Hey all, Dani here.
So…I forgot to post my Manga Monday review last week. I’m sorry. I was at work on Monday when I realized that I had not spent the time pre-writing up my early week posts, and by that point there was no way I would get the post up for that day, especially since I had to edit my mom’s final paper/project for the college course she is taking through work. She is not really a paper writer, but she tries really hard to do well. Thankfully she has a daughter who has a degree in English and a library degree, so I’m like a one-stop reference shop for her. I edit her more important papers and then she buys me food. It is a nice system.
Anyway, last week I was planning on having my review up for One Punch Man Vol 2, so I’m just pushing that one back to next week…because I’m trying to get through all of the My Hero Academia volume reviews without posting them every single week, so I’m alternating them.
Actually I need to read more volumes of One Punch Man as well. I’ve only read 3, and there are 13 out here in the US. Right now my manga focus has shifted over to The Ancient Magus’ Bride, which I’m really enjoying, so reviews for those will be coming in the future too.
Okay, enough rambling. Let’s just jump into the review.
Summary
What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?
The U.A. High sports festival is a chance for the budding heroes to show their stuff and find a superhero mentor. The students have already struggled through a grueling preliminary round, but now they have to team up to prove they’re capable of moving on to the next stage. The whole country is watching, and so are the shadowy forces that attacked the academy…
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
Okay, so here’s the thing: I thought that the sports festival story arc was rather interesting. I enjoyed watching it on the anime, and then getting to experience it again when I picked up the manga was really cool. I got to spend more time studying the panels and seeing the details for each character and how they are using their Quirks. It is part of the reason I don’t at all mind that I watched the adaptation before reading the source material. (Though, for the record, I am now ahead of the show so everything is back to the way I normally prefer: book then adaptation).
The team up aspect of this round of the sports festival was really cool too. It was intriguing to see how certain teams came together based on character personalities, Quirks, and ranking. One of the things that I adore about Midoriya is that he has been studying heroes/villains/Quirks for so long that he analyzes everything–sometimes past the point of overanalyzation. But that sometimes works out for him. So watching him process the pros and cons of his classmates and who he should team up with was fascinating.
So pretty much I am really enjoying the way this series is going. The characters keep developing more and more, and we keep learning more about each of them. We get to see as they learn to use their Quirks in new ways, and we get to see their relationships develop and deepen, and sometimes we get to see their struggles. They are facing a lot rather early on in their education/training. I hope this series at least goes a little past them graduating and becoming full heroes, even if that is a short term spin-off or whatever.
If you like superheroes or books/series in a school setting, then this is a series I would definitely recommend.
Where to Buy
You can pick up your own copy of My Hero Academia Vol 4 from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.
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