We have in hand a work of purely Shonen schemes, being able to make you vibrate in the seat despite using the typical clichés of the genre. The plot of the play focuses on a society where normal is abnormal. For years, some evolutionary phenomena have caused the new generations to be born with gifts, from having a sad extra finger to possessing the brute force of Superman.
Unfortunately, our protagonist: Midoriya Izuku , a very normal boy lives in disadvantage in a society where strange people are normal. But this is a Shonen! So our protagonist will not back down at any time, but will work hard for what he aspires to. Thus enters the scene our mega hero and mentor: All-Might , the symbol of hope and courage, the most powerful hero on the entire planet. The mission will be to be able to become a professional hero, but where does one train for it? Well, in a school of heroes. Of course, the protagonists will have to face tough and dangerous entrance exams to enter secondary education.
Thus we give free rein to the massive group of characters that Horikoshi begins to describe in the first two volumes. The characters fall like drops of Coca-Cola, some settle in the stomach and others return in the form of a tingle. This last sensation is transmitted by those characters with whom the reader feels a very close sympathy and affinity from the beginning of the work, even when only the basic data about them has been given. This is how we are introduced to the unfriendly and ambitious rival of our young hero apprentice, Bakugo. The typical Japanese class representative, Ida. The cute girl that the protagonist likes at a glance and who is very kind, Uraraka. In short, we have a new author who plays the thousand and one characters, and for now he carries it with grace and mastery.
Values are also something that any self-respecting great shonen has to include, and ‘My Hero Academia’ makes good use of the resource, highlighting the power of perseverance, first friendships and above all the effort to achieve your goals. Although it plays on the basic cliché values of popular works, the introduction of these plots and scenes are often difficult to pull together without compromising the quality of the scenes. The impressive thing about just the first volume is that Horikoshi is able to wonderfully represent the concepts that he wants to convey to his reader through drawing and text.
The artistic section has its own style and is very different from the commercial brands that we are used to seeing in the genre. His greatest strength is undoubtedly the representation of emotions and facial expressions, often the text is superfluous next to those withering looks or the representations of fear. The art of the scenarios has an acceptable level that is maintained throughout the two volumes, presenting very detailed designs to sketches with just enough to pass the quality sieve. In addition, the protagonist tends to babble like a nerd and for this reason he has been given some special snacks for that occasion. As a negative point we can put the initial gap between the good guys and the bad guys, but that is another thing that has been inherited from the shonen genre.
Cómic Planet has succeeded in the initial distribution of the work with the joint launch of the first two compilation volumes. Not only because of its ease of sale thanks to its cheap starting price of $8.95, but also because of the work’s ability to immerse you in the world that it opens up through the volumes. The first serves as an introduction to the foundations of the world, the explanation of the conflicts, duties and weaknesses that the heroes have and the as well as the introduction of the numerous main characters. While, in the second volume, we are told about the first adventures that Midoriya and company will have in her prepared school.But, wait a minute! As soon as we start, we are thrown in our faces what we could call a typical final boss of a video game. This is how the side of the bad guys makes its true appearance: The Villains. Although we don’t know much about them, we can assume that what they want is simply to watch the world burn.
The main trio in the cast of villains promises, being quite atypical, prioritizing intelligence before strength for their leadership. Villains with charisma, great heroes who arouse passions and fast-paced students who aspire to them. This is ‘My Hero Academy’ and it’s here to stay.
