Post — Aaron Ngo

Major spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.

My Hero Academia Season Four has recently concluded and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say: BEST SEASON YET. The central theme of the season is “Growth” for the characters. Character development was prioritized and broken down into three distinct arcs that made everyone love / reevaluate this overcrowded cast of characters.

A 25-episode season had made the pacing balanced and fast at the same time… that’s a difficult thing to make work, but My Hero Academia is always stepping up their game.

The three arcs that made this season were “Overhaul” Arc, the “Provisional License Exam” Arc, and the “School Festival” Arc. There was a small “Endeavor redemption” Arc that had closed out the season, but that seemed like a two-part event that will lead into an actual arc with Endeavor and Hawks. Almost like a sneak peek if that makes sense, especially if we take into account Deku’s cliffhanger moment.

The “Overhaul” Arc takes time to build as Deku must adjust to his internship under Sir Nighteye and his insecurity involving Lemillion and being a true successor to All Might. Overhaul is the main antagonist of the arc and has made Quirk destroying bullets with Eri’s Quirk. The best thing about this arc is its balanced focus on other characters aside from Deku like Lemillion, Red Riot, Fat Gum, Sun Eater, etc. as they fight to save Eri and stop Overhaul’s villainous agenda.

There were a lot of emotions crammed into the high-stakes fights that Deku finally went 100% Full Cowling to put an end to Overhaul. Thanks to saving—and teaming up with—Eri, beating Overhaul, and changing Nighteye’s Foresight future, Deku declared himself worthy of being All Might’s successor and a true hero outside of All Might’s huge shadow.

The “Provisional License Exam” Arc centered around Todoroki and Bakugo, who took a backseat at the beginning of the season. The arc worked as a mini follow-up because a break from the darkness named Overhaul was well-needed. Plus showing Bakugo and Todoroki being empathetic to naughty children was pretty silly while at the time great for their character development.

“School Festival” Arc added the fun by showing us—the audience—the bright side of things, and the current school dynamics at U.A. and Class 1-A. Basically, everyone not Class 1-A blames them for all the trouble that befell them in the past three seasons. I found myself most surprised at how Bakugo reacted to their standing reputation. He vowed to kill everyone with their sound. The main antagonists of this arc were Gentle Criminal and his sidekick La Brava. In the end, you might found yourself feeling sorry / sympathetic toward them.

The last two episodes of season four centered around Endeavor, formerly the Number Two Hero, officially becoming the Number One Hero in the wake of All Might’s forced retirement, and what that means for the superhuman society.

What does it mean to be the Number One Hero? Can Endeavor replace All Might as the Symbol of Peace?

The answer’s “probably not”, but he could be something else. Endeavors and Hawks’ epic fight against a new Nomu proved Endeavor has a shot at a real redemption story despite what he’s done in the past to his family. This is the kind of story I can get behind, because personally I can relate to the Todoroki family and their feelings toward Endeavor.

Overall, Season Four was an amazing 25-episodes and had me loving this series more than ever. I’m excited to see what season five has in store for us. Endeavor hates this… PLUS ULTRA!

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