My Hero Academia: You're Next (2024)

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Positive Elements| Spiritual Elements| Violent Content| Crude or Profane Language| Other Noteworthy Elements|
Conclusion

Movie Review

After the world-renowned superhero All Might defeated the dangerous villain All For One in the events of My Hero Academia, the weary victor used what little strength he had left to point a finger at the cameras of news crews covering the attack.

“Next,” All Might said, “it’s your turn.”

At the time, most people thought All Might was warning any other villains out there that they’d be next. But Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, All Might’s protégé, knew that the hero meant something different. What All Might was really saying was that he had used all of his remaining strength, and Deku would have to step up the next time.

But Deku wasn’t the only one who grasped All Might’s true meaning … and took it to heart.

Elsewhere, a man cosmetically alters his appearance to look like All Might. He bursts onto the scene, using his superpower—which allows him to turn any matter into anything he wishes—to take down villains. And he dubs himself the “new symbol of peace.”

But the man is anything but a hero, which All Might quickly realizes when the man endangers innocents and kidnaps them, calling them his “specimens”—including Deku and many of his fellow superheroes. All Might tells the man that he’s already got a successor, then adds that it won’t be someone who looks like a hero but has darkness in his heart.

Well, there’s a certain ring to that, the man thinks, renaming himself Dark Might. And what does All Might know? He doesn’t even have his strength anymore! What can such a weak man know about peace, about security, about power!?

Hmmm … Perhaps Dark Might will just need to show All Might his vision of a new world. And if he can’t convince Deku to join him, Dark Might will just have to remove the fledgling hero from the picture entirely.

Positive Elements

It’s obvious that Dark Might misunderstands what makes someone a hero. He claims that people accepted All Might as the symbol of peace due to his strength, which far surpassed that of anyone else. However, in many instances in the story, our protagonists explain the difference: It’s neither the look of a hero nor the strength behind one, but rather the intentions of the heart that determine who a real hero is. (This idea is a running theme throughout the entirety of the animated series, too.)

Dark Might contrasts with Giulio Gandini. The latter is pursuing Anna, a woman whom Dark Might has kidnapped due to her quirk, the franchise’s word for superpower, which amplifies his own power. Giulio reveals that though he once had a quirk, that’s no longer the case. While Giulio attacks using a gun implanted in his arm, he’s otherwise quirkless, making him just as frail as a normal person. However, he courageously continues fighting, even against insurmountable odds.

Plenty of people put their lives on the line to protect and save others, at times pushing their bodies beyond their limits. They take damage by overusing their quirks, but they’d rather endure that pain than allow others to be harmed. Likewise, someone voluntarily suffers another person’s seizures using his quirk, so she doesn’t have to feel them.

Spiritual Elements

One woman’s power forces people into a fantasy about whatever they most desire, and we’re later told that it specifically targets their spirits. Elsewhere, a character is described as having “god-like power.” Someone exclaims, “Sloth! That’s a deadly sin!” A villain claims that he will remake the world in his image.

Sexual & Romantic Content

One woman’s quirk requires her cleavage to be exposed since it allows her to spawn objects out of her chest. Another female character’s quirk forces people into a fantasy of whatever they most desire, and we see two boys surrounded by a half-dozen girls in swimsuits. A woman with the ability to transform into a giant wears a skin-tight costume. A man is shirtless.

Deku frantically screams that he’s “going down crotch first” as he slides uncontrollably down an air vent. A villain taunts someone by slapping his rear.

Violent Content

Superpowered characters duke it out, often causing lots of wreckage and shaking off hits from each other which would probably kill your average person. To that end, some people do die: a man is shot, and we see the bodies of others as a result of an offscreen attack. Likewise, someone’s body disintegrates following a devastating attack. A couple of villains get thrown into a void, apparently falling to their deaths.

Plenty of others are injured. Animated blood drips from the bodies of heroes and villains pushed to their limits. A woman’s quirk causes her to have seizures, though one man often shoulders that pain in her place with his own ability. Characters get blown up, frozen, crushed or pummeled into unconsciousness by others, though it’s not fully indicated whether some of these people have died as a result.

One man shoots people with a gun. An enemy endures a powerful electrical shock. People rob a vehicle full of stuff, harming anyone who gets in their way. A group kidnaps a woman. Hundreds of generic baddies are beaten down, too.

We see epic levels of destruction: Buildings crumble and explosions occur, leaving a city in ruins. Someone begs for another person to kill them.

Crude or Profane Language

In the English-dubbed version, “d–n” is used seven times, and “h—” is heard four times. There’s one instance each of “a–,” “p-ss,” “b–tard” and “scumbag.” “Crap” is spoken three times.

Drug & Alcohol Content

A man drinks a glass of wine.

Other Noteworthy Elements

Someone vomits after taking a knee to the stomach.

Conclusion

It’s the heart that separates the heroes from the villains.

That idea has been the primary theme undergirding My Hero Academia since it launched onto the anime scene. It’s been evident since the TV show’s very first episode, where a powerless Deku risked his life to save a bully from certain death at the hands of a villain. And while Deku eventually did obtain powers, the principle still went along with him, one that we’ve heard countless times—and in other franchises:

With great power comes great responsibility.

Yes, Dark Might initially has the look of a hero. But his heart doesn’t long to protect the innocent and defeat evil—it longs to force others into submission and to sing his praises.

For those unfamiliar with My Hero Academia, this film likely isn’t where you’d want to start, since it canonically takes place following many seasons of the show and will give away many plot points. In terms of content, there’s lots of explosive animated violence and the occasional death. Likewise, the ever-angry Kacchan is quick to throw out some light profanity whenever he’s on the screen.

For those who are familiar with the show, you’ll read that and think, “Ah, so more of the same.” That’s largely true. And for fans of the franchise who you can withstand those content blows, this movie may just be a fun extra adventure to enjoy.