now that the anime is more or less over, what are your thoughts on the anime as an adaptation of the manga? you pride yourself in being a self-proclaimed mha manga purist (and i admit i do too) so i'd be interested to hear your thoughts. i don't really hear too much genuine talk and criticism of the adaptation besides talking about the animation's highs and lows and maybe talking about the anime-only scenes, which i find a bummer as i think there's so much more to dig into than that. it's the majority of people's introduction to mha in the english-speaking anime community, and you can definitely feel the ripple effects of that
I spent a lot of time thinking about my answer to this question because my feelings are strong and I always come back to two quintessential moments in my life that inform my opinion on on the MHA anime.
For my 18th birthday, I marked it by watching the entire first season of the MHA anime (which was new at the time). It was only the one season, so I kept up with the manga closely shortly thereafter. I have a lot of good feelings about that night, it started me on my path to be passionate about this series that I have a lot of love for.
Between 2016-2020 while I was in school for design and considering my paths as an artist - I took an independent course for comics after years of wanting to go into animation, doing storyboard tests, and animating as a hobby to meet that goal. And the first thing the instructor of the course said to the class was:
“Do not see this class as a shortcut to animation. Comics are it’s own storytelling medium that can do and say things animation will never be capable of, and it’s important to recognize that.”
MHA is a comic about comics. In it’s parodies, visuals, references, and by the end, it’s primary lesson - is about the power of the language of comics. Unlike most manga/book adaptations, I feel strongly that to appreciate MHA you have to read it eventually. Because being a comic is a big part of its overall purpose.
The anime is advertising for the manga, and that’s great. That’s what it’s supposed to do, but for MHA it’s clear that at some point it became a replacement for the manga with fans and marketers in a way.
Personally, I find it hard to engage in a story purely for the hope I eventually get fanservice, I get some people really enjoy that and it’s part of the fun - but it feels condescending to me, like jingling keys in my face - except instead of keeping my attention - its forcing me to look around them while they keep stepping in front of me.
And that’s what the MHA anime is to me: jingling keys that eventually give me some beautiful handiwork to look at that I can appreciate from a technical standpoint, but not a storytelling one. I’m constantly looking for Horikoshi in the adaptions, my favorite parts of the anime are always either things Hori storyboarded himself or gave strong instructions for, and I think the popularity of the anime regardless of its wavering quality speaks to Horikoshi’s talent as a writer more than it does the kind of accessibility of the anime grants.
I think the thing that will always get me about the anime is that it further created an environment where it treated Horikoshi’s manga like an optional venture, or a burden. As though Horikoshi’s skill as an artist primarily existed to create a harder workload on the animation team and/or create a reality in which the anime feels it can only do so much as an adaption to keep up with his nuances.
For all the years the anime ran, people had hoped the adaption would overrule the will of the author through fanservice or rewrites of the canon until the very end, and while I appreciate the anime dearly for giving a lot of my peers and artistic idols work and experience - I have no attachment to it as an adaption of My Hero Academia other than it doing its primary job of advertising the existence of MHA to me. I’d often sooner recommend people play a story mode from the few MHA games that exist if they didn’t feel like reading before I recommend the anime purely from a storytelling angle, personally.
As a viewer and reader of the manga, it’s insistence on moving, removing and adjusting entire plotlines and moments the directors deemed personally unimportant (MVA, Spinner’s backstory, Shouto Rising etc.) fundamentally confuses and breaks the story in all the minute ways that really matter, and I find it frustrating to talk to other MHA fans who miss these nuances due to no fault of their own.
And I’m curious about some animators’ working experience. I’ve heard tidbits both positive and negative here and there - so I am curious to see that in the future.
Overall though, and again, ultimately, MHA is a comic about comics, I think anime adaptions have historically taken extreme liberties with the work its adapting from Bleach to Naruto to Retro!Ranma - this phenomenon of distorting canon is not unique to MHA or really, any adaption. And people usually recognize that with time and hindsight. However, what is unique is that we have an author whose emotional center of his story is the power of comics, sequential storytelling, and how it transcends language, education and borders.
I find it hard to think of the MHA anime’s legacy as anything other than something that is - unintentionally or not - taking the power away from that message and continuing to drive home the lesson in consumers that comics are just storyboards for animation in disguise. That animation/episodic content is a valid shortcut to avoid engaging with what a comic on its own is saying/doing. Or that inherently comics are something to not take seriously.
