My Hero Academia - Volume 14 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlex

Missed my last review? Check it out here!

Warning! Major spoilers ahead!

My Hero Academia volume 14 picks right up where the other one left off. Bakugo and Midoriya’s fight rages on with both teens giving it their all. Bakugo emerges the victor, but is unsatisfied with his victory, a feeling that only increases when All Might shows up. All Might explains the entire backstory to Bakugo and tries to convince the boy that what happened to him wasn’t Bakugo’s fault. Bakugo swears to keep All Might’s and Midoriya’s secret before heading back to the school to get patched up. On top of getting healed the boys receive a three-day suspension from Eraserhead, during which they need to keep the dorms spotless.Once their three days are up Bakugo and Midoriya eagerly rejoin their classmates to learn about participating in a work study. To help the students learn more about the difference between work studies and internships, Eraserhead brings in the top students at U.A., The Big Three.  Tamaki Amajiki, Nejire Hado, and Mirio Togata comprise the best of the best that U.A. has to offer. Wanting to test the first years, Mirio challenges them tom combat, quickly showing off his permeation quirk. While it seems like the ability to morph through solids is pretty cool, Mirio quickly explains how vulnerable he is during the process. His inability to feel anything during the permeation is something he is learning to control in his work study, proving how beneficial the program is for U.A. students.Seeing Mirio in action instills a need to be part of a work study in Midoriya. When he asks Gran Torino to sponsor him, the older hero turns him down, but mentions All Might’s sidekick. With the cat out of the bag, Midoriya learns that Mirio is working with All Might’s former sidekick, Nighteye, as part of his work study. Mirio thinks that Nighteye would love Midoriya, and agrees to take the younger student to meet him. Upon arriving, Mirio tells Midoriya that he will need to make Nighteye laugh.

While he is initially unable to make Nighteye laugh, Nighteye agrees to take on Midoriya as his work study pupil, only if Midoriya can snatch a stamp from Nighteye’s hand. With the ability of foresight, Nighteye’s challenge is physically taxing on Midoriya. That, coupled with Nighteye’s taunts that Mirio should have been the one to receive One for All, nearly cause Midoriya to admit defeat. In a last ditch effort, Midoriya bounces around the room and attempts to snatch the stamp, while making sure to avoid all the All Might memorabilia. This realization causes Nighteye to burst out laughing before agreeing to take Midoriya on as a pupil. Under Nighteye’s guidance, Mirio and Midoriya prepare to investigate Overhaul, a villain who may prove to be too deadly for the students.

The Review

With each new volume My Hero Academia manages to outdo themselves in the storytelling department. The characters have a complexity to them which makes them feel both more realistic and more relatable. Bakugo is such a complex and relatable character, especially when he is unsure of how to deal with feeling upset. Seeing him allow himself to be vulnerable is such a touching moment. Not only that, the addition of adds a serious element of peril to the plot. Should our U.A. students end up facing off against him, there’s a very real possibility someone may die. It will be interesting to see how is fleshed out and how much of a threat he is to Midoriya and the gang.With the addition of The Big Three, My Hero Academia volume 14 adds some new character designs to the mix. I especially like how Mirio Togata is drawn. His face and style are really unique and make him a standout character. The only real downside to Mirio’s character is how close he was to having a super cool plot twist. For pages Mirio keeps mentioning how he thinks “sir” would like Midoriya, but is unclear about who “sir” is. In between these pages are shots of the League of Villains and Overhaul. It makes it seem like Mirio is in with the League of Villains, only for his “sir” to be Nighteye. While it’s cool that he is able to add this new part of history to All Might’s story, it would have been so much cooler if he were a double agent. I guess we can always hope for a cool plot twist in another volume.Fans looking to add My Hero Academia volume 14 to their manga collection can purchase it in stores or here from Viz Media.