My hero academia is a fighting anime that follows the story of a timid boy who goes on to become the greatest hero on the planet. So is every other anime, right? Then why is this one in particular getting all the attention. Rated at 8.5 on imdb and 100% on rotten tomatoes, there are some key parts of this narrative that are simply awe-inspiring. (Spoilors Ahead! )
All men are not created equal.
-- Izuku Midoriya
One theme that sets in from the very first episode of the show is the unfairness of life itself, and rightly so. Even in the real world life is hardly fair, some people are born with an IQ of 170 while others struggle with high school algebra. Some of us are born speakers and leaders while others experience stage fight throughout their lives. Some of us are born in extreme poverty and must fight for the most basic of our needs while others live and die not knowing what hunger is. In the my hero academia universe, this theme is embodied in the form of quirks. In a superhuman society where people are now being judged for their quirks the protagonist is born quirkless. Izuku however, never loses faith in his dream of becoming a hero and in his relentless persistence and fierce passion he gets the greatest hero in the world, All Might to say arguably the most famous words in anime history, "Young man, you too can be a hero". The idea that Kohei Horikoshi (the author of the original manga, Boku no hero academia) presents, is one of pure unwavering perseverance in the face of hopelessness. It is established in the first 10 minutes of the first episode that Izuku would never be a hero (at least according to the society) and yet that little spark in his heart that he keeps alive for years on end as he takes notes on all the great heroes of the world, is one that eventually realizes his life long dream. It's true that all of us are not created equal and it's true that life is hardly ever fair but there's a greater truth, one that is captured beautifully in the series. The truth that all unfairness fades away in the face of persistence. If you can stand up and say I'm not done every time life knocks you down, there's only so many times you can fall.
Whenever you're nervous or scared before a fight, just deal with it by smiling
-- All Might
The theme of showing courage in the face of danger is one that has been like a broken record throughout the anime spectrum, but the way it is done in this show is again, nothing short of perfect. Izuku is initially a timid boy and though the core sections of his personality remain the same, we simultaneously see some major changes take place. The first time Deku shows signs of unprecedented courage is when he ends up facing his age old friend turned rival Katsuki Bakugo. Bakugo is one of the strongest characters in the show and his quirk can be straight out destructive. Midoriya, on the other hand still had no control over his quirk to the extent that his limbs broke whenever he tried to fire a shot. Not to mention, he had been bullies by Bakugo throughout middle school. It would then be natural to anticipate a response of fear from him when he is placed face to face against such a character, but instead this is where we see him radiate with courage as he tells his partner "I refuse to lose today". This should not be confused with recklessness, although Izuku takes on his foe with utmost courage, we eventually find out that he had been planning the whole fight ahead of time in his head. It is this courage that eventually develops Izuku into an unstoppable fearsome force as he takes on stronger and stronger opponents who are out to kill him. We all feel sorry for ourselves when things don't go our way, we make a victimized caricature of ourselves so that we can blame the things as they are. The thing is that if we took a deep breath and we reflected on our thoughts, we would find out that there is still some courage left in our hearts. We would find that we were victims, not of the situation, but of our own thinking.
In the same fight sequence when Izuku finally runs into Bakugo on the battlefield, here is what he says to him
I'm not that helpless, defenseless kid anymore. I've changed ka-chan. From now on Deku's a hero name!
It's your mindset which can change the course of an entire interaction. Choose to be brave and people will have no other option but to respect you.
Even though he is just as scared as I am, even though he is shaking in his feet. He is still going through with this.
