My Hero Academia - Volume 16 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlex

Now that the holidays are over I’m finally able to catch up on all of my anime and manga! First up on the block is My Hero Academia Volume 16. Need to catch up? Check out my previous review here!

The Story

My Hero Academia Volume 16 opens with our heroes joining forces with the police to raid the Hassaikai compound. Chisaki is ready for them though. He unleashes the Eight Bullets of the Hassai Group to handle our heroes and to hide Eri. It soon becomes apparent that the villains aren’t the only thing Midoriya and the others need to worry about.

As the heroes make their way through the compound they suddenly find the hallways moving around them. They realize that Irinaka, the HQ Director, must be using his mimicry quirk to make the compound that much harder to navigate. Mirio presses ahead through the walls to try and find a clear path to Eri. Tamaki has a flashback to his first time meeting Mirio which hypes him up enough to fight The Faces, a trio of Hassaikai thugs who jump them. He volunteers to stay behind with The Faces so the others can push on.

Fat and Kirishima are attacked by two outsider villains, Rappa and Tengai. The fight causes Kirishima to reflect back on why he became a hero in the first place. Kirishima aspires to be like idol, Mr. Crimson. Wants to be a hero who protects others, and commits once more to fighting to protect his friends.
Meanwhile, Irinaka separates the group of heroes, allowing Toga to sneak in and ambush the group. But wait, why is Toga of all people here? It seems that Chisaki is borrowing League of Villains key players to establish good will between the two groups.

The Review

I am a little disappointed with this latest volume of My Hero Academia. I was expecting a lot more action than was included. This latest volume is definitely establishing a foundation for some stellar fights in the next volume. Still, it does nothing to satiate my need for some good action now.

Although the plot is lacking in action, I really enjoy the backstories we receive for Kirishima and Tamaki. The two have been on the sidelines since their respective introductions, so not a lot was really known about them. It’s refreshing to see Kohei Horikoshi giving life to all of his characters.

Fans looking to add My Hero Academia Volume 16 to their manga library can find out more information here from Viz Media.