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I need to talk about My Hero Academia and Season 8
2 weeks ago
Hi guys! It's been a while, though I've had some journals in mind that I wanted to get out of my head!
I'm going to ramble about My Hero Academia. If you've never seen it, this journal probably won't make sense XD. And just FYI, as someone who's read 100% of the manga, I might be touching on some spoilers that haven't been revealed yet in the anime. I've also been watching the anime as it's been coming out over the last four weeks, so if you haven't started watching it yet and intend to, please beware!
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Spoiler warning!
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Eventually, I want to do a series of journals on my favorite anime (Evangelion and its movie End of Evangelion, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Fist of the North Star) and why I love them. But for now, I just need to ramble about how good MHA has been this season. After an arguably slowish season four, five and six (with several exceptions), the anime got reeeeeeeally good again around season seven. As someone who read the manga every single week the second bootlegs were uploaded from Japan (and cried and screamed when we were met with "BHA will be on break for two / three / four weeks!), I knew what was coming and what is coming.
My god, I fucking love this show. It's one of my favorites. Here are a few thoughts as we press forward through season eight.
I hated Bakugo. Despised him. Not even in a "I love to hate him" kind of way, just "I hate him". He was just too much of a bully and asshole for my tastes, and the show kept forgiving him over and over where I refused to. However, episode three was so redeeming for his character that it may retcon my entire opinion of him. How he finally seems to have shrugged of his resentment towards Izuku and those strong than him; how he gently smiled at All Might when All Might called him by his own hero name, "Daibaku Kisshin Dainamaito", or "Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite"; and how he clumsily and joyously rag-dolled through the wrecked buildings as he chased All for One in the final battle, laughing in pain. I can't stop watching that scene.
And speaking of AFO: All for One is one of my favorite villains of all time, especially when it is revealed that he's basically an appallingly evil, stunningly handsome Greek god. I didn't really like him at first, either, but the moment he started rewinding during his fight with Endeavor (who I would argue is the best and most interesting character in the entire story), I was hooked. The most recent flashback episode of AFO's and Yoichi's childhood was everything I wanted it to be; All for One has never looked so good and been so creepy yet handsome yet horrifying. (If I'm ever able to actually get to the point in Kosma where we meet the main villain, he will be a blend of Judge Doom from Roger Rabbit, Kefka from FFVI, and All for One.)
We also finally got Bakugo versus an evil baby version of All for One. Superb.
I'm far less interested in the Izuku / Tomura plot than I was the All Might / All for One plot (I remember, while reading the manga, not knowing whether All Might was going to die, and screaming a sigh of relief when Bakugo saved him), but there still are some extremely interesting stories up to bat, especially when Izuku and Shimura go into Tomura's mind and witness his childhood abuse at the hands of his father. It's going to be exquisite stuff.
MHA is a guilty pleasure for me, and season 8 has been premium stuff.
I'm going to ramble about My Hero Academia. If you've never seen it, this journal probably won't make sense XD. And just FYI, as someone who's read 100% of the manga, I might be touching on some spoilers that haven't been revealed yet in the anime. I've also been watching the anime as it's been coming out over the last four weeks, so if you haven't started watching it yet and intend to, please beware!
-
-
Spoiler warning!
-
-
Eventually, I want to do a series of journals on my favorite anime (Evangelion and its movie End of Evangelion, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Fist of the North Star) and why I love them. But for now, I just need to ramble about how good MHA has been this season. After an arguably slowish season four, five and six (with several exceptions), the anime got reeeeeeeally good again around season seven. As someone who read the manga every single week the second bootlegs were uploaded from Japan (and cried and screamed when we were met with "BHA will be on break for two / three / four weeks!), I knew what was coming and what is coming.
My god, I fucking love this show. It's one of my favorites. Here are a few thoughts as we press forward through season eight.
I hated Bakugo. Despised him. Not even in a "I love to hate him" kind of way, just "I hate him". He was just too much of a bully and asshole for my tastes, and the show kept forgiving him over and over where I refused to. However, episode three was so redeeming for his character that it may retcon my entire opinion of him. How he finally seems to have shrugged of his resentment towards Izuku and those strong than him; how he gently smiled at All Might when All Might called him by his own hero name, "Daibaku Kisshin Dainamaito", or "Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite"; and how he clumsily and joyously rag-dolled through the wrecked buildings as he chased All for One in the final battle, laughing in pain. I can't stop watching that scene.
