My Hero Academia Season 7 Review: Another Smash? (2025)

And with a climactic crash Season 7 of My Hero Academia comes to a close which means that it is time to pick over what has happened in a big ol’ review. This year’s season ran shorter with only twenty-one episodes. However, there was a four-episode mini-series before it. Honestly given the timing of those episodes you could easily slot them into this season without much issue. However, that is a rant for another time. I will keep this review as spoiler-free as possible for anyone who has yet to check it out. Given how much has been spoiled for me over the years, I am trying my best to avoid such a fate for everyone else.

Season 7 marks the dawning of the series’s final stretch. Storylines that have been on the boil now for the past few years are finally reaching their climax. Our cast of heroes and villains are coming into their own. Showing the full extent of their history and training. Or the darkness and sorrow in their heart. Whilst the season is rich with many emotionally impactful moments I feel it is undermined by some rather shoddy pacing. Though I can’t say if it is better or worse in that regard than the previous season. With that said, let’s get into the review!

Story – Penultimate Perils

Season 7 of My Hero Academia kicks off just before the final story arc of the series. Yep, we are here. And the writers don’t waste any time getting us into it for better or worse. This season is comprised of three story arcs. I won’t say how long or short they are as that may give spoilers. But what I will say is that the greatest issue with the story and writing of this year’s season is the pacing. Which I will talk about later. The story arcs themselves are well-written. The first story arc I feel is one of the more feature-complete (Far more so than the second) and introduces Star and Stripe to the series.

I have to say that her storyline feels like it is missing a lot of opportunities. Which could have otherwise helped to elevate it and make it far more impactful than it was. Or at least helped to build out the world that the series takes place in better than it did. It is focused on one very specific series of events that leaves little other room to explore her character. Both in terms of her as a person as well as their importance to their home country. And the longer-reaching consequences of her actions. It does get into those elements in all fairness. But they don’t quite go far enough. Wrapping it up too abruptly for my liking as the season then rushes to the next storyline.

Group Meeting

The second storyline resurrects a plot point that has been dormant for several seasons. In fairness, it wasn’t completely abandoned, but it was very much in the background. Hinted at here and there if you were particularly eagle-eyed. But has largely been out of focus for so long that its return to the series feels like a surprise. Or more like a shock, leaving you wondering “Wait, I thought we already covered this?”. And just when you settle yourself in for the fallout and drama of it, all of it vanishes almost as soon as it appears. It ends up feeling less like a vital moment in the development of that character and further development of a theme of the series and feels more like a means of setting up the final battle.

An extra episode or two of build would have helped it I feel. It would give every idea a chance to breathe and come into its own more. And at the very least it would have refamiliarised us with the storyline. And could have even been used to set up for more of a “Whodunit?” scenario. As opposed to just getting into it the moment the first episode of that arc begins and ending it a couple of episodes down the line. But I suppose if you filtered in the episodes from the mini-series the gap from the end of this to the final arc would be longer. However, that is a discussion for another time.

We All Fall Down

The final story arc is an odd thing. There are frequently some very powerful moments of drama. Pay-offs to ideas and storylines some of which have been rolling for years. Some are relatively new and give us a deeper insight into the wider world. And some come almost totally out of left field. However, they all work more often than not. I have always felt this series is at its best when the drama (and pretty much everything else) is character-driven. As it helps to give a level higher of emotional investment in what can sometimes be absurd anime action than we otherwise would. This storyline thus far has moments where it is rich with character-driven drama. But only when it is the core focus of a given episode.

There are many episodes where the writers try to cram too much into a short period. Leading to scenes stealing oxygen from one another. At times to the extent that it feels like it is thwarting the impact of what otherwise could be happening. There is frequently this strange feeling of the season being rushed. And that plot points are being crammed into the same episode to save time and keep things moving. I have nothing wrong with a fast-paced story. However, even in fast-paced stories, there will be a moment or two to let things settle. Here we don’t get that. And at times it feels like for the sake of having an entire episode dedicated to just one character/group of characters or having an extra episode here and there things would have turned out better.

Characters & Performances – Might & Power

As My Hero Academia entered into season 7 I had a good feeling of what to expect long before I started taking notes for this review. It was clear that we were getting into the tail end of things. Either this or the next season was going to be the final one. As such many key storylines were going to start wrapping up. And unsurprisingly they do so. Or at least they start to do so. Despite my expectation that regardless of what happens the focus would gradually narrow down to just being about Midoriya and Tomura that isn’t the case. But I will say that the character development of most of our cast has been fantastically realised. Timing and pacing notwithstanding.

