Occasionally, in the anime universe, there comes a young man with the dream to become the strongest. Before it was a young Saiyan who was a fun loving, absent father, but overall nice guy. He was just trying to become stronger. Then we had a young pirate, whose only goal, was to become the pirate king. There after, we were met with a young ninja who stole our hearts. He was just trying to be accepted and become the leader of his village. Now though, now is the time for this young man. IZUKU FUCKING MIDORIYA.
Okay, My Hero Academia is not at the level of the above-mentioned anime yet, nowhere close. But godamn is it heading in that direction.
It follows the life of Young Midoriya, who has no powers in a world full of super powered people (80% of the world has superpowers). And sadly, he wants to be a superhero. At first glance you probably thinking “is it not like every Shonin show? Underdog trying to be the strongest?” I mean, yeah it is, but hear me out here. This show is special. And what makes it special is young Bakugo.
Bakugo is the main character's rival. His Sasuke for the anime fans out there. He is the opposite of the main character in every way. Always angry, hates everyone around him and is arrogant as fuck. You’d think he is the villain really.
But he isn't, and that's what makes this show so enticing to the eye.
His goal is exactly the same as the hero, and he works harder than everyone else on the show to get it. He doesn't cheat, he doesn't take short cuts, he just grinds. And that’s the difference. The rival deserves it just as much as the main character.
His talent is unmatched when it comes to combat. In the middle of a fight he can change strategies by reading the opponent's movements, he has quick reactions to attacks and can utilise his powers in a variety of ways, and most importantly, works hard to improve. His personality might be horrible, but he genuinely wants to help people and be the symbol of peace. He understands it won't come easy and that he has to work hard.
What this achieves, is that it forces us to sometimes root for him or look at the protagonist’ success with a pinch of salt as he has such a great support system around him. People rooting for him, while we see his rival work as hard, sometimes to no avail.
The easiest thing the writers could do here, is to make him become evil (like Sasuke). Which would be expected. But they haven't so far. He got the chance and he spit in the villain’s face when they promised him the world. His anger is not because he is angry at the world. He genuinely just doesn't like people(a man of my own heart really)
A perfectly written antihero really, which is what makes the show so beautiful. It has all your everyday shonin points, but some of the other characters really are special. The likes of Todoroki and Iida are also as enthralling as the main character, if not more.
I hope this doesn't fool you into thinking Young Midoriya himself isn't a great character. Let’s not play around now lads. He is magnificent. His path isn’t easy either. Him trying and failing repeatedly is what makes the show what it is. Falling into the normal Shonin protagonist traps might falter him now and again, but when he goes above and beyond, or when he learns a new skill, your heart flutters at the thoughts of what a monster this kid will become.
So, this is the new kid on the block. My Hero Academia. And damn. Is he hot.
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