My Hero Academia Season 8 Review: The Final Smash

Smashing onto screens for the final time comes My Hero Academia Season 8. The grand conclusion of Kōhei Horikoshi’s anime and manga series. Whilst there are other spin-offs still going, this is the end of the main timeline as it currently stands. OVAs and Movies notwithstanding. Midoriya and his friends face off against All For One and Tomura in a battle to determine the future of the world. In this final battle, there is no holding back, and our heroes must go beyond if they want to save this world once and for all.

I have been writing and reviewing My Hero Academia now on this site and other places for a good six or seven years. So I was always excited and nervous to watch and review My Hero Academia Season 8. Especially given some things I’d heard echoed on the grapevine. But in the end, I think that this is a near-perfect ending to the entire series, even if it has a few issues here and there.

This review is intended to be spoiler-free. And I have done my utmost to ensure that is the case. Which is great for those of you wanting to go into this as fresh as possible. But it does mean I have to talk around certain moments. But with that said, let’s get to it.

Story – A Class Act

My Hero Academia Season 8 takes place moments before the past season ended. The villain One For All is about to face down All Might for one final battle. One of several final battles that take place over the course of the Season. Everything is still in flux. With our heroes and our villains practically running on fumes and using every last ounce of power and mental fortitude to try and win the day for their side. Everyone is throwing everything into this, and they aren’t holding anything back. Nor are the writers or animators to be fair, but more on that later.

My Hero Academia Season 8 starts seconds before the last one ended.

If there is one word that summarises the first half of the series, it would be “Desperation”. And I don’t mean that as a negative. Don’t assume that this review of My Hero Academia Season 8 is suddenly going to take a subversive twist, and that score is ironic. No. Like I said in the prior paragraph, everyone is running on empty. With every fight that is happening here being done by heroes and villains, being driven only by determination, and barely holding together physically.

The Heart Of The Matter

It isn’t all action. And whilst the action is frequently breathtaking and spectacular, there is always something deeper going on with the fights themselves. Either on an emotional or thematic level. These moments of combat don’t exist for the sake of visceral fan service. Though there are elements of that at play here, certainly in the final moments of the series. It is all done in a way that doesn’t feel like it is pandering to the fans.

With these moments feeling earned. It is hard to talk about specifics without going into spoilers. But the twists and turns in the fights keep you on the edge of your seat.

There are some messed-up images in this season.

And often give you deeper insights into the thoughts and history of characters, which both provide history, but themselves help us to better understand our cast. And in some moments, allow our cast to better understand those around them. To see the true reality that they have lived. With all of this giving, we have the thematic bridge from the first episode of the series to the end.

Things Unsaid

I knew that before I even started writing this review for My Hero Academia Season 8, there would be some who wouldn’t like where this ends up going. And I understand that. There are certain elements of the wider plot that feel like they haven’t been concluded. And to be honest, other things could have been done to round off certain plot lines and aspects of the characters.

This season could have been more satisfying had certain things happened. Had certain characters said what the fans wanted them to say. And I will admit, some moments do feel rushed, more on that later.

Aayoama briefly does things!

But in the end, it feels like Season 8 was more focused on ensuring that thematic bridge, the idea that “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero” wasn’t lost. So much of the world of My Hero Academia, so many of the villains of that world, ended up where they were because of a society that rejected them. Oftentimes, out of disdain, a lack of empathy or just straight up bigotry. And the lesson we as an audience, it feels to me at least, that we should be taking is that we need to be there for people who are falling, lest they might fall down a darker path that might lead them to goodness only where.

End Of The Road

For me, My Hero Academia Season 8’s story is near perfect. And it is the best possible ending the series could have had. I know that might feel like damning with faint praise. But like I say, many things could have been done that would have appealed to the audience. Things that could have been done that wouldn’t have undermined the end goal and theming of the series. And the fact that these are now things that can never, or will likely never be done now is a shame. But I can at least head-canon a reason why certain things didn’t go the way they did. Which isn’t satisfying for many, but it at least holds me over!

