My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
Japanese theatrical release poster
Japanese	僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ヒーローズ:ライジング
Hepburn	Boku no Hīrō Akademia Za Mūbī: Hīrōzu: Raijingu
Directed by	Kenji Nagasaki Supervision: Kōhei Horikoshi[a]
Written by	Yōsuke Kuroda
Based on	My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi
Produced by	Wakana Okamura Yoshihiro Ōyabu Kōji Nagai Kazumasa Sanjōba
Cinematography	Mayuko Furumoto
Edited by	Kumiko Sakamoto
Music by	Yuki Hayashi
Production company	Bones
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	December 20, 2019 (2019-12-20)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	$29.9 million[1][2]

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (Japanese: 僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ヒーローズ:ライジング, Hepburn: Boku no Hīrō Akademia Za Mūbī: Hīrōzu: Raijingu) is a 2019 Japanese animated superhero film, and the second film based on the manga My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi. The film was directed by Kenji Nagasaki, produced by Bones, and was released in Japan on December 20, 2019 and was released in North America on February 26, 2020, earning positive reviews from critics. The events of the film take place after the Meta Liberation Army arc in the My Hero Academia manga. The film has elements to its story that were once going to be used by Horikoshi as a finale to the series. It was intended to be the last film in the series, until images of a possible third film appeared online. A third film, My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, was released in Japan in August 2021.^[3]

Plot[]

The League of Villains is pursued by Endeavor and Hawks, while driving off in a truck carrying mysterious cargo. The heroes destroy the truck, but fail to apprehend the League members, and find an empty life support capsule inside. The man inside, a villain named Nine, has escaped and regroups with his team of villains, planning to create a society where those with strong Quirks rule over others.

U.A. High's Class 1-A has been sent to the remote Nabu Island as part of a safety program. Izuku Midoriya, the holder of One for All, meets Mahoro Shimano, and her brother Katsuma, residents of the island. Bonding with them along with his rival Katsuki Bakugo, they discover that Katsuma wishes to become a hero, but Mahoro seeks to dissuade him.

Meanwhile, Mahoro and Katsuma's father is attacked by Nine and his party, with Nine stealing his Quirk. Nine, who has been empowered by All For One, can steal and possess up to nine Quirks, but his body cannot handle these Quirks without suffering damage. He seeks to use the stolen Quirk to heal himself, becoming near-invincible, but it is incompatible with his blood type. Nine surmises that the man's children might possess a better variant of it, and pursues them.

Nine and his gang arrive on the island and destroy all means of escape and communication. Class 1-A learns of the invasion and split up to stop the villains and protect the island residents. Nine finds the children and confirms Katsuma possesses the Quirk he seeks, but Midoriya intervenes before he can steal it; however, neither he nor Bakugo are a match against Nine. Despite this, they force him to retreat due to overusing his Quirks.

Class 1-A regroups and decide to attack the villains head-on, while awaiting the arrival of other heroes. Upon evacuating the islanders, the class manage to defeat the rest of Nine's crew, but are incapacitated by Nine, except for Midoriya and Bakugo. Seeing no other way to defeat Nine, Midoriya transfers One For All into Bakugo, while he uses its leftover embers. Together, the two defeat Nine, but Midoriya's One For All seemingly fades afterwards.

As professional heroes arrive, All Might finds an unconscious Bakugo and Midoriya. He realizes that One For All remains within Midoriya, as the transfer into Bakugo was interrupted, theorizing that the previous wielders of One For All wish for Midoriya to keep it. Elsewhere, Tomura Shigaraki finds and kills the weakened Nine out of spite.

With Nine's gang apprehended, the class repair damage to the island before returning home. Midoriya and Bakugo, who has lost memory of wielding One For All, say goodbye to Katsuma and Mahoro. The movie ends as Midoriya assures Katsuma he can become a hero, as All Might had done for him previously.

