(I will be referring to the show as HeroAca because I'm a lazy sucker and can't be bothered to right Hero Academia).
I'm assuming anyone who's come here has seen the first season, so I'll be referring to events that already happened in season 1. If you haven't seen the first season yet, go watch it (and as a heads up, season 2 gets roughly 7.469x better and no I did not calculate that and yes I'm pulling numbers out of nowhere).
Story - 8/10 The thing is, HeroAca has almost two stories going on at the same time. The overarching story of "random weak nerd gets special power and becomes a hero" which, as far as things go, is pretty cliché. Not bad, but really cliché. And then we have the more intricate story - the story of the people Deku meets and how they affect him or vice verse, and then we see just how vulnerable and imperfect this society is, and not even superpowers can stop all the problems. The show is very good at not only building its own, new version of our world, but then going ahead and facing the problems and real-world issues it suffers.
Characters - 10/10 HeroAca has a pretty big cast of characters, one that only grows in season 2. Despite this, the creator of the HeroAca manga that HeroAca is based of, Kori Horikoshi, has done an excellent job of never sidelining any characters and making them helpful whenever the story allows it. Now, Season 2 doesn't have time to give everyone the spotlight, but it certainly does to a good chunk of the cast. And while not everyone is getting developed as such, they are becoming more and more lashed out as characters and obtaining their own stand out personalities. And the characters that do get developed... oh god, they develop them right. Obviously not all characters have gotten fleshed out yet, but as a manga reader I know they all will so I'm giving out the 10 rating.
Sound - 9/10 There are a lot of OSTs that are absolutely amazing and serve as brilliant accompaniment to whatever scene they're in. Most of the soundtrack can be listened to on their own, without the context of the show, and still be epic. However some of the songs don't have much variety, which does knock it down a few points. Then we have the voice actors - something I forgot to mention in my Made In Abyss review - and oh boy the voice actors are amazing. While I personally prefer sub, as I think Deku's VA expresses much more emotion, the dub is extremely solid and one of the best in a while. It's also very good at not changing really important lines which is always appreciated.
Art - 9/10 The art for this show is pretty goddamn awesome. It's a pretty new art style while still maintaining that "Japan" feel. The animation and visuals are normally very fluid and everything looks much more polished than before. The show has also drifted away from the "tell before you show" aspect that was present in the first season, with the fights allowing you to try and figure out the strategy in your head before directly explaining it to you. And while the art is nothing revolutionary it certainly deserves a 9.
Overall - 9.5/10 Here in the West, where every third film is a comic book film and a lot of superheroes are becoming over saturated or boring, HeroAca is a breath of fresh air. Not only does it perfect and put a twist on common Superhero/Shounen tropes, it also manages its wide cast very well and tells a story that turns out to be very intricate. While I admit some characters haven't gotten their turn in the spotlight yet and the repercussions of a certain few events haven't been fully explored, the show is worth a watch for anyone who wants to watch a well written shounen or a new take on the superhero genre. Or someone like me who just really wants to see superpowered teenagers punch each other silly.
