my hero academia

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

I’m not sure if this is the final volume of School Briefs. But it’s certainly the last one to date, coming out in Japan in October 2021. The stories take place in that nebulous period after the internship with Endeavor but before the massive war that takes up the rest of the series. If there is another volume, it may wait till after the main series has ended, as light and fluffy stories really don’t fit with the current plotline, and there’s no “gap” to put them. If this is the final volume, it has the strengths and weaknesses of most MHA spinoffs. It tries to focus on characters who get less attention but doesn’t succeed that often, it can’t really affect any of the canon plotlines or characterization so tends to be fairly pointless, and it’s still trying to get us to like Mineta, which is simply not going to happen, sorry. That sad, there are a few stories here that proved to be a decent read, and that’s all you can ask for with a spinoff.

The stories are: 1) as part of a setsubun-themed training exercise, Bakugo is ordered to make friends with Eri, which requires him to not be a constant boiling cloud of rage, something that is very difficult for him; 2) The 1-A girls are making Valentine’s Chocolate, but are waylaid by a girl who wants them to give chocolate to 1-A’s Prince Charming”… whoever that is; 3) Several of the guys decide to use some of their break to go mountain climbing, since U-A happens to have its own snowy mountain range; 4) Eri has never celebrated Shichi-go-san day, and the desire to celebrate wars with her wavering sense of self-worth. Can Shinso and a cat help? 5) the business course students are making promo videos, and 1-A and 1-B are asked to act in them… much to their horror; 6) The UA teachers have a final drinking party and the book reminds us that Midnight is about to be killed.

I despised the Mineta chapter, partly as it got in the way of some (theoretical) Valentine’s shipping, but mostly as it wants us to find Mineta being a sexist creep funny. The best chapters were the ones that were allowed to focus on character, unsurprisingly. Eri’s attempts to be useful to her new family are heartwarming but also painful to see, reminding us of the trauma she’s been through in the past. Bakugo also does very well here, finally being forced to understand that Izuku reaching out his hand to help is not meant to be some sort of pity thing, but just who he is. This is a good setup for Bakugo’s eventual apology in the main series. As for the “video” chapter, it went on far too long, and was not all that funny, but we did manage to see Kodai say more words in this book than she has in the entire series. Likely as her video had to do with a magical girl team, which is lightly related to her sentai obsessions.

As noted, the novel ends with a bittersweet chapter showing Midnight giving everyone some expensive sake she bought, and reminding the reader that this is the end of the light, fluffy stuff. It lends gravitas to an otherwise up-and-down book.

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

There is a certain give and take with adaptations like these. The author of these light novels is Anri Yoshi, not Kouhei Horikoshi, and they are allowed to do some things but not others because, well, this is an ongoing manga and there is a limit to what one can do in a side story that won’t break the main story. Thus, in the last volume we saw Shinso look disparagingly at Mineta and wonder why he wasn’t expelled yet, but that’s all he did because the actual answer is Horikoshi has admitted he loves to write Mineta. This volume dances around the many revelations about the Todoroki family we’ve had since the last one, but does not actually allow the family to meet up in full again, because, well, the manga covers those times. That said, there’s still good stuff here. We see Izuku and Bakugo bond as much as they’re ever going to. We see the reader struggling to remember which classmate Shoji is. Oh yes, and we see Monoma straight up almost murder 3/4 of the cast, then try to cover it up.

The book has 5 larger stories interspersed with short vignettes of Jiro, Asui, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu going home for the holidays. These are mostly short but cute, with some ship tease (and ship sinking) and a brief horror when you realize Momo’s parents are even worse than she is in regards to money sense. In the main stories: a) ida, Kirishima, Shoji and Tokoyami explore an underground dungeon under UA, filled with weird traps; b) The faculty all try to give Eri Christmas presents at the same time without waking her up; c) The Todoroki siblings get together for New Year’s, and Shoto realizes he is a terrible cook; d) Izuku and Bakugou try to mend the relationship between two fighting kids which is a mirror of their own; and e) after the 1-A hot pot party begins (as seen in the manga), 1-B show up and the party becomes a competition, then a yamanabe party… with potentially fatal consequences.

The stories get better as they go along, with the start of the book being the weaker side. The best are the stories with our “main three” heroes, as they dig into the deeper characterization we’ve seen from the manga and examine the tortured relationship Endeavor still has with his family (and the book does not shy away from using the word abuse). Bakugo too is very well used here, still angry at Izuku for anything and everything but realizing that this is mostly on him and trying not to actually make it worse. The most bonkers story is the last one, where Monoma accidentally feeds poison mushrooms to 3/4 of the cast, then the ones not affected have to go out into a blizzard and find the antidote. It’s good development for Kaminari, and has the best joke in the entire book (Shiozaki’s ingredient for the yamanabe), but I felt the author had trouble finding the balance Monoma desperately needs to be fun and not irritating, and the “please cover this up” ending left me slapping my head.

