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My Hero Academia: More Review

I’ve been waiting to see this come out for months now, and now that it’s here, it was worth the wait! When My Hero Academia ended last year, we all knew that this wouldn’t be the last time we saw Deku and the heroes of Class 1-A. Heck, thanks to Vigilantes, it wouldn’t even be the last time we would see the world of My Hero Academia, with that being put off until at least next year. But the world of the series is so full of potential for future stories, and months after the manga originally ended, Horikoshi came out with a bonus epilogue chapter to tidy up loose ends. This extra chapter, “More,” has now gotten adapted into an anime special, and I’m thrilled it was more of what fans have wanted, and then some!

Uraraka is Living her Best Life…

It’s been years now since the defeat of All for One, and the students of Classes 1-A and 1-B are all grown up and living the life of Heroes. One of the biggest complaints about the end to the original manga was the fact that we never really got to see the main cast actually go out there and do the work of Pro-Heroes, or what their everyday lives are like. The anime did seek to rectify this with a “where are they now?” montage in the credits to the final episode, but fans wanted more. Horikoshi knew this, which is why he made a bonus chapter aptly titled “More,” which is about how two of our heroes realize that they want more out of their lives. The two heroes in question being Uraraka and Midoriya.

In the first part of the episode, we get to see what Uravity’s job is really like, and it’s so wholesome. She and Froppy took the lessons of Toga to heart and are making sure other kids get the help they need before they crash out. And I won’t lie to you, I was laughing when I saw Lemillion turn his “peachy keen” jokes into a game for the students Uravity and Froppy were helping out. It’s embarrassing, but I think the sheer audacity of it is why Sir Nighteye found Togata so funny.

Plus, it was also super wholesome when Uraraka helped the shy kid win the game and become popular with his classmates. No one deserves to be a loner in life unless they want!

All told, Uraraka seems to be living her best life. However, lately she’s been having the same dreams about the late Himiko Toga. As she confides in Tsuyu, she wonders if some remnant of Toga is trying to tell her something…and she is absolutely right. But more on that later.

And so is Deku…

Next, we have Deku, who remains as humble and modest as ever, even as he’s sinking into the backseat of Bakugo’s cool new car. So, around the time My Hero Academia ended, there were a lot of memes going around about Deku growing up to be a worker at a fast food joint. The whole thing was meant to be a joke about how, now that he was quirkless again, Midoriya’s dream to be a hero was over. Even learning that he had become a teacher during the timeskip didn’t change this, as people saw this as him settling for less. But, as Horikoshi said, and as Deku tells Bakugo and Kirishima, he would’ve become a teacher regardless.

When I was younger, there was a brief time when I considered becoming a teacher. I was never that fond of school, but I thought that trying to guide the next generation was a good thing to do with my life. Too bad society doesn’t see the value in teachers and pay them accordingly. So, I respect Deku for wanting to be a teacher, and I think he’s one of the cool ones.

Also, I loved how Deku inadvertedly shot down Bakugo’s invitation to join him at his agency. The fact that the prideful Bakugo was willing to do that for his rival/friend and got rejected before he had the chance is hilarious!

One Last You Say Run

That brings us to the reunion of Class 1-A, all of whom are enjoying their lives to the fullest. And even better, we get to see them all spring into action to stop a pair of criminals, and it’s glorious. Even after all those years, they haven’t lost any of their teamwork! And that shot of them as a group like they’re the Avengers is just the icing on the cake! This is why I love superheroes so much.

But the fans still want more.

So, we all know just how hard people were shipping Deku and Uraraka together. The two always had this great chemistry and brought out the best in each other, and fans just latched onto this like crazy. Sadly, the manga ended without us ever finding out if they ever became an item. Luckily, Horikoshi knew this, which I think is why he decided to make the extra chapter this special is based on. And while I was never that big on the shipping, I did think DekuXUraraka would be an adorable couple.

More importantly, though, I think that Horikoshi used this to address a problem with superheroes that I have grown to despise: how they never want more for themselves.

It’s Okay for Superheroes to Want More

It all started with Spider-Man: No Way Home, but I think the sentiment had been planted in me for a long time. I saw MCU Spidey get completely and utterly screwed over by the powers-that-be. He had to make the entire world forget about himself as Peter Parker, meaning that he was now utterly alone in a world that didn’t like him. And that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Why did Spider-Man have to lose his chance at happiness for the sake of everyone else? I know heroes are supposed to be selfless and self-sacrificing, but that’s not fair. They deserve as much of a chance to be happy as the rest of us; maybe even more so, given how much they do!

Thanks to that, I’m now a believer in letting heroes be a little selfish and want more out of life. And it seems that Horikoshi is of that mindset, as while the rest of 1-A go their separate ways, Uraraka and Deku realize they’re not happy with the way things are now. They want more out of their lives, and to see each other more. And whether it’s really the spirit of Toga or not, Uraraka is inspired to take that leap.

Now that is how you get a ship to set sail! It’s a shame that we not get to see how their relationship plays out, but something tells me that those two are going to be very, very happy together. And the rest of the fans are squeeing in joy at the series OTP coming true! I should know; I’m one of them!

I loved this special. This was a really wholesome way to write an epilogue to the series. I hope that we get to see more of My Hero Academia after Vigilantes ends, because it’s just too good a universe to leave sitting around.

Good thing we still got an OVA coming up! Go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!

