Anime in a Nutshell - Part Six

WARNING - Contains minor spoilers.

You may recall that in the first ever edition of this series I mentioned that some Anime focus on crazy super powers. This issue will concentrate on one such title, 'My Hero Academia.'

"Some are born great..."

This adage is no more true than in this well-known Manga cum Anime. In the future world, a majority of humans have begun to exhibit strange powers known as 'Quirks.' These have manifested in 80% of the population, and range from intriguing things such as a boy being born with a prehensile tail, up to amazing ones like a girl with the ability to create items from the lipids in her body.

Some of those who manifested Quirks that were significantly more dangerous decided that they could use them for immoral purposes and criminal intent. To combat this, the government decided to allow the role of 'hero' to become a genuine vocation. Assisting the police with apprehending those who would seek to use their natural powers for heinous reasons, these heroes were the first line of defence against this new criminal society.

One of the most significant heroes was known as 'All Might' (right) and he took it upon himself to become the symbol of peace for Japan. He rescued people with a smile on his face, and proudly proclaimed "It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!" His never wavering optimism and selfless dedication to helping those in danger became the beacon of hope that was so desperately needed during a time when those who sought to upset the balance of power realised they now had a significant advantage!

"...and some have greatness thrust upon them!"

For those that don't have Quirks but still want to share in the hero life, occupations such as working for the Police or perhaps directly with a hero as part of an agency can be a desirable role. What happens though, when someone who is born Quirkless wants to desperately become a hero?

This is where the main character, Izuku Midoriya (left) is introduced. (Midoriya being a portmanteau of 'Midori' meaning 'Green' and 'ya' meaning 'valley'.) A kind-hearted, friendly, and ambitious young boy who idolises 'All Might' and wants to become like him in every way - up to and including being the Greatest Hero! After his frenemy and rival Katsuki Bakugo is caught by a sludge villain and held hostage, Midoriya runs to help him with no regard for his own safety, proving that he has the natural selflessness that all heroes possess - even though he has no Quirk of his own to rely upon. This prompts 'All Might' into revealing that he is the recipient of "One For All", a Quirk that can be passed down from one person to another. After seeing Midoriya's true desire to help, he trains him to becomes worthy enough to accept the Quirk, just in time to take the entrance exam at the prestigious U.A. High School; an academy exclusively for those who want to be heroes, sidekicks, or just work in the hero world in the business side. After all, even heroes need public relations officers, accountants, and telephone operators!

The other characters have a unique plethora of different Quirks and personalities, with some being born leaders, others slightly reserved and meek, while there are those for whom being as hero is considered a role that runs in the family and is expected of them. The aforementioned Katsuki Bakugo (right) - whose quirk is the ability to convert his sweat into a nitro-glycerine style explosive substance - is the perfect antithesis of Midoriya. He is brash, loud, rude, and self-obsessed to a comedic degree. The only thing they share in common is that both want to become the greatest hero. However, Bakugo wants to usurp 'All Might' whereas Midoriya simply wants to succeed him.

"Power corrupts..."

Of course, for every yin there is a yang. Where there are heroes, there will be villains; those who choose to pursue a life of crime and destroy those who would oppose them. Whether it be through greed, revenge, rage, or genuine insanity, the villainous needed to be kept at bay. However, the small number of heroes would not be enough to keep the streets safe when the threat could easily increase due to indoctrination by anyone willing to exploit even the smallest desire for anyone who felt they were not treated well by the system.

Growth is only natural of course, and as heroes become super-heroes, villains become super-villains intent on matching and surpassing the status quo. There are even those who believe that the role of hero should not be a compensated occupation, since it relies on there being evil in the world in order to keep up demand for the work.

This is an idea that was used in 'Batman: The Animated Series" in the episode 'Trial' (left) where Batman is forced to be defended in court over the suggestion that it was he who forced the creation of The Joker et al with his desire to punish those who did not conform to the strict rules of Gotham's society. (This series and its cousin 'Superman: The Animated Series', were the first western animation attempts at duplicating the Japanese style of Anime. I'll cover these in a later article.)

"...and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

While some villains are simply small time crooks using their quirks to try and rob banks or steal from shops, the other side of the coin results in the methodical and truly evil super-villains. The most heinous being Tomura Shigaraki (right), the leader of the 'League of Villains' whose goal is to kill 'All Might' and ensure their rule over Japan (and eventually the world) by destroying the symbol of peace that brought so much comfort to the populace. Tomura Shigaraki possesses the ability to cause living things to decay instantly with a single touch of his hand. He is cold, calculating, and has no issues whatsoever with destroying those who are in his way no matter if they be hero or civilian.

The 'League of Villains' also has no qualms about recruiting those who are clearly mentally unstable, such as Himoko Toga (left), a sadistic young girl who can transform into other people after drinking their blood. She manifested the Quirk as a child, and killed many small animals with visible glee, much to the horror of her parents and anyone else who happened to know her. Her definition of 'friendship' extends to an almost sexually deviant degree, with an apparent genuine 'love' for those whose blood she obtains.

"The eyes are the windows to the soul!"

