In a world where 80% of the world’s population has a superhuman ability, also known as “quirks”, a young man named Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, is born quirkless. But one day, when the world’s symbol of peace, All Might, decides to hand his own powers down to Deku and sends his life into a whirlwind of possibility.
My Hero Academiatook the world by storm both in Japan and in America upon release. The anime garnered wide praise across all sides of its production and its popularity has yet to cease its worldwide growth to this day.
10"Dabi’s Dance"
(Season 6, Episode 11)
IMDb Score: 9.4/10
In the heat of the war battle, fan favorite villain Dabi decides to reveal his mysterious identity to the world. Todoroki and Endeavor are shocked to discover that Dabi is none other than the long-lost Todoroki family member, Toya.
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This episode took the internet by storm, confirming fan theories about Dabi across the board. Fans also got to see a new side to Dabi, who is typically calm and collected, but when presented in front of his father he becomes maniacal and cheerful. The reveal was executed wonderfully and complimented by manga readers for its faithfulness to the source material.
9"Katsuki Bakugo: Rising"
(Season 6, Episode 9)
The war has hit a rough spot as Aizawa is taken out of the battle, forcing Deku to bring Shigaraki into the sky and battle him there, utilizing all of his quirks like never before. Bakugo sees that Deku is reaching his limit, he steps up and crafts a plan to come to his aid.
Consistently ranking in the top 5 of the annual popularity polls, Bakugo is quite beloved among the fanbase, therefore his groundbreaking character moment in the climax of the episode was widely shared and talked about upon the episode’s release.
8"Symbol of Peace"
(Season 3, Episode 10)
With Bakugo still being held hostage by the League of Villains, Class 1-A devises a plan to get him out so All Might can let loose and make a comeback in his fight against All for One. Utilizing everyone’s quirks all together, Deku, Kirishima, Iida, Momo and Todoroki pull off an incredible stunt that gives Bakugo the chance to escape.
The tension in this episode is enacted wonderfully through the clever writingand stellar musical score.With this being the first time that Class 1-A actually ever saw and went up against All for One, the fear of what he could do to our favorite characters looms in the form of All Might needing to go full force against the villain just to keep his eyes off the students.
7"My Hero"
(Season 3, Episode 4)
When the League of Villains attacks Class 1-A at the forest training camp, Deku steps up in a big way as he protects the troubled youth, Kota, from his toughest villain yet, Muscular. In a fight that seems unwinnable, Deku pushes himself far past his limit against Muscular to barely win the day, self-titling his feat “One for All One Million Percent”.
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Deku vs. Muscular is known amongst fans as one of the best fights in the series. Going up against a villain who had zero problems exerting all of his force on Deku, the young hero is faced with an impossible battle and still finds a way to win. The fight showed viewers how dedicated to saving lives Deku truly is, not caring about how badly he would cripple his arm from the incident.
6"Tenko Shimura: Origin"
(Season 5, Episode 23)
IMDb Score: 9.5/10
Shigaraki sees flashbacks of his past as he continues his epic battle against Re-Destro. He thinks back to his origins in his toxic home-life, where he would grow to hate heroes thanks to discovering his family was abandoned by his grandmother, Nana, the seventh user of One for All and All Might’s mentor.
The episode is one of My Hero Academia’s bloodiest and darkest, showing us the manifestation of Shigaraki’s destructive power when he accidentally killed his young sister and pet dog. As the seeds of hatred are built into Shigaraki’s heart, he moves on to intentionally murder his abusive father. The episode is incredibly dark, but also gripping as it gives us adeeper understanding of this terrifying villain.
5"Lemillion"
(Season 4, Episode 11)
With all the other heroes occupied, Lemillion finally manages to catch up with Overhaul, who is still holding Eri hostage. The battle that follows is one that fully embodies the indomitable human spirit. Lemillion faces off against both Overhaul, Shin and Deidoro. The fight results in Lemillion sacrificing his quirk to a quirk-removing bullet to save Eri and even while quirkless he continues to fight Overhaul.
Lemillion cements himself as one of the best characters in the series in this episode, giving everything he has to protect Eri. Reminding many of Deku’s battle against Muscular, Lemillion puts everything on the line to be a hero and garnered love from fans everywhere.
4"Shoto Todoroki: Origin"
(Season 2, Episode 10)
IMDb Score: 9.6/10
As the School Sports Festival rages on, Todoroki and Deku finally get the fight that has been in the making since the start of the festival. In order to awaken his true potential, Deku gets in Todoroki’s head and forces him to face his troublesome past head-on and accept his entire self.
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Not only is the fight here expertly animated, and the voice cast in both sub and dub beautifully performed, but the expert use of flashback placement culminates in one of the best character moments in the entire series. Not to mention the use of the show’s best track, “You Say Run” brings it all home as they finish their climactic battle.
3"Infinite 100%"
(Season 4, Episode 13)
The entire team is in shambles with only Deku left to save Eri. But when Overhaul grows bigger and stronger, Deku realizes he can use Eri’s rewind power to go all out with One for All, no longer able to harm himself with his abilities. This marks the first time in the series Deku reaches true 100%.
The fight for Eri between Deku and Overhaul is thrilling and intense beyond belief, but the real reward of this episode is the tear-jerking moment when Deku finally gets Eri back into his arms, promising to never let her go again. After episodes and episodes of fighting to save her, the moment is beautifully executed andbrings about an incredible fightwith Deku’s new power-up.
2"His Start"
(Season 4, Episode 25)
IMDb Score: 9.7/10
When Endeavor and Hawks are surprise attacked by the most powerful Nomu yet, the people of the world look to Endeavor in his first real fight as the Number 1 Hero. While the world sees this fight as Endeavor’s chance to prove himself as a hero, Endeavor himself hopes to redeem himself for his past.
The episode was high-praised for its wonderfully animated fight between High-End and Endeavor. But many fans found the most enjoyment out of the character work done with Endeavor through said fight. Endeavor thinking on his past transgressions and ending the fight with a Plus UItra Prominence Burn, effectively burning away the man he used to be, was beautiful.
1"One For All"
(Season 3, Episode 11)
IMDb Score: 9.8/10
As All Might faces his greatest foe, All For One in a head-to-head fight, he begins to burn out and lose his final embers of One For All. With the entire world watching and cheering him on, All Might uses the last chunk of his strength to finish off All For One with a United States of Smash move.
With the United States of Smash being considered one of the best punches in anime, supplied with the world cheering on their symbol of peace, it’s clear to see why fans and critics alike consider this episode the best of the best. With this episode, All Might went down in history as a symbol of true heroism.
