Mini (Informal) Review: My Hero Academia Season 5

This is just some anime idiot’s opinion. Don’t expect a college thesis for a review.

Note: This will contain spoilers for the My Hero Academia anime seasons 1-5. Comments may also include spoilers. If you want to see what anime I’m going to finish and review next, it will be at the end of this post in red.

What can I say that has not been said about MHA S5?

We got Shigaraki backstory, Metal Mushroom Girl, 2 amazing OPs, Snow Man, and focus on our lesser-loved babies is always appreciated.

I adored the battles between Class 1-A and Class 1-B, shining extra light on characters who rarely get spotlight and extra info on characters we barely got to see during the tournament arc in S2. I loved the genius strategies the teams deployed, better than just “Well we have stronger quirks so we win instantly” or one of the battles being thrown out as a joke. What better way to win in a desperate situation than to deploy probably one of the darkest strategies we’ve seen a hero use- I mean who thinks of growing a mushroom in someone’s lungs? Metal as fuck. I was personally waiting for Manga to show up again but I NEVER thought it would actually happen. His quirk is just amazing and hilarious at the same time. This made me so excited for Shinso’s potential in the future, if he was this impressive now imagine him in like one year or two (in show time not irl). Bakugo learning teamwork just made me so happy, I was surprised how many people didn’t enjoy that part. Also further proof that Aoyama, Shoji, and Tohru are amazing and underrated. The ending visuals were just so cute I couldn’t take it- though I didn’t think I’d ever see Mineta and Bakugo hanging out. Not that I hate seeing it at all just thought they were a weird pair together.

As someone who isn’t really a fan of the villains in MHA, this arc was outstanding! Not to say they’re bad characters, but before I thought the villains like Shigaraki, Toga, and Twice were just ranging from bland to annoying but this arc really shows you how just because they’re villains and have selfish goals doesn’t mean they should be completely hated. The teamwork (and dash of teasing) was just adorable and made me damn near fall in love with Twice and the team. I thought the sudden evolution of some quirks was a little too crammed in too quickly. It probably would’ve felt better to me if they fleshed out the quirk evolutions throughout the arc instead of just shoving everyone into one episode.

Overall

Pros:

Great Music as always! The OPs are always a treat.

Amazing side character focus- whether it’s introducing new characters or giving more focus to some older ones this season just excelled as MHA always does. Even managed to make me LOVE some of the villains.

The tension and conflict between Endeavor and his family was perfectly handled. One party is completely framed as being a total villain for their reaction to Endeavor trying to reincorporate himself into the fold. I thought Endeavor was gonna end up one of those asshole dads in anime that never learns their lesson or becomes a fucking Angel that everyone ends up accepting in a heartbeat. They walked the line perfectly. Endeavor is genuinely trying to get better and earn the title of #1 hero, but his family still has issues as he y’know abused them for years. No one has the same opinion and the abuser isn’t immediately accepted with shallow words.

Cons:

My Villain Academia felt pretty rushed. While I still loved this arc, there were times where it felt like they pulled back from pulling a full punch at the fight scenes.

The First OP’s visuals were a bit eh compared to others. Music was amazing but the visuals didn’t match the intensity and felt lacking in comparison.

Hawks is… complicated to say the least. He says he’s trying to double-cross the villains so he can protect everyone but he comes off as mixed. They try to make him seem like he’s completely innocent and isn’t a villain and he’s secretly this mastermind behind the scenes when he’s really just gambling on this working out and not just destroying the heroes thinking that he’s helping.

9/10 New Fans of Metal Mushroom Girl

Can’t wait to finish up- “A Centaur’s Life” next! I’ll post the review as soon as I finish it!

Love to hear what you all think about Season 5 too! No manga spoilers please. I don’t have the manga yet. Anime/Manga/Game recommendations are greatly appreciated!