My Hero Academia launched several years ago, and has since risen as one of the shonen demographic's best action-adventure anime. Over time, protagonist Izuku Midoriya went from a lovable Quirkless boy to a rookie hero with too much power then, finally, becoming the true Symbol of Peace. But in the early seasons, the anime had its hands full just getting all the pieces in place. Many of the anime's best themes and character arcs had to wait until Season 3 and beyond.
Season 1, for example, was a solid yet generic shonen show that happened to have a superhero vibe. Looking back, My Hero Academia Season 2 is more of the same. Season 2 is a decent shonen show with many familiar beats, but it does have its own highlights and merits. At least it boasts a full 25 episodes that fleshed out the characters' arcs and dug below the surface of a world dominated by superpowers, superheroes and supervillains.
My Hero Academia Season 2 Used Familiar Shonen Action Beats With Predictable Results
My Hero Academia Season 2 featured mainstays like a tournament arc and a growing rivalry
As a shonen action anime, My Hero Academia is often judged by its fights. In retrospect, Season 2 delivers moderately well, while clearly saving all the best developments for later seasons, such as Quirk awakenings and large-scale battles against the League of Villains. The Quirk-based combat system gets some decent expansion in Season 2. This is one of the best parts of this season, since many UA students -- and a few villains -- get the breathing room necessary to show off their powers.
Katsuki Bakugo, for example, demonstrates the awesome power of the Howitzer Impact move, while Shoto Todoroki starts using the fire half of his Quirk as well. This is also the season where Class 1-B's students finally get a chance to use their Quirks, such as Neito Monoma's Copy Quirk, and Hitoshi Shinso's debut of his Brainwash Quirk.
Aside from the much-needed expansion on the Quirkss, Season 2 also did a fine job with its action, including some personal developments mid-battle. That said, this is definitely not My Hero Academia at its best just yet. Instead, My Hero Academia Season 2 is content to hit all the familiar beats of a shonen action anime, in the same vein as genre classics like Dragon Ball and Naruto.
For example, Midoriya kept up his shonen-style rivalry with Bakugo and even formed a new rivalry with Shoto. These are fun, but they're nothing shonen fans haven't seen before. For now, Bakugo is an arrogant rival just for the sake of it, and his best emotional nuances don't arrive until Season 3.
Season 2 has plenty of action but, surprisingly, little of it moved the plot forward. Midoriya and his classmates fought for the sake of training and education, not to defend society from supervillains or the then-rising League of Villains. This emphasized the "academia" in My Hero Academia and, in retrospect, it holds the anime back. Of course, the anime needs scenes of these teenage hero students honing their skills in a safe academic environment, but it also makes the plot sluggish and circular.
Even a fight against the bona fide villain and ruthless vigilante Stain doesn't move the plot forward outside of Tenya Iida's personal journey. The obligatory sports festival/battle tournament that's a shonen mainstay is fun, but its results don't mean much even in Season 2, much less in the long run. It's a fun yet hollow exercise of everyone's Quirks and teamwork, having the minor payoff of certain fighters getting lots of offers for internships.
My Hero Academia Season 2 Got Many Character Arcs Moving
Class 1-A students like Shoto Todorki and Tenya Iida got the spotlight in Season 2
Even if the fights in Season 2 don't really get the overall plot moving, they set some character arcs into motion. Season 1 didn't have much time for character arcs since it had to do so much in just 13 episodes, while Season 2's longer 25-episode run made many side characters more than just scene fillers in Midoriya's journey.
For the time being, characters like Bakugo, Ochaco Uraraka, and Shoto still feel like shonen staples with a superhero aesthetic, but at least Season 2 laid the groundwork for their more substantial and unique developments. Thus, Season 2 reminded fans that My Hero Academia truly is an ensemble anime with many young heroes who are all the protagonists of their own stories.
The single best example is Shoto Todoroki, who is the product of a highly questionable Quirk marriage. Shoto was born with incredible talent. He was the ideal blend of his parents' ice and fire Quirks. However, his tyrannical father, Endeavor, forced him to become even greater than All Might himself. Shoto rejected this and opposed his father's will, as he's determined to become his own person and forge his own destiny. This made Shoto's fight against Deku during the Sports Fest dramatic and highly consequential. This was the moment when the anime finally hinted at the dark side of Quirks, and how they affected people's lives beyond giving them superpowers.
Season 2 helped My Hero Academia's side heroes get used to the harsh realities of being a Pro Hero and pushed them out of their comfort zones. Tenya Iida's persona as a no-nonsense disciplinarian was deconstructed and pushed to its breaking point when he recklessly ran off to fight Stain to avenge his older brother, Tensei. Meanwhile, Ochaco mentally toughened herself up after losing a well-fought arena match against Bakugo. Similarly, Momo Yaoyorozu, one of Class 1-A's most gifted students, learned to keep believing in herself the hard way after suffering some humiliating defeats.
As for Midoriya, his arc only took a timid step forward in Season 2. This is a shame, especially since he's the protagonist. Thankfully, the anime does give him more development with One For All, such as seeing the previous users' spirits during the Sports Festival. Seven of One For All's eight previous users made contributions to One For All, and Season 2 did a nice job teasing this without derailing Midoriya's fight against Hitoshi Shinso. This moment laid the groundwork for the full awakening of One For All's built-in Quirks later in the anime, such as Blackwhip and Danger Sense.
Izuku Midoriya Still Isn’t a Legendary Hero in My Hero Academia Season 2
Izuku Midoriya had to share the spotlight with his classmates in Season 2
My Hero Academia's second season, like the first, is so busy building things up that it doesn't have enough time to make its protagonist a true standout just yet. Midoriya got hints of One For All's previous users and shined during his training with Gran Torino, but otherwise, Season 2 fell short when it came to propping him up as its hero. Midoriya blended into Class 1-A even with One For All's devastating firepower, and Shoto actually outshone him thanks to his personal drama and his relationship with his dual-element Quirk.
This phase of My Hero Academia is about Midoriya's slow rise to power, so of course Midoriya isn't a true symbol of peace just yet. That said, he still feels like little more than a vehicle for action scenes and a narrator. As of Season 2, Midoriya was a standard shonen hero and little more. He's a brave and idealistic teenage boy who has friends, mentors, rivals and enemies to keep him busy. It's not boring, but it's also not memorable.
Being an ensemble anime is both My Hero Academia's strength and weakness, especially early on, since the series hasn't yet established who the core characters will be. Fans know that Midoriya, Shoto, Bakugo, and Ochaco will eventually form an unofficial but very real elite four to keep the story moving, with the rest of Class 1-A being the extras Bakugo mocks them for being. It's fun to rotate through so many characters and their fights, but it also means there isn't an iconic protagonist to hold it all together.
Midoriya in My Hero Academia Season 2 is no stand-out like Monkey D. Luffy or Naruto Uzumaki. He's just one of 20 students competing for the spotlight. His lack of focus is a necessary evil for Season 2 since it proritized building up its cast, but it's also a shame. He only feels like the protagonist because the anime spent a bit more time on him than with any other individual. Midoriya's more substantial narrative beats like his time as Dark Deku will have to wait. For now, he's just a tough kid with a mean punch, but he still has a long way to go.
My Hero Academia Season 2 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
