I have to say, I was disappointed by My Hero Academia’s latest plunge into the film industry. My hopes were especially high for the film after recently re-watching the second installment: My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising. That was a film that truly amazed. The quality of animation and the intensity of the battles between our beloved characters and the hated villains was on a level of mastery that I hadn’t seen before in an anime film. Besides that, the development of character relationship between Deku and Bakugo ( which are two of the most prominent characters of the anime series if you aren’t familiar) brought an immense amount of satisfaction.
I had expected for that character relationship growth to continue in World Heroes’ Mission. However, this wasn’t the case. In fact, I’d say that Bakugo’s character might even have regressed, though that might have been due to how little screen time he had during the film. Nevertheless, Bakugo’s dialogue mostly consisted of variations of the phrases “shut up” and “don’t tell me what to do”, which is fine I suppose. It does align with his character, but I couldn’t help but want more. Bakugo has evolved so much over time that his character deserves better than to be handed irritated one liners for the majority of the film. Though again, there’s only so much to be done when the majority of the plot doesn’t revolve around him.
What the plot does revolve around
is the budding relationship between Deku and a new character named Rody Soul as they make their way across the country in an effort to escape both the local authorities and the villain group known as Humarise; a terrorist group bent on ridding the world of any and all quirk users. Both Deku and Rody slowly get to know one another as they race to save the world. It’s a unique relationship in the fact that Rody is a morally grey character, used to doing whatever he can to survive in order to provide for his two younger siblings. Seeing him challenge Deku’s selfless motives while struggling with his own inner conflicts was very endearing to watch. It was also hilarious to see how Deku responded to Rody’s poor life decisions. In that way, Rody quickly became a favorite of mine. And his quirk is one of the most unique and utterly adorable abilities that I’ve seen yet.
In fact, I almost forgot how disappointed in the movie I was while watching Deku and Rody grow into fast friends. But I was quickly reminded of my disappointment when Bakugo and Todoroki rejoined the main plot. It was time for the final fight scenes after all. And yet, the battle sequences fell flat. There was a messiness to them and a lack of climactic build that just seemed to make them drag on and on and on. It was the complete opposite of the emotionally engaging battles that are in Heroes Rising.
Despite that, the film is still worth watching, just for the sake of Rody and Deku’s friendship.
