My Hero Academia: Two Heroes – Boku no hîrô akademia THE MOVIE ~ 2-ri no eiyû ~ (2018)

Directed by: Kenji Nagasaki | 96 minutes | animation, action | Original voice cast: Mirai Shida, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Daiki Yamashita, Kenta Miyake, Yûki Kaji, Ayane Sakura

‘My Hero Academia’ is one of the best known and most popular anime series of the moment. The series originally started as a manga series, but as the popularity of these comic books increased, they decided to continue the success by creating an anime. The appealing humor and quirky characters have won the anime series many fans worldwide. Even with the continued expansion of all things superhero related, My Hero Academia puts a fresh and fun spin on this saturated genre. So it was only a matter of time before a My Hero Academia movie hit the big screen.

The story of ‘My Hero Academia’ follows the young Izuku Midoriya. He lives in a world where 80% of the world’s population has evolved naturally occurring superpowers known as ‘Quirks’. Born with no superpowers himself, he is chosen by the world’s most famous superhero, All Might, to inherit his “One-For-All” power. Since becoming a superhero is his lifelong dream, he will have to carefully master his newfound power. And where better to do that than at a superhero school?

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes is set between the second and third seasons of the series. Izuku flies with All Might to I-Island, an artificially created island where scientists study the superheroes’ skills and develop new devices and costumes for them. On the occasion of the I-Expo, a famous festival on the island, All Might wants to visit his old friend David Shield – one of the most famous scientists on I-Island. While the two discuss all kinds of things, Izuku soon finds a new friend in Melissa, David’s clever daughter. And when Izuku’s school friends also show up, nothing seems to go wrong. Until the masked supervillain Wolfram suddenly shows up and declares all the inhabitants of the island hostages. It’s time for Izuku and his friends to use their learned knowledge and skills to save the inhabitants.

‘My Hero Academia: Two Heroes’ works best for fans who have already invested countless hours in the anime series. If you can’t say that about yourself, you might be a little confused: the film doesn’t try to introduce existing plot lines and characters, but relies on the audience to know what it’s about and who the individual characters are. So you need a lot of prior knowledge. Fans, on the other hand, will undoubtedly love this film, as they can finally admire their favorite characters on a larger scale. Just like in the series, it’s the characters that make this story worthwhile. It’s strange that the students happen to bump into each other on I-Island, but a few minutes later you don’t even think about this anymore and you’re just glad the colorful cast is together. The chemistry between the characters is just right and makes for some of the most entertaining moments. Not all the main characters made it to the film, which is a shame, but it may have been the right decision in a film of only 96 minutes.

However, the addition of some new characters poses a drawback in the film. Despite being important figures in All Might’s past, David and Melissa are introduced solely for this film. As a result, these characters have to struggle with the fact that they have no role to play in the larger context of the overall story. They are not necessarily bad characters, but there is simply far too little time for character development. The same can be said about the movie’s villain: Wolfram. This is quite a one-dimensional character and he doesn’t leave a lasting impression. This is a shame, because the bad guys of the anime series are usually very complex.

Yet ‘My Hero Academia: Two Heroes’ does score high in other areas. The animation is always impressive, the action is portrayed in a stylistic way, there are good character moments and the soundtrack by Yuki Hayashi ensures the right atmosphere at all times. A must for the fans.