My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

Movie review by Brian Costello, Common Sense Media
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 13+

Some violence, cursing in teen-centered anime.

PG-13 2018 96 minutes
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Parents say

age 12+

Based on 3 reviews

Kids say

age 11+

Based on 40 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that My Academia: Two Heroes is a 2018 anime in which heroes-in-training must work together to rescue hostages from villains who have taken over a building on a floating island. Cartoon violence throughout, including characters getting shot and killed, blood, explosions, car chases, a burning building. The girls in the movie wear skimpy clothing -- revealing halter tops, short skirts and shorts. One of the heroes-in-training is motivated to save the day when he's told that girls love heroes and once he's shown to be heroic, he'll have a harem; he then chants "Harem! Harem! Harem!" repeatedly while running off to stop the bad guys. Occasional mild profanity ("bastard," "damn," "hell," "weak-ass"). One of the heroes-in-training, who yells at everyone around him, calls his rival a "damn nerd." Bad guys smoke cigarettes.

Community Reviews

Chelsea H.
Chelsea H. Adult
February 23, 2022
age 11+

Good Show for Teens!

My Hero has been a favorite of my kids for some time. It has positive messages and lots of plot twists. The characters do say an occasional light curse word but other than that I don’t see much wrong with it. Middle school age is perfect.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
OliviaReviewsIt
OliviaReviewsIt Adult
January 3, 2021
age 14+

More than Just "Two Heroes"

MHA: Two Heroes is a FANTASTIC movie. Protagonist Deku boards a plane with his mentor All Might to attend a hero expo, where the two will meet one of Might's old friends, David Shield. Shield is a hero suit designer, and because of his skills, becomes the target of villainy in this feature. And wow, what a plot twist there is in this movie! The UA Class 1A students defy the rules that state that 'students can't fight villains alone' and go up against the forces that dare to threaten everyone at the expo. It's a showdown that leads to an epic finale that bonds student and mentor together in a powerful way. There is some language in this movie, most of it relatively minor. The biggest concern with this movie is the level of violence--there's a lot of it. Not only during scenes with heroes against villains, but there is a scene where a villain shoots a defenseless man and kills him. I'd say this movie has great role models. The heroes never give up and are willing to sacrifice everything they have to save everyone, no matter what pain they have to go through to do it. And MHA always shows that you don't need to have a 'quirk' to be a hero. MHA has never idolized superpowers, but rather the desire to help and to sacrifice one's self for others that makes someone a hero. 5/5 stars.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In MY HERO ACADEMIA: TWO HEROES, All Might is a superhero who shares a quirk with Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, a student at the U.A. High School Hero Course. The two travel to I-Island, a floating island where scientists research quirks. All Might is reunited with his old friend, Professor David Shield, who lives on the island with his teen daughter Melissa. As Melissa shows Deku around the island, he discovers that many of his classmates happen to be there as well. Meanwhile, All Might seems to be losing his quirk and his superhero power, and asks Shield to keep it a secret. That evening, everyone attends a formal party. As the party kicks off, Deku and his friends are running late, and when they arrive, they discover that the villain Wolfram and his henchmen have taken the party hostage. Wolfram and his henchmen take Shield and his assistant Sam to break into the island's vault to gain access to a headset that maximizes the power of an individual's quirk, an invention of Professor Shield's. Now, Deku, and all his friends and rivals from the Hero Course must find a way to get up to the 200th floor of the building, reclaim the building's security system, and rescue the hostages, while also finding a way to restore All Might to his original superhero glory.

Is It Any Good?

When establishing shots of Las Vegas are presented with the caption "California" in the opening scenes, you know you're in for some bizarre anime, and this movie delivers the weird. My Academia: Two Heroes has an anime cast of thousands, story threads galore, and a central narrative that is suspiciously similar to Die Hard. There's peril and melodrama, angsty superheroes-in-training, good versus evil. It can be overwhelming and chaotic at times, but the movie manages to stay entertaining, even for those who aren't the presidents of their hometown anime fan clubs.

The climactic battle scene between Deku and his friends and Woflram and his henchmen reveals that all the chaos and potential confusion in trying to keep all the characters and their stories straight pays off. Somehow, you know who these characters are, what they do, and what "quirks" they have, or don't have, or earned, or are losing. The result, somehow, strikes an effective balance between action and character development, fight scenes and internal conflict, and positive messages about finding your own talents (aka "quirks") and developing them to the best of your ability.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about anime. How does My Academia: Two Heroes compare to other anime you've seen?

  • This is based on a popular manga series. What would be the challenges in adapting a movie based on printed work?

  • How are women often presented in the movie? Do they get to be as heroic as the boys?

Movie Details

Our Editors Recommend

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