As a late bloomer into My Hero Academia, I binged seasons 1 through 3 in 2019 and had quite the long wait ahead of me for season 4. I exclusively watched the dub, as I had no exposure to anime through subtitles. Unfortunately, through season 4’s distribution, the simulcast was delayed, and if I wanted to keep up, I had to watch the sub. Thankfully, this did not affect my experience; in fact, I came to enjoy some of the sub’s voice acting even more.

The arcs explored in this season were the Shie Hassaikai arc and the U.A. School Festival arc. The setup for the former arc was exemplary, as we got to see just how powerful Overhaul is, and how his intentions and demeanor made him a truly detestable villain. In addition, we found a trait that Deku would struggle with: humor. Sir Nighteye was no pushover, and made for an even more strict mentor for Deku than Aizawa. One last sentimental, sunset moment between All Might and Deku urged both heroes to fight fate in a memorable moment.

The Shie Hassaikai arc was, albeit slow-moving, the most intense, engrossing series of episodes in the show so far. I feverishly awaited every Saturday morning to watch these episodes, even if their focus was a bit disjointed between weeks. Really giving Kirishima two dedicated episodes establishes him as a more prominent member of U.A. instead of a background character as he has been presented in previous seasons. I only wish we had time to see Uraraka/Tsui in their hero internship, even if they weren’t a big factor of the final Shie Hassaikai fight.

Bringing the importance of protecting Eri was fantastic, as it had Deku and Le Million fighting on all cylinders and even made the latter sacrifice everything in the name of being a true hero. Getting her to smile was just as important to the two, further highlighting their dedication and altruism. The payoff of Eri finally smiling was just as good as any winning battle in the series, as the lengths Deku went to make that happen were just as high.

If there’s any sense of ire I draw, it is with the presentation of Gentle Criminal and La Brava. Presenting villains as comic relief seriously downplays any shred of threat they may present. Even if Deku lost his battle with these two, the worst case scenario is that those two would undoubtedly be caught and the festival would be cancelled, resulting in Eri not getting to smile. It is surely a less devastating end result than Eri continuing to be harvested at the hands of Shie Hassaikai.

Finishing things off with Endeavor getting a bit of a redemption arc was somewhat out of left field, but it works. It’s hard not to cheer on the number one hero fighting with good intentions. While season 4 couldn’t maintain the gargantuan level of interest from one arc to the next, it is still a marvel and I will surely be rewatching once the dub catches up. With season 5 confirmed, hopefully we don’t have to wait too long to see our heroes back in action!

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