Forum - View topic

EP. REVIEW: My Hero Academia

Long time anime watcher, stuck at home recovering from an injury, can't sleep, with time to kill, so why not jump in.

I think the biggest thing about some of the criticism I'm seeing is that people are forgetting the most important thing about MHA. Is that its first and foremost a Shounen series.
Once you take that into consideration, many of the pacing and story telling decisions make more sense because they are geared towards the mentality of a shounen viewing audience.

I remember talking to a friend about DragonBall Z and how I hated that the first 5-10 mins of some episodes was nothing but recapping what had already happened before. My friend, who was the exact age of the target demographic when that series first aired, told me those recaps actually helped him to remember the story as he had to wait week to week to see what happened. Back then he didn't have streaming Internet or BR/DvDs that he could re-watch, heck, he didn't even have a VHS player at that time to record. So, while they may seem unnecessary to some of us, things like that keep shounen viewers engaged in the series without feeling confused or lost which keep them interested in the series.
To a younger viewer, those boxes in MHA act like flashcards to remind them of which character is which.
Some might have issues with the screen time pacing of those boxes, but a shounen aged viewer might need that extra second to finish reading.

The second thing I'll comment on is the whole Class rankings and how it influences character interaction and development. Once again, please keep in mind this is a Shounen series.
So for those of us who are beyond that stage in life and are living in the real world, all this emphasis on class ranking may seem boring and pointless, but to shounen audiences particualrly in Japan, its a big part of not only their own identity but how they socialize with others inside a school setting.
If you rewatch the classroom scene, you'll also realize that the "show, don't tell" storytelling is present, but sometimes younger viewers need help understanding what they are seeing. which is what all the ranking signs bring.
Kaminari and Ashido, are depicted as freaked out panicked and laughingly resigned, respectively. Odd, but when you pair their reactions with the signs showing that they are the academic bottom two of the class it adds clarity without using extra time.
Fumikage, Rikido and Saji, show concern but with no extreme reactions, which is instantly reflected in their lower-half of the middle of the class rankings.
Mineta's reaction is actually very telling about the role of Ranking in schools of not just how students feel about themselves, but how they react to others based on their rankings compared to others. Notice how his scene comes in in response to those who are of lower ranking. He has an air of superiority towards them because of his higher ranking. Ashido and Kaminari even react with frustration towards MIneta because he's ranked that much higher than them. The joke is that for all of his attitude for being smarter than half the class, Mineta is still just the middle guy.
MIdoriya, Iida and Shoto all try to give words of encouragement for all to do their best, but those words fall flat for Kaminari because they came from 3 of the top 5. It would take up far more time to show that joke if they didn't just post up their ranks.
Momo's confidence in being able to help with the lectures reflects her #1 status, but her instant depression about not being able to help in the practical helps to emphasize that class ranking isn't everything. Her reaction from academic to practical Is also a setup for the next episode.
The class ranking is also important for illustrating Bakugou's reaction. Eijirou teases Bakugou about Momo's tutoring. Since Bakugou is determined to be "Number One" the fact that he's only number 3 in class infuriates him. The study group lead by Momo become that mental reminder to Bakugou that there are still others who are better than him at something. So he becomes willing to tutor Ejirou to prove that he can do it too.
Knowing Bakugou is number 3 is also important because we also know that Midoriya is number 4. For Bakugou, the ranking system tells him that a guy he once thought of as nothing and useless is right behind him which only fuels his anger more.

Would any of that scene make any real sense if we didn't know their rankings? Sure we would have some sense of who is smarter than whom, but many of the nuanced jokes and reactions wouldn't have been as effective without it.
Because of the signs and the ranking, many get the jokes. They might not be fully aware of Why they get the jokes, but to fully animate them out would take up far longer than necessary, especially for a shounen series.

I don't know if Aizawa threw the match or not. I'm kind of inclined to believe his excuse, because it was exactly as he said - if he'd gone after her in that moment, Todoroki was right there to freeze or burn his ass, and since he didn't know the trick of her bonds, it probably seemed like the right choice.

Was she really leaving little grenades in her wake throughout the suburban neighborhood? o.o

So, was that a coincidence or is Aoyama actually a tactical genius in the disguise of an air-headed narcissist?

Merida wrote:

So, was that a coincidence or is Aoyama actually a tactical genius in the disguise of an air-headed narcissist?

spoiler[Coincidence. He isn't playing up a doofus when he actually is brilliant, his narcissistic personality is to cover up how he feels inferior to everyone. If he did come up with some plan, it'd probably be something where he would be the one in most danger, not Uraraka as she was getting sucked up by Thirteen's black hole.]

Merida wrote:

So, was that a coincidence or is Aoyama actually a tactical genius in the disguise of an air-headed narcissist?

spoiler[Coincidence. He isn't playing up a doofus when he actually is brilliant, his narcissistic personality is to cover up how he feels inferior to everyone. If he did come up with some plan, it'd probably be something where he would be the one in most danger, not Uraraka as she was getting sucked up by Thirteen's black hole.]

Kokuryu Daimao wrote:

...I think the biggest thing about some of the criticism I'm seeing is that people are forgetting the most important thing about MHA. Is that its first and foremost a Shounen series....I remember talking to a friend about DragonBall Z and how I hated that the first 5-10 mins of some episodes was nothing but recapping what had already happened before. My friend, who was the exact age of the target demographic when that series first aired, told me those recaps actually helped him to remember the story as he had to wait week to week to see what happened. ... The second thing I'll comment on is the whole Class rankings and how it influences character interaction and development...If you rewatch the classroom scene, you'll also realize that the "show, don't tell" storytelling is present, but sometimes younger viewers need help understanding what they are seeing. ...Because of the signs and the ranking, many get the jokes. They might not be fully aware of Why they get the jokes, but to fully animate them out would take up far longer than necessary, especially for a shounen series.

Okay, if the intended audience does find such things more helpful then I can see the value. I never would have thought of that because even when I was the target age and sometimes had to wait months before watching continuations of my favorite TV shows I didn't have trouble remembering details like that (and I was watching Lost in my early teens)....But of course not everyone's brain works the same way....