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My Hero Academia took the entertainment world by storm on May 5th, 2018. Since then, it has spawned a wildly successful franchise, including a beloved anime adaptation. My Hero Academia‘s many compelling characters have quickly become pop culture mainstays, further aiding the title’s global popularity and cementing it as arguably the most widely recognized anime adaptation of the 2010s.
These heroes’ stories moved viewers with their messages about heroism, hope, society’s treatment of others, the dangers of burnout, and much more. My Hero Academia‘s creator, Kohei Horikoshi, is a master of pacing and keeping viewers engaged with whatever he decides to throw on screen, amplifying their characters’ traits while progressing the overall story. The best story arcs in My Hero Academia are acclaimed thanks to their relevance, memorability, and overall quality.
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The U.A. Traitor Arc
Season 7, Episodes 3–5
Early in the series, it was said there was more likely than not a mole—a traitor, really—within the walls of U.A. High School. For quite some time, many people thought that Kohei Horikoshi forgot about the plotline altogether. However, it was directly before the final arc of the series that he revealed he’d been building toward something big for all this time. At the top of Season 7, it was finally revealed that Class 1-A student, Yuga Aoyama (Kosuke Kuwano and Joel McDonald) himself, was the traitor all this time.
In his childhood, he was given his power by All For One (Akio Ōtsuka and John Swasey)—the second main antagonist of the series—and in return, he was forced to join U.A. to become an inside source for him. This means that, from the very second Deku was in U.A., Aoyama was a traitor. However, the young man decides to give his friend the benefit of the doubt and, rather than arresting Aoyama, he convinces everyone to turn this into an opportunity to draw out All For One and make the final fight happen on their terms.
Season 4, Episodes 15–17
A major event in the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc is the fact that fan favorites Katsuki Bakugo (Nobuhiko Okamoto and Clifford Chapin) and Shoto Todoroki (Yuki Kaji and David Matranga) both failed the second phase of said exam and were sent to go through an additional course to make up for it. It’s in this arc—The Remedial Course Arc—that they must go through said special course, and it results in a hilarious chain of events.
Bakugo, Todoroki, and two other students from Shiketsu High must win over the likes of a group of rowdy elementary school kids who weaponize their quirks against the older kids. Seeing the two extremely different personalities in Bakugo and Todoroki deal with seemingly uncontrollable children is hilarious, and a boatload of fun to watch play out.
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The Joint Training Arc
Season 5, Episodes 3–12
Many consider Season 5 to be the weakest of the series. However, even the weakest season has very strong moments, and The Joint Training Arc (most of it) is one of them. When this arc isn’t feeling like filler, there’s a plethora of character moments for almost every major character that get them to a new, strong place by the end of it than they’d been before. It’s an arc that really is there to show how far the students have come, and how strong they’re going to be moving into The Paranormal Liberation War Arc.
The biggest character moments come from the likes of both Bakugo and Deku. The former shows how much Bakugo has grown as a person, finally becoming a full-fledged team player for the first time… well, ever. He backs away from stealing the limelight—like he typically does—and focuses on supporting his team to make sure they can complete the challenge in the smartest way possible, realizing he’s not going to be the one who can do that. Deku also discovers a new ability in his massive power, One For All. The emergence of the power known as Black Whip unlocks a new arc for the One For All Power, revealing that he’ll be continuing to unlock new powers moving forward. A huge scene not just for Deku, but for the plot as a whole.
18
The Quirk Apprehension Test Arc
Season 1, Episodes 5–6
Sure, in the great anime series, getting into U.A. was one thing, but it was not all fun and games for Izuku Midoriya (Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner) once he got into the school of his dreams. After being accepted into Class 1-A, he finds that his new teacher, Shota Aizawa (Junichi Suwabe, Christopher Wehkamp, and Alex Organ), is out for him and trying to get him expelled from the school. The teacher, also known as the Pro Hero Eraser Head, develops a series of physical challenges for his students to go through.
These tests are put in place to see what his students can do, how they handle themselves, and how their quirks can adapt. The stakes are raised, however, when he says that whoever comes in last place will be immediately expelled. This tests the young hero unlike anything from the challenges before, because he’s come all this way, and if he were to fail now, it all would have been for nothing. Thankfully, he manages to prove himself and move forward in school.
17
The Star and Stripe Arc
Season 7, Episodes 1–2
With the Final War coming sooner than the heroes in Japan could have predicted, mangaka Kohei Horikoshi brought forth the Star and Stripe Arc to do two major things. The first is to show how much stronger Tomura Shigaraki (KōkiUchiyama and Eric Vale) had become since the last time audiences saw him in Season 6, as he faces off with America’s greatest hero, Star and Stripe (Romi Park and Natalie Van Sistine).
