Entertainment
My Hero Academia Season 5 OVAs may appear to be standard filler at first glance, but they serve an important purpose.
Published July 28, 2022 Keenan McCall
As soon as I rolled the credits on the My Hero Academia Season 5 OVA, I felt like the anime hadn’t left me in a while: relief.
To be sure, the anime is full of deliberately high-stakes confrontations and escalating conflicts between heroes and villains. Shigaraki is gaining ground in his goal to devastate the hero-centric world, and Midoriya is racing against time to bring all of his powers under control before their final confrontation. This is set to come to a head in the sixth season, where heroes and villains are set to collide in a decisive battle of good versus evil.
It’s a great setup and it’s sure to provide some payoff for the broader story to lay the groundwork for the past few seasons. However, it’s hard not to realize that some elements have fallen in the way as a result. Chief among them is the fact that while a society full of superheroes can have some tricky problems, there’s also plenty of room for fun and hijinks.
This is where the latest OVAs come in. Neither covers canon material from the series and instead gives fans a chance to see elements of the world that have yet to be fully explored. An HLB baseball match sees superheroes taking out the game where powers are used to full effect. The second hero sees an accidental criminal unable to overcome the quirks through battle, instead sending them to explore other means of solving the villain’s troubles.
And honestly, they are a blast to watch. For everything that goes a little too long, there’s quality animation and a nice character arc that plays out. Death to death tropes are rarely used in the show, and characters who have been removed from the spotlight get a chance to return for a fun scene or two.
Image credit: Studio Bones via Crunchyroll
Granted, this likely seems less than appealing to people who have seen other big shonen anime. They’re exactly the kind of episodes that other series see as filler and prevent viewers from seeing major developments from the source material for weeks or months on end.
In general, I’ll stick with the camp that wants the series to get to the point and focus on what matters. And yet, these OVAs put me in a different mindset: Maybe filler doesn’t need to be intimidated.
Taking a break from the constant build-up of stakes and foreshadowing of conflicts is more than welcome in a story. It gives the viewer time to breathe and absorb everything that the larger plot is trying to communicate; Or, it can serve as a quick distraction, lessening the drain caused by constantly moving deeper and deeper into the plot.
Image credit: Studio Bones via Crunchyroll
That’s exactly what the My Hero Academia OVA did. He freed me from worrying about who might die in the coming battles. I had to shut my mind and watch super-powered characters try to outdo each other in a nonsensical game and laugh at how ridiculous some characters were when imbued with an inventive quirk.
These episodes were exactly what I needed after several seasons of My Hero Academia with little or no filler. I feel refreshed and ready for whatever awaits the sixth season, and I would recommend anyone to check it out to see if they are looking for the same.
The My Hero Academia Season 5 OVA was provided to Twinfinit via press screeners early on. Both OVAs are set to premiere on Crunchyroll on August 1. For more information on the series, check out any of the related articles below.,
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