Still, overall I thought this was a decent volume in the series, which can never be as good as its source but is good enough.

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

These books have gotten stronger as they go on, which is a good thing, and also expected of a tie-in series – they’ve gotten better at character development as there’s been more in the main series, and the novel author has more to draw on. The book takes place, with one exception (the first chapter takes place during Vol. 15) around the school festival arc, which conveniently makes it tie into the current anime as well. We get chapters showing the preparations, we get to actually read about Class 1-B’s play instead of just having it be a gag, we get a prequel for the beauty pageant, and we see cooldown post-festival for both students and teachers. I’ve talked before about how the series narrates events Horikoshi didn’t have time to write into the main series, and that feels especially true with this book, as a lot of these feel very in character. (That said, the art is more minimal and reused than usual – I think he was very busy at this time.)

The first chapter is not a school festival chapter, but does have Fatgum, Kirishima and Amajiki patrolling an Osakan float festival, where Kirishima meets a cartwright who is having seconds thoughts because of a past accident, something which makes Kirishima recall his own past with Ashido. We then see Shinso walking around campus during festival prep, seeing how the other classes are doing while trying to figure out how to tell his friends in the General Studies class he’s putting in for a transfer. We then get the 1-B play in all its glory, followed by a story just before the beauty pageant, which is from Kendo’s POV. We end with a few scenes showing Izuku’s candy apple prep and some other 1-A antics, and finally see the teachers having an alcohol-fueled after party.

The character work is the main reason this is so good. Shinso and Kendo get some excellent development here, getting inside their heads. Shinso still feels a little guilty and shamed about his own quirk, though this has improved post-Sports Festival, and eavesdrops on some folks who make him feel better. Kendo was even more fascinating, as we see her struggling with being the beauty contest competitor even as she’s uncomfortable with her own gender dynamics, feeling out-of-place in a dress and preferring activities most would say were for men. While she does say that she’s definitely a girl, it would not be a very broad leap to see her as a bit agender. I also really enjoyed the 1-B play, both for its copyringht-dodging elements and also for making Monoma look less obnoxious (always a hard task). Even the beauty pageant girl Bibimi Kenranzaki, written entirely as a one-panel gag by Horikoshi, gets to drive a tank and bond with Mei Hatsume (whose not bathing is the running gag of the chapter).

Flaws? Mineta is still in this, though less so than previous books, and Shinso wonders (as do we all) why he hasn’t been expelled yet. The teacher’s chapter at the end is also a bit weaker than the others, and Midnight’s whipping talents jar a bit given the rest of the book is easily accessible to 10-13 year olds. Still, overall this is the strongest entry in the series to date. We’re also caught up with Japan, so a new volume will be a bit.

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

Another volume of giving the readers what they want, which is more light and fluffy stories that Horikoshi would like to tell but doesn’t have the time for. This time they’re set in and around the move-in to the dorms, and indeed “Dorm Life” is the subtitle. That said, the volume is bookended by non-kids in dorms stories, as we see All Might attempting to bond with his fellow teachers at an izakaya, giving us a chance to see most of the faculty completely drunk off their asses (except All Might, who is a teetotaler and also the world’s most awkward man) and the final story, which is a “what if My Hero Academia were an RPG fantasy?” based on the color pages Horikoshi drew of the kids in that style of costume. This story did remind me how often the novel author refers to Uraraka’s poverty, but is relatively cute and breezy. It’s also nice to know that Midoriya still collects All Might figures even in alternate worlds.

The other stories are, as you guessed, set in and around the 1-A dorm rooms. The weakest story in the book features Iida trying to have a normal day while the rest of the class avoids him and makes stuttering excuses. At the start of things the reader guessed “oh, one of those surprise birthday party stories” and waits to see if anything will be subverted. Nothing is, it is a stupidly predictable tale. The story from the POV of Koda’s rabbit is not quite as predictable, if only due to the fact that it’s from the POV of a rabbit, but doesn’t really add much to the narrative except giving us a chance to see more of Midoriya and Bakugou cleaning the dorms as part of their post-fight punishment. There’s also a “scary stories” chapter that tells us, unsurprisingly, that Tokoyami is the best at being scary. I also liked the anti-Mineta measures the girls have set up for the dorm.

