Synopsis:
As summer arrives for the students at UA Academy, each of these superheroes-in-training puts in their best efforts to become renowned heroes. They head off to a forest training camp run by UA’s pro heroes, where the students face one another in battle and go through dangerous tests, improving their abilities and pushing past their limits. However, their school trip is suddenly turned upside down when the League of Villains arrives, invading the camp with a mission to capture one of the students.
Boku no Hero Academia 3rd Season follows Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, an ambitious student training to achieve his dream of becoming a hero similar to his role model—All Might. Being one of the students caught up amidst the chaos of the villain attack, Deku must take a stand with his classmates and fight for their survival.
It just keeps getting better. I’m still in charted territory when it comes to this season of MHA, but it’s becoming clear that whenever I do my next top 10 all time list, that this series has a firm spot not only on the list but in that upper echelon.
Forest Training Camp Arc
This season got off to a great start, with the opening being such a banger. I can’t wait until everything is said and done so I can rank every opening. But the Forest training arc is to this point the third best arc in the series. I’m always down for a training arc in anything. It was cool to see a shift in the methodology explained by Aizawa. Instead of focusing on raw combat, now it’s time to focus on actually training and powering up the actual quirks. We saw some of this while Midoriya was training under Gran Torino, but it’s nice to see everyone focus on making their quirk stronger.
I don’t know what the general fan consensus around Kota was at the time or even now, but I will say for myself I love him and what he brought to the story. At this point, Kota somewhat represents the general populous as a whole when it comes to their waning feelings on heroes and on a personal level I really felt for him. Losing your parents at such a young age in the line of duty because they wanted to be heroic. So I enjoyed his character and his change of heart after Midoriya saves him.
The League of Villains is leveling up, and I love it. All the new members were fun and had very enjoyable distinct personalities and quirks. Of course, Twice, Dabi, Mr. Compress, and Muscular stole the show for me. But I’m really digging this new League.
Midoriya continues to rise in my favorite characters of all time list. I don’t know where exactly he sits right now, but it’s getting higher and higher. He has constantly shown his heroism since before he had a quirk. But this arc takes it to another level. If I had to point to the moments that to me, justify All Might’s choice in picking Midoriya and pivotal moments in his journey. His fight vs Muscular would be one of them. This fight holds so much emotional weight. Wanting to save Kota. Wanting to warn all his allies. Muscular being so much stronger than him and Muscular being the one that killed Kota’s parents. This fight was a moment. And it mirrors All Mights fight vs Nomu in season one. Muscular was so overwhelming strong, he gave Midoriya no time to think or strategize. All of this plus what happens after is what makes Midoriya’s plus ultra punch so impactful. It was a moment. Body harm, fatigue, all of that aside. He pushed beyond his limits to save someone who couldn’t save themselves, then beyond that he pushed his body overboard to run around the forest like a madman warning and helping his allies. This entire arc is the first defining hero moment for Midoriya.
What it means to be a hero is a theme that’s been persistent throughout this series. It’s what it’s all about, but there are different takes on it. One thing Muscular said during his fight with Midoriya stuck with me. He said, “It’s not a hero’s job to be happy.” Which is in stark contrast to everything All-Might represents. Everything Midoriya is becoming, which is saving people with a smile on their face. There are reasons for heroes not to smile, chief among them being something that All Might teaches Midoriya early. You can’t save everybody.
I love the way Mr. Compress catches Bakugo and the subsequent chase scene leading up to what is another great showdown and pivotal moment in so many characters’ arcs. Bakugo being captivated is the event that would go on to change lives and I love events like that.
Hideout Raid arc
Body damage is something I really enjoy about this series and hope doesn’t get taken for granted. Each fight, the heroes and villains are at very real risk of permanent or sustained damage. Midoriya’s body is breaking down on him. We’ve seen All-Mights condition. Iida last season. Even Aizawa after what happened at USJ. It’s a neat detail that keeps the stakes high and gives room for more growth as a fighter and character. Midoriya was really going through it in the hospital. Not only dealing with the knowledge that using his quirk at full power again maybe two more times would result in him not being able to use his arms again, but also because what All Might said was true. As much as he tried, he couldn’t save everyone. I love the split between his classmates in whether or not they wanted to go after Bakugo on their own. Iida is such a great bog brother type character and I fully understand everyone’s decision on the matter.
