#mod toga

Action is an immensely popular genre, whether it be for shows, movies, or comics. My Hero Academia is no exception from that. The show has gathered hundreds of fans since it’s first release in 2014. The thing that makes the show unique, however, is the main character: Izuku Midoriya. Midoriya, while representing the classic hero archetype, also represents stability, knowledge, and the power to acknowledge both your past as well as a need to grow.

To start with: Midoriya’s character is made up prominently by circles and squares. This symbolizes his intellect and thought, as well as his rationality and stability. His color scheme is also profoundly green, red, and black. The green symbolizes the hope that he has for his future and that he had as a child, his caring attitude, as well as his adaptability to a situation. The red profoundly symbolizes his emotion, which often times comes out in the form of gratitude or attempting to help others. The white, while less prominent than the green and red, represents his morality. He’s fighting for peace, goodness, and purity, which white represents. Another good example of detail is in the very first scene, when the viewer is introduced to Midoriya as he is defending another child. There is a prominent tree in the background, symbolizing a place where knowledge is gained. This is confirmed later when Midoriya says that “this was the reality I learned about society at the young age of four,” (Horikoshi).

This opening scene where Midoriya is defending another child is especially important to his character development as well as easily establishing Midoriya’s morals. Midoriya has been the hero archetype since he was little, though he must also be the initiate archetype before hand. This allows him to grow, something his character represents, as well as establish connections with characters. It helps the story seem more logical, not making it possible for him to immediately become powerful and having him work for it. Once he finally is able to reach that goal, he continues to strive to become a pro-hero, slowly growing into the hero archetype. The viewer is reminded of the weight, however, that Midoriya will have to face due to him receiving the quirk One for All when the ultimate villain of the show is revealed. All for One is revealed to Midoriya and the viewer, establishing the fact that he will not only have to take him down once and for all, something his mentor All Might had failed to do, but he will also have to deal with the previous and newer villains under his command.

When it comes to a show, the lighting must be tactful, it has to have meaning while also playing into the setting. In this show, it utilizes a high-key frontal light the majority of the time. This is so that it makes sense with the setting- a school in the middle of day or a mall- as well as characterization. The viewer knows this because this lighting is used to help give the characters softer looks, emphasizing the “good vs. evil” archetype. The show also uses third person omniscient point of view so that the viewer can understand the characters more as well as occasionally add a layer of comedy. This is seen often times when Midoriya ia analyzing someone, he has a problem of often muttering his thoughts aloud as well. 

It is also noticed that Midoriya displays polysyndeton, a scheme of omission, when he explains to the viewer why the intro scene had been important. He explains that that was a major setback for him “and that was my first and last setback,” (Horikoshi). This is important because it shows that he is determined to reach his goal, no matter what comes in his way. We also see anastrophe, a scheme of word order, when the first episode ends after his talk with All Might, “Even if I don’t have a Quirk, can I become a hero?” (Horikoshi). Midoriya putting the fact that he is quirkless in this universe first shows that that is his main concern. He puts his weaknesses first, showing how he has started to doubt himself due to being quirkless.

Midoriya always has an analytical and logical diction. A good example of this is in the first episode when he arrives at the fight scene. He immediately focuses on the new hero and how “She looks like she'll be popular, and it's an amazing Quirk, but thinking about the damage to the city that'll go hand in hand with that, its use might be limited,” (Horikoshi). The viewer can also see his quick thinking in the midst of chaos with The Hero Killer. During the fight he explains how he found Iida, he knew it’d be “far away from the chaos because the news reported Stain's attacks all happened in unpopulated areas,” (Horikoshi). This shows his attention to detail as well, his ability to recall small details about people when needing to take them down or help support them. This is evident  in the very beginning of the series, when in episode one Katsuki bullies him and throws his notebook out of the window. The viewer learns that he has been keeping notes on all the heros, their strengths, weaknesses, and common tactics they use.

My Hero Academia is unique in these aspects, adding to multiple other layers to the show than just what the viewer sees. It’s no surprise that the show has garnered a large fanbase due to the main character. Shown in character designs, anatomy, heroic archetypes, point of view and lighting, diction the characters use, and how the viewer is introduced to the characters, Horikoshi has been incredibly clever in his development of the series. Midoriya serves as a prominent reminder for both himself and his friends of their need to grow, the knowledge they currently have, the stability he is able to provide, and of the hero archetype.

Works Cited:

“Izuku Midoriya: Origin” My Hero Academia. Writ. Kohei Horikoshi. Viz Media, 3 April 2016. Television