It has been way too long. You have no idea how many reviews I have planned to write however, none of them have been successfully published. I had initially planned to write an incredibly detailed post as to how my anime hiatus came to an end but I realized that if I worried too much about those details, I’d never actually get down to writing my actual reviews. Hence, we’ll be leaving that area for another day and right now, we’ll jump straight into this review because this anime is literally an ‘all for one’ and once you’ve witnessed its heroism, you’ll be ‘plus ultra’-ing all day long.

That was incredibly lame but I’ve just completely blazed through the first season and all I can think about are its incredibly lame yet ridiculously amazing catch phrases.

Boku no Hero Academia has been a series that has been placed in front of me many a times and I just never gave it a chance. Whilst I had successfully dodged it for the entirety of 2016, 2017 was a whole different story. The internet bombarded me with it – left, right and center, and I just couldn’t refuse any longer once several of my friends recommended it to me.

I’m not sure about you however, before I even laid hands on the series, I did look it up a little. I wasn’t completely avoiding it. Many fans of the series had described it as the new ‘Bleach’ or the new ‘Naruto’ and whilst I’m a huge fan of both of those series, I didn’t want a replica of them. Now, I’m not sure what those people were watching but I would just like to clarify any misunderstandings. Boku No Hero Academia is definitely not a new ‘Bleach’ or ‘Naruto’. It’s different. So please clear that idea out of your mind. Get rid of it because that statement is absolutely ridiculous and I’m here to give you the low-down of it all.

Unfortunately, this review might not be as thorough as I’ll be doing my utmost best to write something comprehensive whilst remaining within the frames of being short and sweet. I would also like to add the fact that I’ve seriously freshly completed season one and the only factor standing in my way of immediately ploughing through the twenty or so available episodes of season two is the completion of this review.

Hence, we’re kicking off this review right now.

Boku no Hero Academia is a series that is situated around a somewhat distant future whereby the human population consists of people who possess ‘quirks’; in short – super powers. Those who do possess these special traits are able to pursue a career as a hero. As with all things there are always two sides. Whilst there may be good seeds there are also bad ones and those with ‘quirks’ may decide to rebel against society and instead lead life as a villain; wreaking havoc within the general public. Our main character, dear and sweet Midoriya Izuku, dreams of nothing more than becoming a Hero. As the biggest fan of All Might, he wishes to defeat evil and save those who are in need; whilst smiling. Unfortunately, Midoriya was not born with a Quirk and is notorious for being ‘quirkless’. However, when he reaches his lowest point, despite his years of chasing his dreams of becoming a hero, an encounter with the world’s best hero – All Might – sets him off on his journey to becoming a hero at the Hero Academy.

See? No major spoilers. I’m getting a lot better at this aren’t I?

Honestly, as of right now, Boku No Hero Academia might actually be one of my favourite anime series. There is literally no element in its entirety that I remotely dislike. I’m not even kidding, I can’t even pinpoint one. The storyline is great, the characters are amazing, the art is awesome, the songs are engaging and my entire being is hooked.

There are some things that I would like to point out about the anime that might lead to spoilers, however, so please feel free to be satisfied with the first half of the review and leave at this half-way mark. Honestly speaking, I doubt that these little statements would lead to any ‘out-of-this-world’ spoilers but here’s just a little warning so that I don’t cause any upset.

First of all, I’ve got to address the seiyuus because I’m literally only referring to the Japanese voice actors. I’m not discriminating against the English dub or the French dubs but I’ll lead onto that point a little further on. If you don’t already know, I have a very deep connection to Nobuhiko. He is, as I’ve stated before, one of the three male seiyuus that I can just instantly recognise from literally anywhere. I’m not even kidding, despite that ridiculously long anime hiatus, within Bakkun’s first scene, I instantly knew that that was my Usui.

At first, I’m not going to lie, I felt a little upset that Bakkun (I’m referring to Bakugo. Deku obviously refers to him as Kacchan and I wasn’t aware that Deku wasn’t saying Bakkun but I caught myself calling Bakugo, Bakkun and it just stuck. Would you look at that, I unconsciously created a nickname for him. I’m ridiculous.) was a bully because could you imagine Usui as a bully? However, I still stood up for him because honestly, at first I felt obligated to do so, but things changed and I fell in love with his character. I do not love the fact that he was a mean little child but he’s slowly changing and he’s just such a dear; I can’t help it, I love my Bakkun.

Now moving onto the fact that this anime should really be enjoyed with the original Japanese dub because there are all these fantastic, despite being completely lazy, puns that are flying over people’s heads. What am I talking about?

Here’s a little fun fact that I absolutely loved while enjoying the series. Bakugo’s special skill involves bombs and explosions. In Japanese, this would refer to ‘bakuhatsu’ which would literally be a bomb or an explosion. His name uses the exact same kanji and therefore his quirk is already referenced in his name and it’s honestly just the laziest pun that I completely loved. Bakkun wasn’t the only one, Denki’s special skill involves electrocuting people. Denki literally refers to electricity and so his name is just one huge lazy pun as well. Honestly, it’s elements like these that make me completely enjoy the series because the creators might have just been incredibly lazy but it’s sure to give their audience a little bit of a laugh.

Speaking of laughs, this series is not short of one at all. There are great comic relief characters included who actually have quite a lot of depth. Whilst we’re on the topic of characters, this series might have actually scored an A plus from me. No annoying characters? Is this a first? And are those celebratory bells I hear? I have fallen in love with each and everyone of the characters in this series and I honestly cannot wait to learn more about them individually.

We’re nearing the end of this review, however All Might is someone that I must address. He is … indescribable. I have absolutely fallen in love with him. I love how he was inspired by Deku and that he took the time to train him and care for him; as a mentor. I love both of his states and I love how his character was developed. He wasn’t just a one dimensional heroic figure, no. He is honestly just a man who protects despite his fear, his circumstances and his wellbeing.

I feel myself prattling on and season 2 is calling out to me so I would like to end off with:

Boku no Hero Academia is a shonen anime series that is sure to have you emotionally hooked within the first episode. The main character is such a under dog and it’s amazing to see him overcome obstacles through his intellect, observation and just sheer hard work. His 11 months of training montage is definitely one of the most motivating anime scenes and I just highly recommend that you give this series a watch because I promise you, you won’t want to miss out any longer.

Learn that being a hero is not based on your physical strength but whether you have the will to not hesitate or run but act when faced with adversity.