I Give “More” a 5/5

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My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 10 Review

We are at the penultimate episode of My Hero Academia, and the show is wasting no time in wrapping things up with its cast. I already know what’s going to happen since I read the manga ahead of time, but it’s still nice to get to see everything play out in the anime. Whereas the last episode more or less focused on the heroes of the story, this episode shifts our attention to the villains. As I’ve said before, I think one of the best aspects of MHA was its willingness to humanize its villains. While All for One could be seen as your generic ultimate supervillain, a lot of the supporting villains were people that society failed, and thus had genuine reasons to hate it. More importantly, they were the kind of villains who inspire the heroes to change things to prevent it from happening again or being forgotten.

Former Villains Get to go Free…Except Overhaul

The episode opens up on a very positive note, as we see Gentle Criminal and La Brava reuniting. Having stepped up to help the heroes in the Final War, the two get full pardons and are free to live their lives. And, honestly, they deserve it. They’re not bad, and without them, Deku wouldn’t have been able to defeat Shigaraki. Even better, the entire world now knows how they were overlooked and will not make the same mistake twice. They deserve to live a happy future.

In addition to Gentle and La Brava earning their freedom, another villain gets a full pardon: Lady Nagant. Though calling her a villain isn’t very accurate. She was a woman who was taken advantage of by those in charge to do morally questionable actions, and when she hit her breaking point, she got locked up for it. With the former president of the Hero Commission dead, though, Hawks is now in charge, and he’s working to ensure nothing like that happens again. Nagant, though, chooses to stay behind bars. She doesn’t want to leave until she knows that society really has changed thanks to Deku. That, and she’s getting free food and lodgings.

There is one villain who doesn’t get a happy ending, though, and that’s Overhaul. The former Yakuza is back behind bars while his old boss, Eri’s grandfather, is awake. As expected, he’s furious over the hell Overhaul put Eri through for nothing, with the Yakuza finished thanks to him. He’ll be spending the rest of his life behind bars and forced to reflect on what he did, and hopefully, Eri will never see his face again. And after what he did to Eri and killing Nighteye, that’s the best ending he could hope to get. Some people deserve to be forgotten, just like there are those who shouldn’t be, no matter how bad they are, like Shigaraki.

Spinner, I Would Totally Read your Book

Now that Shigaraki is dead, the public is already trying to judge him for his actions, as the episode contains news footage of people offering their two cents about him. Some are glad he’s gone, others think what happened to him was tragic and pity him, and others say they shouldn’t pity him. However, none of them got to know Shigaraki as a person, or know what he went through, so it’s not like their opinions are wholly accurate. Part of this episode, though, focuses on two people who did actually know him: Deku and Spinner.

Spinner survived the War, and thanks to the research on Nomu, doctors were able to stop him from turning into one. Now that he’s behind bars, all Spinner can do is mourn the loss of Shigaraki, the first friend that he ever had. That’s when Deku comes to visit him and gives him Shigaraki’s last message: to the very end, he kept trying to destroy everything. He died trying to be a hero to the villains until the moment he died.

I always liked that notion of being a hero to the villains. It sounds like an oxymoron, but what it means is that Shigaraki wanted to be a hero to those that society had turned its back on or failed. As My Hero Academia has repeatedly shown, this world of heroes has managed to fail a lot of people who needed help the most, leading them to lash out as villains. Dabi, Twice, Toga, Spinner, and Shigaraki were all the results of a failed system, and I don’t think people should be so quick to judge them. After all, can these people say they could go through what they went through and not crash out over it?

Ultimately, Spinner decides he’s going to write a book on the story of Shigaraki, something that Deku encourages. Neither of them wants Shigaraki’s life to be forgotten, lest another Shigaraki or All for One rise in the future. As a fan of stories like Wicked, I think that what Spinner’s planning is a good idea. If it were a real book, I know that I would buy a copy for myself. If anything, it would make sure the heroes learned a lesson from Shigaraki’s life.

Uraraka, Live your Best Life for Toga

And with that, we have one final story to wrap up: the story of Urakaka and Toga.

Uraraka almost gave her life in the war to get through to Toga, and it was thanks to her that the Sad Man’s Parade was stopped. Fortunately, Uraraka managed to pull through thanks to Toga giving her her blood. Unfortunately, this final act cost the young villainess her own life, something that continues to haunt Uraraka.

Uraraka has tried to put on a brave face and act like nothing’s wrong, but inside, she’s heartbroken over Toga’s death. She regrets how things had to come to this, how she failed to help her when she needed it most, and how the world pushed Toga to become a villain. And now Uraraka’s, ironically, doing the same thing that Toga did: putting on a smile to keep people from knowing she’s suffering inside. But unlike Toga, Uraraka isn’t alone when she needs it the most.

Deku and Uraraka have a heart-to-heart at the place they spoke before the war, and he opens up about how much she means to him. She was the first friend he made at UA, the first one to believe in him, and when he tried to push everyone away, she stepped up for him. She’s one of the strongest people he knows, and he refuses to let her wallow in regret. Because as much as heroes have to give people hope, they’re still human. And even a hero needs help every now and then. And thankfully, Uraraka has her entire class there to help her.

The Best Heroes are the Most Human

This is honestly such a sweet lesson about what it means to be a hero. As much as we like to see them as these infallible figures, Horikoshi understands that the best heroes are still human, and there’s only so much us humans can do on our own. When we are struggling or suffering, we want help. And if we don’t get it, we risk giving in to despair and hurting the people around us. That’s as true for this anime as it is in real life, and that’s one thing that I’ve loved about My Hero Academia. It’s not just a power fantasy about being a hero. It’s about what it means to truly be a hero, and that means stepping up even when it seems scary.

And now, we are at the end of the story. The next episode is the last one. So, one last time, let’s go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “The Girl Who Loves Smiles” a 4/5

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