My Hero Academia

“Season Five”

There is no denying that the latter seasons of the My Hero Academia anime have been divisive, to say the least. While the anime still has decent ratings and viewership, there is a common conception among the fans that seasons four and five are where the anime started to dip in quality. This is unfortunate because this portion of the manga deals with some very fascinating concepts.

My Hero Academia Season 5: A Mixed Bag of Highs and Lows | Anime Review | Pinnedupink.com

Be that as it may, the fifth season of My Hero Academia is often viewed as one of the weakest in the franchise, and here is everything you need to know about it.

One of the primary focuses of this season is how the protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, has to deal with visions of the past One for All users and how that affects him in terms of his new-found Quirks. Deku, as his superhero name is known, can access all the Quirks that previous One for All users had, forcing him to learn new ways to use his abilities and become a much more complete hero.

The season also deals with the main antagonist, Tomura Shigaraki, who is slowly becoming the main boss among the many different criminal circles, which has been a major part of his character arc throughout the series. There is also the continuous development of the character of Endeavor after the fourth season’s finale and Hawks’ role as a double spy in the League of Villains.

There is a solid argument to be made that the fifth season of My Hero Academia was discreet, to say the least; some of the most critical plot points of the season were made in a way that felt contrived or rather aimless, which was also another major issue in the previous season. However, this was also the point where Horikoshi struggled somewhat in the manga.

After all, Horikoshi is the type of manga author who likes to have a lot of different ideas and concepts, and sometimes those ideas and concepts need to be fully developed. Consequently, this is something that must be adapted for the anime, and given the limitations of the staff at Bones Studio, this must be highlighted.

For example, the series constantly adds a lot of new characters, and some of the supporting cast end up massively sidelined. This is shown a lot in Deku’s class, with most characters not having a significant role throughout the story. Even the likes of Uraraka and Iida, some of Izuku’s closest friends, don’t have a lot of moments to shine and are borderline ignored throughout the season.

This is unfortunate because the focus on other characters is not executed in the best possible manner. Yes, one of the best parts of the season was Shoto Todoroki’s family drama, which has become one of the most substantial parts of the series. Still, there are other examples, such as the constant inclusion of Bakugo in every storyline without him having a lot of input or growth, where the plot starts to feel a bit flat.

An excellent example of this is the inclusion of new Quirks for Deku. In terms of storytelling, this was overkill: it makes Deku so powerful to the point that he has an edge that no other character, bar the user of All for One, could stack up against. While the general concept of Midoriya being an underdog has long been forgotten in My Hero Academia, giving him so many Quirks makes this feel emptier and not have the impact that many people wanted.

Deku has always been a divisive protagonist in the franchise, and this little detail only adds to the detriment of the series as a whole.

The voice acting in My Hero Academia has only improved over the years. This is probably because of the experience that some of the voice actors have gained with these characters. The same can be said about the soundtrack: it is solid and compelling, capturing many different moments compellingly.

In general terms, this is arguably one of the most consistent elements of the anime as a whole, so that has to be considered—a great job by Bones Studios in this particular regard.

Like it was mentioned in the review for the previous season, My Hero Academia has had an interesting conundrum regarding the animation and visuals departments. However, it also has to be said that this is in the eye of the beholder.

As the manga progressed, Horikoshi made the story a bit darker. While it still maintains its overall hopeful approach to storytelling, the author has decided to make the story darker and more grounded in several instances, which is something that is heavily depicted through his art. Horikoshi has become one of the finest manga industry artists and has shown his capacity to write darker stuff.

In that regard, the anime struggled with the transition because it had to keep the color palette and animation style that made it so famous in the first couple of seasons. As a result, there is no denying that something was lost in translation, which did not help the material being adapted in this fifth season, making it feel soulless at times.

Overall, My Hero Academia's fifth season was underwhelming. There were not many intense character moments, the animation did not fully capture some of the key scenes from the manga, and many of the beloved characters have vanished, much to everyone's chagrin—definitely a low point in the franchise.