First Impressions – Boku no Hero Academia

Yay it’s finally here! Wooooooooooooo!!

As a HUGE fan of the original manga I instantly fell in love with this series because it has a lot of interesting characters and it’s filled with some really interesting and unique power sets, but my biggest question of all is Bones going to do Boku no Hero Academia justice? I certainly hope so!

—————————–

I’m geared up a for a good superhero series. There just wasn’t enough in OPM and Concrete Revolutio just wasn’t my groove, but this looks good….

—————————–

Another excellent example that shows that a superhero universe can indeed have color in it. Take notes, Snyder. Also, I guess somebody should tell Syndrome that he was wrong. 

——————————

World of Heroes

Izuku Midoriya has big dreams!

The thing I loved when I first started reading the Boku hero no Academia manga was the introduction of Izuku Midoriya aka Deku who lives in a world where 80% of the worlds population has developed some kind of crazy power or Quirks as they are called in this series, but of course we learned Deku just so happens to be a part of a tiny percentage of people who don’t have a Quirk? And with that being the case of course certain characters like Katsuki Bakugou aka Kacchan don’t let him forget the fact of him not having a Quirk! Yeah a lot of people tend to hate on Kacchan, but do you blame them? Watching him constantly make fun of Deku’s dreams of being a hero is really heartbreaking or is it? I suppose Deku could turn all the bullying from Kacchan and turn it into motivation to prove to all the haters that yes he can be a hero! Which sorta reminds me of Saten from Railgun who wasn’t born with any powers and no I don’t really count Touma from Index as being in the same group of “non-powered” characters because his damn powers are broken and so freaking overpowered, but as for how our main hero Deku becomes a hero you will have to wait find out how that happens!

This was sad…

Besides Deku who will probably end up on either your hate list due to him being a coward or he will be on your list for most enduring character! We should  talk about the famous Captain Super American Man or All Might who I recall learning is obviously inspired by two iconic comic book characters Superman and Captain America, but in the case of All Might he is covering up a huge secret to his powers; however I can’t talk much on that because it’s kinda important! I will say I love his fighting style of saying a state and adding either punch, smash or kick to create an original attack is quite hilarious! I sorta wish his voice actor was Unshou Ishizuka instead of Kenta Miyake (who both stared in JOJO Stardust Crusaders) because Unshou did a fantastic job playing old Joseph Joestar from JOJO Stardust Crusaders and I think if the creators added some random English words into his speech pattern it would be a lot fun sorta like what Nao Touyama did with Karen Kujou from Kiniro Mosaic. Either way All Might is such a great character and in this world he’s a bit of a celebrity so you gotta forgive Deku for being a super crazy fangirl around him! I mean how would you react to meeting your childhood hero? I would probably freak out too…

Odd Powers

Now that’s a kick!!

I like this show got the exposition out of the way. If you want to have a show that’s based on people with powers beating up on other people with powers as you’re primary aim, then get to it. Keep the exposition simple, there’s plenty of time to muck with it later. People get born with powers, they fight. That’s all you need.

Also I do like how this show studies the differences in power levels. Yeah, Midoriya tracks it like any dutiful geek, and it’s quick to show that the powers aren’t that important to him anyway, seeing as he doesn’t have any. Yep, he’s the exception. Both his parent’s have limited abilities (his mother can levitate small objects to her, and his father can breathe fire), but he’s certified not to inherit one, the other, or a mixture of both. But the young man still wants to be the hero.

If I have any complaint it that there’s not much texture going on in the background. I know, it’s a comedy, but so was Ghostbusters, and they developed a very rich mythological background for the team to operate with. Would it have killed them to have fire extinguishers in Midoriya’s house? Or a reference to needing to fireproof? Couldn’t they have adapted the “standard Japanese urban sprawl” to suit the superpowers just a bit? It’s not like it needs a lot, but a few pieces here and there can make the background come alive and enhance the characters.

Shounen Powers

Kacchan isn’t just mean to Midoriya but the entire class!

