Can anybody tell me the way to make it?
I guess no, I’m the only one.
I never offered me a wrong future.
No matter what happens,
I won’t chill, I won’t stop.
I’ll make you prouder step by step!– From “Hero A” by composer Yuki Hayashi
My Hero Academia: You’re Next is confirmed to take place between the end of season six and the beginning of season seven. This review will discuss the movie within that context and will contain spoilers for those not at this point in the anime.
For the uninformed, the anime series My Hero Academia began broadcasting in 2018 and is set to complete its seventh season this month, October 2024. The series, originally titled Boku no Hīrō Academia, created by Kōhei Horikoshi, tells the story of a young boy living in a world in which many of the citizens are born with powers, some using them for good, some for evil, and his journey to become the #1 hero in his home country of Japan. The current season sees the central character, Deku, and his allies in the final battle against the series villain, All for One, and his successor Tomura Shigaraki. Like the three films prior, the new My Hero Academia film, subtitled You’re Next, takes place outside the central storyline, offering audiences a different experience, a break, if you will, from the trauma being inflicted on the current battlefield. As My Hero fans face down the gauntlet of enemies old and new in the series, series and film writer Yosuke Kuroda performs cinematic alchemy in bringing together the best parts of the characters and the show’s themes to reminds us that working together to raise everyone will always trump a megalomanic trying to do it all for himself in a film which delivers a resounding emotional affect.
Izuku Midoriya (Daiki Yamashita) in MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT. © 2024 My Hero Academia The Movie Project. ©K. Horikoshi/Shueisha.
With the Tartarus jailbreakers still on the loose throughout Japan, the students of U.A. High School’s Hero Program Class 1-A are on the ground trying to locate as many as possible to return them to custody while also keeping the remaining citizens on the streets safe from the jailbreakers’ rampages. While in pursuit of one jailbreaker who’d taken a hostage, a young girl named Anna (voiced by Meru Nukumi), Izuku Midoriya, Hero Name: Deku (voiced by Daiki Yamashita)), is interrupted by a familiar looking man in a white suit with a strange quirk that can seemingly pull random objects out of anything who takes Anna and departs. With Anna in his arms, the man (voiced by Kenta Miyake) reveals himself as a near-identical copy of Japan’s retired #1 hero All Might (voiced by Kenta Miyake) and makes a declaration of his taking over to protect Japan with his strength using the hero name of Dark Might. Recognizing that this man is a fraud, Deku and the rest of Class 1-A spring into action, seeking to rescue those civilians caught up and carried away by Dark Might’s quirk, release Anna from Dark Might’s clutches, and halt Dark Might’s plan. This is going to be a battle of ideals unlike anything Deku and Class 1-A have confronted before.
Dark Might (Kenta Miyake) in MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT. © 2024 My Hero Academia The Movie Project. ©K. Horikoshi/Shueisha.
For those wondering, yes, You’re Next is canon in the series. For one, the official description on both the Japanese and North American You’re Next websites place the events of the film between the end of season six of the anime and the start of season seven. If that doesn’t convince you, starting with time stamp 16:55 of ep 156, “It’s a Small World,” we’re shown a montage of characters watching or reacting to the fight in Japan that includes Melissa Shield (Two Heroes); Mahoro and Katsuma Shimano (Heroes Rising); and Rody Soul’s younger siblings Roro and Lala (World Heroes’ Mission); making each of the characters and the events within those cinematic stories canon to the anime. If that’s not convincing enough, go back and watch the episode after you seen You’re Next and you’ll get the last piece of evidence that’ll seal it.
With all that set, let’s get into it.
