My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission Spoiler-Free Review

We have quite a few anime fans here on the GateCrashers team (did you, perhaps, get a load of our Anime August content?) so, of course, when Funimation reached out with an opportunity to watch the brand new feature film, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission, we jumped at the opportunity (well, mostly me).

I started watching My Hero Academia over the summer in preparation for Anime August, a little before the series reached its 100th episode. After years of my friends begging me to just sit down and finally watch, I gave in and absolutely devoured it. 

For those unfamiliar with My Hero Academia (and to that, I say, where have you been?), it’s a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi that began in 2014. My Hero Academia follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers (which, in this universe, are called quirks). Despite this, he still dreams of becoming a superhero himself and attending the prestigious U.A., a high school for heroes-in-training. The anime started in 2016 and has since become a mega-hit across the world.

There have been two feature films for the franchise before World Heroes’ Mission; they include Two Heroes, which released in 2018, and Heroes Rising, which released in 2019. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of World Heroes’ Mission!

And me, so have I. Very impatiently, might I add.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission takes place during Class 1-A’s work study programs (for watchers of the anime or readers of the manga, somewhere around the My Villain Academia arc). Deku, Todoroki, and Bakugo–under the watchful eye of No.1 Hero Endeavor–along with several other U.A. hero course students assist pro heroes around the world in their pursuit to stop a mysterious group called Humarize, whose deadly plans may yet bring about the end of quirks as we know it!

Beyond the sinister Humarize, we get to see a few new faces in World Heroes’ Mission, including Humarize’s mysteriousleader Flect Turn, several super cool pro heroes (a hero who is literally 2D? And not just because they’re animated? Iconic.), and the rapscallion Rody with his trusty (and very pink!) sidekick, Pino.

Along with new friends and villains, Deku’s fellow heroes-in-training get a few upgrades as well. On top of the super cool stealth suits that Deku, Todoroki, and Bakugo are sporting, World Heroes’ Mission sees our favorite U.A. hero course students try out explosive new moves that once again prove this generation of heroes is one to watch–and they’re not to be messed with.

Where the previous two films focussed more heavily on the students of Class 1-A and their various heroic exploits, World Heroes’ Mission follows Deku and his adventure with Rody very closely. The rest of his classmates in comparison are left to play minor supporting roles, with Todoroki and Bakugo featuring more heavily than other big name characters like Uravity and Ingenium. I would say this film mirrors Two Heroes more closely in its execution than Heroes Rising.

But while some fans may be disappointed to see that their favorite hero course student(s) don’t feature quite as prominently as some of the newer faces, that’s not to say that this story sacrifices any of the same heart that the franchise has built its audience off of. Whether you’re anime-only, manga-only, or some combination of the two, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is as fun as it is heart-wrenching. 

Our crybaby hero, Deku, never fails to disappoint, and now that he’s joined by a new friend with new moves, the third feature film of the My Hero Academia franchise is poised to entertain, delight, and go beyond! Plus ultra!

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is playing in select theaters starting October 29, and is available in both the original Japanese and the English dub.