And speaking of AFO: All for One is one of my favorite villains of all time, especially when it is revealed that he's basically an appallingly evil, stunningly handsome Greek god. I didn't really like him at first, either, but the moment he started rewinding during his fight with Endeavor (who I would argue is the best and most interesting character in the entire story), I was hooked. The most recent flashback episode of AFO's and Yoichi's childhood was everything I wanted it to be; All for One has never looked so good and been so creepy yet handsome yet horrifying. (If I'm ever able to actually get to the point in Kosma where we meet the main villain, he will be a blend of Judge Doom from Roger Rabbit, Kefka from FFVI, and All for One.)
We also finally got Bakugo versus an evil baby version of All for One. Superb.
I'm far less interested in the Izuku / Tomura plot than I was the All Might / All for One plot (I remember, while reading the manga, not knowing whether All Might was going to die, and screaming a sigh of relief when Bakugo saved him), but there still are some extremely interesting stories up to bat, especially when Izuku and Shimura go into Tomura's mind and witness his childhood abuse at the hands of his father. It's going to be exquisite stuff.
MHA is a guilty pleasure for me, and season 8 has been premium stuff.
I forget when I stopped in the Anime, at that point I was caught up and had to go to the Manga to continue.And Ive loved it, its been a journey.
I dont know when Season 8 takes place, but there is 1 Season...or Arc, that kinda made me dislike it for a while. Its mainly the aftermath of a grand event. But then after it got past that Hump, I refound my love, despite a few still lingering issues in the storytelling and series of events.
I finished the Series, and Overall I loved it, despite things I wont spoil.
And his last obstacle, of all people, Bakugo. The boy who was labeled a would-be villain. Yet who could not be tempted for even one second, because something in him like-wise could was set in stone the moment he saw All-Might. Something that would not break.
And it was driving AFO insane once he recognized that something, somehow, came to be in his way yet again, to ruin one more immaculate plan of his. Bakugo exploding his mass of quirks and flesh from the outside, Hawks hindering him from the inside, that power he could never steal or kill beyond quirks.
And Bakugo being the one to psyche him out, with his absolute psychotically perfect version of justice, to stare down the biggest monster the world had ever seen, is one of my favorite moments of this whole thing. And Bakugo's acknowledgment that it took everyone to beat him, not just a good milestone of his development, also meant that AFO was never going to rule humanity. There was never a demon king, just a selfish little boy.
For my own personal preference it's right in my wheelhouse of Anime but has been up and down on my like/dislike scale for a while. Still characters like Bakugo, Izuku, and Shimura are what keeps it firmly on the shelf and in the to_watch list rather than the bin.
Glad you are having a lot of fun with it. Stay safe and well.
That aside, it makes me kind of sad because this season is GORGEOUS. And it makes me sad because the other seasons had these BIG moments and they just...used still images and slid them across the screen? (Looking at the Overhaul arc specifically). It kinda feels like a slap in the face for fans. I've been a fan since the very beginning, and I've been so excited with every season, but just seeing how absolutely stunning this season is in comparison to the rest breaks my heart. I get Bones is a studio that has to split themselves to work on several anime at a time, but MHA is the BIG anime, I wish they devoted more time to it to really make it shine.
My only gripe is they're doing the thing where they pick and choose what's important to show. For example, Yoichi was confirmed to be hiding with Kudou and Bruce for two months, whereas the anime made it seem like he was rescued, they immediately started running, and he died. Which an anime-only would take as factual and I'm already seeing people calling the 'One for All' transfer plot 'stupid' because the timing made no sense (when it DOES, the anime just omit it).
I absolutely love MHA and seeing people seeing screencaps and gifs and going 'should I actually start watching this?" has been so heartwarming because the series IS good, but people naturally just shit on it because it's a shonen. It means a lot to so many people and seeing the fandom explode again has been so fun.
I haven't finished watching all the MHA manga & anime, but I also had my views changed throughout some key events.
I used to find some characters hard to like at first, but seeing their growth has been interesting.
I'll be ready when you post your next journals, because I love reading them. (and anime is my yes)
Thanks for sharing this journal!
*donkey hugs* 🫂
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