Akio OhtsukaKiyono YasunoMinori ChiharaMy Hero Academia
My Hero Academia: Season 3
Episode 1 also reviewed here: Anime 1st episodes 2018: M
Also known as: Boku no Hero Academia: Season 3
Medium: TV, series
Year: 2018
Director: Kenji Nagasaki
Writer: Yousuke Kuroda
Original creator: Kohei Horikoshi
Actor: Akio Ohtsuka, Aoi Yuki, Ayane Sakura, Azu Sakura, Chisa Suganuma, Daichi Endo, Daiki Yamashita, Eri Kitamura, Hikaru Midorikawa, Hiro Shimono, Hiromichi Kogami, Junichi Suwabe, Kaito Ishikawa, Kaori Nazuka, Kei Shindou, Kenta Kamakari, Kenta Miyake, Kenta Okuma, Kiyono Yasuno, Kiyotaka Furushima, Kohei Amasaki, Koji Okino, Kosuke Kuwano, Kosuke Miyoshi, Kouki Uchiyama, Kousuke Takaguchi, Makoto Furukawa, Mariko Nagai, Marina Inoue, Masakazu Nishida, Megumi Han, Meiko Kawasaki, Michiru Yamazaki, Miho Masaka, Minori Chihara, Misato Fukuen, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Ryo Iwasaki, Ryota Iwasaki, Ryou Hirohashi, Saki Ogasawara, Satoru Inoue, Serina Machiyama, Shinnosuke Ogami, Shuhei Matsuda, Takahiro Fujiwara, Takuma Nagatsuka, Tarusuke Shingaki, Tasuku Hatanaka, Tokuyoshi Kawashima, Tooru Nara, Toshiki Masuda, Tsuguo Mogami, Volcano Ota, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Yuto Uemura, Yuuki Kaji, Yuuta Kasuya
Keywords: My Hero Academia, anime, superhero
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Format: Season Three: episodes 39-63
Url: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=20356
Website category: Anime 2018
Review date: 16 January 2023
Boku no Hero Akademia
It's fine. I enjoyed it. It's My Hero Academia, i.e. kids at superhero school. I've just been reading reviews from people who think this arc's the best and that arc's the weakest, but personally I don't get any of that. It's all just My Hero Academia. It's good, solid superhero fare with a heart. This year showcases the show's most annoying problem, but then ultimately fixes it so that it'll go away in later seasons.
That problem is, for me, the way this universe has a stick up its arse about superhero school and students DOING WHAT THEY'RE TOLD. Villains can attack an entire school of superheroes, but do the villains get instantly pulverised? Nope. Why? Answer: the teachers ordered the kids not to fight. Again. (Result: villains beat students.) Repeatedly, over and over again, the students get told "leave it to the pros" and "don't lift a finger without permission". Furthermore, the teachers mean it. Anyone who disobeys will bring the authorities down on them like a ton of bricks.
Then, in addition, this is getting played on a larger scale with society's attitude towards U.A. High School. The teachers are held responsible for everything. If villains attack, it's the teachers' fault. If it rains tomorrow, it'll be the teachers' fault. If you picked your nose right now and ate the bogey, you wouldn't be surprised to see U.A. being forced to make a public apology. The parent meetings in ep.50 could be funny (e.g. Bakugo's family), but are also a source of head-banging illogic.
It's a storytelling cheat. It's bullshit, to manufacture dangerous situations in a world where Midoriya has thirty superpowered classmates and an entire industry of professional heroes. The good news, though, is that Season 3 ends with people (but not everyone) getting provisional licences that will exempt them from the worst of this in future.
STUFF THAT HAPPENS THIS YEAR
1. A training camp that goes wrong. Midoriya fights a villain stronger than All Might (ep.42), which is scary.
2. Rescue! But the teachers have told us to do nothing! Leave it to the pros! Sigh. This arc frequently annoyed me, although there's a lot of good here too. Ends in something world-changing with All Might (ep.49).
3. A breather. The show does impressive superhero battles, but personally I preferred the downtime of ep.51. The kids have a bedroom-showing competition, which is funny and gives everyone their own little characterisation moment.
4. An exam. It's a tournament arc, basically. That's the gold standard for shounen filler, except that here it's logical and correct for a school to have exams. Some reviewers have felt that this was a relatively weak arc, but personally I quite liked it. We meet students from other schools.
5. A blatant tie-in to the movie. Two Heroes was in cinemas right now, but it didn't fit into the exam story arc! What to do? Answer: a shoehorned "special episode" (ep.58) that puts the story arc on hold and basically does a ra-ra dance for the movie. It's okay, though, and the exam resumes the next week.
6. Some slightly miscellaneous stuff in the last few episodes. Bakugo works stuff out, again suggesting that he's not as dumb as he looks. (He couldn't be.) We also meet Unstoppable Nudist Tintin.
CHARACTERS
Minata has a toilet accident in ep.40. Couldn't happen to a scuzzier person.
Navel laser narcissist is funny, as is Bakugo (e.g. his idea of victim rescue in ep.57).
Frog Girl is still my favourite (although you've got to love Blood Sucking Total Freak Love Villainness in ep.44), but Boob-Flashing Girl might be the cleverest student in Midoriya's class. (Don't worry, we never see anything. It's not that kind of show. Her superpower lets her pull any object from her body, unless it's too big for any area of exposed skin.)
Mind you, with all these superhero outfits, one wonders why Midoriya gets flustered about Mei Hatsumei's boobs in ep.52. The good news, though, is that she's a funny character.
It's more of the same, basically, but in a good way. My Hero Academia knows exactly what it's doing. Classic superhero fare, with only a bit of that slightly worrying worship of strength and victory in battle. Likeable characters, plenty of humour and lots of excitement. Happy to keep going with Season 4.