Shortly after Shoto Todoroki's introduction into My Hero Academia, audiences learned about his complicated relationship with his father -- who also happens to be the current number one hero in Japan, Endeavor. The pro hero may be the best in the business, but his behavior towards his son has been far from heroic. However, Endeavor is trying to make amends as Todorkoi works alongside him to prepare for the world of professional hero work.
Season 5 touched a lot on Todoroki and Endeavor's relationship. While MHA's latest season is over, inklings of this father-son storyline are in the new My Hero Academia movie, World Heroes' Mission. Here, Endeavor takes Todorki -- along with Deku and Bakugo -- overseas to tackle the latest world threat. In honor of the upcoming MHA film hitting theaters on Oct. 29, Endeavor's voice actor, Patrick Seitz, and Todoroki's voice actor, David Matranga, sat with CBR for an exclusive interview to discuss their roles and tease the MHA film.
CBR: We've seen the dynamic between Endeavor and Todoroki evolve a lot, especially with the latest season. What was it like seeing their relationship develop so much? And, what are you both most excited to explore moving forward with World Heroes' Mission and with the future of My Hero?
Patrick Seitz: You're jumping right in.
Absolutely.
Seitz: I am a sucker in the media I consume for redemption arcs. I like the idea of a character where he puts it out there and maybe the people in his life accept that. Maybe they don't. You're not honor-bound to accept it when someone says, "Hey, I've been a horrible person. I've been trying to make a turn." And that's what makes it interesting, watching people on all sorts of points on that spectrum of forgiveness or the lack thereof decide how they want to -- as much as any of us decide our feelings -- getting to decide how they want to deal with him. That's a super compelling thing to get to watch and portray.
David Matranga: I know that there are a lot of people that feel very strongly about this one way or the other.
I think it's true to life in the fact that it's complicated. Anytime trauma is suffered, especially in a family dynamic, there's still a love there, regardless of whether you accept it or deny it. It really makes things complicated. As far as the journey that they've taken in Season 5, it's been great to see from Todoroki's perspective expressing himself a bit more to [his] dad, being firm or setting some boundaries about what he's there to do. But it's complicated, and you see in some of -- I won't give specifics about Season 5 as far as people that haven't seen it -- but in some of the family dinner scenes and things like that. You see how complicated it is. Like Patrick said, I'm a sucker for giving someone a chance for forgiveness, atonement, but that kind of atonement is for the individual that's making the amends, not really for the others. They have to come to that on their own. I think it's been so great to see that dynamic change, and then go through what they're going through individually and bumping up against each other. I'm excited to see where Horikoshi takes it.
Your characters have taken on a lot of villains and threats over the seasons and movies, so what makes this threat stand out compared to all the other ones your characters have come across?
Seitz: It's so broad in scope. It's not localized to one point or one place in time. It really is an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation. You've got people scattered across the world having to deal with it. It all funnels down to the same threat at the heart of it, but how they're having to deal with it, who they're having to sort of face-off against to deal with it, especially with Todoroki and Bakugo and Deku, it's a tough road to home for all parties involved. There's just so much to deal with, and not oodles of time in which to do. It feels like real life that way.
Matranga: You're talking about the threat specifically in World Heroes' Mission right?
Yeah.
Matranga: I agree with everything Patrick said. It is so immediate. I thought that it's interesting because, in a way, it mimics a conflict of beliefs and belief systems. I think that what was really interesting to me about it is the fact that you've got people with different ideologies trying to enact their ideology, what they believe is right for the future of humankind. It feels global. It feels like a planet thing, instead of our individual nations. I think that raises the stakes of it and makes it really compelling.
After being part of the world of My Hero Academia for so long, what do you think it takes to make a great hero?
Matranga: God, there are so many buzzwords that come to mind -- selflessness, commitment, courage. [But] the ability to hold fast to what you believe in and act on it, I think that's the big thing, to actually take action. A lot of people will have strong beliefs, but then when it comes down to putting it on the line, it's a different thing than believing it in your mind and in the discussion, and then putting it into action. Those are the first things that come to mind for me.
Seitz: All that, plus checking in with yourself and proving yourself because, at least for Endeavor, he's great at the job, but he realizes he's not great at being a person or being a father, or a husband. I think heroes not only celebrate and cling to their strengths but realize what their weaknesses are and try to figure out how to shore those up if you can, so you're not a detriment to those around you.
Matranga: That's well said. I think you see that in Deku's journey and the other student heroes are as they try to learn more about who they are and improve.
