My Hero Academia - Season 7

My Hero Academia is a Japanese anime created by animation studio Bones and based on the manga of the same name by Kohei Horikoshi. The seventh season of My Hero Academia recently ended, which gives me the perfect opportunity to get back into this cool anime. But does the anime, based on Kōhei Horikoshi's popular manga, continue to live up to my expectations?

I love seeing the 'extras' get their own '20 minutes of fame', which makes their role more meaningful and adds more to the story.

Season seven of My Hero Academia builds on the series' strengths, with impressive world building and character development. The seventh season covers three major storylines that lay the foundation for the most important moment in the story, the Final War. After the emotional conclusion to the 'Dark Hero Arc' in season six, where we witnessed Uraraka's (Ayane Sakura, Attack on Titan) emotional speech to welcome Midoriya (Daiki Yamashita, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) back, the exciting and intense 'Star and Stripe Arc'. In this storyline, American hero Star and Stripe (Romi Park, Attack on Titan) comes to Japan for a confrontation with the resurrected Tomura Shigaraki (Uchiyama Kouki, Bluelock), further escalating tensions with the League of Villains.

After this confrontation, the 'U.A. Traitor Arc' focuses on the mole within the school. This intriguing storyline serves as a kind of calm before the storm. In the manga, this storyline felt a bit drawn out. Fortunately, the anime creates a better flow, which smoothly moves the story into the next storyline. Everyone in Class 1-A says goodbye to friends and family and the story reaches its climax, which we see in the explosive 'Final War Arc'. Now regrouped and closer than ever, the heroes prepare for a decisive confrontation with the villains. We are in the end game now.



The anime has always had a mix of highs and lows. Season seven is no exception. But let me say that the highs far outweigh the minor lows. The first part, mainly the 'U.A. Traitor Arc', is a bit less smooth and consists of quite a few dialogues. Not the most action-packed spectacle to watch, but it does enrich the story. This season, unfortunately, Midoriya also seems to take on more of a supporting role. Other characters, who are seen as 'extras' by All For One (Akio Otsuka, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure), therefore get more of the spotlight. Think mainly of Midoriya's lesser-known classmates, but students from other schools and teachers also come to the fore. This gives us a different perspective of the battle, far away from Midoriya and Shigaraki. And although we actually want to see that fight, moments like these serve as a build-up to this final battle.

Hey, Izuku... Can I still catch up to you?

I love seeing the 'extras' get their own '20 minutes of fame', which makes their role more meaningful and adds more to the story. Even unexpected characters from previous seasons return with more depth than in the manga. But well-known characters also get their moments in the spotlight: Bakugo (Nobuhiko Okamoto, Haikyu!!) shines in a battle with Shigaraki, and All Might (Kenta Miyake, Jujutsu Kaisen) bravely faces All For One. Episode 19 took the drama of Todoroki's family (Yūki Kaji, Attack on Titan) to a new level, with incredible animation, a powerful soundtrack and excellent voice acting. The battle between Uraraka and Toga (Misato Fukuen, Pokémon Horizons) also deserves a mention. It's both visually arresting and heartbreaking. Moments like these are among the highlights of the season.



Season seven of My Hero Academia is a whirlwind of tension and drama, characterized by strong animation, spectacular fights and (voice) acting that will make you laugh. The music, composed in part by Yuki Hayashi, provides an epic feeling that makes the highlights of this season even more powerful. Featuring emotional scenes such as Todoroki's family drama and Uraraka and Toga's fight, the season offers both visually impressive and heartbreaking moments. Unfortunately, Midoriya stayed a bit more in the background, but he will probably make up for that time. Although the manga spreads events over several chapters, the anime brilliantly turns them into compelling episodes.