The second was to use this absurdly powerful hero—who was even mentored by the one and only All Might (Kenta Miyake and Christopher Sabat)—to handicap Shigaraki. This forced him to need more time before he and the villains launched their planned attack on the heroes, buying said heroes some extremely vital time to prepare for the war to come. The fight between these two is filled with spectacle and a great use of power scaling.
16
The Entrance Exams Arc
Season 1, Episodes 1–4
Every story needs a solid beginning that brings viewers in and keeps them long enough to become invested in the characters. The Entrance Exams arc does exactly this, and then some. The first two episodes introduce audiences to Izuku Midoriya and his struggle with being a quirkless child in a society where 80% of the population has quirks. The next episodes introduce audiences to the supporting Class 1-A, which will become Izuku’s main environment.
In just four episodes, The Entrance Exams Arc introduces the main character, his conflict, the inciting incident, and the new world he’ll be entering. The first two episodes hook audiences emotionally to Izuku, while the final two secure their initial impression with the exciting worldbuilding of the new school, U-A. The Entrance Exams Arc is an almost perfect introduction and a definite high point of the series.
15
The Endeavor Agency Arc
Season 5, Episodes 13–18
Deku, Todoroki, and Bakugo enter the Endeavor Agency in their next round of Hero Work-Studies. While doing so, Izuku and Bakugo get a closer look at the inner workings of the Todoroki family. Endeavor begins his redemption arc with his family after all the horrible things he did to them in the past, but most of them are unsure of how to feel, even considering outright rejecting his attempts.
The Endeavor Agency arc is so compelling because of the empathy it builds for the seemingly cold-hearted and despicable Endeavor (Tetsu Inadaand Patrick Seitz). Fans had already warmed up to the new Number 1 Hero after his fight with the High End Nomu known as Hood (Tsuguo Mogami and Daman Mills), but this arc does wonders in building Endeavor as a three-dimensional character. Thus, audiences can grow to genuinely care about him before the events of the Paranormal Liberation War, setting the stage for his character growth.
14
The Final Exam Arc
Season 2, Episodes 21–25
A good My Hero Academia arc doesn’t have to feature impossible-strength villains or bombastic spectacle to be good. Some of the best story arcs come in the form of plots that instead focus on character development. A great example is the Final Exam Arc. What this collection of episodes does is team up pairs of Class A students to fight the Pro Hero teachers working at the school for their exams. Not only does this show off how far the students have come, but it also offers some great smaller-scale action.
The highlight of this arc is, without a doubt, when Deku and Bakugo come together to face off against their shared hero, All Might. Seeing them face off with someone they look up to so much is so interesting. It also amplifies the contrast between the two young heroes. Not to mention, seeing All Might whoop the absolute crap out of these two is wildly entertaining.
13
The U.S.J. Arc
Season 1, Episodes 9–13
The final arc of My Hero Academia Season 1 is quite easily the most important in said season. It completes the arc for most of the characters that were established from the beginning of the show, and evolves them further to open up more for the rest of the series. Izuku really got a chance to hone the small things he’d learned regarding his powers to help save his classmates.
The highlight of this arc, however, is quite easily the big All Might vs. Nomu battle, which pushes the Number One Hero to his limits, but also is a gigantic spectacle. The kids of Class 1-A get involved, too, arriving to help All Might not face the Nomu, but providing support where it’s needed.
12
The U.A. School Festival Arc
Season 4, Episodes 18–23 (2020)
After the incredibly dark story that was The Shie Hassaiaki Arc earlier in Season 4, My Hero Academia was due to have a big, more of a lighthearted shift to end off the season. This new tone shift, however, did not kill the momentum built up from the darker arc that came prior. The U.A. School Festival Arc still expertly deals with the fallout from the horrific story, and what happens with the young Eri (Seiran Kobayashi and Emily Neves) afterward.
With the students of Class 1-A agreeing with the plot that the school needed some light, they decide to put together a band and put on a show for the U.A. School Festival. Meanwhile, Deku — literally in the middle of running an errand to help make Eri smile — comes across two villains known as Gentle Criminal (Koichi YamaderaandJohn Gremillion) and La Brava (Yui Horie and Megan Shipman), who want to make a mark with an attack on the U.A. Festival. This big performance they give is beyond smile-inducing, yes, but the highlight of the arc is the story behind Gentle Criminal, which actually makes quite an impact on Deku and his mindset regarding the Hero system — an important development for what would come later in the show. Also, who can deny they didn’t grin and even tear up when they finally saw Eri smile for the first time?
