In a misguided attempt to save humanity from a “quirk doomsday”, a terrorist organisation known as Humarise develops a bomb filled with a triggering gas that targets people with quirks, causing their abilities to overload and kill them. In an attempt to stop Humarise, the World Heroes Association deploys heroes across the globe to the group’s many headquarters to find and disarm the bombs. However, when the heroes arrive, there is no trace of the bombs. With no clues leading to the bombs’ whereabouts, the heroes are put on standby across the world, with U.A. High School students and heroes in training Deku, Bakugo and Todoroki stationed in the country of Otheon, as they wait for Humarise’s next move.
My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is the third film in the My Hero Academia franchise, taking place during Deku, Bakugo and Todoroki’s work study at pro hero Endeavour’s agency. Within the anime series, this lines up with the beginning of Season 5 Part 2 of the series, more specifically some time between episodes 102 and 106 (as per usual, for previous thoughts on the My Hero Academia, check out reviews of Season 1, Season 2 Part 1, Season 2 Part 2, Season 4 Part 1, Season 4 Part 2, and Season 5 Part 1).
Deku and co are stationed in Otheon, a fictional country that is a combination of the United States (complete with a San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge) and Europe, with architecture reminiscent of France or Switzerland, grounded and under the supervision of Endeavour as they try to figure out where Humarise will strike next. Across the globe, other U.A. High School students are in similar situations where they have been stationed overseas to assist pro heroes in countries containing Humarise headquarters. For example, Uraraka and Asui are in Paris supporting Ryuko, and Tokoyami, Sato and Ojiro are in New York supporting Hawks and Shishido.
Anime movies based on a series have a tough gig, needing to create a bitesize version of their characters and worlds in a way that both fans and casual viewers alike can enjoy. While some of these movies are prequels (à la Jujutsu Kaisen 0) or an anime series sequel (such as Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple or Demon Slayer – Mugen Train), they more commonly exist in a void, generally occupying a bit of a liminal space where they are not really allowed to breach containment and affect the overall direction of the series they are based on – such is the nature of being a movie that sits outside a pre-written anime series with its own end goal in sight. Despite this overall limitation of the medium, World Heroes’ Mission delivers the perfect movie experience for My Hero Academia fans looking for a compelling adventure abroad for Deku and the gang, with a bigger budget and more room for the animators to let loose and create some seriously impressive set pieces.
While the general premise of the Humarise threat in World Heroes’ Mission is effective in setting up stakes, for the most part their role in the story can be summed up as ‘villains are going to villain’ – it’s not too deep but it doesn’t have to be, as they provide the inciting incident for the high stakes international adventure which is the focus of the film. The overall sum of its parts work genuinely well, with a road trip montage with a song by Asian Kung-Fu Generation, a lengthy and technically impressive chase sequence that lets the animators flex their skills as characters parkour across rooves, and a genuinely bloody final battle that has all the flash and grit you could ask for from an animated film.
Notably, a majority of the film is dedicated to introducing a new character, Rody Soul. Introducing a new character in a stand-alone movie for a well-known series can be challenging, let alone making them interesting enough to hold their own alongside familiar and well-established favourites. But World Heroes’ Mission has managed to do all these things and do them will when it comes to Rody. A little bit more jaded than Deku, Rody is an average teen by My Hero Academia standards, in that he is not training to be a hero. Rody is the primary carer of his two younger siblings and has seen the role of heroes commodified and doesn’t have too much respect for pro heroes. He’s very expressive, over-exaggerated, has an interesting history and responsibilities that repeatedly inform his decisions, and he vibes well with Deku. This makes Rody an interesting and valuable addition to World Heroes’ Mission, being a nice change of perspective outside of the hero viewpoint My Hero Academia usually offers and making for a great secondary protagonist of the film.
Like many anime series with large casts, World Heroes’ Mission has nominated a select number of characters from the main cast to actually focus on, with other U.A. characters and pro heroes outside of Deku, Bakugo and Todoroki confined to cutaway clips where they are given a second or two to comment on things occurring in the main storyline or are briefly shown fighting during a major action set piece. I think this works for the film as this leaves more time to develop newcomer Rody, who I believe is worth reduced cameos from the extensive cast of My Hero Academia. However, it is something to bear in mind if you’re coming into the film hoping for focus on your particular fav.
It is also worth mentioning that the special features are lean in this release, with the DVD/Blu-Ray Combo only containing previews for the film. This is especially odd given the existence of an OVA prequel for the film featuring the gang at the airport before their departure to Otheon, but alas, it is not included in this release.
My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission delivers a fun international adventure for Deku and co, with a lot of excitement to be had across its various set pieces. Rody in particular makes a great and compelling addition to the cast, and although the movie finds itself in a liminal space separate to the anime series for the most part, it is definitely one not to be missed by fans.
A review copy was provided by Crunchyroll to the author for the purpose of this review.
2021 My Hero Academia The Movie Project © K. Horikoshi/Shueisha
