My Hero Academia - Season 4

Again (as with the last season of Haikyuu!!) I was very skeptical about this season. If you are making a shonen anime series, or perhaps any sort of super-hero show, then for the sake of building atmosphere I think it is pointless to put the most epic battle between the strongest good guy and the most powerful villain (in this show it is All Might vs. All for One) anywhere other than the very end. It would have been weird if, for example, Superman had defeated Zod halfway through the movie and then had just simply carried on to deal with some minor villains for the rest of it. It would certainly seem weird in a Superman movie or TV show, however, this is not about just one amazing superhero, it is about his successors, so if you had, say, a TV show about Robin (from Batman), then this connection between two generations, where there is an epic scene about one having to leave to make way for the next makes perfect sense (you do not have to look that far for that, because there is a similar storyline Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). After such a spectacular epic showdown, which brings about the end of an era, there must inevitably be a comedown. After seeing one of the highlights of the anime series, it is going to take a lot of time and be difficult to build up to another such highlight. All of this was on my mind before this new season even started... Then I saw the first few episodes and also a YouTube video with a certain very popular anime critic explaining why, logically, this season is already the worst season ever. He presented some interesting arguments which made a lot of sense, one of which was the one I mentioned above. He also criticized the complete change of environment in the first half of the season which means that a ton of characters (the main male protagonist’s friends in Class 1-A for example) are an afterthought and have yet to do much of anything (i.e. they will be missed by a lot of the show’s aficionados), and there are large amounts of pointless character introductions, so the show basically just feels hastily overstuffed, and they do not work as well as the old friends we have already established a relationship with. He also criticized the whole point of the season’s narrative. Basically, Eri’s character is unrelatable, so the narrative is not going to make sense to a lot of people because it starts and ends with her status as a plot device. She has no backstory, not much of anything really, yet expects you to care and buy into the other characters’ insane sacrifices in saving her, and justifies all the drama and the epic battles just because she is a little girl who is suffering. He had other arguments, which I cannot remember now, although I was really intrigued by them at the time, so I was really watching this season closely to see if his points were valid... Well, I did not find it that way at all. On the contrary! The change of the narrative arc was actually quite refreshing in the end. The new characters were intriguing, and Mirio, who looks like Tintin on steroids was in some of the best scenes of the whole season and I am even convinced he might have been a better "successor" than Midoriya (Deku) in some ways. I was equally taken by the whole Eri narrative, which is no surprise because as a fan of cute little animated girls, any injustice done to them instantly pushes my buttons (along with other internet nerds from our little "Must protecc!" club). Moreover, the fight of Midoriya vs. Overhaul was great and the real highlight of the whole arc and clearly demonstrated that even after the awesome carnage from the last season there was still something to look forward to. So in the end, I am pleased beyond expectations with the entire Shie Hassaikai Arc. I had a great time watching it and ran the gamut of emotions once again. Then came the second part of the season and the U.A. School Festival arc. These parts of the anime series usually bore me to death, so once again I was slightly on edge as to how My Hero Academia would handle it. It was back to school in a friendly, relaxed way, seeing old friends and making new ones. Most importantly, it had Gentle Criminal, probably the most likeable villain (so far), of the entire anime series, who, along with La Brava, was a really good character and I was secretly hoping they would succeed. However, rooting for the bad guy in super-hero TV shows or movies usually means big trouble, it shows that the main male protagonist does not have enough charisma... Perhaps Gentle Criminal was just so awesome and La Brava was too lovable - and liking the Joker and Harley Quinn does not necessarily mean that Batman sucks, right? The showdown between Midoriya and Gentle Criminal was truly spectacular, a duel between characters with such similar yet incredibly strong motivations intrigued me, and the added backstory made me sympathize with Gentle Criminal and his companion (and also root for them) all the more. I could say that the outcome of this battle was rather not really what I wanted, however, on the other hand, Eri's smile made up for it... The finále and the rise of the new number one hero only needed two episodes for the anime’s creators to set the mood, and stage another brilliant battle, and change your perspective on a character you probably might not have even considered just a few months ago... In conclusion, this season of My Hero Academia did not disappoint me either, on the contrary - it easily eliminated any doubts that I might stop enjoying it in the future because the producers know how to create a good atmosphere, what fanboys want (even if it is just a bunch of clichés sometimes), and how to make quality and dynamic battles... I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it a lot. 8.7/10. (04/04/2020) (less) (more)