-- Minrou Minetta S1E10
"You Are The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With", this is something that I believe in with all my heart and it's a good thing that we see glimpses of this idea throughout the show. The above mentioned quote is from a scene where Izuku is trapped on a ship with his fellow classmates. Being a bunch of high school students, it is all but obvious for them to get the chills as a plethora of professional villans approach them. This is a moment in which Izuku Midoriya steps up and formulates a plan to fight rather than flight, all be it a risky maneuver. The beauty of this scene is in the idea that he is still scared. So scared in fact that he is shaking is his feet! Midoriya however, decides that he needs to protect the ones he loves no matter what the cost. This gallant spirit rubs off on his fellow classmates as Minetta, who was initially tearing up seeing the sequence of events, follows Izuku's lead and charges against the perpetrators. They win that fight and Minetta ends up playing a very important role. Throughout the show we see how Izuku is able to impact the nuances of the personalities of the people around him. Iida, who started out by hating Izuku becuase of his murmuring ends up becoming one of his most treasured friends and advisor. Todoroki, an introvert who mostly keeps to himself finally opens himself up to people. Izuku even manages to surprise All Might with his actions.
There are many names for a person's aura, some call it vibe while other choose to go with character. It encompasses every aspect of that person's conduct, the way they talk about their dreams to how hard working and passionate they are. The lesson to be learned here is to surround yourself with people who have this positive air around them, because these people rubbing off on you is as inevitable as iron man's snap.
Some heroes always aim for the top, while some happily settle. The difference between those 2 mindsets makes a big difference as to how far you go in the real world.
-- All Might
They say that ambition is the enemey of success, when in fact the truth is the exact opposite of that. Only an ambitious person is able to muster the courage and the drive needed to walk the difficult path leading to success. All Might explains this to Midoriya as he asks him whether or not he remembers the emotions he felt back at the beach (that's where Izuku trained to recieve All Might's quirk). We often start our journeys, blogs, projects and businesses with great passion but as time passes and things change, we find ourselves saying stuff like, "maybe my idea wasn't as good as I thought it was" or "this class is just way too hard for me". It is in this precise moment that you need to think back to the moment in which you started. You need to feel all those emotions again as you continue to tread your chosen path. This idea is beautifully presented in the series, as Izuku was someone who constantly doubted his own abilities. This however changed through the couse of the show and upon learning that Lemillion was the one who was originally set to recieve All Might's power, Izuku is able to stand his ground and refute the offer to give up his quirk, "One for All". The ambition to become the greatest hero on earth is what drives him to push himeslf every single day.
Our lives are not that different either, all we need to do is to keep that flare of ambition alive as we try to fulfill our destiny and we all shall be All Mights in our own right.
People do not become heroes to be cool, they become heroes because they are cool
-- Minrou Minetta (S2E23)
Lastly and most importantly, the show highlights the importance of self growth and hard work. I talk about this in length, in some of my other articles but this is so central to the show's theme that it would be sinful not to talk about it here. Time and again we see different characters better themselves through excruciating training and hard work. Midoriya is not different, starting from someone who breaks a bone everytime he uses his quirk to damaging his arms to such an extent that doctors warn he might not be able to use them anymore, Midriya endures a lot pain throughout the show in order to reailze his dream. Even losing his arms does not slow him down, since he starts using his legs to fight. It is pivotal to note that these traits of Izuku's character that make his so hard working and dedicated are without a speck of doubt, the reason he deserves to be the best hero there is. It's not that All Might is cool because he was the symbol of peace. He was a symbol of peace because he was a cool person with all the right characteristics. We can even see this same paradox in the real world as people obsess over singular achievements and accolades while completely disregarding the fact that the person who earned these honours can probably do it again, because it is he who earned them in the first place. Take Steve Jobs for example. He was fired from a company he buily out of his garage when he was 30 years old. The board of Apple Inc seemed to think that Jobs' value came from this company that he had built, while the truth was that it was the other way around. They soon realized this as Apple's sales figures dropped to a record low while Jobs created another company that he called NeXT Computers, which did so well that not only Jobs was rehired at Apple but NeXT was merged with Apple Inc. The rest, as they say it, is history.
If there's one thing you can take away from this article, let it be this. Value people, not achievements. People who are talented and hard working don't really need anything other than a laptop and a notebook to come up with something incredible. Try to be the best at what you do, and you bound to succeed.
As to sum up why My hero academia (or Boku no hero academia) is such a great narrative.... It's not a "hero's journey. (Google "A hero's journey" and you'll know what I am talking about)
You never realized, the hero you admired so much has started to admire you.
-- Izuku's mother (S3 E13)