Shounen is often the gateway drug for most anime fans, be it Naruto and Bleach or Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball Z, Shounen is more often than not, the way many otaku, especially in the West, got introduced and seduced into the medium. Inuyasha and Ranma ½ were one of my firsts, and Naruto, Bleach, and Yu Yu Hakusho soon followed. However, as with all fans, as you get older and you mature, your tastes usually mature with you. I love all of the shounen series that I watched as a teenager in high school and later as a young adult in my first year of college, they hold a special place for me as they not only opened up the world of anime to me, but helped me to come out of my shell and to make friends, as I realized that I wasn’t the only one with such interests. Yet, today, I rarely seek out series that are in the shounen genre anymore. The formulaic, repetitive, black and white world that usually comes along with such a series, can begin to grate on a person who’s already see it time and time again. There’s only so many training arcs, power charges, and battle arenas one can stand. Very few shounen series can be considered “fresh” in any way.

And yet…there are always exceptions to the rule. Shounen that take their cliches and formulas and while acknowledging them, make something quite new out of it. Hunter x Hunter is one, and while it’s still a little early for me to tell…all indications point to Boku no Hero Academia being one as well.

Let it be known that while I have heard of the manga for this series, I had absolutely NO interest in this series at all. I’ve see the “world of superheroes” premise done before, most recently in the disappointing Concrete Revolutio series, and like I said, shounen has very little appeal to me anymore. I even attempted to read the first chapter of the manga in order to see what all the hype was about, only to stop less than halfway through as I couldn’t get into the art style or the hammily written dialogue. Yet, from the moment that the actual episode started, I knew that this is what I needed. Somehow, the addition of voice actors, movement, and an awesome score brought Academia alive for me and I could suddenly see what everyone else saw in this series.

All Might more like All-American-Awesome-Man

There’s just an innocence about it, something raw and simple. No need to be “gritty” or “sophisticated” or “modern”. Somehow, (despite having Windows 10) Academia lacks the contemporary gimmicks, and comes off all the more timeless because of it. Izuku Midoriya is one adorable protagonist and from his very first line I was on board with him. His scenes, especially those as a toddler, are emotionally charged and you can’t help but root for him. Bakugo Kazuki is that shounen staple of the annoying bully that will eventually become the MC’s best friend and rival after some character development. Right now, he’s a piece of crap, but since we all know how these things go, we keep our eye on him. And then there is All Might, the “All American” superhero legend that seems to be some conglomeration of Golden Age Superman, Captain America, and Underdog (There’s no need to fear!), who might have more going on behind that eternal grin than can be seen from the surface. All of our characters are wonderful, and I can’t wait to know more about them.

In a world full of superpowered beings, being one of the “normal” minority is not only discouraging but can also be quite dangerous. Nobody believes that Izuku can be a superhero, he has no superpowers and nobody in this world has ever heard of Batman, Iron Man, or the host of superheroes that operate just fine without powers. However, that doesn’t stop him from trying, and it’s that quality that endears him to you. He’s determined, but he’s not defined by the quality like so many other shounen heroes. There’s so much more to him than that. I wonder if it’s just by coincidence that the character that he reminds me the most of, is the hero of the other shounen series that operates on a different wavelength: Gon Freecs from HxH–even down to the dark green hair.

Extra Heroes

Show ▼

End thoughts

Well damn this was very good! I’m quite pleased with how Bones did with the first episode of Boku hero no Academia, but of course I know it’s WAY to early to praise Bones because they could always screw things up later; however ill keep quiet about that! So what do you think of Deku? Do you plan on rooting for the little guy or do you not really care about his dream of becoming a hero? I guess if superheroes aren’t your thing then you might be bored with this series? Hopefully this series can change your mind on that genre, but I’m sure most of us watching just want to see the other characters from the opening and you will soon! Maybe with the second or third episode? Anyway what did you love or hate about this first episode?

That’s really a nitpick I left with there. But besides from introducing the world, Midoriya, and his situation, there isn’t to much to go on in this “Start of Origin” episode. It has promise, so let’s see if it delivers.

I’m really happy I decided against all odds to check this series out. I enjoyed myself from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. You know simply from the shounen formula that Izuku aka Deku will find his way in the school of his choice and will be the best hero there is. The intriguing part, is how does he get there, and what does he have to go through along the way? The journey is what we’re here for rather than the destination, and I think we’ve started on a grand one.