My Hero Academia fixed a giant flaw with the MCU
"My Hero Academia: You're Next" review
One of the many things those no-good, goshdarn Marvel movies get all wrong are the cameos. Those big dang moments where you’re supposed to clap because A Guy shows up on screen. If you’re just casually popping into the MCU it’s not going to hit, but whatever man, I’m just a tourist, this isn’t for me, and if I’m in the same room as an MCU property it’s because whatever chick I’m trying to bang thinks Loki is cute so sure, throw that on for Netflix and Chill (Either that or I’m watching Moon Knight. Moon Knight slaps. More of Marvel needs to be about Tulpas Gone Wild while wrestling with the tangled mess of emotions that comes from trying to make sense of colonization).
This has all been discussed to death and I’m not the first groucharoo to feel completely unimpressed when the “Please Clap” sign goes off and Iron Man struts on screen. So I was stunned when I watched the newest My Hero Academia movie and I could sense they were doing this exact Marvel trope— except when I saw the proverbial Please Clap sign go off, I felt emboldened to clap. I was having a blast.
So I’m a casual fan of My Hero Academia. I was in deep early in the story, and dropped it the exact chapter you feel it jumped the shark, which means we have so much in common. I’ve read plenty of chapters out-of-context when I felt compelled to buy a physical copy of Shonen Jump, and dated a surprising amount of chicks who’ve wrestled with the tangled mess of emotions that comes from trying to make sense of Bakugo and Deku. I’ve always sworn I would return to MHA and give it a complete readthrough when it finished. And all those memes of Deku in The Chair tell me I’m in for a real treat.
So I recently caught “My Hero Academia: You’re Next” and there was lots of “fanservice” in the sense of “We’re going to show this character for the sake of showing this character, because people want to see this character.” They could’ve trimmed half the cast and told the same story, but everyone who didn’t get to see Their Guy on screen might be a little bummed out.
What’s more is I found it oh-so-charming when a character was on screen for that bit of fanservice, and they did something character-specific. Bakugo’s here, and he’s pissed off? Crow guy is here and he’s being an edgy loner? Tail guy is here, and he’s using his tail?? Incredible work, all of you, fantastic. It’s the feelings of adoration when you see your bestie doing community theater or open mic night, except every character here is your bestie.
In all fairness, a lot of the Marvel cameo-fanservice moments hinges on the plot— I’m essentially showing up to season 14 of a telenovella and being like “Why should I care that The Hulk is here?”
But the MHA cameo-fanservice feel specifically tailored to the fans of those characters. I see Froppy doing frog things, and I know that’s for guys who want to see Froppy. It’s that mindset of catering to the otaku’s specific, niche interests. I never get that sense with MCU characters- mcu characters feel more about making characters broadly palatable to a wide audience (but not me, so that means I’m incredibly special and I feel entitled to cry about it on the Internet).
By contrast, not everyone is going to be into Froppy, but that doesn’t matter. There’s a whole roster of other characters to love. And there’s never a need to push characters into being more palatable to more people, because that’s not what MHA is going for. They trust that you’ll find your favorite.
This movie also gave me a good hit of autism-bait pattern recognition: I recognize everyone here, and they’re all saying their catchphrases and it’s a delight! Heroaca is one of those universes that feels crafted to appeal to “fandom” — it’s easy to imagine yourself or your OC’s in this world (what powers would they have? How would they get along with Class 1-A?) and I always get a kick out of consuming media that I know indulges in this mindset, even if I’m not participating.
Plus, that fight scene at the end? Holy shit dude, that was epic!
And this movie fixed an even bigger flaw I’ve found with MCU movies: They gave me characters I wanted to fuck.
There is no one in the MCU I want to fuck. Closest I could say is like, maybe Spider-Ham, assuming he brings the John Mulaney voice and wacky cartoon logic to the bedroom.
Now please, read to the end until you type up your angry comments. I’m not talking about any of the students. Their personalities are too couched in being a student for any of them to register as husbando/waifu material (but uh, even if they didn’t, they’re like, not real). I’m sure if I got into MHA when I was in high school, I could see myself projecting onto Deku and thinking Uraraka is cute.
Anyway, lemme tell you about Giulio. Because wowza.
Androgynous good looks, long hair tied up in a bun, one eye? That’s serious Volo energy. And his unwavering loyalty as a bodyguard screams Matsukaze. How could I not simp???? (I can’t recall if we ever got a glimpse of his body but I imagine he’s absolutely cut and if we became friends he’d help me with my bench)
I also thought this was a butch woman for the first few scenes. I know assuming gender is going outta style, but I can’t help it! I see someone androgynous zipping around on a bike and my mind goes to “butch.”
And that viewer gender confusion really helped Giulio’s case. I’m not into masculine chicks, but something about man who leans slightly androgynous makes me go insane. It’s a delicate balance, because I’m not big on femboys either— I want them to still act like men.
Even better: Giulio’s not protecting some uggo. He’s orbiting Anna, a prink princess type.
I love cute pink women and goddamn does she deliver. And her cans are way bigger than you’d expect. Seriously— it’s hard to tell at first since the animators didn’t go nutso with the jiggle physics and she’s typically dressed up with a heavy helping of ruffles and bullshit. But dude, they’re big.
Basically, this is the ideal couple I’d want to casually mention that they’re opening up their relationship and looking for a third. Because my answer would be an enthusiastic “fuck yes”
Thank u for reading!!!!
