My Hero Academia Season 7: Peak Fiction

Key conclusions

• My Hero Academia Season 7 is the biggest and best season yet, despite being shorter than most.
• Season 7 demonstrates effective storytelling with a strong sense of momentum and balance.
• The season reaches new heights, surpassing previous ones, and explores its themes seriously and emotionally.

The following contains minor spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 7, which is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

My Hero Academy Season 7 was four episodes shorter than every season since the first, but given the sheer amount of joy and heartache conveyed in its 21 episodes, you might not have noticed. This is without a doubt the biggest season, and after six months spent in awe of its beautiful art and serious, emotionally-drenched script, it's definitely the best too.

Naomi Nakayama, who previously directed 2016 Orangetook on the role of series director alongside lead director Kenji Nagasaki, who helmed the first three seasons of the series. She took the captain's chair at a critical moment and appeared to knock it out of the park, showing a glimpse of the spectacle early on as she scripted the first two episodes.

Premiere with Hardly Time to Waste.

Last season, fans were left in a difficult position. Tomura Shigaraki would reach full power in three days, and America's #1 pro hero, Star-Striped, was coming to Japan to help. It was a compelling hook, though it seems such a minor part of the story in retrospect. By the end of the premiere, Star-Striped has already been intercepted by Shigaraki, who is eager to steal her quirk. Season 7 has a strong sense of momentum – as expected from a story coming to a close.

It's a skilfully constructed battle, and an emotional one at that, in which neither side emerges victorious, but the heroes are given enough time to prepare for the final assault. Before one can come to terms with what feels like an inevitable training arc between battles, the discovery of a traitor in the UA shatters that notion and ratchets up the tension again. Soon after, a war ensues that will inform the rest of the season – and the series, for that matter.

The beginning of the last war of my hero academy

The heroes are spread across the country in a coordinated operation to apprehend the villains one by one. Shota confronts Toya at Kamino Ward, where All Might's career ended. Endeavor teams up with the Hawks against All For One in the skies over the wreckage of Gunga Villa. An all-star team assembles to defeat Shigaraki at UA Academy, which has been turned into an air fortress designed to destroy him. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

It feels like the good guys finally got the upper hand, and that's great, even if it doesn't last long. It becomes a tug-of-war, with unforeseen complications arising quickly and often, with ripple effects increasingly affecting battles taking place miles away. Season 7 is incredibly effective at balancing the larger goals of its narrative with the individual roles the supporting cast plays in achieving those milestones.

How season 7 rises above its flaws

Of course, what was said is not exactly news. That got a lot of people hooked My Hero Academy there was Deku for starters; his despair at being unsophisticated, his bravery in spite of it, and his joy at learning that he can yet become a hero. Since then, this series has consistently handled the backstories of a larger cast with writing and presentation of equal or even better quality. So it's no surprise that audiences are still falling for the characters this late in the game.

So it's business as usual for the anime, but what's less commendable are the oft-cited gripes about the adaptation that also persist here (at least at the beginning). Even with a strong narrative momentum, some exposition can seem redundant, and flashbacks even more so. These aren't so much new issues as familiar ones that get in the way of a truly strong narrative.

All for one, “Extra” and no Deku

For eight years and seven seasons, My Hero Academy was equal parts homage and critique of superheroes. The vices of his society are steadily exposed through increasingly sympathetic villains who force the heroes to question their complicity, rise above and be the heroes they claim to be. All of the myriad themes that make up this core take center stage because the story wears its heart on its sleeve more than ever.

This is a story about the collapse of society and how fear alone robs people of the ability to think about the future. All For One clearly states this as its goal; he wants to be an all-powerful terror living rent-free in everyone's minds – to literally steal the future. All the while, he dismisses Class 1A – the next generation that represents the very future he wishes to destroy – calling them nothing more than “extras”.

However, the main lesson of Season 7 is that there are no “extras”, something that is blindingly obvious as a result of Deku's relative absence. “Relative” is the key word – he's still there, still an active participant in the conflict, and his final rematch against Shigaraki is great, but the story consciously and intelligently sidelines him to highlight everyone else. The idea that “anyone can be a hero” isn't new to the superhero genre, but this story delivers that message with far more heart than others.

My hero academy reaches new heights

Something beautiful happens in the second half of season 7 – probably around episode 154. The aforementioned flaws often cited by this show's detractors almost disappear as the pace quickens, the emotions intensify, and the animation becomes even more violent than before. I felt compelled to cheer and was brought to tears more than any show in recent memory.

From the joy of the unexpected return of characters to the long-awaited showdown, this season didn't just reach the heights of the previous ones – it exceeded them. While the first half was good, it's a little shocking how much higher it climbed week after week. It consistently raised the bar, raising the stakes while changing the formula to avoid the exhaustion of such a long battle.

This show deserves more praise than ever

It's a phenomenal culmination, built on eight years of great television that sought to adapt long-running shounen without padding or sacrificing too much quality. Your mileage may vary depending on the consistency of the anime, but there's no denying that what Studio Bones accomplished with this adaptation is impressive. At a time when the landscape of the shounen genre is changing, it's impossible to underestimate how much harder this season will be because it took eight years to get there.

My Hero Academy Season 7 is a magnificent piece of television anime whose production and execution deserves the same high regard as Jiu-jutsu KaisenThe Shibuya incident. It's a testament to the creativity of Kohei Horikoshi, the artistry of Studio Bones, and the timeless appeal of Shonen that such a serious tale can stand tall even as superheroes are more saturated than ever. In a year filled with great series, this season alone can be nominated for Anime of the Year.