It is hard to talk about without spoilers, so here are two villains!

I won’t talk much about the final episodes, as that really is getting into spoilers and matters that I don’t want to ruin. Yes, the issue that I’ve always had with this series and the spin-off Vigilantes remains. The feeling that more could have and should have been done. And that some aspects and moments needed “building out more”, as I often say. But in the here and now at least. I think the story is fantastic. Even if it isn’t told the best.

Characters & Performances – Dynamight

The drama in My Hero Academia Season 8 ultimately works because of how invested you, as an audience member, are in the characters. I know that should go without saying. As that is the key to all good drama. Be that in a Shonen Anime, or a stage play, or anything else. But it is the reason why so much of this works.

Whilst Season 8 can feel just like Season 7 Part 2 in moments, it still has enough of its own spirit to stop it from feeling totally like that. And this comes down to how well-written the characters are here. This is the final season; nothing can be left in the bank. And I feel that a great job has been done of rounding off most of the cast.

There are some neat subversions of anime tropes.

Yes, there are still some cast members whom I know as much about today as I did when they were first introduced. And I feel that some relationships are still undercooked despite how significant they are/should be. But where almost everyone ends up by the end of the final credits feels apt for them. And it feels like, for the most part, everyone is where they should be.

I watched this subtitled. And I think that the voice cast did a fantastic job. It almost feels insulting to them not to sing their praises for each one of them. But everyone really threw everything into their roles. And hit everything pitch perfect. With a level of nuance to some moments that really elevates those characters beyond what other performers might have achieved.

Pacing & Cinematography – Race To The Finish

If there was one major flaw that I found when writing my review for My Hero Academia Season 8, it is that the pacing towards the end feels “off”. This is not a critical failure. But as I have said previously, it feels like many moments could have either been their own episode or had episodes dedicated to them. Both in the final battles and thereafter. And when we get into the post-battle, it feels like we are settling down for a good run of going into the aftermath of it all. But we don’t.

I feel that you could have easily had an extra twelve or so episodes. Have each dealing with everything that comes there after. And still have that final episode being the same as it was.

My Hero Academia Season 8’s action is very well done.

I understand why on a meta level. I hear that the writer of the manga wasn’t in good way in terms of his health, so it was likely sped up to allow him time to recover. And whilst I understand thematically why the pace is the way it is, at least regarding certain aspects, it feels odd to rush through so much. I don’t need a play-by-play summary of everything that happened there after. And leading into the final episode.

But when you have key moments in a character’s life being done in a montage, it feels like falling short on some good drama for me. And for the sake of a couple of extra episodes, we wouldn’t have needed to rush. And I think some matters might have been more satisfying.

Editing & Sound – The Last Dance

I know that I might sound like a dummy for saying this in this review, but I don’t recall seeing any CGI in My Hero Academia Season 8. That isn’t to say that there wasn’t any. But that is to say that whatever there was was edited and integrated so well that it wasn’t noticeable. Which, given my history with the series, is fantastic as far as I’m concerned.

On a more useful note, the animation was brilliant. Whilst I don’t think it was as consistent as prior seasons, the overall quality was so high, and the gaps in quality were so narrow that it might as well have been. Yeah, some shots and moments look so good they feel almost disarmingly good. But much like the cast, the animation team feel like they haven’t left anything in the tank with this one.

Sound design is strong. With all the impacts, be they literal physical impacts in the fights or emotional ones throughout out are all underscored with great effects work and soundtrack. I will admit that I would have liked a different track to end this all. But I can’t complain about what we got. As it hits the emotional notes exactly as you’d want them to for this. Honestly, for this section, I’d have to get into some major nitpicks to find fault in it. And I’d rather not do that.

This article features video from Crunchyroll on YouTube.