Apologies From The Hipster Perspective

I was behind the trend on purpose, and I was wrong. Diving into My Hero Academia.

Half of the people reading this are probably so tired of the My Hero conversation. This is not new and has been talked about since its fast rise to the top. The other half cannot get enough and are likely the ones that carried My Hero to the top and are holding it there. Either way you both have one thing in common, you have been with My Hero Academia long enough to know what the big deal is. I, however, am a little late to the game. But not for a lack of exposure or lack of effort on my friends part. I just wasn't interested.

I definitely did my self a disservice in my unintentional hipster mindset. In complete honesty the only reason that I was resistant was because it was everywhere I turned. Merch in stores almost immediately it seemed, friends who didn't even watch anime telling me to check it out, it coming up on my recommended list on my streaming apps. It all just came across my radar and immediately flew off of it. And here I am three years later, apologizing for my ignorance. My Hero Academia has received the appropriate amount of hype. And I am here, in penance, to tell you why.

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who told me they had no intention of watching season 4, which just started airing this October. I asked why, completely shocked as I had just caught up to the series myself, completely hooked. She told me that in season three it started to feel repetitive to her. This had me running through the season in my mind and I just could not see it. She laid out her argument and a light bulb went off in my head. She didn't like the "shonen equation". Here is someone who primarily watched mecha, shojo, and slice of life. What does this have anything to do with why My Hero is worthy, Allison? Shush, I'm getting there. The reason this proves my point is My Hero was so good that it pulled this person completely out of their genre norm. Not for a few episodes, not for a season, for THREE complete seasons.

The fact is my friend was right, My Hero Academia, like all other in its genre, follow a shonen equation. [In fairness let me point out that all genres have their own equations and stereotypes as well.] We have our underdog, Izuku Midoriya- quirkless, who has an impossible dream, gains immense power no one thought possible, to become the greatest hero. If you didn't give me names and didn't use the term "quirkless" I would be thinking of Naruto, Black Clover, or even a number popular webcomics like UnOrdinary or Deor. The equation then comes into play:

Villian we can't over come + impossible dream & determination = hero victory

Now, this is very simplified but if you really think about it, this applies to almost every classic shonen anime you will find. But even knowing this going in did not keep me from being enthralled. The fact is, this is a typical shonen anime, but what sets it apart are the details. Lets lay out just the basics:

-The art: it does not stick with one style. In fact it gave me a bit of whiplash in the beginning because so many of the characters were completely different art styles all together. However, it is all tied together by the crispness of the art itself and the story making it clear that difference is the whole point.

-The story line: though I have seen the "superhuman society as normal" idea done before in comics like UnOrdinary, and heroes with the same type of determination like Naruto, they really made this their own. The characters are so much more relatable and realistic to if we lived in that type of society. The character development is gradual, not making it slow but showing the progress that change actually takes and allowing you to walk with the characters. I think this is so important and an aspect we miss in a lot of stories. Not only that but I don't think the simplified shonen equation even works all the time in this case. In every season, but especially season three, we feel some real important losses before we feel any victory. Though this plays into a more advanced shonen equation, it still felt enticing. There is nothing like a story that leaves the audience feeling a little desperate.

-The soundtrack: to be honest I didn't think much of the soundtrack until I sat down to write this article. I am listening to it as I write this and I have to say that I will now be looking for it more while watching. It is actually pretty fab.

The fact is, this show is receiving a lot of attention. People who typically do not want to watch mainstream anime for whatever reason will sorely miss out on this beauty. Because though sometimes mediocre things are widely recognized this is an instance where the recognition is deserved. You heard it here, I am admitting on the internet that I, not only judged an anime just based on hype, but was also 100% wrong about it.

My Hero Academia is worth your time. So, check out season 4! Or season 1 for that matter! It is available on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Funimation. Can't say you didn't know, cause now you know. Thanks for tuning in for my first Nerdom review. This has been so fun to write and I will have more coming at you soon. Stay messy my friends.