The best stories are earlier in the book. We see Todoroki’s extreme discomfort with the generic Western-style room and how he managed to get the Japanese-style flooring and furniture to renovate his. This also involves him meeting Hatsume, who as always is very over the top and working on inventions that are not quite as perfected as she would like. The best story in the book also indirectly features Hatsume. Monoma shows up at the 1-A dorms, ready to be obnoxious and disdainful. Fortunately Kendo, Tetsutetsu and Tsunotori show up to stop him, and things settle down a bit. Highlights include seeing Tetsutetsu’s room is almost a carbon copy of Kirishima’s (these two really need a “same hat! same hat!” gag) and Todoroki bringing out a Pop-Up-Pirate game that Hatsume had given him when Monoma, as always, suggests a challenge. The game, being made by Hatsume, ends up being more like a “dark nabe” sort of thing, with every participant getting some form of punishment. I also enjoyed seeing Pony’s room as, as you’d guess, filled with anime crap.

These books are designed to not affect canon all that much, though we do see the Big Three in a brief cameo from before they meet 1-A. They’re fluffy and fun, and should be enjoyed by most MHA readers. This volume also had less Mineta, which I appreciated.

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

The second of the My Hero Academia light novels is set at the training camp, so around Vol. 8-9 of the main series. It ends right before the villain attack. As such, as you might gather, it’s as light and frothy as its predecessor. The goal here is to tell standard “summer camp” stories that Horikoshi would like to do in the main series but hasn’t got the time for. So we see Momo tutoring the left-behinders of the class at her palatial mansion; the long bus drive to the training camp; Mineta being the worst – again; The girls of 1-A and 1-B (well, half of 1-B) having a combined slumber party; the boys of 1-A and 1-B having an arm wrestling contest/pillow fight; and Iida trying to find his glasses without waking anybody up. There’s no earth-shattering character revelations here, but if you want more of the cast being fun goofballs, you’ve come to the right series. It also reads more like it was written for teens rather than younger kids, which the first volume had an issue with.

Let’s just get this out of the way; Mineta is in this, and has just as large a role as the first book, including the third story being dedicated to his continued efforts to try to peep on the girls. I get that the author wants a comedy pervert in the cast for humor reasons, but you can’t have Aizawa bitching about how half-hearted heroes will be expelled from UA on the spot and keep Mineta around as a serial sexual harasser. The girls beating him up is not really sufficient punishment either, nor is having him groping Tiger, the transgender man from the Wild Wild Pussycats. It’s frustrating because, in the bus trip chapter, we do see that he does have the power to tell a compelling (if perverse) story, and keeps the rest of the class on tenterhooks waiting to see what comes next. There’s more to do with Mineta than this. If he’s only going to be this, get rid of him.

The main reason to pick this volume up, as someone who also dabbles in the fandom of My Hero Academia, is the shipping. There’s nothing “official”, no, except for Uraraka’s crush on Deku, but there’s lots of subtext if you know where to look for it. The first chapter sees Jirou worrying that Momo’s mother disapproves of her, and it reads exactly like meeting the girlfriend’s parents. Likewise, Bakugou tutoring Kirishima will make fans of that ship happy, and I was also pleased to see Bakuygou’s two middle-school bullying friends show up, and observe how much he’s actually mellowed out, despite getting thrown out of TWO studying places. As for the slumber party, Ashido is of course trying to make it all about romance, but unfortunately the girls in UA aren’t really into that right now. Aside from the brief IzuOcha I mentioned, there’s some KamiJirou tease, some Kacchako tease, and, perhaps most oddly, Ashido/Dark Shadow shipping from the rest of the girls, a ship so rare I don’t even think it has a name. This was fun.

These books are meant to be something that are fun to read (Mineta aside) and supplementary to the main storyline. This one does a good job. The next volume seems to be set right after moving into the dorms, so that should be fun.

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook.

Shonen Jump series tend to have a lot of light novels based off their parent series, but just because those come out in Japan does not mean they are a success over there. Even Naruto, the juggernaut, had its post-series light novels quietly dropped after only three of the six books were out. But My Hero Academia is the new Juggernaut, the Deku to Naruto’s All Might, and so it seems appropriate that we give it a try with this first in a series of books about the “daily lives” of the cast. No major plot points, just fun. This book seems to take place around the 7th volume of the series, though if you haven’t read the 11th volume you may be spoiled for Bakugo’s mom. As that sentence indicates, the subject of this book is Parent’s Day, where out student heroes have to have the family visit. This being UA, the teachers have a surprise in store for them, however…