One of the staple designs of Anime is the eyes of the characters. Friendly, kind characters who are usually the protagonists have large, open eyes that show compassion, honesty, and empathy. Those with almond shaped eyes are depicted as more aloof and mysterious, suggesting they have hidden agendas or perhaps closely guarded secrets. In contrast, those with slim, trapezoid, or hooded eyes suggest an air of arrogance, deceitfulness, and treachery. Tomura Shigaraki, Himoko Toga, and Katsuki Bakugo all have these kind of eyes. While Bakugo is technically a protagonist, his mannerisms are played comedically as merely childhood angst rather than hatred. Toga's behaviour on the other hand is truly malevolent, with her constant smile and nearly vacant stare reinforcing her unstable and apathetic state.

Looking at the images here, you can see that both Midoria (far left), and Bakugo (2nd from right) have large eyes. Midoria's are open, round, and welcoming, showing off his happy, friendly nature. Bakugo's are trapezoid shaped, but they give off the air of a moody teenager rather than a villain, looking from under his eyelids with distain. Shigaraki (2nd from left) has very small slit eyes which just barely show his gaze which is looking straight forward. He is hiding nothing, but indicates he is very dangerous, untrustworthy, and should be feared. Toga (3rd from left) has slightly larger eyes but they are heavily hooded, showing that she is hiding her true nature and caution should be exercised around her. Shoto Todoriki (far right) has almond shaped eyes. They are not as small as Shigaraki's and more of his gaze is visible; but as a protagonist they suggest he has something in his life that he is not willing to talk about, or that he hides his emotions to avoid showing his feelings.

"What's in a name...?"

Every student has their own hero name which reflects their Quirk, personality, or maybe just their appearance, and helps give the students their first sense of independence and self-identity. In normal classes they are addressed by their real names, but in training missions their hero names are used. Having a name which they feel can allow them to stand out, express their Quirk, and get noticed is one of the corner stones of U.A High School's doctrine.

Mina Ashido (left) is a teenage girl who can secrete a corrosive acid from her hands and use it to dissolve strong materials like concrete, brick, and even metal. When asked what her hero name was going to be, she originally chose 'Alien Queen' but since everyone immediately thought of the black creature with terrifying teeth, she changed it to 'Pinky', due to her skin pigmentation. Ochaco Uraraka (centre) has the ability to make things weightless with her hands. She chose to go by 'Uravity', a portmanteau of her last name and the word gravity. Toru Hagakure's (right) Quirk is pretty easy to work out, and so she decided to go simply with 'Invisible Girl' for obvious reasons. Each character also has their own hero uniform which is finely tuned to make the best use of their powers, ensure they can be identified easily, and to help them feel more like a true individual. Toru Hagakure's hero costume amusingly consists of just gloves and boots meaning she is actually fully nude when she's in action, the resulting comments on it mostly amounting to "Aren't you cold?"

"Tell me a story..."

'My Hero Academia' is a multitude of different stories rolled into one, which is why it has become one of the most popular and well-known Manga and Anime series in Japan and in the west. The main plot line focuses on Midoriya learning how to focus, train, and improve his Quirk since he only acquired it in his early teens, and everyone else manifested theirs when they were much younger. Therefore he has to put more effort in to reach the same level as his fellow students. His rivalry with Bakugo is another major plot point, owing to their both being fans of 'All Might' and Bakugo constantly desiring to be better than Midoriya. Again, this is mostly played as a comedic, angsty teen competition, but sometimes it does stray into perilous levels of violence which has to be stopped by the teachers. The multitude of other characters (the entire class is shown in the main image) are also allocated plenty of screen time so that they're not simply there to pad out the numbers. Each student has their own story and goals they want and/or need to fulfil.

Family drama storylines features characters such as Tenya Ida (left) a headstrong boy and class representative, who has engine-like boosters in his legs that let him move at incredible speeds. His ambition is to become a hero like his brother 'Ingenium', but he is forced change his plans when a new villain with a very different agenda decides to alter the situation in a terrifying way!

Shoto Todoroki is the son of the number two hero in Japan - 'Endeavour' (facing camera) - but his father's previous actions in his childhood have caused a large rift in his family life that threaten to derail his work as a hero. He is forced to confront his past, and attempt to repair his relationship with the rest of family as the only one who received his father's attention when he was much younger, banned from playing with his brothers and sister, and missed out on a genuine childhood.

There are also plenty of tear jerking scenes, such as when Tsuyu Asui (green hair, centre), a girl whose Quirk gives her the abilities of a frog speaks her mind before a dangerous mission, and worries she has lost the respect and friendship of all her fellow students. She admits she said some bad things, and breaks down tearfully as she confesses she didn't want to be the one who destroyed the group's close knit community.

"Overall..."

'My Hero Academia' is an excellent series for anyone who is new to the world of Anime. It's easy to watch, fun, and has a genuinely good storyline that isn't too difficult to follow (no, really!) It's not good for young children, owing to gore, violence, and also the fact most of the villains are pretty freaky to look at. If you're interested in dipping your toe into Anime, and you want something easy to digest while also being really good fun, you can't do much better than this!

Have you watched 'My Hero Academia', or perhaps I've given you a good enough taster to try it out? Why not let me know in the comments.