My Hero Academia’s second season aired in 2018 (same year Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man came out) on Adult Swim’s block Toonami. It received positive reviews from critics, fans and viewers alike. As an anime enthusiast, I wanna share my thoughts on My Hero Academia’s second season. I’ve already covered my previous review on Season 1. So, don’t forget to check it out.
This review contains no crucial SPOILERS whatsoever. Feel free to read my non-spoiler article.
Strong & Weak Aspects
Strong: Justin Briner, Clifford Chapin, Christopher Sabat, Justin Cook, Monica Rial, Sonny Strait, Mike McFarland, Ian Sinclair, Chuck Huber & Eric Vale all did an excellent job for their respective voiceover performances.
Animation brings an immersive world to life along with character models, fluid movement and environmental locations.
Action Sequences display a superhero’s unique quirk.
The anime’s influenced by “Dragon Ball,” Naruto,” “Star Wars,” Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man Trilogy,” “X-Men” & “Harry Potter.”
Set after Season 1, Izuku Midoriya/Deku gains a powerful quirk on by his idol, All Might. This time he participates in a tournament for superheroes, goes through intense training from All Might’s former mentor Gran Torino, encounters a tougher enemy and studies a written and physical “exam.”
Deku’s chemistry with All Might, Gran Torino, his friends and Kacchan serves as the main highlight. His interactions with them move the story forward.
Humor has a few funny moments. Especially, Mineta’ antics on his female classmates. I also laughed at Kacchan’s explosive (no pun intended) cocky behavior. Mineta’s room has a poster of Midnight.
Class 1-A students come up with codenames.
I never felt miserably bored watching all 26 episodes. My eyes were glued to the TV since the beginning.
Character Development involving Shoto Todoroki. He begins to develop Deku’s trust. The latter’s still learning to master his quirk. Even Deku’s classmates also learn to master their quirks in battle.
Gran Torino reminds me of Yoda. Both are short, old and use agile combat tactics.
We learn about Todoroki’s tragic back story. Plus, All Might brings up a piece of his past.
A mysterious character plays a key role linked to the “One for All” quirk. As well as the lore surrounding superheroes spreading the world population a hundred years ago.
The League of Villains factor in. They made an appearance in Season 1.
During his internship, Tenya goes on a personal mission to find a deadly serial killer.
Kirishima, Tsu (pronounced as Sue) & Mineta are my favorite characters.
My favorite story arc is the Sports Festival with every student participating to win a good medal to prove themselves worthy.
Season 2 Finale sets up Deku’s next assignment. Deku’s “unexpected visit” from a certain character raises the stakes on what has yet to come. In the words of Lumpy Space Princess (LSP for short) from “Adventure Time,” “DRAMA BOMB!”
Weak: As I mentioned on my article on the first season, it can be difficult to remember several characters. Heck, a running gag/in-joke with Kacchan’s inability to remember his classmates got me laughing. Thankfully, some of the students from Class-A get codenames to help you remember who’s who. I still have a hard time getting to know new characters. Except Hatsume, Tetsutetsu, Stain, Midnight & Gran Torino.
The Final Verdict: A-
Like Season 1, My Hero Academia’s second season is near-perfect. If you already finished the first season, watch the second one on Hulu or Crunchyroll. So far, I’m really enjoying the anime. Once I see and write a post on “My Hero Academia: Two Heroes,” I’ll be ready to stream Season 3. Who’s your favorite character from the anime? Please leave a comment and I’ll respond back.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 