If you’re into shonen anime and manga, chances are that My Hero Academia is right up your alley. Kohei Horikoshi’s popular series has been entertaining superhero fans for about a decade, as we witness Izuku Midoriya’s rocky journey to follow in his idol’s footsteps and become the greatest hero of all.
As tends to happen with all successful manga titles, My Hero Academia has grown into a franchise, with manga spin-offs, an anime adaptation, a stage play, several light novels, video games, OVAs, ONAs, and films. For the record, this is far from a problem, as I’ll happily take any content this series dishes out. That said, it’s easy for new fans to be confused with the amount of material out there.
The My Hero Academia movies, in particular, seem to often be a target of attention among anime fans, as they’re understandably the most excitement-inducing forms of media in the franchise after the anime and manga. So, if you looking to dive into the several films My Hero Academia has to offer, it’s best to be aware of the road you have ahead.
How many movies does My Hero Academia have?
So far, Studio Bones and Toho Animation have released three animated movies set in the world of My Hero Academia. The first, titled My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, debuted in 2018, and was followed by My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, in 2019. The third anime film, My Hero Academia: World Heroes Mission, was released in 2021 and quickly became a smashing hit at the box office.
There’s no need to worry about running out of movie content, though, because a fourth animated movie is on the way. Additionally, Netflix has announced that a live-action film is also in the works, to everyone’s displeasure, naturally. We’ve been burned too many times with Western adaptations of anime hits, but perhaps Netflix’s success with One Piece indicates a step in the right direction.
Are the My Hero Academia movies canon?
This is a tricky question to answer. On one hand, there have been a few instances in which the series’ creator declared that the movies are connected to the manga and fit into its storyline. Horikoshi was even heavily involved in the production of Heroes Rising, acting as a supervisor for the project, and made it a point to briefly include in the manga characters that appear in the films. Naturally, this all points to the My Hero Academia films being canon, but not everyone sees it that way.
There’s a generally agreed-upon rule in the anime community that deems canon only the content from the manga. This means that everything that isn’t portrayed in the source material — be it certain scenes added to an anime, full episodes, or films — should not be considered canon. Following this logic, the My Hero Academia movies are not canon in many folks’ eyes, and the fact that some of its characters appear briefly in the manga doesn’t make the films’ events canonical.
At the end of the day, this will continue to be a highly debated topic, so it’s up to you to decide where you stand, according to your personal interpretation of what makes something canon. Regardless of your opinion, you won’t want to miss out on the films, so make sure to check out how to watch them in chronological order before diving in.