You’re Next is exactly the kind of film My Hero fans need right now, not just because it offers a break from some of the bleaker elements of the current season storyline as we brace for the long break before season eight, but because it properly reminds audiences why this series matters to us. Kuroda’s script takes full advantage of the past three films and six seasons of the show to mold a story whose consequences aren’t tangible but metaphorical. Throughout the series, All Might is held up as the greatest hero in Japan as there’s less crime and more optimism due to his ability to take down any foe and lift up any citizen. The films haven’t particularly grappled with this concept beyond centering All Might and his dwindling power in the first film, Two Heroes (2018); opting to focus on Deku and Katsuji Bakugo (voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto) in Heroes Rising (2020); and Deku, Bakugo, and Shoto (voiced by Yuki Kaji) in World Heroes’ Mission (2021) with Class 1-A being more involved in the first two films. Here, however, Kuroda centers these students against an enemy that requires examining All Might’s ethos and the damage that can come from those who take on this ethos through a darker perspective. Dark Might isn’t All for One, the villain who would be Demon Lord over the entire world, but someone who twists the notion of strength as a means for protection. Rather than seeking strength to service the world, Dark Might desires power to command the world. Going further, what does it mean, then, that this class must combat someone who appears to have the same powerset as their collective mentor? What does it mean that it must take their collective skills to have a chance to defeat him? Separate from all the good stuff in the action or character interactions, Kuroda allows for an opportunity for the audience to dig into what it looks like when these kids grow up and replace the current set of pros, offering a moment to consider that one person at the top of a ladder of heroes only creates unnecessary competition whereas cooperation and compassion uplift everyone. Since the start of My Hero, the series has utilized a superhero fantasy tale that asks its audience to consider what it means to be a hero. With You’re Next, it points that question directly at us and Kuroda’s answer will have you screaming “Plus Ultra!” in your seat.
Anna Scervino (Meru Nukumi) in MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT. © 2024 My Hero Academia The Movie Project. ©K. Horikoshi/Shueisha.
In terms of the action, director Tensai Okamura (Neon Genesis: Evangelion; Evangelion: Death (True)²), taking over for series and film director Kenji Nagasaki, captures the energy, the excitement, the comradery, and the optimism that fans love of the My Hero series. In particular, if you’re the sort whose favorite episodes involve seeing Class 1-A working together, whether it’s during training exercises in the series, battle-centric moments that shift from a Deku-focused to a wider approach, or the not-so-insignificant utilization of everyone in Heroes Rising, then you’re in for a treat. But this isn’t a more-is-more approach so much as more members of Class 1-A get a chance to show their stuff. I’m sad to report that Tokoyami (voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya) still haven’t given us another “revelry in the dark” moment, but the various action set pieces we do get inform where these characters are in this stage of their training and battle experience. This does mean that You’re Next is even more series-dependent for audience enjoyment and therefore less accessible for newbies than the other films as Deku is utilizing far more than Black Whip in the struggle against Dark Might, but it also means that we get see the members of Class 1-A use their abilities to a degree that would make homeroom teacher Shōta “Dadzawa” Aizawa proud. This often translates to battle sequences that make full use of the cinematic intention of the story. They’re built for the theater and, therefore, provide action on a far larger scale and perspective, with a few being so wild, so full of color, and shifted in animation style (think: the “Might*U” sequence in Heroes Rising or that spectacular travel sequence with Shoto and Ingenium (voiced by Kaito Ishikawa) in the recent season seven episode “I Am Here.”) that they can be a little hard to follow on a first watch, but are no less dazzling. Credit to Studio Bones for managing to find ways to incorporate the visual language of the original series manga with the required movement of cinema to create something truly bombastic and memorable. There’s even one moment in the climatic battle that is a direct recreation of a visual design of another character in another battle, and this recreation within the film, laden with so much emotional context due to six seasons’ and three films’ worth of investment, quite literally left this reviewer’s mouth agape and my fist shotting into the air with the force of a Texas Smash. In all seriousness, with the climatic battle, audiences will be grateful that Okamura is at the helm for this one with Bones bringing it to life.
Giulio Gandini (Mamoru Miyano) in MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT. © 2024 My Hero Academia The Movie Project. ©K. Horikoshi/Shueisha.
When it’s all said and done, You’re Next may be the best of the four films second only to Heroes Rising, depending on the day. Both include compelling villains whose viewpoints challenge Class 1-A, though Dark Might specifically accosts their mentor and his ideology, making Deku and company far more driven to stop Dark Might from achieving his goal. Both expand the roster from the central three, allowing audiences a chance to see their favorite(s) in-action and serving the story in the process. There’s a sequence that is likely to break long-time fans’ hearts thanks to a villain’s quirk, but it’s also a little like a reward for having been a fan so long. More than this, watching the pros serve as backup to Class 1-A not only makes sense from the perspective of the narrative (they are the key characters), but from the larger concept of the story regarding legacy and who carries the mantle once All Might retires. Putting the pros in the backseat, something that couldn’t have happened naturally in the early seasons of the series or other films, only helps secure Class 1-A and this generation of heroes as the true successors. While that statement may, on some level, seem like a spoiler, if you’ve been watching the series and we’ve confirmed that this takes place between seasons six and seven, then it’s already something you know. Truly, this film is like watching Class 1-A grown up, working together past graduation.
In North American theaters October 11th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official My Hero Academia: You’re Next website.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
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