It seems that studio Bones’ My Hero Academia has reached me at yet another difficult time in my life. I remember discovering this show in its first season years ago, living alone in my apartment for the first time, unsure of my future goals. Me back then was wholly unaware of the awesome ride that manga artist and storyteller Kōhei Horikoshi would send me on in the world of MHA. In this story, the protagonist, Izuku Midoriya (Deku), struggles in a world of superhuman abilities to become the greatest bastion of peace: the number one hero. There’s just one problem: he is one of a small percentage born without any powers. While his status as powerful or not changes during the course of the series, his goal, to become a hero who smiles while saving people—the number one—seems constant. But this is where the most recent season changes things.
By this point, Deku has seen a lot. It’s reasonable to believe that the smiling vision of heroism he idolized from his youth would change. Facing the realities of real danger and villainy as well as the encroaching moment he must step up to replace his idol, All Might, Deku questions his own vision of heroism. He makes some conclusions in the second episode of this most recent season (“Overhaul”), but I’d wager that even these aren’t final. He’s at a point of maturation, a moment of questioning what his goals are, what they mean, and how to best achieve them.
To return to the beginning of this article, I said that MHA has once again found me at a difficult time in my life. I’m not sure if this is something particular to the series itself or something particular to the genre it comes from. Some might call this series a “shonen.” Typically, shonen anime feature young protagonists with grand dreams who must overcome enormous, life-threatening obstacles to achieve those dreams. An easy parallel to literature would be the bildungsroman, or the novel of a young protagonist’s maturation through life experience. Shonen adds an extra dimension to this maturation: an intense focus on dreams and goals. The best, most compelling shonen for me show the fragility of dreams, their amorphousness, their capriciousness, and the herculean efforts needed to actually make those dreams a reality. MHA checks all of these boxes.
The fact that this series resonates with me during difficult times speaks to its approach to goals and dreams. When life seems most uncertain, it shows that you must buckle down and work all the while embracing your emotions in the moment. MHA’s characters aren’t afraid to cry or seek support from one another. But they also know how to give their all to achieve their dreams even in the face of hardship. I love American superheroes as much as the next nerd, but the heroes we are so familiar with in comics (Spiderman, Superman, even Batman, etc.) seem to achieve the vaunted position of hero so easily. Of course, you could argue that those like Batman overcome many tribulations to become a hero. With this, I agree. But the general and overall focus is on the tribulations they face once they become the hero. Kids dream to become the hero. But it’s not that easy. MHA shows the tribulations of achieving such a grandiose dream and, with this most recent season, how those dreams can evolve with experience.
This following section is for predictions about season 4 POSSIBLE SPOILERS!
I’d like to take some time now to make predictions about this upcoming season. Of course, the manga is well ahead of the anime. I AM NOT A MANGA READER! But social media makes avoidance of spoilers impossible. And I have seen some spoilers for the manga. In that case, consider the following as five predictions/possible spoilers for this season!
1. We will finally see the traitor among the U.A. students.
The anime has done a great job of downplaying this one so far, but it seems like it’s time given All Might’s recent demise. None of the villains this season seem as intense as All for One; therefore, there might be more room for some character growth or other forms of emotional climax. There are numerous theories about this, and to avoid spoilers I will not talk about who it might be. Just keep a lookout for the resolution of this plot point!
2. A new criminal organization will form.
All for One is in Tartarus prison. We know that. But who will replace him? This season’s second episode grapples with this idea but provides no clear resolution. I just don’t think Shigarki, Deku’s foil, is strong enough to spearhead the villain’s plans. Even if just temporarily, maybe for just the season, the focus will be on a criminal organization that is not the League of Villains. Maybe the League will disappear entirely for the time being.
3. Deku will learn some hard lessons about the spectrum of villainy.
MHA has shown us a spectrum of villains so far. Some of them have been irredeemable while others, like Twice, have some more redeemable or sympathetic qualities to them. This season, Deku will see the horrors that villains are capable of while also struggling to deal with sympathetic villains who never wanted to be bad in the first place. This will be especially true if the traitor is one of his classmates.
4. All Might will take a huge step back.
We aren’t seeing much All Might love this season. Sorry, everyone. Instead, we get Sir Nighteye! We’ll see if he is as endearing.
5. U.A. Academy will shut down.
This is kind of out there. But they’ve been concerned about the safety of their students for a while. The pressure will be too much this season, and they will surely need to close the doors. This is especially true if a traitor comes forth from the academy and students keep getting hurt like in prior seasons.
You can watch season four of My Hero Academia or catch up on previous episodes if you subscribe to the streaming services Hulu, Crunchyroll, or Funimation. It is also available for purchase on Amazon.
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup 