Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Volume 1, by Kohei Horikoshi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Volumes: 5+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks” at age four? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…

Review:

Midoriya lives in a world where everyone has a superpower and is striving to be a hero. Except for him. Which means he’s bullied. But he also wants to be a superhero so badly that he knows everything about them, has books filled with notes, and has a bit of a hero-streak in him.

Midoriya is a great main character for this story. He’s smart, has been picked on and cries easy, and he just wants to be a superhero. The scenes we get of him as a child just hurt my heart, that poor little boy. I just want to hug him.

And then he finally gets his chance.

There are a bunch of different characters as well, and a lot of neat powers. There’s All Might, the biggest superhero that helps Midoriya, who’s real identity is a secret. There’s Bakugo, who bullies Midoriya, and wants to be the meanest villain around. Tenya, a guy who relies on his smarts in conversation, who I think is kind of great. Then there’s Ochako, the girl that befriends Midoriya, and she’s nice. And their teacher, who is the toughest teacher around and will fail everyone if he wants to.

I like the premise of this series, and this volume was really enjoyable. The group of characters are a lot of fun, and I’m actually interested to read more.