Review: My Hero Academia V.01

Title: My Hero Academia
Volume: 1 (of 8+)
Creator: Kohei Horikoshi
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 8/4/15
Pages: 192
ISBN: 1421582694
MSRP: $9.99
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (For Teen)

Description: What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks” at age four? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…

Contains Numbers 1-7:

• No.1: Izuku Midoriya: Origin
• No.2: Roaring Muscles
• No.3: Entrance Exam
• No.4: Starting Line
• No.5: Smashing The Academia
• No.6: What I Can Do For Now
• No.7: Costume Change?

Review:

Cover: The cover for this volume features Midoriya walking towards the reader, with All Might standing behind him with his hands on his hips. There is also many other heroes behind them done in red and black coloring. The background is yellow so it helps the colors pop a lot more. The series title is on the top, with a rectangular shape that has an image of Midoriya, followed by Shonen Jump Comics and the volume number (it looks like a comic book cover basically). The mangaka is on the lower left corner.

The spine from top to bottom contains the Shonen Jump brand logo, the series title, the volume number, the mangaka, the image of Midoriya from the rectangular logo on the front cover, and the VIZ company logo.

The back cover has the same yellow background, but it has panels and spalsh marks like a typical comic book page would have. The volume summary is on the left side, overlapping the background and a star splash bubble. An image of Midoriya from the front cover is used on a lower left panel. The right side of the cover features one of the heroines from this volume, Mt. Lady, in an ad for Lady Hair, probably an endorsement deal she is using to make some money on the side of her saving the world.

I really love this cover. The comic book theme goes really well with what the series is about. The vibrant colors, character poses, and whole design are just really impressive all around and I look forward to every upcoming volume cover from the high standards this one has shown me.

Artwork: My Hero Academia is a shonen manga so expect there to be plenty of action sequences. It is hard to really say any other series art style is actually similar to this series. which is a good thing as I don't like always reading a manga series by a creator who has the same style as another artist. The character designs are cartoonish, but they have a real super hero appeal, especially the characters hero poses. The art doesn't change much as well when it comes to dramatic, action, or comedy moments; its very seamless which I absolutely love.

Translation: Characters, places, attacks, and cultural references are left intact. Sound Effects changed to English, which I absolutely don't understand since in Shonen Jump magazine they are left in the original Japanese Hiragana/Katakana.

Extras: After every chapter is a Character sheet with tons of info about the character in the manga, as well as how they were supposed to originally be. There is also an afterword, which I always love in mangas.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): My Hero Academia is a series which I feel is eventually going to be one of the greatest Shonen mangas of this generation. Out story begins with a boy named Izuku Midoriya. He's born into a world where their are heroes eveywhere. Pretty much everyone is born with this hidden ability called a Quirk that usually manifests by the time a child reaches the age of 4. For Midoriya though, it never did and everyone basically thinks he's a loser. As he is about to graduate Junior High and move on to High School, he really wants to attend an Academy for heroes, UA Academy.

One day as he's walking home from school after being bullied by a childhood friend of his, Katsuki Bakugo, he is attacked by a villain who is basically fluid that devours people and takes them over. He is saved by his favorite hero, All Might, who traps the villain in an empty soda bottle. As All Might leaves the scene to bring the villain into custody, Midoriya hitches a ride on him as he flies away, in the process he drops the bottle with the villain in it. The villain ends up breaking out and tries to possess the body of Bakugo somewhere in the city away from where All Might decides to drop of Midoriya. Midoriya just wants to know if someone without a Quirk can still be a hero. All Might is about to answer when he changes into a shrimpy man. All Might explains that he was injured in a fight years ago that caused him to only be able to be in his super hero form for a maximum of three hours at a time before he has to recharge. He doesn't get to answer Midoriya's question cause an explosion is in the distance and he needs to go see if he can help. Midoriya also heads to the scene.

The liquid monster, now possessing Bakugo begins to attack and no hero around can really do much. All Might is basically in the crowd of onlookers as he can't really do much himself cause he needs to recharge. Midoriya's body begins to propel him forward to try and help his friend, it is his courage that makes him receive his answer, anyone can be a hero, All Might eventually charges back up and saves the day seeing Midoriya's bravery, and that's just the first chapter.

Midoriya eventually gains powers from All Might, as All Might inherited his powers from someone else. The power is called "One For All" and Midoriya must eat a piece of All Might's hair to gain it. He goes through a grueling training session that lasts for several months, all to prep for the UA Academy entrance exams, which he manages to pass by once again showing his heroism over saving others over trying to see how many enemies a hero can take out at a time.

When he finally gets in he meets the other students and teachers (All Might is also teaching at UA Academy) who all have different Quirks. The teachers put them to a test their quirks. Midoriya's teacher, Shota Aizawa (Eraser), tells them one person who scores the lowest won't be continuing their education at the school. Midoriya fears it will be him but with the power of "One For All" manages to pass one event with flying colors. Eraser eventually tells them he just told them that to make them work harder and no one ended up getting sent home.

The volume ends with our students deciding on hero names, Midoriya goes with Deku, a name he was called by Bakugo. It was used as a put down, but Midoriya decided he will use it for encouragement from that day forward. No one else's names are revealed yet, but we do get to see our heroes at the very end in costume, except for Midoriya who will have his debut in V.02.

I really enjoyed this volume. It is a real underdog story and brings back old memories of how good series like Naruto used to be. It has the right blend of comedy, drama, and action that really got to me to the point where at times I found myself pumped with excitement, laughing out loud, and on the verge of emotional tears. The characters are fun and unique; Midoriya and Bakugo have a rivalry that I can't wait to see how it develops. The teachers and the other students are very entertaining too (loved Ida and Uraraka, which I will get to in future volumes of the series). This volume was amazing on all aspects, and I seriously can't wait to see what other adventures Midoriya and the rest of this cast will be doing soon!

Objectionable Content:

• Language: No
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situations: No

Score:

• Cover: 10/10
• Artwork: 8/10
• Translation: 8/10
• Extras: 10/10
• Story: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

Where Purchased: Anime Expo 2015 (VIZ Booth)
Original Review Date: 5/17/16