As you might guess, with a cast this big, not everyone gets a spotlight – even Bakugo is mostly sidelined. Not everyone is fond of Parent’s Day either, particularly Todoroki, who wants his mother to go but knows that she can’t, and really does NOT want his father to know about it at all. (Which leads to a great punchline at the end, that does not shy away from Endeavor being a horrible dad.) Fortunately, his sister is able to go. Meanwhile, Iida has tickets to an amusement park, and invites the main cast, but none of them can make it. So we end up with the odd foursome of Iida, Tokoyami, Kaminari, and Mineta. Meanwhile, Uraraka is trying to buy supermarket bargains (the book is great at reminding us how poor she is compared to the rest of the cast, particularly Yaoyorozu), but is distracted by an apparent shoplifter. And then there’s Parent’s Day itself, which turns out to be a lot more dramatic than the kids thought.

There’s good and bad in this volume. It’s trying to strike a balance between “engage new readers” and “write for fans of the series”, so there’s a lot of introductory stuff telling us who the cast is and how quirks work, etc. It makes it feel like a book that’s geared towards younger readers… were it not for Mineta, who is in this book quite a bit, and remains the worst thing about the series. Even something that is meant to be heartwarming, such as Tokoyami bonding with a lost little girl who’s scared of birds, gets ruined by Mineta saying that when she grows up, she’ll be a hottie and hitting on the girl’s mom. I hate him. He also drags Kaminari down with him, though that’s true in the manga as well. The book is best when it’s delving into things that Horikoshi has not had the time to really delve into, such as what’s it’s like for a child when their quirk first manifests (it can be terrifying), or enjoying the friendships of a group that is still learning about each other at this stage.

This is a fast read (don’t let the page count fool you, it’s short) and, Mineta aside, a lot of fun. There’s even a few touching scenes, particularly with Todoroki and Tokoyami. Fans of the series should like it quite a bit.

By Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court, based on the story by Kohei Horikoshi. Released in Japan as “Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump +. Released in North America by Viz.

My Hero Academia, the main series, is very explicitly based on the American concept of superheroes. And, despite the occasional foray into “yes, heroes really do die” and an examination of loss, for the most part it remains a very idealistic series that wears its heart on its sleeve. Therefore, there was absolutely room for a “grim and gritty” take on the Academia universe, though it won’t be featuring any of the main students. If Horikoshi read a lot of Superman, then (as he explicitly states in the author’s notes) Furuhashi is modeling this spinoff after Batman. And, given the design of the “let’s punch everything” vigilante Knuckleduster, it’s pretty clear we’re talking the Frank Miller Batman. That said, this is still My Hero Academia, so I don’t expect things to get completely hopeless. Mostly as, if the “mentor” figure is Batman, the “hero” is… well, Deku. Something the authors also explicitly admit.

Our hero is Koichi, who is in college and trying to hold down a part-time job. Unlike Izuku at the start of MHA, he DOES have a quirk – he can glide along the ground. Slowly. Most people think he resembles a cockroach. He spends his off time doing nice things like picking up litter, to the point where the neighborhood gives him the hero name “Nice Guy”. He also has run ins with a group of bullies… wait, he’s out of high school, so they get to be thugs – as well as a self-styled wannabe pop idol. And, thanks to a variety of circumstances, he also ends up trying to stop an underground drug trade, which makes people’s powers go out of control, turning them into villains, also also seems, very disturbingly, to be controlled by bees. But it’s OK. He can glide. The wannabe idol can jump really high, and then there’s Knuckleduster, who has no quirk, but is GOOD AT PUNCHING.

As I said, we’re dealing here with mostly original characters. Eraser Head shows up at one point to help compare and contrast the difference between licensed heroes and vigilantes, but the core of the series is our three “illegal” heroes. Of the three, Pop Step is the most problematic. My Hero Academia has been criticized a bit for having the female characters get less focus than the guys, and their costumes overly sexualizing them, and that’s not wrong. But over the course of the first volume, Pop Step is captured multiple times, threatened with rape, and the sadly very popular “covered from head to toe in gloop which probably reminds the reader of something”. Knuckle Duster fares better – he’s in the Frank Miller style, but it’s taking the good bits of Miller and leaving out all the claptrap. As for Koichi, he’s a nice kid, but so far is defined personality-wise as “Deku, only less shiny because this is a “grim and gritty” spinoff. He needs more oomph.

On the good side, the action sequences are very well handled here, and there are some nice creepy horror images with the bees. Vigilantes is a decent enough start for a MHA spinoff, and I hope it gives better development to its leads in future volumes. And stops having Pop Step get captured all the time.