Shōnen has always been the cornerstone of anime in the West. While genres like isekai and romance are now getting the attention they deserve, shōnen was the genre that familiarized Americans with anime.
There are a ton of modern shōnen greats too. Series like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Gachiakuta are proving that the genre hasn’t gone anywhere, and to some, it’s better than ever.
There’s one modern-day shōnen series that stands head and shoulders above the rest: My Hero Academia. My Hero Academia has been a major component of modern-day shōnen since it first debuted, but the past three seasons (counting the current, final season) have rocketed the series’ quality to a level nobody could have seen coming.
Shōnen Is Better than Ever
Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, and So Much More
Shōnen has almost always been good, but lately, it feels otherworldly. There are so many exceptional series out there that it can feel intimidating, as many fans want to watch dozens of these top-tier franchises at once.
Demon Slayer is a generational anime series that has shaped anime permanently through its movies. Its record-breaking films have catapulted anime into the mainstream like never before, taking the entire art form to new heights.
While Demon Slayer has dominated at the box office, Solo Leveling is taking seasonal anime to another level. The first season of the sensational adaptation of the Korean manhwa was solid, and somehow, the second season was even better.
Chainsaw Man is bringing back brutal anime in the best way possible, highlighting the most brutal fights and themes in anime masterfully. The recent Reze Arc movie is currently ranked as the second-best anime ever on MyAnimeList.com. While there’s certainly some recency bias, the movie’s ranking is a sign that shōnen is, at the very least, better than ever.
Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach Set the Tone
The Big Three of Shōnen, Plus Dragon Ball Z
Before Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, or Demon Slayer, there was the original Big Three of shōnen anime. Bleach, One Piece, and Naruto walked so that these series could run. Nearly three decades after their debuts, each of these series is still around in one form or another.
One Piece is another series that is breaking records left and right. Even after more than 1,000 episodes, fans can’t get enough of Monkey D. Luffy and his adventures with his fellow Straw Hat Pirates.
Outside the Big Three, Dragon Ball Z deserves a mention for what it did for shōnen. There are few characters more widely recognized than Goku, and even people who have never seen anime before are somehow familiar with him. His Kamehameha is a staple of anime itself, and there are few shōnen series that don’t copy a thing or two from Akira Toriyama’s masterpiece.
My Hero Academia Has Always Been Solid
It’s One of the Best Modern-Day Shōnen Series
My Hero Academia is often dubbed as part of the “New Big Three” of anime, alongside Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. While the New Big Three aren’t as agreed upon as the original, My Hero Academia did its part by carrying on the torch from the previous generation.
From the very beginning, My Hero Academia did what it wanted to do. It wanted to be the best anime about superheroes ever made, and there’s no questioning that it is. It started out slow, but it had to. Nobody could have seen the ending it was building towards from the first few episodes, and that’s only part of what makes the series so great.
It’s a common trope now, but My Hero Academia’s premise felt fresh when it first came out. The story revolves around Izuku Midoriya, a young man without a Quirk in a world that seems to value Quirks above everything else. It’s a premise so clean that Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Wistoria: Wand and Sword, and Black Clover all seem to do the same thing.
Izuku works hard to become a hero worthy of the power he inherits from his idol and master, One For All. He quickly grows into the man he’s destined to be, working hard to control his powers and understand the world around him.
The Final Season Is My Hero Academia at Its Peak
My Hero Academia Has Never Been Better
While the middle of My Hero Academia, namely the fifth season, wasn’t much to write home about, the final three seasons have been so good that it’s hard to see the series as anything other than one of the best anime series of all time.
The series has done a great job of building towards its ending. All For One vs. One For All, Deku vs. Shigaraki, and Deku’s friendship with Bakugo have all taken years to culminate into the peaks that they’ve become. Deku and Bakugo have become two of the coolest characters in anime these final seasons, and there are few who can be considered their equals within anime.
The final season of My Hero Academia should be getting more praise than it is. It’s an unreal amalgamation of the best fights in the entire series, amazing character moments, and some of the most obscenely good animation in any shōnen series to date.
After This Season, My Hero Academia Should Be Considered One of the Best
There Aren’t Many Shōnen Series as Good as This One
My Hero Academia has always been good. At some moments, it could even be considered great. These final three seasons, however, should cement this series as one of the best of all time. The final three seasons of the anime should be celebrated by fans around the world for their sheer ambition.
There are too many jaw-dropping moments to count. From Bakugo’s revival to his perfectly brutish arrogance in front of one of the most powerful characters in My Hero Academia, to Deku’s arrival at the Coffin in the Sky, to Iron All Might’s laughter in the face of death incarnate, this season has had no shortage of top-tier moments.
My Hero Academia is more than its moments too. It’s a beautiful series filled with sincerity and heartbreak, and it’s one of the few modern-day shōnen series not willing to hold back in terms of depth.
My Hero Academia doesn’t just tell a story, it dives into its message unapologetically, letting everyone know exactly what it wants to say through masterfully written characters and heart-pounding set pieces.
- Movie(s)
-
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018), My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2019), My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (2021)
- First Film
-
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018)
- Cast
-
Daiki Yamashita, Kenta Miyake, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Ayane Sakura, Yûki Kaji, Aoi Yuki, Kaito Ishikawa, Toshiki Masuda, Marina Inoue, Yoshimasa Hosoya
- TV Show(s)
-
My Hero Academia
- Video Game(s)
-
My Hero Academia: Battle for All, My Hero One’s Justice, My Hero One’s Justice 2
- Character(s)
-
Izuku Midoriya, All Might, Katsuki Bakugo, Ochaco Uraraka, Shoto Todoroki, Tsuyu Asui, Tenya Iida, Eijiro Kirishima, Momo Yaoyorozu, Fumikage Tokoyami
