From the very start, My Hero Academia has been asking what it means to be a hero. Is it having the strongest power? Is it saving the largest number of people? Beating the strongest villain? And in a world where 80% of the population has a superpower of some kind, what’s a person without a quirk to do? No, Batman isn’t really a thing here, so money and martial arts aren’t going to cut it. And yet, that didn’t stop people like Midoriya Izuku or All Might from becoming heroes — or even legends.
In the final season premiere of the popular superhero anime, the world’s greatest hero joins the fight, probably for the last time, and the show takes a look at the legacy he’s leaving behind. No, this isn’t entirely a recap episode, though unfortunately half the episode is spent reminding us about the Season 7 finale, which slows down the pacing if you happened to rewatch that right before the new one. Thankfully, once we’re back in the present, My Hero Academia’s final season premiere fires on all cylinders and goes Plus Ultra with a kick-ass, The Dark Knight Returns-esque fight between All For One and All Might.
Picking up where we left off, the situation looks dire for the heroes. Even though our heroes managed to defeat Dabi, the villainous pyromaniac, as well as the shapeshifting Himiko Toga, they still haven’t been able to deal with the increasing number of clones of Twice, and also the uber-powerful All For One or the destructive Shigaraki. With things looking desperate, it’s up to the former number one hero, All Might, to not just delay All For One long enough to give Midoriya and the others a fighting chance at stopping Shigaraki before the two join forces, but also try to lift everyone’s spirits.
That last bit is important, and is where the episode shines, as it circles back to the show’s ultimate theme of what it means to be a hero and the passing of a torch. The final season premiere of My Hero Academia sees the younger generation inspiring the generation that inspired them, with All Might literally fighting with moves inspired by his students’ powers in a rather emotional full-circle moment for Class 1-A. It shows not only how much All Might respects and admires his pupils, but also how far they’ve come that their quirks can actually be employed effectively in a battle against the show’s biggest villain.
And while the premiere is mostly focused on All Might and All For One, we do catch up on one of the heroes that All Might inspired — Aoyama. Forced to become a traitor, Aoyama gets his moment to shine as a hero in the premiere, channeling his power to contribute to the fight in a meaningful way that shows his growth.
Of course, the biggest draw of the premiere is the fight between All Might and All For One. Studio Bones goes all out in giving the fight weight and the animation a kineticism worthy of this rematch. Though the CGI in All Might’s armor doesn’t always blend that well with the 2D animation, the fight itself is thrilling. My Hero Academia creator Kōhei Horikoshi has never shied away from wearing his influences on his sleeve and showing his love of American comics, and seeing Armored All Might fight a nearly indestructible supervillain plays out like Iron Man meets The Dark Knight Returns. Truly, All Might’s armored helmet looks just like Batman’s mask but with the Japanese hero’s signature smile. It’s great to see this skinny and quirkless middle-aged man, who is literally missing his stomach, taunting his greatest enemy and boasting about beating him with the confidence of a 20-year-old hero who has never met defeat.
This is All Might at his very best — which is something considering My Hero Academia truly excels whenever All Might joins the fight. He’s the bastion of the older generation, and he thinks he’s here to die but is still giving his all just to buy a few moments for the new generation. That’s been the crux of My Hero Academia all along, and it’s the best way for the final season to start.
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