The anime was always going to exist - and I’m okay with adaptions existing to varying degrees of quality, I just I wish it wasn’t most people’s primary way of engaging with MHA. I want to see a world where Horikoshi’s manga is given its flowers as the individual work done by his own hands and for people not see it’s adaption as the “final say” of his work. Or for people to be treating the adaption as something that’s properly controlling/“fixing” things the author did.
I love My Hero Academia the manga by Horikoshi Kohei, and I love the self indulgence and appreciation for all kind of art and film he has put throughout the story, I just want his love of comics to be seen as more than just a fun fact and something his fans take into consideration when engaging with his work more and give his manga an honest, hard look. I really hope over time that will be the case.
what do you think of izukus reaction to katsukis apology ?i feel like since then izuku has not been given the chance to respond earnestly to any of katsukis actions
I think Izuku generally avoids addressing strong feelings within himself and would rather project his responses outwards to instead acknowledge how other people feel/felt/may be feeling.
So his response to Katsuki’s apology being to think about how his behavior (which was mirroring Katsuki’s old philosophy) made other people feel makes sense.
Obviously we want more conversation but if we take into account Deku-sensei’s account of Deku vs. Kacchan 2 they never really had done that before and this first year of highschool was the first time they’d made these steps toward addressing each other’s feelings.
They also have the under-the-surface osananajimi curse of thinking they don’t have to talk because they already know how the other feels (they may most of the time, but they do not always know) lmao.
I think that it was inevitable (and also on a functional level, perfectly reasonable to reject a confession you don’t reciprocate.) but his choice take it a step further to psycho-analyze her as someone who “hurts people she loves” even when danger sense was telling him she was not a threat was bad, and reflective of his tendency to impose his feelings on others even without really understanding them.
He does this to Touya as well -
It’s a great flaw of his, I don’t think it makes him a worst character - it basically takes him off the pedestal of being the protagonist with the only righteous mindset, reminds us he’s human, and continues on the trend of his weaknesses being things that spur people forward to take their own initiative and not rely on him.
That being said, specifically on the subject of him and Himiko again - it was the wrong thing to do and mean. He distances himself further from the conversation by bringing up All Might and has no interest in coming down to her level when choosing to talk about her as a person - and ultimately the thing that sent her spiraling wasn’t the rejection, it was someone else she admired deciding she was a monster even when he has a superpower telling him she really wasn’t.
Do you think everything Katsuki did after the apology was him trying to atone for his actions towards Izuku? I personally don't think it is, but I have seen a lot of people say that and I was curious for your perspective.
I don’t, I think he just cares about Izuku a lot.
He could have stopped at the apology if it was just for atonement, but he goes beyond that and extends extra kindness and attention to Izuku in very unnecessary, but important ways.
He clearly cares about tending to the growth of their bond, not just the recovery of it (which the apology served to complete). Framing his relationship with Izuku as something he’s only doing to make up for (nonexistent) bad blood, or his own guilt - would make their relationship super transactional and shallow.
what do you think katsuki meant with his “even though ofa is a cursed power…” right before his rising moment?
OFA created a situation where Izuku didn’t get a chance to appreciate being his already heroic, quirkless, self to instead being given the means to lean into all his most self-destructive habits because the weight of the legacy he was carrying demanded it.
As a result, it was also putting him in a state where he thought he needed to take it all on his own (something Katsuki did not want him to be doing.)
i feel like izk is the type of person to usually be polite & formal for others. he always wants to make sure they are comfortable. but for kts, he allows himself to be less polite and formal, and makes sure he is comfortable. maybe
So unironically I think this comic summarizes Izuku’s entire characterization and then Katsuki is the inverse haha;
Basically theres the image of themselves they put out vs their core self.
Izuku and Katsuki both to some capacity lack proper social etiquette however - Izuku is more performative where Katsuki isn’t.
In my perspective, Katsuki is very oriented to the idea of: “Do things properly because it matters it’s done right - but respect is earned and not assumed.”
Where Izuku is more oriented to the idea of “I have to treat everybody with respect and kindness no matter what, because thats the right thing to do - but I dont care if I do anything properly as long as I get to do it.”
You get it more than ever has gotten it before. People don’t even realize how extremely massive the transmasc read for Ochako has in the text because they don’t look at that character with any amount of honesty or curiosity lol
