Superheroes are everywhere in today's media, and the same is true for anime and manga. Two of the biggest examples of this are One-Punch Man and Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia. The latter in particular is known for combining a love for Western superhero comic books and academy fiction prevalent in shonen manga and anime.
Even with the manga now winding down to its conclusion, My Hero Academia's popularity continues to grow. Here's everything recent fans and potential newcomers should know about the ever-popular shonen series, including where to read and watch it.
Where to Read My Hero Academia
The world of My Hero Academia is full of characters with special "Quirks," a term for unique superpowers that manifest in much of the population. Some people use these unique gifts to aid others by working as professional superheroes. Izuku Midoriya longs to become a hero like his idol All Might, but he's ironically one of the few people without a Quirk of his own. However, Izuku is soon given his own Quirk after showcasing his bravery. This leads him to attend U. A. High School to train and become a true hero. The series combines many of the Horikoshi's interests, drawing from Western comic books and superhero movies as well as films like Star Wars.
The manga began publication in 2014, with its 300+ chapters being collected into 30 tankobon volumes. There are also several spinoffs in the forms of My Hero Academia Smash!!, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes and My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions, as well as manga adaptations of the anime's first two films. These can be read online as individual chapters through distributor Viz Media's website, where the collected volumes can also be purchased. They are also available physically through Scholastic and Amazon, as well as brick-and-mortar retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Walmart.
Where to Watch My Hero Academia
The rapid rise of the My Hero Academia manga led to the studio Bones' anime adaptation hitting the airwaves not long afterwards. The anime began airing in Spring 2016 and has accumulated 90 episodes across five seasons so far. Season 5 has just begun, making now the best time to dive into the increasingly long series.
There was also an OVA preceding the anime's airing, released in 2016 with limited edition versions of the manga. Two films -- My Hero Academia: Two Heroes and My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising -- have been released and can be purchased for viewing through Amazon Prime Video, as can the anime series. The show can also be streamed through Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu, with both the dub and subs available. The DVDs and Blu-Rays for the show are available to purchase through Amazon, Walmart and RightStufAnime.
This gives viewers a plethora of options in how they want to watch the series, making it easier than ever to watch all of the nearly 100 episodes of My Hero Academia.
