Review of My Hero Academia Season 6

After a (very) disappointing season 5, My Hero Academia is back and in case you couldn't tell from the end of last season, things are about to get real ugly. I'll assume you've seen the prequel seasons for the purposes of this review. Story: My Hero Academia really throws you into the fire right away, with the Hero Liberation Front launching an all out attack on the heroes. Right on the front lines are the established heroes such as Endeavor, Eraser Head, and such. So where does that leave our main cast of UA students? Watching this during the same time that the Bleachsequel aired gives for quite an explosive anime season and they really don't hold back on this front. Unlike last season where we had class activities with a bit of background on the villains, this season, we get to watch as every living hero enters the battlefield. Most battles with lesser villains and minions are kept out of the spotlight and anyone with a recognizable quirk is given ample airtime. They really do a good job to make sure everyone is touched on. More than half of the season is focused on this war and with the action on the heroes and villains - it's the best that My Hero Academia has had to offer to date.

One of the minor problems is that they stick in flashbacks, or scenes from the past, right in the middle of fights. For example, an episode may end off with a confrontation and when the next one starts, we're not in the middle of the action still. This stalls the quick pace that the series had going for it, and almost felt like when Naruto Shippuuden would insert random filler into the final arc. Sure, we can clearly see that we're seeing important information in front of us for the sake of storytelling, but this probably wasn't the best way to do it. Another minor problem is that if you're sick of story including Endeavor's family, you're out of luck because more story elements around him are inserted here. While I thought this one was done much better than the previous arc, outside of one key fact, I'm not sure I understand giving this much more airtime for one character's backstory is the best way to go about it.

In the back end of the series, I thought they'd stall what has been a very impressive story with some cooldown periods, but they get right back into it. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, we end up following around a small group of heroes as they do some recon and rescue missions. This was a really effective use of these episodes because it emphasized how tough being a hero can be sometimes. There are plenty of themes that are represented here, and top among them is how much people really can worry about you. It gets dark at times too, which was also done effectively.

As you get near the end, you know more craziness is going to happen. Season 7 has already been confirmed, obviously, and I feel like we're in for a ride. But can it really top what we've gotten so far? I hope it does. (10/10)

Characters: All our crew from past seasons are back, obviously, and the one to go through the most character development is obviously Deku. Most of his personality traits from past seasons are very much still present, and it even gets to the point where he starts thinking about others too much. This leads to some great storytelling points. Surprisingly, Kaachan also takes some pretty big steps in his character, even if it's much more subtle. Uravity goes through some minor growth near the end, but I was hoping to see much more of her than we did. As alluded to already, the Todoroki family also learn to grow together again, but the outcome is mostly predictable.

Many high ranking heroes get a bigger part within the story and they're awesome. My two favourites were Crust, the number 6 hero, and Mirko the number 5 hero. Crust is a complete softy inside, and that accompanied with his ability to basically create shields at will is an amazing combination. Mirko is a relentless melee fighter, using just about every crazy ability you can expect of a supercharged rabbit has, and more. I loved these two.

Most villains that we saw in previous arcs are back. There was a lot of backstory inserted about them and even if they weren't placed in the series particularity well, there's no denying that we know more about them now, including why they're backing Shigaraki like they do. All For One also makes sporadic appearances in this season, and even though we know him as this menacing enemy, what exactly he has planned isn't fully fleshed out quite yet. (9/10)

Art: My Hero Academia has always been a solid look series and with the amount of chaos going on in this season, everything holds up quite well throughout the series. There's really not a ton to add - we know what we're getting in this series and it's basically on par still. (8/10)

Sound: Either I'm forgetting old tracks, or the OST added some really solid tracks here. It's got a lot of excitement to it, especially in the second last episode. VO work remains top notch here with Justin Briner (Deku) and Luci Christian (Uravity) likely putting in the most impressive performances that we've seen them in during the course of this series. Anairis Quinones (Mirko) and Erica Lindbeck (Lady Nagant) are amazing, though unsurprising of the latter, joining the fray in meaningful ways. And of course, Christopher Sabat (All Might) and Clifford Chapin (Kaachan) are still hilarious. (10/10)

Overall: My Hero Academia Season 6 really picked it up after a very unimpressive Season 5. The result of the war still lingers and it gives us a very good idea where this series is going. I hope they don't use next season to slower the pace because this has been the best that My Hero Academia has ever been. (10/10)