Voice cast[]

Production[]

On March 23, 2019, a stage event at AnimeJapan 2019 announced that a second My Hero Academia film was planned for a "winter 2019" release, with Kōhei Horikoshi responsible for supervision and original character design.^[14] On July 7, 2019, the title and release date were revealed at the "Hero Fes." event, with Horikoshi stating the film would be the last film adaptation for the series.^[15] The event also revealed that Bones would be producing the film, with Kenji Nagasaki returning as director, Yōsuke Kuroda returning as writer, Yoshihiko Umakoshi returning as character designer, and Yuki Hayashi returning as composer.^[16] On October 11, 2019, it was announced that Tomoyo Kurosawa would be joining the cast as Mahoro, Yuka Terasaki would be voicing Katsuma, and sumika will perform the theme song "Higher Ground".^[6] On September 26, 2019, it was announced that Mio Imada had been cast as Slice, and Yoshio Inoue had been cast as Nine.^[9] On November 11, 2019, Weekly Shōnen Jump revealed that Kohsuke Toriumi and Shunsuke Takeuchi had been cast as villains Mummy and Chimera respectively,^[11] and on December 6, 2019, it was revealed that Yuichi Nakamura would voice Hawks.^[4]

Release[]

Toho released the film theatrically in Japan on December 20, 2019.^[15] The first one million audience members to see the film received a bonus manga booklet written by Horikoshi, titled "Vol. Rising", with the booklet containing an extended interview with Horikoshi, character designs and sketches.^[17] The film also received 4D screenings across 81 theaters in Japan on January 24, 2020.^[18]

Funimation announced that it had licensed the film for English-speaking regions, and released the film in North America on February 26, 2020 in both English subtitled and dubbed formats.^[19][20] Manga Entertainment announced that it would release the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland,^[21] with the theatrical release from February 26 and 27, 2020 in both English subtitled and dubbed.^[22] In Australia and New Zealand, Madman Anime premiered the film at Anime Festival Sydney on March 7 and 8, 2020 in English subtitled and dubbed respectively,^[23] with a wide release on March 12, 2020.^[24] Funimation provided MX4D screenings in select theaters in the United States,^[25] and Madman provided 4DX screenings in Sydney with the English dub.^[26]

On 3 March 2021, PVR Pictures announced that the film is going to be released in India on 12 March 2021.^[27]

Home media[]

On March 28, 2020, the film was officially confirmed to be released on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on July 15, 2020 in a "Complete Edition", that includes new scenes not seen during the theatrical release. Then, on July 15, 2020, the North American Blu-ray was officially listed for pre-order, with a release date of October 27, 2020.^[28]

Reception[]

Box office[]

As of March 12, 2020, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising has grossed $15.1 million in Japan, as well as $13.5 million in the United States and Canada, for a total of $28.7 million worldwide.^[1][2]

During the opening weekend, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising ranked third at the Japanese box office, earning ¥422 million ($3.86 million) in its first three days, ¥283 million ($2.59 million) of which during the weekend.^[29] The film remained 3rd for the second weekend,^[30] dropped to 4th in its third week,^[31] dropped to 7th in its fourth weekend,^[32] and left the top 10 in its fifth weekend, though briefly rising to 9th in its sixth weekend before leaving the top 10 again.^[33][34] The film surpassed My Hero Academia: Two Heroes during its ninth weekend.^[35]

In the United States, the film made $2.47 million from 1,275 theaters on its first day (topping the box office), and $815,000 on its second.^[36] It went on to debut to $5.1 million in its opening weekend (a five-day total of $8.5 million), finishing fourth.^[37]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising sends fans of the saga on an exhilarating adventure that ends the series on a beautifully animated high note."^[38] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."^[39] American audiences polled by PostTrak gave it an average 5 out of 5 stars, with 73% of people saying they would definitely recommend it.^[37]

Anime News Network's Richard Eisenbeis praised the setting, concept and climax, stating that the climax was "insanely impactful", though criticized the film's position in the My Hero Academia timeline, causing confusion and therefore "[draining] the film's tension".^[40] Twwk of Beneath the Tangles agreed about the confusing elements while stating that the film "may not reinvent or add anything new to the genre, but it is fun, fan-pleasing, and above all, meaningful, a heightened and focused tale infused with the characters, superpowers, and heart that series fans have come to love."^[41] Daryl Harding from Crunchyroll News praised the animation, stating "the final fight animation was some of the series’ best", but criticized the side-story nature of the film, saying that "the world-ending stakes in it felt lessened" due to viewers knowing the continuity of the series.^[42]

Notes[]

References[]