As one of the most popularmanga of the new generation, it was inevitable forKohei Horikoshi’sMy Hero Academiato get an anime adaptation. And, luckily for the fans of the source material, the series was made byBones, one of the best and most prolific animation studios in the industry.
TheMy Hero Academiaanime has been faithful to the manga, with few drastic changes. There have been, however, some alterations that affected the quality of some of the best Arcs in this story. This is especially true from Season 5 of the anime and beyond, as many of those arcs were better in the original manga.
5Final Exams Arc
Different Exams & Better Art
In the manga, all the test matches happen at the same time in the manga, making it feel like a true exam for everyone in the class. However, they all happen individually in the anime. This means there are also some filler scenes in the anime of the characters watching and commentating on every single match, which don’t add much to the plot.
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Secondly, the art in the manga is a tad better. While the artists at Bones are masters of their craft, there are some panels that are meant to be looked at for several minutes. The best example is the shot of Shigaraki’s face while he’s taking Izuki Midoriya hostage at the mall. In the anime, he’s creepy. But in the manga,he actually looks terrifying.
4Joint Training Arc
Better Pacing
This highly anticipated arc finally reveledthe abilities of every member ofClass 1-B to the audience, and proved how much the members of Class 1-A had grown at that point. And while the version in the manga met these astronomical expectations, the anime adaptation left a lot to be desired.
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Since this arc opened Season 5 of the anime, Bones must have thought that viewers may have forgotten who every character is. Thus, the arc included a lot of unnecessary flashbacks. To add insult to injury, a lot of the fight and dialogue scenes are slower in the anime version, especially compared to the fast pacing of this arc in the manga.
3Endeavor Agency Arc
No Unnecessary Filler
In the originalMy Hero Academiamanga, the internshipwith Endeavorwas supposed to be a brief arc that acted as a bridge between the previous and the next big story arcs. But in the anime, the Endeavor Agency Arc was much longer, since it was plagued with some of the worst filler in the series.
The anime is filled to the brim with flashback scenes. They wouldn’t be so annoying if there weren’t way too many, used too frequently. Not only that, but there was an entire filler episode about Uraraka and Tsuyu’s going to the beach. Many fans found the episode’s tone too cheerful for what used to be one of the most intense arcs of the manga.
2Paranormal Liberation War Arc
Different Order and More Context
The Paranormal Liberation War changedMy Hero Academia,and both versions of the arcare considered quite goodon their own merits. But, sadly, the anime adaptation has some glaring flaws in this instance. For starters, the anime had already changed the order of a previous arc, thus affecting the impact and plot twists of this one.
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Some fans were also displeased at how the brief fight between Deku and Shigaraki was animated, which looked lackluster compared to the manga’s detailed art. Finally, the reveal that Kurogiri is actually Aizawa and Present Mic’s old friend, Shirakumo, hit way better for readers, because the spin-offMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesfeatured an arc with that character’s full backstory. And that’s not even mentioning thebeloved Chainsaw Man cameo, which the anime cut completely.
1Meta Liberation Army Arc (My Villain Academia)
Different Order, More Characterization, and Commitment to Its Concept
This entire arc centered on the villains with none of the protagonists, showing readers how they got more powerful. This concept was so unique and unexpected that Kohei Horikoshi even briefly changed the title of the series, to the fittingMy Villain Academia.Tomura Shigaraki’s rise to power is often considered one of the best moments of the manga, and it’s tragic that the anime ruined.
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The animated adaptation of the Meta Liberation Army Arc is incredibly brief, as if Bones just wanted to get over with it, and thus scrapped a lot of crucial dialogue and scenesthat fleshed outthe different members of the League of Villains. Many fans were expecting a sudden change in Opening and Ending songs to better reflect the change in title, but aside from some forgettable eye-catchers, it felt like the anime didn’t commit as hard to this clever concept.
But the worst part of this adaptation was the changes to the order. In the manga, this arc came right after the Joint Training Arc, because this was supposed to be the villains’ training in a way. But the anime decided to put the Endeavor Agency Arc before it,thus spoiling the huge surpriseof seeing Shigaraki and company gaining new powers allies many episodes before it happened.
