My Hero Academia Season 3 (Spring – Summer 2018) Series Review

Everybody was so hyped when the end of Season 2 announced that there would be a third season to look forward to. When April 2018 finally came, My Hero Academia justified that it was worth the wait! The story tackled game-changing events, and they were all full of suspense, drama, and a lot of action! I’ll do my best to not spoil anything, so the ones who haven’t watched yet can rest assured!

Synopsis

The start of summer usually means taking a break from school and going on vacation, but not for the freshmen of U.A.! They had to undergo a summer training camp at a secret location to improve their quirks and prepare them for the provisional license exam. However, the League of Villains suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked the students to kidnap one, someone they think would be a good addition to their members. What everyone didn’t know, though, was that this threat to hero society was just the start of an era ending.

Plot

My Hero Academia Season 3’s writing was just as fantastic as in the previous seasons! For anyone wondering, I’m delighted to report that the anime continued to be faithful to the manga. Though there were some additional content, they were still helpful and enjoyable additions to the story. Every episode flowed smoothly to the next, whether it was about the happy and silly times of the students, or about the grave and serious aspects of being heroes. On-point writing was especially important this time because, like I said, this season involved a game-changing event that will shape the next arcs of the story! The situations that happened before that event didn’t hint on it in any way, so when it finally came to pass, everybody was shocked, both characters and audiences alike! However, it didn’t feel forced at all, instead reminding me that real life surprises us with unexpected, life-changing events as well.

And just like in real life, these things have a huge impact on what happens afterwards, which was also what happened in the story. Horikoshi, the author, made it a point to always let the viewer know the impact of that event to the world of his story, but it was also always backed up with the actions of the characters. This certainly helped make the whole show more interesting because it opened up tons of possibilities; you’d be left wondering what’s next!

Loads of new possibilities also meant having many new characters, of course! They didn’t overshadow the original cast, but actually helped them grow and have more interactions while the new ones catch your interest. I also ended up loving even more how Horikoshi–sensei wrote his characters; he made them more real and helped me realize that most of the cast, especially our protagonists, are all still young. Even if they’re heroes-in-training, it doesn’t erase the fact that they’re still inexperienced and full of emotions. I can sincerely tell you that I got tons more attached to them in this season!

Art & Music

I believe it’s important for a series with a lot of action and excitement as this to be able to deliver them properly. That’s why I’m proud to say that this show is still high quality as heck! The animators went above and beyond to deliver visuals that really showed the awesomeness of each scene. It wasn’t only with the dynamic shots that the animation shone, but also with the emotional ones! The aesthetics were tens of tons more amazing especially with superb voices acting out all these kinds of feelings, which in turn made me appreciate each episode more!

This high quality is the reason why I won’t ever complain about the series only providing us with two cours a year, as much as I’d love to watch more of the story every week. Not only does it let the manga chapters pile up so we can have more future content, the breaks also surely contribute to the awesome standard that it has!

Themes & Trivia

End of an era: History has always marked certain periods with changes. This is also the same with the hero society in MHA where the life that people got used to was shaken because of a big change. Now they have to adapt and adjust so they can continue moving forward.

Movie Tie-in: My Hero Academia the Movie: Two Heroes was released in Japan on August 3, 2018. So, to show that the movie is a canon, there was one anime-original episode in this season explaining where in the series’ timeline it’s located.

Comments

I loved this season more than the previous two, not because it was better, but because of the gravity of the story this time! That’s why I’m highly recommending that any fan of My Hero Academia should watch this, whether you’ve already been following the manga or really only started with the anime. It’s a definite must! Then again, I’m sure you don’t really need me to tell you that.

Plus:

The story just keeps getting increasingly exciting, especially since the stakes got higher!
Superb writing as always!
Has incredible art and animation as usual!
Characters got a chance to be more human and relatable!

Minus:

I didn’t have any major problems with this season either, so it’s another ta-dah!

We have to wait until next year for the next part of Deku and Class 1-A’s adventures as they train to become heroes, but at least by the time it airs, our hype gauge will certainly be full! Till then, share your thoughts on this season in the comments section! Maybe even tell us what your unforgettable moments are! See you in the next season! Plus Ultra!