My Hero Academia is very popular and is appreciated for everything it does well, such as exciting shonen anime fights, strong character arcs, and deconstruction of the superhero genre in later seasons. Anime has a well-defined place in the shonen sphere, but not everyone is as keen to watch Deku’s adventures. For all his fans, My Hero Academia also has a lot of haters, and they also make valid points about the anime.
My Hero Academia It’s good, but it doesn’t really seem great in the eyes of many fans. The main criticisms addressed to My Hero Academia include the fact that it feels like generic shonen fighting, the aimless plot of previous seasons, and the limited innovation found in this anime. Like its fellow shonen anime title Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia plays a little too safe with all the shonen anime tropes and formulas, leading haters to say it’s overrated. While there are much worse anime out there, anime fans can also pass on My Hero AcademiaThe latest season of s in favor of more innovative, refreshing, deeper and/or better paced shonen titles with their best plots.
Attack on Titan now dominates most other shonen anime as a true marvel of that demographic. Remarkably, Attack on Titan has a lot of what fans love about shonen anime anyway, like half of the protagonist’s other powers and a strong sense of adventure, but it also pushes the boundaries of shonen anime with its creative, dark style. Attack on Titan is a strange and winning mix of mecha and horror starring the Titans, and the fun doesn’t stop there.
Attack on Titan also offers fans a gripping and suspenseful plot that keeps fans invested starting from episode 1. By comparison, My Hero Academia took too long to develop its main plot and stakes, instead going into sandbox mode in the first few seasons with events like the UA sports festival and various training sequences. The plot became clearer My Hero Academia later, but Attack on Titan‘s own plot is much stronger and much earlier.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End explores the meaning of life during a quiet adventure
Freezing: beyond the end of the journey tops My Hero Academia like a shonen anime because it feels familiar but refreshing, deep but accessible, and gentle but fierce. My Hero Academia also contains some of these elements, but the Freeze the anime does them all better, even though it’s less than a quarter of the length of My Hero Academia so far. What’s more, Freeze it only took one episode to deliver an unforgettable emotional hook that attracted every shonen fan.
In the long term, My Hero Academia developed its emotional core for its main cast, but the timing was rather slow, which isn’t a problem for the film. Freeze animated. Right away, this anime D&D-meditated style adventure about the meaning and value of life from the perspective of a long-lived elf who previously appreciated none of these things. This was a resounding wake-up call for Frieren the elf, the perfect emotional vulnerability to balance with her tough, almost unbeatable spellcaster exterior.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure thrives on its weirdness
Creative and innovative combat systems are how shonen anime shine, and a number of the best shonen anime titles excel in this area. My Hero Academia does quite well with its Quirk-based combat system, including combos and teamwork, but for the most part, anime fans have seen all of this before. Never mind the comic book references, like X-Men oddities, My Hero Academia did not revolutionize combat in shonen anime.
Instead, that honor goes to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventurewho stunned the anime world with the Stand combat system from the Stardust Crusaders story arc. Stands are the epitome of ingenious shonen anime, relying on delicate, unpredictable movements rather than simple power scaling to get the job done. In addition to that, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has an unforgettable sense of humor, a very idiosyncratic anime with a personality that no other title can imitate.
Hunter x Hunter beats My Hero Academia in its own game with creative combat designs
Hunter x Hunter is a classic shonen anime that competes quite well with the original “big three” on most levels, meaning it can easily rival and even surpass My Hero Academia in some ways as well. On the one hand, Hunter x Hunter has a better balance between light and dark elements, with this anime feeling remarkably dark and sinister at times, including with Gon’s grief-fueled anger in later episodes.
For all his impressive creativity, Hunter x Hunter feels even fresher with its ideas, including the character designs, the Nen combat system, and even the plots themselves. My Hero AcademiaDetractors have noted how formulaic and colloquial the series is beneath its shonen superhero exterior, but the same cannot be said for Hunter x Hunter. That’s because anime isn’t trying to imitate anything else – it’s a celebration of unbridled creativity where anything goes, and it works every time.
Naruto features a more memorable symbol of peace that ended the cycle of violence
Masashi Kishimoto has his place among the big three of shonen of the 2000s for many good reasons. In all honesty, this anime seems as formulaic as My Hero Academiaand has its own share of haters for this reason. It has also aged poorly in some places, like with some outdated tropes and filler arcs, but the core of the Naruto the anime remains impressive and inspiring to this day.
