Fighting Crime in Style
- Episodes : 1 (Movie)
- Genre : Action, Comedy, School, Shounen, Super Powers
- Airing Date : August 8, 2018; NA: September 25, 2018
- Studios : Bones
Contains Spoilers
Boku no Hero Academia (BRIEF) Introduction
If you don’t know what My Hero Academia is, where have you been!? You have been missing out. Luckily, Two Heroes is also a wonderful introductory film!
My Hero Academia is the story about a young boy, Izuku Midoriya a.k.a. “Deku”, who was born without a quirk (super power) in a world where it’s the norm to have one. Long story short, he gets ahold of a special power passed down to him by none other than his lifelong hero, All Might. Now enrolled in the world-famous hero school U.A. High, Midoriya must master this newfound power and learn how to be the hero he has always wanted to be. But Deku, All Might, and the rest of class 1-A will have to face more challenges than what’s usually required by the school curriculum when villains appear on the scene.
Though this movie released in Japan back in August, it was barely released as a special engagement in North America this week. The awesome people at Funimation, in collaboration with select theaters nationwide, bring My Hero Academia fans a five-day run from September 25th to October 2nd. Anyone can now enjoy this anticipated BokuAca movie in Japanese with English subtitles and English dub in more than 500 theaters across the U.S. and Canada!
Check out this link for theater locations and ticketing: https://www.funimationfilms.com/movie/myheroacademia/#theater_locator
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes - First Official Dubbed Trailer
What We Liked About My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
From the very first couple of minutes, Two Heroes captures you with a flashback to a literally bright-eyed, college-aged All Might fighting crime in the U.S. and his friend Dave Shield as his sidekick. We learn right away that All Might’s attack names are not random cities and states, they are his college friends’ hometowns! How sweet is that!?
Another thing that we love about this film is that it is all canon and is a great way to introduce people to the franchise. The movie’s premise is stated at the end of season 3 and the movie still doesn’t spoil anything that happens in the series!
It all starts when Deku and All Might arrive in I-Island for an exhibit. In I-Island, people are free to use their quirks in public and quirks are studied and the latest in support items are created. Nobody from U.A. is supposed to know All Might and Deku are there together, so when it turns out that everyone in class 1-A is on I-Island, Deku has his hands full hiding the truth.
All is fun and games when some of the kids plan on attending a banquet that night and arrive to the venue looking spiffy in formal wear. It all turns sour when the kids learn that villains have taken control of all security and everyone who was already inside is taken hostage, including all the superheroes and All Might himself. He can barely keep his muscle form up so he can’t do anything, but Deku, Iida, Ochako, and company jump into action after All Might tells them through Kyouka’s Earphone Jack quirk that the villains basically have the whole island hostage.
We meet Dave’s daughter, who turns out is quirkless too but an amazing scientist. She notices some similarities in Deku’s and All Might’s attacks so she gives Deku a “Full Gauntlet” to protect his arm when using any Smash attacks. The group of students decide to climb the tower to rescue everyone but run into some villains and they get to show off some new moves we, while Deku gets to go all-out without destroying his arm thanks to Melissa’s gauntlet.
There are a couple of trope-y, convenient appearances, like when one character is about to get attacked in the worst way and another who we didn’t even realize was there shows up to save the day, but there are also quite a few twists! Yes, of course the students of 1-A win the day, it’s their movie! But finding out how they get there and how/why things develop the way they do is a fun journey.
The art seemed much more detailed than usual and every character seemed more beautiful while new characters like Dave’s daughter Melissa are just gorgeous. The animation seemed just the same as in every episode, though the battle scenes are animated in a more fun, dynamic way. We watched the dubbed version and, other than Mineta’s awful lisp (why!?), the voice acting and casting were wonderful! That means a lot as I avoid dubbed anime like the plague.
It was also interesting to see the huge contrast between who All Might and even Dave Shield were in college and who they have become. All Might’s eyes alone are a testament to what the man has lived and what struggles with everyday just to continue as the “Symbol of Peace”.
1. It’s made for fans and to create fans
My Hero Academia:Two Heroes isn’t just a money-maker shounen anime movie. The amount of canon information shared is super interesting for fans who’ve been following the anime, and the connection to the rest of the story doesn’t make it feel like “it’s just a dream” and when the anime restarts it’ll be like this never happened. This combined with its lack of spoilers for the series make it a perfect movie to introduce friends to BokuAca and, if you’re already a fan, it’s an awesome way to expand your knowledge of the universe and your favorite characters!
2. Compelling story
Two Heroes doesn’t necessarily break the mold with its plot, but it manages to keep the audience interested. While twists are surprising, they are not the first of their kind in any medium, but the emotions behind Melissa’s interactions with Deku, Deku knowing he too was quirkless but being unable to tell her, and All Might’s inner struggle also being unable to share his secrets fully with Dave keep us stuck to the screen getting to see our favorite characters in a different light and getting to know them even better. Of course, those are just some examples.
3. It’s fun, full of comedy, drama, emotion and action.
No matter how you look at it, Boku no Hero Academia: Futari no Hero is a fun shounen ride. It has all of our favorite members of class 1-A, not in uniform or hero costumes, but in formal wear! or loungewear in the case of those who don’t get to go to the banquet. Besides that, we get tons of funny moments with Mineta and Kaminari who take a part-time job at the event, all fight scenes are exciting and explosive, the new character designs are gorgeous and it’s especially fun to watch the U.A. students kicking but in formal wear!
1. You’re not a fan of shounen anime
I don’t know what to tell ya. If you don’t want to see an OP, underdog teen kick ass along with his friends and go through angsty coming-of-age moments, or don’t like watching action sequences when you know the good guy’s going to win, then you may not be a big fan of Two Heroes. It’s definitely a shounen, there’s action, violence, blood, screaming, fan service, a good amount of tropes, it can be a bit cheesy, and relationships that seem like they might happen never do. So if you’re into into that, move along.
2. You’re not a fan of My Hero Academia
The only other reason why you might not enjoy Boku no Hero Academia the Movie: Futari no Hero is if you’ve given the show a change and it just didn’t click for you. If the whole superhero thing didn’t work for you or the plot didn’t quite do it for you, this movie just builds on that so it may not be to your liking either. On the other hand, maybe it’ll actually change your mind!
Honey’s Final Verdict
While My Hero Academia: Two Heroes doesn’t change the entire trajectory of the series --no shounen feature film does--, it does manage to give us a different look at the U.A. students, though with a less-than-exciting villain, it gives us a deeper understanding of All Might and Deku’s feelings, and gives the featured students a chance to shine in similar ways as usual, but with a little twist.
Two Heroes doesn’t reinvent the BokuAca wheel, but if you’re a fan of action, shounen, and, of course, My Hero Academia, chances are you’ll enjoy My Hero Academia: Two Heroes! Next, we’ll watch it in Japanese! Have you watched My Hero Academia: Two Heroes yet? What did you think? Talk to us in the comments!
Author: Lizzy Nyanko
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