One of the more irritating misconceptions of the anime action genre, particularly those aimed at the shonen demographic, is that it apparently can’t be thought-provoking or convey a deeper message beyond, “Believe in your friends!” or “Believe in yourself!”, or basically anything else that has to do with believing in something. While those certainly are common themes, it’s a major generalization to say that it applies to all the shows within the genre, or that the genre doesn't do interesting things with those ideas.
The most obvious show that combats this idea would probably be Fullmetal Alchemist 2003, one of my favorite anime. The story is an exploration of purpose and balance in a world that doesn’t offer either, and we watch Edward and Alphonse struggle with their beliefs concerning these ideals. These are mature and scary questions that the show ultimately attempts to answer, and the answer it provides isn’t exactly the most reassuring to most people, especially those looking for something tangible to hold onto. It’s what makes Fullmetal Alchemist unique within its genre.
I would like to bring up, though, that Fullmetal Alchemist is a pretty big exception to the rule, and it is true that most anime aimed at the shonen demographic do follow similar templates. You’ve typically got a main character that grows mentally and physically stronger through experiences with his friends, the love interest character that sports a tsundere-esque personality and eventually falls in love with the main character, the rival character that most likely has a tragic past, the mentor character that definitely has a tragic past, but ended up wise and prepared to teach the main character, and a whole slew of side characters with fun personalities that barely get elaborated upon.
The reason I mention this is because the topic of this Long Thoughts, My Hero Academia, does follow the typical shonen formula almost perfectly, including the ideas of "believing in yourself." This has lead many to completely write it off as the generic shonen anime of the month without a single shred of originality to be found. And, well...yeah, that’s true, but does that automatically make it bad? I would rather watch an unoriginal concept that does well with what it has than an original concept that completely screws itself over. My Hero Academia is the perfect example of the former, for one main reason: the way it presents its ideas about heroism and how important it is.
I thoroughly discussed world building in my Rampo Kitan Long Thoughts, but I would like to reiterate just how important it is to make a story believable. In Rampo Kitan, no real care was put into building its world and society, which means that any random events could occur at the writer’s discretion and the viewer is left in the dark over why that event occurred. On the other hand, My Hero Academia does the exact opposite: it clearly establishes its world, limitations, exceptions to the rules, and the different mindsets that exist within this world. In other words, My Hero Academia is like a sturdy spider web. Everything is connected somehow, and all the connections lead back to one central idea within the story’s society: heroism.
According to Dictionary.com, the traditional definition of “heroism” is “the qualities or attributes of a hero or heroine; heroic conduct, courageous action.” One aspect to note in particular is that this definition is relatively vague, as it doesn’t indicate what exactly makes one heroic outside of being a brave person. Let’s further examine this by the definition of “hero.” According to Dictionary.com, a hero is “a man or woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities; a person who, in the opinion of others, has qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.” Again, this definition is vague, but does mention that, beyond bravery, a hero is held up as a role model for his or her bravery.
So, where did the idea of a hero being a person who saves people from danger come from, which is arguably the most prominent quality of heroes in fiction? My guess is that it comes from society, because we associate “bravery” and “being a role model” with altruism. This is because an altruistic person is one who benefits society as a whole, whether it be making an individual happy, saving the lives of potential murder victims, or designing ground-breaking technology. Those that benefit humanity are supposed to be viewed with the highest respect, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times.
For instance, think about the person or people you admire, like a parent, content creator, older brother or sister, or friend. I bet that part of the reason you admire that person is because of an altruistic act, either directly or indirectly towards you or other people. For example, you could admire your mother because of the love and care she has for you, or you could admire a man for saving a helpless puppy, or even admire a content creator for giving you a piece of entertainment to enjoy. The point is, admiration is typically tied to altruism on the admired's behalf, and altruism is what My Hero Academia applies to its vision of the ideal hero.
In this story, the hero that every hero, aspiring or otherwise, wants to be is All Might. He is the symbol of peace, the hero that rescues everyone with a smile on his face and an aura of hope. He is the main inspiration for the story’s protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, as well as many other characters. Case in point, he is initially portrayed as the ideal hero. However, this is only what the press has to say about All Might - the real character, while still a great person, isn’t necessarily the “ideal hero” everyone wants him to be.
The reality is, he can’t save everyone, even though he is portrayed as such. This may make you think, “Well, duh, of course,” but keep in mind that media likes to exaggerate, and people buy into those exaggerations regardless of common sense. Heck, our first visual of All Might is seeing him carry a whole ton of people out of a dilapidated building, in a video that Izuku is watching. That’s only a small piece of the hype surrounding All Might, because everyone assumes that he can solve any problem. For example, when Bakugo is attacked and held captive by a villain, most of the heroes back off and wait for All Might to take care of things, because they honestly believe he’s the only one who can handle the situation.
