VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
MANGAKA: Kohei Horikoshi
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Caleb Cook
LETTERS: John Hunt
EDITORS: Mike Montesa; Jon Bae
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0773-7; paperback (August 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.
My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language edition of My Hero Academia as a paperback graphic novels since 2015 under its “Shonen Jump” imprint.
In My Hero Academia, there comes a day when people start manifesting superpowers called “Quirks.” Some use their powers to commit crime, which creates the need for heroes. If someone wants to be a superhero, he or she enrolls in the Hero Academy. What would a person do, however, if he were one of the 20 percent born Quirkless? Middle school student Izuku Midoriya has no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes. Then, Midoriya meets the greatest hero of them all, All Might, who gives him a chance to change his destiny…
As My Hero Academia, Vol. 20 (Chapters 178 to 188; entitled “School Festival Start!!”) opens, Midoriya struggles mightily to stop the “Gentle Criminal” and his partner, “La Brava,” from ruining the U.A. school festival. No matter how hard he fights, Midoriya can't seem to crack an attack against him that is based on his adversaries' peculiar relationship. But is it really peculiar, or is it just strong? And what is the nature of that relationship? Plus, the origin stories of both “Gentle Criminal” and “La Brava” reveal two humans searching...
After the surprising conclusion of the school festival, it's time for the twice-yearly “Japanese Billboard Hero Chart.” Everyone knows that Endeavor (Shoto Todoroki's dad) is the new “No. 1” hero since All-Might retired. But is Endeavor, who has long coveted this spot, up to taking on its responsibilities? He will soon get the chance to prove his worth when a fellow top ten member, Hawks, tells him about the return of the “Nomu.”
[This volume includes bonus art – sketches and chapter headings.]
THE LOWDOWN: The My Hero Academia manga is Japan's answer to superhero comic books. Being quite similar to American comics in the way that it depicts superheroes and super-powers, the series is popular on both sides of the Pacific.
My Hero Academia Graphic Novel Volume 20 finds creator Kohei Horikoshi offering a grand battle featuring the series star, Midoriya. Horikoshi presents dastardly villains with poignant stories, and then, he moves us to the uproarious fun of the school festival and the fantastic show Class 1-A's puts on. Then, readers are right back into the next big conspiracy, and the the ending to Vol. 20 is another of the most excellent cliffhangers readers have come to expect from this series.
Caleb Cook's translation and English adaptation deftly captures the many shifting moods of Vol. 20, and John Hunt's lettering is up to the task of setting one tone after another. I always wonder if I will grow tired of My Hero Academia, but an entry like Vol. 20 comes along and keeps me and you, dear readers, coming back.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of superhero comics and of shonen battle manga will want to enroll at the “Shonen Jump” school, My Hero Academia.
A
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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