Hero Academia has laid claim to a special place in my heart. quickly becoming a beloved series in which I have invested a lot of time (and money) in. It’s also the first series in which I’ve really encountered a series’ “fandom” and the toxicity that lurks in the darkest corners of its universe.
But that’s another topic for another day, let’s talk about the movie. I’m gonna be honest, this is probably going to be straight biased because this series is so near and dear to me. You’ve been warned.
Tuesday, September 25, was the premiere of My Hero Academia: Two Heroes movie out here in the bay area of the sweet sunny state of California (you like that homestate plug?)
I’m very fortunate to be 10-15 minutes to any theater that decides to show any of these anime films. Funimation’s outreach in the bay area is really great; I wish I could say the same about Crunchyroll’s Movie Night events (those are really hard to find, and I’m not about to trek an hour out to see it).
That being said, I almost missed the opportunity to catch Hero Academia because 1) I should’ve just bought the tickets the moment they were released and 2) I shouldn’t wait to get a response to see if anyone wants to go.
I decided to catch both the subbed and the dubbed versions. The dubbed was Tuesday night, and it was a solo night for me since the theater was so close to work. Subbed was Wednesday night with my cousins (also Hero Academia fans). It was midway through the subbed version when I realized, one time would’ve sufficed. LOL.
Set sometime after Season 2 before they go to their summer training camp, a lot of our cast heads to the moving I-Island, an island full of the brightest minds in the world, as guests to the I-Expo.
A Solid Core
Now, I’ve seen my fair share of off timeline movie spin-offs, and have always felt rather disappointed by just how far off they veer from their original content. However, Two Heroes does this incredibly well. The core of what I love about Hero Academia is not lost in this film, if anything it blends well with the main story line, and is a great supportive piece to the series. The campy humor of Uraraka’s jealousy and Bakugou’s outburts were there but didn’t overpower the scenes they were in. It was more like boom, there it happened now let’s move onto the next thing without having repetive jokes throughout the film. It just kept moving with no stalls. Of course my best boy Izuku was just splendid to watch, especially his moves and fight scenes, it’s such a progression from what we see in the series, and am glad to see such massive development in fighting style.
Memorable Characters
Another thing I found rather enjoyable about the film was the introduction of the our second lead next to Midoriya. Melissa Shield. She’s a student on I-island and her Father is a rather famous scientist, whose won something like a Novel Peace Prize. and All Might’s niece (not by blood) and she had so much to her character, that I really hope they would somehow tie her into the main storyline, but it’s unlikely because there’s already a character like her in the main cast (I’m looking at you Hatsume!) There was just a lot of depth to Melissa, that she quickly became someone I really loved in the span of the film. She was the more calm logical scientific type of person when it comes to support items, a far cry from Hatsume’s mad scientist ways.
The Future of Heroes
My takeaway theme of the film was embedded in the idea of the future. With the next generation underway in becoming the future great heroes they’re supposed to be, it was very heartening to see the bright future that could be led by Izuku and Melissa if they were to work in tandem at some point in their careers, much like All Might and David Shield. The parallel’s to the two pairs were really great; past and future, and the development of a great working relationship.
Overall the theme of “passing the torch” was prevalent to the film and was incredibly relevant to the series as a whole; especially with All Might’s impending retirement.
So, did you guys get to catch the film at the closest theater near you? What did you guys think of the film? Did you agree, or disagree with what I’ve said so far about the film?
I tried to not spoil the story for those who are anticipating a Crunchyroll release like Bungou Stray Dogs’ Dead Apple (I’m really hoping Crunchyroll does get it).
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 🙂
ARCHI-ANIME 
Argh I really wish CR does the same as they did for BSD movie. But I feel like I will have to wait a little more since the movie seemed to be still presented in some theaters *ugh*
What you said about Melissa make me want to watch the movie even more.
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Ahh for your sake I hope CR really does get it. Melissa is really great! I wish she could be a part of the main story line *sigh* that’s too bad no theaters near you have it without having to make a trek out!
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We had to go over to Seattle to see this… We have a local theater that sometimes screens anime films, but it’s really inconsistent as to what it picks up. That being said, there was a MUCH larger crowd than we’d get over here and it was awesome to see the movie in a theater crowded with other nerds.
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Great post I am also a big MHA fan and I think it’s one of the big three’s of its time.
After your review am a little more excited to see the movie when I can because like you said usually the movies usually pale in comparison to the series.
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