I love the way public thought swayed during the time frame of Bakugos capture until his rescue. It’s been shown the growing concern that’s arised from the constant villain attacks on class 1-A. Hell, the whole sports festival was a distraction from that noise. So it only makes sense that the public would turn sour after another attack and a student being captured. I really liked how the heroes used this to their advantage by launching a sneak attack on the villain’s bases during the press conference. I didn’t touch on how brave Yomomo was and how she’s growing into herself by placing a tracker on the Nomu. She’s one of the many mvps of this arc. Seeing all the various heroes with their unique quirks and styles work together was awesome. From new heroes to old, it was cool to see. And I love what Aizawa said about Bakugo to the press. Cause the reporter who questioned Bakugos potential allegiance, said what a lot of viewers at the time probably thought in the back of their minds. Bakugo has a very volatile personality, which can be seen as signs of a potential villain. But Aizawa sees him for who he really is. Despite the hot-headedness. Despite the bullying and the temper. Bakugo wants nothing more than to be a hero and he showed that while captured. This whole season does wonders for his character.
The whole rescue was so amazing. The sneak attack by the heroes. A two-fold attack on both facilities utilizing all of their knowledge and abilities perfectly. When it was all looking dire for the league of villains, I can’t help but love the way All for One steps out of the shadows and uses so many of his stolen quirks to keep them safe. I can’t wait to learn more about his and Shiguraki’s relationship. We get a lot of important backstory about Shiguraki during this fight. Him being all mights former master’s grandson who was in foster care and taken in by all for one is a very interesting spin on everything. His relationship with Shiguraki seems to only mirror All Might’s relationship with Midoriya to a point. It’s more akin to Todoroki’s and Endeavor’s. The way All for One almost babies him like he’s his child is interesting. I know he chose him as his successor but I wonder why? Is it only because of his ties to all mights masters? Or did Tomura remind him of his brother? Gran Torino noted after All might lost focus after hearing this info that him losing focus over his former master is the reason why he got the near-fatal blow from all for One years ago in the first place which is interesting because that trigger is one of few All Might’s flaws.
All Might vs All for One is the best fight in the series as far as I’ve watched (up to season 5). Animation, soundtrack, stakes, story and character impact. It had it all and then some. This is the turning point in the series. The big bad is showing how strong he is and the world’s number one hero is doing his last act of heroism by defeating him. It’s the evil shadow vs the symbol of peace and it was epic. Props to the voice actors to both characters in both languages. Absolutely killed it. And love isn’t even the word to use for how much I enjoyed some of the things said by all might during this fight. First of all, All for One using All Might’s catch phrase was so eerie but great. “I am here” works so well when All Might says it. Reassuring to the people he’s saving and striking fear into the villains. It had the exact same effect when all for one said it. The things All Might says to him just reinforce how powerful his spirit is and how deep-rooted his heroism is. “The ones always smiling are the strongest.” And, “real heroes don’t just save lives, they save a person’s heart too” are just amazing quotes. And when it’s all said and done and he goes plus ultra with all the remaining power, he has to defeat his greatest nemesis with the world roaring behind him. That victory poss is iconic. So is what he says next.
“It’s your turn now” is the quote that separates everything before this arc and everything after. It’s a powerful quote. The point to the camera sends shock waves throughout the world. While it was probably mainly directed At Midoriya, it means more than just him. While yes, it is Midoriya’s turn to rise up and become the next symbol. It’s also the world’s turn. It’s the other heroes’ turn to rise up and stomp out this growing flame of villainy. There’s no more All Might. The symbol has retired, and it’s been noted a bunch of times how his presence has made the other heroes too relaxed. And I know this quote touched everyone and I can’t wait to see more of its effects on the world.
