My Hero Academia: What’s Next For The Greatest Superhero Anime
When it comes to My Hero Academia season 7, there’s reason to be excited. After all, it is the world’s most popular manga and anime, starting out in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2014, with the anime following only two years later.
The tale of a world where almost everyone has a superpower (a “quirk”) has been praised for bringing together the best parts of the genre all into one massive story, from school life to an amazing cast of characters, all wrapped up in an optimistic shell that makes being a hero cool again.
Season 6 recently finished airing on Hulu, and now millions of fans want to know, what about My Hero Academia Season 7?
My Hero Academia Season 7 Is The Most Explosive Yet
My Hero Academia Season 6 was the darkest of the series, but Season 7 has been the bloodiest, starting off with the titanic confrontation between Shigaraki and Star and Stripe high above the Pacific Ocean. Fans were detailed at the voice performance of Romi Park (Hange from Attack on Titan) as America’s Number One hero, and then immediately horrified as she falls in battle. Her sacrifice sets the tone for Season 7 and lets the audience know that the stakes are now higher than ever before.
The World Of My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia follows Izuku Midoriya (aka Deku), a young man without a quirk, until the greatest hero in the world, All Might, decides to take him on as his heir, acquiring the quirk “One for All,” which allows him to share power with others.
It gets very complicated very quickly, and that’s before trying to explain how the quirk was created, but it makes Midoriya one of the most powerful heroes attending U.A. High School.
U.A. High School is important as everyone that wants to become a professional hero has to be trained properly in the use of their quirks, finally earning a Hero License.
But before that happens, students must intern with heroes or take part in a work-study, which has them acting as official sidekicks (imagine if Robin was a summer intern under Batman, and that’s how it works.)
Exposing The Dark Corners Of The World
Season 6 briefly touched on society treating those with non-human appearances differently, notably after the villains break out of Tartarus. A civilian with animal features is turned away from shelters, and Deku has to save her from a group of men harassing her. As My Hero Academia Season 7 shows, this type of discrimination is a major issue.
Spinner, the villainous lizard that’s been a stalwart ally of Shigaraki and the League of Villains, is finally fleshed out, and viewers get to witness his tragic backstory firsthand. Isolated and alone, it’s no wonder that Spinner was motivated by Stain’s message, and now he’s become a symbol for heteromorphs in Japanese society. Leading an uprising of those who are looked down upon by “normal” society, he’s become even more of a sympathetic villain in My Hero Academia Season 7, and while his methods are suspect, even the heroes have to admit he has a point.
The Manga Has Come To An End
The final chapter of the My Hero Academia manga was published on August 4, 2024, ending the epic superpowered saga. Creator Kohei Horikoshi is taking a well-deserved break after the well-received conclusion hit store shelves. The manga ran for a decade, from 2014 to 2024, becoming one of the most successful in history, selling over 100 million copies.
With the end of the manga, what does that mean for the anime?
My Hero Academia Season 8
My Hero Academia Season 7 isn’t the end of the anime, with one more season planned to bring the Earth-shattering battle between Shigaraki/All for One and the collective heroes of Japan to its climatic end. Season 7 is only 21 episodes long, down from the previous season’s 24. The “Final War” arc is long, taking up 81 manga chapters, and the anime has only begun to adapt it.
My Hero Academia Season 8 will finish the arc and then conclude with the “Epilogue” arc, which was only five chapters of the manga but will likely be extended for the anime. There are still plenty of amazing moments that fans can look forward to as the heroes fight back across multiple battlefields.
As of now, My Hero Academia Season 8 is expected to air in 2025.
A New Movie
My Hero Academia: You’re Next debuted on August 4, 2024, in Japan and immediately claimed the number one spot at the box office. American audiences will have to wait until October 10 for its domestic debut.
The film takes place before Season 7’s “Final Battle” arc, introducing a new villain, Dark All Might, and his giant mobile fortress. As with the previous movies, it’s a standalone story that, though it won’t impact the plot of the anime, will be another fun adventure for Deku and his friends from Class 1-A.
More Spinoffs On The Way?
My Hero Academia Season 8 may be the end of the anime, but there’s more coming. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, the prequel manga, explores the world before the official establishment of the hero system. Following a group of unlicensed heroes, Vigilantes is significantly darker than the main series.
There’s been no official word on an anime adaptation of the manga, but it seems likely.
Horikoshi has mentioned in interviews that he’s done working on My Hero Academia, and while it seems unlikely another full series will be out anytime soon, you can never say never in the worlds of anime and manga.