When Izuku meets All Might in real life, and discovers All Might’s weakness, he is shocked, because he’s not the “ideal hero” that Izuku imagined. For one, All Might’s power limits are not known to the public, because he needs to keep his weaknesses a secret. Even when Izuku questions him about saving everyone much later in the story, All Might says, “Of course not, I’m only human.” While one could argue that this is just an example of Izuku coming to terms with an adult reality, one where nothing is perfect and everything is harsh, keep in mind that, again, close to no one else knows about this. So, all that normal people see is this vision of the “ideal hero”, one that has no flaws and is practically a god. 
So, the next question is, what’s the point, then? Why include what seems like an dangerously optimistic ideal if it’s ultimately fake in this story? Well, without it, literally no character has a motivation to do anything. Izuku wants to be a hero because he loves how All Might saves people. Bakugo wants to become a hero because he likes winning, and seeing All Might win all the time inspires him, even if it’s for the wrong reasons. Todoroki, despite being the son of the second-highest ranked hero, looks up to him as a role model. Even Shigaraki, the main villain of the series, hates the ideal that All Might inspires and wants to destroy it because of how inherently fake it is. And I’m not even mentioning many other characters that have either been slighted or inspired by this ideal. It all ties back to All Might. In a way, this reflects how famous people can truly influence the populous, just like they can in real life.
This exaggerated ideal is something that can be seen in the real world and understood by an audience. People exaggerate about other people all the time, whether it be positively or negatively, and the truth is hidden from the public. All the best points of people are brought to the forefront, but the less desirable traits, like drug and alcohol abuse, are usually kept under wraps. Of course, you’ve got celebrity gossip magazines and TV shows, but this gossip is treated like sacred information that brings down the celebrities that we call perfect.
It’s only when someone tries to destroy that ideal that holes begin to form, and people actually become scared. For example, when Chris Brown beat Rihanna, his actions were heavily criticized and his career suffered for a good few years. His persona of the cool, perfect R&B idol was absolutely decimated. A similar situation happened with Miley Cyrus, except she chose to become scantily clad and sing about scandalous stuff instead of beating someone. The point is, when preconceived notions are challenged, everyone freaks out.
A similar situation transpires when Bakugo is kidnapped by the League of Villains. The idea that an aspiring hero’s safety is compromised, when he is supposed to be protected by U.A. and privately training, is frightening to the public. Questions like, “What if heroes can’t rescue everyone?” or “Why do these villains hate us?” begin to emerge as society begins to distrust the heroes, and becomes worried that they aren’t as strong as they’re made out to be.
It also doesn’t help that, when you do find out the truth about some of these heroes, some of them turn out to be terrible people, or the complete opposite of the heroic ideal. This is particularly prevalent with Endeavor, Todoroki’s father and the number 2 hero. While there’s probably a lot more to Endeavor than we know at the moment, he’s portrayed as a person who’s obsessed with power and usurping All Might, despite being incredibly powerful already. He is the number 2 hero, after all, and holds the record for the most crime cases solved out of all the heroes.
Despite all this credit to his name, he’s still outmatched by All Might, which naturally frustrates his prideful self. So, because he can’t take All Might’s spot, he forces a marriage with Todoroki’s mother, a woman with an ice quirk, for the sole purpose of having an heir who can overpower All Might. This is the role and only role that Todoroki fulfills in Endeavor’s eyes. On top of that, he’s shown to be a terrible father to Todoroki and his siblings, of whom he barely acknowledges as more than mere objects. Quite the friendly and humble hero, is he not?
Endeavor is not the only example of a hero gone astray; Bakugo also falls into this category. Even though he’s technically not a professional hero yet, he’s acknowledged in his community as the best candidate to become one. I guess people just ignore how he bullies Izuku and has a generally arrogant and selfish demeanor, if we’re still going with the idea that heroes are supposed to be altruistic and admirable. Because his quirk is so amazing, everyone has been building Bakugo up ever since he was a child, showering him with praise before he even becomes a hero. This causes Bakugo to develop an intense superiority complex, and his ego becomes inflated to the point of obscenity.