After all of these events, it only makes sense that parents are iffy on letting their kids go back to UA and move into dorms. Especially Midoriya’s mom. I love her so much. She’s just a supportive and caring mother. She sees all the damage her son is accumulating on his body and even mentally. The conversation between her, All Might and Midoriya was beautiful. Her concerns, Midoriya reading Kota’s note, and All Might bowing his head in shame and praise. Moments like those are what take the show to the next level to me. The human and personal element is never lost. All Might hugging Midoriya almost brought me to tears. This is truly the start of a new era and I can’t wait.
Provisional Hero License arc
Again, I love training episodes/arcs. Still focusing on powering up quirks, ultimate move training is so hype. On top of that new costumes (I love them all, especially Midoriya’s and Kirishima’s.) and a new fighting style for Midoriya? It’s been heavily foreshadowed from the beginning. While yeah, his costume was designed by him to resemble all might (I haven’t even touched on the fire opening that has a cool transition from all mighta hair swaying in the wind to Midoriya’s costume.) but it also resembles a bunny! Also, training with Gran Torino and slowly learning to become his own hero, not just All Might Jr. The writing was on the wall. Use your legs! Full Cowl shoot style is cool and so are all the other student’s ultimate moves.
The license exam was cool. I’ll always welcome meeting new students and learning about their unique quirks. This arc was chalked full of that which was fun. Also, a lot of character moments for a good amount of characters. Wind dude was really cool and his hatred for Todoroki was interesting and had a worthwhile conclusion. Bakugo and Todoroki failing was for sure a big hit to their pride and egos, especially Bakugo’s. Eraser head being openly proud of his students is nice to see. So is Midoriya adopting All Might’s number one trait, always smiling. He’s been smiling so much in the face of so much this season and I love it. All in all, this was a fun set of episodes. I found the fact that theirs is a “heroes that look like they should be villains list,” hilarious and that Gang Orca is top ten even funnier. He looks cool to me. I wonder what Toga is gonna end up doing with Midoriya’s blood. It’ll be fun to see where that goes.
Bakugo, Bakugo, Bakugo. This moment, this fight between him and Midoriya, is one I’ve been waiting for. Since episode one, we’ve seen his ego get bruised over and over again by Midoriya’s growth. His complex is gigantic. So this confrontation was bound to happen. It had to happen. Even All Might saw that. In a lot of ways, he and Midoriya are the same. They even share the same anger and regret for All Might, not only their hero, but the world’s symbol of peace retiring. On top of that, he’s slowly pieced it together that Midoriya was chosen. Hand picked by both of their Idols to be the successor. You can tell by the pain in his voice and constant anger how much that these two things hurt him. The talking and the fighting was needed. Nothing else would’ve solved their issues and I love how by the end of it Midoriya and Bakugo come out as proper rivals. Bakugo knows the secret now, he was forgiven by All Might. It was heartwarming to see him and Midoriya on punishment sharing tips about fighting. I can’t wait to see this relationship properly grow now that this is behind them.
The special episode was a fun little whodunit and interruption to the exam arc to promo the movie. I haven’t touched on it but I’ve always adored how Americanized All Might is. His costume feels American, and of course all of his attacks are named after places in the USA. This episode was a fun promo for the movie which I’ll be watching next!
Next Season should be fun. Of course I’ve seen it already but I can’t wait to re-watch it. The introduction of UA’s big three was hype and so was the introduction of Overhaul. Also Twice’s little half episode dedicated to him is one of my favorites. The Deadpool vibes are heavy. Love it. He brought up a great point that’s been a looming theme throughout the series that heroes only save good citizens. Which is something to think about, especially how it relates to some of the prejudice some citizens face and also Shiguraki.
So yeah, season 3 was peak. Arc for arc the best season so far without a doubt. Every single episode was pretty much a banger and this world of MHA is quickly turning on its head with Shiguraki at the forefront of that change. Next up in season 4 is Overhaul and the Hero Work studies. I can’t wait for that but! Before Season 4 imma watch the first movie. Can’t wait to learn and talk more about All Might’s time in America.
My Hero Academia Season 3 – 10/10
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