The story takes place between the second and third season of My Hero Academia, as Deku and All Might travel to the moving city, "I" Island, and must fight a villain who has taken the entire island hostage with the help of Deku's classmates.
An important aspect of this movie is the fact that it takes places in between seasons of My Hero Academia. So the question is, "Can you watch this without having seen the show?" I'd say it probably is ok if you aren't already following the show. The beginning of the movie is mostly exposition, so it explains everything you need to know to understand the world and the protagonist. However, the movie doesn't explain smaller elements of the show, such as how Deku got scars on his hand and why Deku is surprised by a character that uses a certain power. Those are things you would need to have seen the show to understand. However, it doesn't affect the story too much. Aside from Deku and All Might, no one's powers are specifically explained, yet they're shown in way that gives you a general idea of the power, which is kind of a downfall.
So first, animation. The show My Hero Academia already has fantastic animation, but this movie in particular looks amazing and that might be because of its budget. The fight scenes in the show were already amazing, yet the scale of the fights in this movie make them awesome. What impressed me was that I got scared during these fights, yet I knew the movie wouldn't connect to the main story. That's when you know an action scene is cool.
Probably my favorite aspect of My Hero Academia are the characters. Every character is well defined and unique, in powers, appearance and personality. Unfortunately, my favorite character isn't in the movie a whole lot, while my least favorite character is a main character in this movie. It didn't bother me too much though, because the other characters are so funny and likable.
I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars, mainly because I am a huge fan. If you are just starting to enjoy anime, then this is a great series to start with. I recommend it for ages 11 to 18. You should go see it even if you're not yet a fan. It is in theaters now but hurry because it has a limited run.
Reviewed by Calista B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15
I love this film and love the series in general. This film is great for current fans as it touches on a scene that happened in the TV show, which technically makes the film canon to the rest of the series. The characters and the story are quite appealing and kids will enjoy the subject matter, the animation and the characters. The movie starts off really fast, but it is easy to grasp and the continuity between scenes makes a lot of sense. The style feels like the show, but with a much bigger budget has bigger scenes. All the characters are likeable. However, if you are new to the series, the character Bakugou might be a little off putting. If you are a fan of the series, you will like all the new characters as well as the familiar ones. The animation is spectacular. I love that the show transcended television and made it to the big screen. Depending on where you watch it, theaters have either the English dub or Japanese subtitled version. I saw the English dubbed version and loved it.
The biggest flaw in the film is that we don't see the whole class of UA that we are used to seeing. Out of all the characters in My Hero Academia's roster, a good portion of them are missing. However, that flaw aside, I love this film. I love this story. The animation is amazing and, I'm not going to lie, I teared up a little during the final battle.
The message of this film is that, although whenever something changes drastically it can be scary, during the transition you have to look towards the future like All Might and Midoriya do. All Might, being the number one hero, must retire due to a previous injury, but he sees in Midoriya a new symbol of peace and justice that will take his place down the line. I rate this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 10 to 18. There is some mild profanity such as "bastard," but nothing too severe.
Reviewed by Angel U., KIDS FIRST! Adult Juror
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