One of the causes of his ego inflation is Izuku, who is initially quirkless and one who Bakugo views as pathetic. More specifically, he views Izuku as completely powerless and barely a threat to his rise to the top. Well, at least, until Izuku gets his own quirk, in which case Bakugo actually begins to think Izuku is a threat, and tries to put him down. In an attempt to accomplish this, Bakugo nearly kills the kid in their very first hero-villain simulation, despite it being a mere training exercise, using his enhanced explosion powers. He clearly has a screw loose somewhere. I sure hope normal heroes don’t kill their rivals out of petty spite!
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Bakugo is given the role of villain in this simulation. In fact, Bakugo is partially portrayed as being on a straight path to becoming a villain, because what altruistic hero has an ego that large and fragile? The League of Villains even tries to force him to join their ranks, because Shigaraki recognized a personality that’s “repressed” by society’s ideals. From this information, questions arise: Are heroes selected solely because of their powerful quirks? That can’t be right, because in the hero examination Izuku is rewarded hero points for saving Uraraka during the test. But what other explanation is there? In what universe would Endeavor and Bakugo be considered prime hero candidates if the ideal hero is one who is altruistic, brave, and confident?
Well, the answer isn’t clear, but it brings us back to the main question that all this uncertainty brings up: why does this heroic ideal exist? If it is fake, then wouldn’t it be better if people realized that heroes can barely try to live up to it? What’s the point of all this embellishment, exaggeration, and sophistry? I think it’s all for the sake of one vital but criminally overlooked aspect: hope. This idea of “hope” is truly exemplified in the character that the story treats as the ultimate hero: Izuku Midoriya.
It wasn’t the idea of being a hero for the popularity that inspired Izuku to become one; instead, it was the core heroic ideal of inspiring and saving others. He watches the video where All Might saves hundreds of people thousands of times, and even when he’s told he can’t be a hero, he still believes in himself and tries his hardest. When Bakugo is captured by the villain at the end of episode 1/chapter 1, Izuku rushes in to save him, despite being quirkless, weak, and the fact that he’s rescuing his main tormentor. That is true dedication and altruism.
When he actually gets his quirk, Izuku is still focused on this idea of saving others. He throws a fight for the sake of saving Todoroki from his mental setbacks, and gets his hand destroyed. He rescues Kouta by maximizing his power and completely wrecking his arms in the process much later in the manga. Yes, his actions heavily injure himself, and they can be interpreted as reckless, but the passion for saving others over himself is what matters. In a way, Izuku embodies the perfect heroic ideal that All Might represents, even if it’s still imperfect.
What’s important to note here is that Izuku is the protagonist of this story. Typically, when a story is trying to get a point across, the main character is the main aspect that represents that point within the work. For example, in Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward and Alphonse Elric represent the opposing sides of a child’s maturity: one who grows up too quickly and one who remains innocent for as long as possible. It’s supposed to raise the question of which way of life is better for a child. Should they be aware of the harsh world they live in, or should their tranquility be preserved? My Hero Academia also addresses this theme, answering the question by saying a child should experience both.
The author made Izuku this way most likely because he wants us to believe in the power of heroism and be more optimistic about the world around us. Yes, there is corruption, hypocrisy, and many other terrible aspects that are soul-crushing and depressing; the show does not ignore this. It shows us that there are people who oppose these ideals. There’s a reason why Shigaraki is directly attacking the heroic ideal that All Might represents; it’s because the story most likely wants us to interpret that breaking down an ideal that positively motivates people, no matter how fake it inherently is, as wrong. Ideals are important because, while they’re unrealistic, they are key motivating factors in our lives, and optimism is never a bad thing.
Finally, imagine if All Might hadn’t acknowledged Izuku’s bravery in saving Bakugo, and left him to his own devices. First of all, we wouldn’t have much of a story to work with, but the result of this choice means that Izuku’s dreams would be forced to die, so he probably would’ve lived his life in regret, growing bitter and cursing his own society for not allowing him to become a hero. Heck, he probably could’ve become a villain somehow, who knows. However, All Might brought hope back into Izuku’s life by granting him a quirk. Even then, though, Izuku’s path to becoming a hero is problematic. We’re a hundred chapters into this story and he still can’t use his quirk correctly, without damaging some part of his body.
Despite all this, Izuku still has his hope, his determination, and his passion for becoming a hero. These aspects of his personality are what keep him moving forward. Ultimately, this is what the story is saying: be hopeful, remain optimistic, and while you will face fierce opposition and will ultimately question why you follow an imperfect ideal, you just have to persevere and remember your roots. This is not to say that other perspectives are wrong, or that you can’t change your perspective; if anything, the show wants you to consider different perspectives, to challenge your beliefs and grow from experience. In the end, the main idea is to hold true to the heroic ideal that motivates you. Nothing is perfect, after all; it’s only as perfect as you can make it.