When fans compare My Hero Academia And Naruto in terms of main message and designs, Naruto Uzumaki’s story emerges as the winner. All My Hero Academia done, the Naruto the anime does it better, from the ultra-creative jutsu combat system to the fun world-building and even humor. THE Naruto anime, especially in Naruto Shippudenhas legendary messages about the cycle of hate and trying to change the world, more than My Hero Academia can manage.
One Piece’s world-building easily puts My Hero Academia to shame
One piece is another shonen anime that fans rank above My hero academia, not because he does something fresher or more original, but because he does the same thing much better. My Hero Academia makes a considerable effort to highlight themes of societal injustice and discrimination, as well as the need for a symbolic hero to free everyone from the miserable world order. But even if the process did not save time, One piece I did all this with much more enthusiasm.
One pieceIts vast world-building, countless plot threads, and, most importantly, its dense writing allow it to tell more story than several shonen anime combined. As long as viewers have patience, One piece tells the incomparable story of a world order suffering from tyranny while a symbol of freedom fights back. All this time, One piece dazzles fans of shonen anime with all of its tantalizing in-universe mysteries that all promise to add many more layers of meaning to the freedom versus tyranny narrative.
Gurren Lagann centers on a faster, more colorful underdog story
Gurren the song may seem like a strange comparison for My Hero Academiasince these two anime are trying to do completely different things, and it all works for Gurren the songThe advantage. There’s more to shonen anime than good guys punching bad guys, even when fans limit things to the general concept of shonen action. My Hero Academia is a house of cards with familiar tropes, while Gurren the song is a total deconstruction of the genre.
Gurren the song became a classic because it both parodied and honored the mecha genre, all with fantastic flair and a strong heart to boot. Gurren the song works on all levels as a parody, an introduction to mecha, a remix of the same genre, and a digestible little package to introduce new fans to anime in general. Whoever the viewer is, they will get something out of it. Gurren the songwhile this efficiently paced anime delights viewers with its charming and over-the-top antics.
Death Note broke the mold as a Shonen anime
A bit like Gurren the songthe famous Death threat the anime is a stronger shonen anime title than My Hero Academia because he shattered all expectations while boldly trying something new. Death threat didn’t invent the crime thriller genre, but it explored a new space in shonen anime, while intriguing viewers of all ages with its dark moral ambiguity. My Hero Academia blurs some lines between good and evil, but not like Death threat do.
Even now, it’s not entirely clear whether Light Yagami was an idealist who dropped the ball, or a true monster who was simply fooling people with his savior exterior. Anyway, Death threat is a gripping supernatural crime thriller with some of anime’s best twists and tricks, even if some of the plot devices are admittedly contrived on some levels.
To date, the 2009s Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood stands as one of the best shonen anime ever produced, and the same goes for the original manga, as this franchise does everything so well. In less than half of the episodes of My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood tells a stronger, more compelling story of humanity facing its own dark side.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood doesn’t need labels like hero and villain to make it clear that humanity has two halves, with jaw-dropping elements like war crimes, redemption, heartbreak, and exploitation all taking center stage here. All of this is wrapped up in a stunning conspiracy plot that will soon shake up all of Amestris, and it all ties together better than the plot arcs in My Hero Academia TO DO.
Chainsaw Man is a short and sweet genre deconstruction with vulnerable antiheroes
As Gurren the songshort and popular shonen anime Chainsaw man is a clever deconstruction of the genre, but in a different way. While Gurren the song aims to delight viewers with a quirky message of hope against darkness, Chainsaw man is a brutal yet surprisingly tender exploration of human vulnerability. In this way, Chainsaw man is about what humans can’t do, while My Hero Academia And Gurren the song are about what humans can do.
It may seem strange that such a discouraging message is at the heart of Chainsaw manbut that just makes anime’s flawed and weird anti-heroes more resonant and sympathetic than ever. Any anime fan knows what it’s like to be lost in life or struggling with daily misfortunes, and fearing that you’re not good enough to deal with the incessant challenges. My Hero Academia touch on that, but Chainsaw man does it more and better, telling a more humanist story in 12 episodes than My Hero Academia can in a season of 24 episodes.