My Hero Academia

 02/19/26

The Journey Towards Justice

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

4.6/5 stars

Dear readers, 

            I am excited to recommend this series- My Hero Academia, (MHA) by Kohei Horikoshi, to anyone, from newcomers to manga, to antrapenours in the manga and anime field. I would give this series a solid 4.6 out of 5. My age recommendation is mostly to teenagers; anyone can enjoy it, however, it can be gory and could scare younger audiences. To get right into the plot, MHA is a story of heroes and villains. The books start out with Deku, or Izuku Midoriya, a quirkless, or powerless boy who’s only dream is to become a great hero just like his idol, All Might. The number one hero, or the current best when the series starts is All Might. One day, Izuku runs into All Might when a villain is attacking a city. Little does Izuku know, this encounter with his idol will change his life forever. Izuku attends a hero academy, the best one in Japan. He and his classmates have long journeys throughout the 42 book long series.

            There are a variety of characters in MHA, some of the most important main characters and main supporting characters are most of class 1a of the hero course, like Ochako, Bakugo, and Todoroki, as well as Izuku who is the protagonist and many others in class 1a. Now, getting into the villains, the head antagonist is Toumora Shigaraki. In the final volume, Izuku is told by Shigaraki to deliver a message to Spinner, one of Shigaraki’s fellow villains, “Toumora Shigaraki fought to destroy until the very end” (chapter 427, My Hero Academia). This shows how deeply committed Shigaraki was, he never gave up his goal to destroy. His loyalty to his team of villains would never be diminished.

            This manga is awesome sauce for many reasons, one main example in my opinion is the character Tsuyu Asui. She is one of Izuku’s classmates, she possesses a frog quirk which allows her to do basically everything a frog can do. For example, one trait she can use is secreting a poison from her skin, as well as camouflage. One more superb part of the series is the last and 42nd book. I would say it is one of the best volumes of the series. One quote from Himiko Toga, a misunderstood villain, speaks to Ochako Uraraka, who is one of the main supporting characters and says, “Ochako, my wish… is for you to live… exactly… like you want to” (chapter 430, My Hero Academia). Himiko and Ochako were together even at the very end of the series, their love for each other was unwavering. I don’t particularly like the very last page, but overall the last book is a wonderful ending for a long lasting bond of manga and people.

            In my opinion, there are some cons to My Hero Academia. Every fantastic series has some bad parts. One big con is the way that they portray women’s bodies. However, many mangas have very unrealistic body shapes for women. Fair Planet made an article of this very topic, they say, “Manga and animation, which often reflect Japan’s deep-rooted gender stereotypes, were found to eventually feed into people’s sexist perceptions” (Chermain Lee, 2024). Many manga artists use gender stereotypes and sexist perspectives for women in manga and anime. Though some artists go against this, My Hero Academia is not one of them. If you want to read this series, be warned that this is content in My Hero Academia; you need to accept that this is how many manga’s are and enjoy it for the plot and theme rather than focusing on the cons.

            To wrap up my review, I want to share about the theme of My Hero Academia. Throughout the books, many themes are brought up, heroism, villains; the difference between the two, and perseverance. Everyone in the battle of heroes and villains perseveres for their beliefs. This also goes hand in hand with the difference between a hero and a villain. For example, their beliefs and goals shape them into one side or the other. Take Himiko Toga, she was forced into being someone she wasn’t, she found herself in “The League of Villains” (My Hero Academia) everyone has a motive and that deeply shapes who they become.

            To sum it up, you should definitely read the manga series My Hero Academia. I hope you enjoy the series and follow the hero’s to their Journey Towards Justice!

Sincerely,

Lydie Millette