the main three and Rody get are pretty great!
And the fight scenes?
I genuinely had moments of screaming out loud during these battles. These fights are unapologetically brutal, with fast-paced animation and stakes that feel higher than they’ve ever been thanks to there being a literal Resident Evil-like “the self-destruct sequence has been activated” countdown clock. The fact that there are extremely hostile villains in the way just makes it even worse. They’re extremely vicious and don’t miss a beat when it comes to their attempts at obliterating our heroes.
I’m gonna level with you. If you’re a Bakugo fan? Lord, his fight scene? Holy shit.
Honestly, this is a movie you could show someone in an attempt to get them to understand why My Hero Academia is such a beloved franchise, at least, if you wanted to do so in a way that took less than two hours and told a complete story in that time. The fights are top tier. The characters are relatable. And it’s just a fun way to take part in such a wonderful franchise.
However, if you’re a fan like me, this movie is the definition of a delightful popcorn flick that’ll tide you over until we get that sixth season.
My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission will be in theaters on October 29th.
(Image: © K. Horikoshi/Shueisha, My Hero Academia The Movie Project)
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