Written by Alex Criscione
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is the second film in the My Hero Academia franchise and it does not disappoint. So many anime franchises try to create a more accessible film for a larger audience to see, but Heroes Rising is aimed more for fans of the series. This film is not canon which gave the producers and directors a lot of room to mess around with especially when it came down to characters and story.
The narrative and dialogue in the film are probably the only downside. It is a very cliche right from the very start. It’s a bit cliched to he villain corps go against the top rank heroes we know from the show. This is a great set up for pacing, but it falls a bit short about 20 minutes later.
Fans of the series will be, and were, ecstatic to see many of the heroes who we haven’t seen in a while get some time on screen. Especially at the mid point of the film where they are all doing random tasks to help citizens on an island.
The strongest point in this film is the rivalry between Deku and Bakugo. This rivalry has been built up since the first episode and seeing that we have never seen them truly fight together was a complete blast to see on the big screen. The dynamic is almost mimicking Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, which is not a bad thing at all. The scenes with both of them together either talking or fighting are some of the best scenes in not only the movie, but the anime itself.
This film will bring out many fans of the series and even the manga readers. For a person who has not seen the series they might become a bit lost in what is being shown and given since there is no explanation of the hero or villain abilities since they have already been established in the show. The last 45 minutes are where the film truly shines in regards to animation and direction. It manages to keep an intense tone with near perfect audio to truly keep the audience on their feet in the battle.
Heroes Rising is an even better film than the first one by not only embodying the entire anime and cast that we have known from the start, but creating a fiery experience for fans. While the film might fall off or be a bit slow at the start with the dialogue, it quickly picks up around the mid way point and becomes a consistent action movie. While the end left the audience, and myself, a little skeptical about the direction it was clear that they wanted us all in for the fight. This is a must see for any fan, maybe even more than once.
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising will be heading to home video and on demand soon.
