My Hero Academia: Volume 20 (Review)
By: EyeSpyeAlex
As the days grow shorter I find I have more time to catch up on manga, and I couldn’t wait to get caught up on My Hero Academia! Without further ado, here is my Volume 20 review!
The Story
Volume 20 of My Hero Academia picks right up where 19 left off. As Mirio, All Might, and the others prepare for the festival, Midoriya attempts to wrap up his battle against Gentle and La Brava. Just when it seems like he has the fight in the bag this happens:
What seems like an incredibly awkward love confession is actually La Brava using her quirk. Whenever she says the word “love” the person she loves most receives a power boost. Unfortunately, Midoriya doesn’t seem to be La Brava’s type.
With a surge of power, Gentle seems to gain the upper hand in their brawl. But Midoriya has more heart, and is able to keep pace with Gentle until the U.A. security shows up. Not wanting to get the misguided villain in trouble, Midoriya tells the heroes that Gentle was going to pull a prank, before hurrying off to his performance.
Midoriya’s class performance manages to hype up the rest of the school, and the rest of the festival proceeds without any hiccups. Mirio and Midoriya do their best to ensure Eri has a good time before she has to head back to the hospital. In an amazing turn of events, Eri becomes a ward of U.A.!
The students then tune into the superhero billboard chart announcement. This is the first one since All Might announced his retirement, and everyone is eagerly waiting to see who will be number one. Unsurprisingly, Endeavor moves up to the number one hero spot, with newcomer Hawks moving into the number two spot.
After the ceremony, Hawks and Endeavor grab some food and discuss rumors of a Nomu allegedly in Hawks’ old hometown. They don’t have long to speculate about the monster, as it suddenly ambushed them. The phrase “ask and you shall receive” comes to mind.
As the two engage in a vicious battle with the creature, Todoroki’s mother and siblings discuss Endeavor and the pain he’s caused their family. Simultaneously, Endeavor thinks about how he needs to work harder to prove himself to them. Then, with the world watching, the Nomu effortlessly overpowers Endeavor, taking out his eye in the process.
The Review
One of the coolest things about this volume happens when we’re shown Gentle’s backstory. Having failed out of school, Gentle bumps into a former classmate of his who has gone on to be a popular hero. He walks up to his classmate, full of hope and ready to connect, only for his classmate to have no clue who Gentle is. The author manages to capture the frenzied despair and hopelessness that Gentle feels in that scene perfectly.
I also really enjoy the amount of detail that’s put into the different scenes. From the embroidery on pillows to individual pieces of debris, Kohei Hirokoshi leaves very little blank space in the panels. Attention to detail seems to be their specialty, and they make every moment feel like a snapshot in time.
One gripe I have with this volume is how little time is spent on the festival. The entire previous volume focused on hyping up the event, as do the first 70 pages of this volume. In the end, we are only given a short glimpse into Midoriya’s class’s performance, and even less time on the other class events. I value the moments we get to see the students act as actual students, and it would have been cool to see more of the volume focus on that.
Speaking of focus, this volume seems like it isn’t totally fleshed out. A lot of the conversations feel unnecessary or drawn out. Usually this is a sign of a plot heavy upcoming volume. I just hope my patience is rewarded with an action-packed payout.
Fans looking to add My Hero Academia volume 20 to their collections can purchase that and other awesome manga on our Amazon page!