I find Star and Stripe to be a fascinating character. She is America’s number-one superhero. One who is heavily inspired by All Might and sees him as her master. It is implied that she is the little girl he saved in the flashback of the first movie. I say “implied” as there as some details that differ but that is beside the point. I feel that there is a greater subtext to what she represents. Especially when you take into consideration the strange relationship that exists between anime/manga artists and cartoon/comic artists and how they can influence each other. But that is a whole other (possibly self-indulgent) article for a whole other time.

Desperate Times

The big driving force behind the actions of many characters at this point in the series feels like desperation. For our heroes, this is their only chance to stand up and stop the world from falling into anarchy and destruction. And they are left having to throw everything at trying to save the day. Even if it may cost them everything, and may mean them doing things that may seem silly out of context. For the villains, it is do or die. Years if not decades of pain at the hands of the society that they lived in is about to get paid back in full. Again, when My Hero Academia steps away from the anime action stuff and leans into the characters and their motivations it adds weight to it in a way that other superhero fiction seems timid to want to get into.

Once more, I won’t get into spoilers but the grand climaxes (at least I hope it is) of the storylines surrounding the Todorki family is brilliant as is the one with Toga. The final moments of the episode I Am Here are as close to perfect of a way to round off Endeavour’s character arc over the past few years. Additionally, there is a storyline involving Shoji and Koda in the latter half of the season. One that, whilst it leans into a well-explored area of superhero fiction, is painfully relevant in the world we live in. And leads to one of the more emotionally disarming moments of the series. And in the matter of only a few lines of dialogue takes what have largely been two side characters at best and makes them every bit as memorable and beloved as the main cast.

Pacing & Cinematography – Do Run, Run

As I have stated in the prior sections of the review the biggest issue that I have had with My Hero Academia’s 7^th Season is the pacing. I don’t want to fall prey to internet reviewer hyperbole when I say this, but some of the pacing decisions are honestly rather baffling. I don’t want to give anything away to anyone who has yet to see it. But we have more than a few plot threads that vanish almost as soon as they appear. It doesn’t matter if these are arcs or stories within the final arc. It doesn’t matter how consequential they are or should be. They only get a couple of episodes, if that, to exist. With at least one springing back to life like a 1980s slasher villain after the point it was sorted. And with nothing to show to explain it.

The proverbial balance of power between which side is winning can invert from one episode to the next. In a way that feels like a poorly executed attempt at being unpredictable. In one episode the heroes can make a major win only for it to be undone by the villains in the next one and vice versa. This makes getting invested in certain moments hard when you know that it will be undone the very next episode. The animation this year has been largely fine. With some of it feeling about on par with any TV animated series. However, there are moments where it is honestly rather brilliant. Having a visual dynamism that borders feature-length quality. With Cinematography that easily matches that. But on the whole, it feels far less consistent than in prior seasons. Meaning those highs are truly high, but the lows are average.

Editing & Sound – It Has Them!

The integration of CGI into this year’s season has felt far smoother than in prior seasons. Oh sure, there is at least one moment where the quality just isn’t up to snuff. But there are many shots where it feels more at ease with what it is placed amongst. To be blunt, it isn’t seamless. But in comparison to prior seasons, it fits well. I mean hell, I’m not going to rag on them for using computer graphics for some elements given how complex and difficult it would be to animate them by hand. I know it may be in vogue to rag on My Hero Academia in reviews as of late but the use of CGI in season 7 is hardly a weak point.

Talking about sound and soundtrack is weird to me, to be honest. It leads to a situation where I want to just say “It just works”. The sound mixing and sound editing of this year’s season have been fine. I will admit that I feel it could have been stronger. There are certain parts, sequences, and moments where the impact would have been greater with stronger sounds being used. It needn’t get gratuitous or overly violent. But It is lacking something to underline the weight of the battles. The soundtrack is fine. I will admit that I have a bit of a tin ear when it comes to anime soundtracks; honestly, the intro/outro stuff often sounds no different to certain tracks I’d hear on the radio in the UK (sometimes decades ago at this point) only in Japanese. No track sticks out to me for better or worse.