My Hero Academia: You're Next

Note: This review contains spoilers for My Hero Academia and My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission.

Although the My Hero Academia manga has ended (arguably on an unsatisfying note), the anime isn’t yet finished, with a recently concluded seventh season and final upcoming eighth season to wrap everything up. In the meantime, animation studio Bones got to squeeze out one final film, You’re Next, which debuted during the seventh anime season. Since the film only just received an international theatrical release, we watched the dub and found that even though it’s not the best of the four films, it’s certainly an entertaining one and an improvement over World Heroes’ Mission.

Before I continue, I’d like to note that although the film is non-canon, it takes place between the Paranormal Liberation War and Final War arcs of the story, which translates to right between Season 6 and 7 for anime-only viewers.

In the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War, Class 1-A help track down Jailbreakers. During one encounter, Izuku Midoriya aka Deku (Justin Briner) attempts to rescue a girl, Anna Scervino (Kayli Mills), but fails. A man named Giuilo Gandini (Mauricio Ortiz-Segura) attempts to shoot Anna, but is stopped by a man who can create bubbles that slow down time. Soon after, a flying fortress appears with the Gorrini family, whose leader, Baldo (Chris Sabat), introduces himself as “the next All Might”, complete with an uncanny resemblance to the former number one hero. When Baldo unleashes his Quirk, consuming everyone within a wide radius and placing them in a massive structure, Deku must work with an unlikely ally, not just to escape, but rescue Anna and defeat Dark Might, the dark and twisted reflection of his mentor.

Dark Might (Chris Sabat) is here!

On its own merits, You’re Next has a lot going for it. The story not only feels more focused than World Heroes’ Mission, but the villain has the more intriguing concept of a man who believes in a twisted version of All Might’s ideals and interpreted his success as a show of power rather than of strength. This twisted vision also shows how All Might’s subtle message to Midoriya from way back when could be interpreted as a justification for someone else’s evil misdeeds (after all, All Might said it was “their turn”). The new side character Giulio Gandini is also more interesting, both in his motivation to rescue Anna and his relationship with his Quirk, and feels better woven into the plot, working alongside Deku without too much sidetracking. There’s also some great voice acting in the dub, with Chris Sabat doing a good job at distinguishing two characters (All Might and Dark Might) despite sharing the same voice, as well as some incredible animation, especially during the climax. Speaking of the final battle, I felt that Deku’s final string of attacks felt more impactful and interesting than his use of United States of World Smash against Flect Turn, as it at least didn’t feel like just overpowering the enemy.

That said, it’s certainly not perfect. Even though the students from Class 1-A get more time to shine and the pro heroes actually help out towards the end, most characters still get sidelined in favor of Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo aka Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight (Clifford Chapin) and Shoto Todoroki (David Matranga). The latter two even get time dedicated to their own fight against one of Dark Might’s subordinates before helping Deku out in the final battle. Although I liked that the resolution ultimately came from someone else, this does still show a limitation of juggling such a large cast within a two-hour film. Oddly, the runtime also felt a little long, as I thought it dragged in places during the second half. Not enough that it felt like an eternity, like Deku and Rody’s montage in World Heroes’ Mission, but enough that I still checked my watch a few times. It’s also arguably disappointing that Dark Might’s real identity is a mob boss, but it didn’t diminish the character too much for me.

Giulio Gandini (Mauricio Ortiz-Segura) helps make up for it.

There’s also the post-credits scene, which no one else in our theater saw because they left during the credits. It’s only a few seconds long and is basically a tease for Shigaraki’s return in Season 7. Knowing how the manga ends, however, led me to interpret this scene metaphorically as a visual theme for rest of the series, which gives it an interesting depth I wouldn’t have considered otherwise.

If you’re already a fan of My Hero Academia, this film is for you. If you’re not, this story may feel more impenetrable, or at least less impactful, if you’re not already familiar with the first six seasons of the anime. In any case, if this really is the final film, at least it was solid.