an incendiary sequence from key animator Yuki Sato<\/a> that, on top of being flashy, acts as a cathartic reminder of how far these characters have come. While some battle shonen (like Jujutsu Kaisen\u2019s second season) are subsumed by overlong battle scenes that lack underlying weight, here, each punch fulfills years of build-up, as character moments are skillfully woven throughout.<\/p>\nMany of these sequences are so visually impressive that they make a strong case for why animation arguably remains the best place for superpowered smackdowns, as its 2D animation enables shot compositions and imagery impossible in live action. Of course, this kind of execution can only be achieved with tremendous time, effort, and skill, but thankfully, Bones has built up a rolodex of formidable animator contacts over the years, who very much showed up in a big way for this last hurrah (besides the series\u2019 most well-known animator, Yutaka Nakamura, but hey, it\u2019s hard to complain about what we got).<\/p>\n
More than just satisfying the base-level thrills of seeing dudes wail on each other, these sequences also sell the underlying principles these characters are fighting for; namely, our protagonist\u2019s deeply held belief in the power of forgiveness and redemption as it relates to the big bads he\u2019s fighting against. At the same time, this battle hammers home the series\u2019 longstanding conflict between those fighting for a collective good versus those trying to seize everything for themselves. These are broad strokes, sure, and the kind that could easily come across as weightless platitudes, but what makes it work is the delivery, which ties us into a wider world where the impact of these heroes\u2019 selflessness becomes evident.<\/p>\n
We see children and adults watching these battles caught on camera with concern and deep investment\u2014often these are characters who were helped by those in the thick of it\u2014which captures exactly what these heroes fight for. Similarly, as this very large ensemble cast rallies for the ultimate battle, the series accomplishes the impressive task of giving nearly every side character a role in this scuffle. It\u2019s not an accident, and it ties in with a poignant notion this last stretch keeps returning to: Making the world a better place shouldn\u2019t be the work of a single exceptional individual, but a collective effort (take that, Ayn Rand; more like Atlas Sucked). It\u2019s an optimistic outlook, but one the series conveys in a beautifully rendered closing sequence that improves on its source material through the fundamental power of well-executed animation (and better pacing)\u2014even \u201cpower of friendship\u201d skeptics will likely be impressed by this last push. In general, the anime builds on the whip-bam finale of the manga by providing a little extra room to breathe, especially in the epilogue episodes that offer a much-needed chance to say goodbye, while making the protagonist\u2019s endpoint much more fulfilling.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, all of this good doesn\u2019t necessarily erase the series\u2019 lowlights; as a whole, the show still comes with some caveats due to a weak 48-episode middle act full of way too many low-stakes school tournament arcs, which basically all pale in comparison to season two\u2019s excellent take on this classic battle-shonen trope. There is also some thematic weirdness around how the narrative handles its allegories about minority rights, even if it\u2019s mostly coming from a good-natured place. While the epilogue partially addresses this issue, and there are overtures towards change, the story still handwaves some of the flaws of this commercialized superhero society in a way that\u2019s a tad frustrating.<\/p>\n
But judged in a vacuum, this final season serves as an excellent capstone to this 170-episode journey; compared to many serialized Western superhero comics trapped in endless retreads, it is very satisfying to get a definitive finale where this world moves forward rather than fighting the same villains over and over in an unchanging city. While straightforward and earnest, this season\u2019s high-flying animation takes its characters to the brink of ruin before slingshotting them back towards the fundamental hopefulness embodied by its main character, Midoriya, a kid finally able to surpass his idol as he shows others a better way forward (with his fists and his friends, of course). It\u2019s no small feat that, in the end, My Hero Academia proved to be 10 years well spent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After nearly a decade, My Hero Academia\u2019s tumultuous journey has finally come to an end. Beginning with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-354918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}