My Hero Academia Volume 3: “All Might” (Chapters 18 through 26) Manga Review
Major Spoilers are included in this manga review. Please read with caution.
On July 23, 2020, I started and finished reading My Hero Academia’s Volume 3. My reading of My Hero Academia’s manga story has been a much-needed revisit.
Synopsis: Written and drawn by Kohei Horikoshi, the main series follows Izuku Midoriya—nicknamed Deku—and his dream to become a hero someday. In a world where 80% of the superhuman society had powers—dubbed Quirks in this series—the dream to become a superhero became way more common. Sadly enough, Deku fell into the 20% category, effectively making him average—or Quirkless. After a fateful encounter with the number one hero All Might though, Deku’s fate changes forever.
Volume 3: “All Might” picks up where Volume 2: “Rage, You Damned Nerd” left off, with All Might arriving on the scene to save everyone from The League of Villains. The first part of the volume wraps up the conflict between Class 1-A and Tomura Shigaraki in a satisfying manner. The story did an excellent job on raising the stakes and showing the students how scary it is to fight against supervillains.
Watching the fight scene was especially painful for Deku, who was the only one cursed with the knowledge of All Might’s weakened state. Everyone else assumed they were saved. This unique perspective added more emotions to the fight scene and context behind his struggle for All Might, springing into action in order to save him.
The second part of the volume—the start of the anime’s season two—follows Class 1-A preparing for the U.A. Sports Festival, the superhero equivalent of the Olympics. It’s also where Pro Heroes scout out potential sidekicks. This arc was a refresher after the darkness everyone faced in the previous arc. The event also put the pressure on Deku to become a worthy successor to All Might and his struggle to prove himself overall as a hero. Aside from Deku, other characters and their backstories were also given attention.
We learned more about Ochako Uraraka’s background and why she wants to become a hero, making her feel more like a developed character. They had to make her act out of character to flesh her out, but it was effective self-awareness humor that seems to be a staple in superhero genres.
Given how many superhero stories are currently out there in addition to me reading and watching a good amount of them, a self-aware comment like “This is straight out of comic book” doesn’t even annoy me anymore.
Shoto Todoroki—another student of Class 1-A—was given more screen time as well, declaring war on Deku and promising to beat him in the U.A. Sports Festival. While his background is still shrouded in mystery at this point in the series, the declaration pissed Bakugo off, and that would be enough for any dedicated manga reader.
Kohei Horikoshi’s art continues to be stellar and intricate with character, setting, fight scenes, and the action sequences. The character designs are the forever high-point of this manga series because of how they speak to each character’s Quirk and personality. For example, Deku’s costume is a clear imitation of All Might’s design—down to his bunny ears imitating All Might’s hair—which reveals how much of a fanboy he is for All Might.
There is also so much power infused into the action sequences and fight scenes that it’s hard not to get hyped over them. This is especially shown in the first part of the volume during All Might’s fight scene against the villains, and how the art conveys the power behind each attack he dishes out to them. Yelling “SMASH” out loud alongside Deku and All Might has been a great honor.
Overall, My Hero Academia’s Volume 3: “All Might” is another great continuation of the story, leaving us yet again on a solid cliffhanger that would make reading volume after volume an addicting habit. The first half of this volume concluded the anime’s first season while the second half set-up the beginning of the anime’s second season for those who were curious. Thanks for reading my manga reviews, everyone! I highly recommend y’all check out My Hero Academia when y’all get the chance. Let’s keep it reading!