Superhero Media: My Hero Academia - Season 2

I was told by one of my Anime-obsessed friends that My Hero Academia really picks up in the second season, and I was delighted to discover that he was correct, even if it took until about halfway through to do so. As My Hero Academia is being adapted from a Manga, the breaks in story lines don't necessarily line up well with a broadcast season, so whilst the first half of the season deals with the Sports Festival, the rest covers several separate events. I found the sports festival to be pretty tedious until it got to the fighting tournament, though seeing how different streams of UA High School work was interesting, especially the Support Class (who make superhero gadgets) and the Business Class (who manage pro heroes), sadly, more time is spent on Class B, who are rivals to Class A because reasons. Season 2 gives us more background on characters other than Deku, which is good, but makes me wonder why Todoroki isn't the main character, as he has a much deeper and more compelling backstory than Deku. 

It's been a while since I had one of these "wrong protagonist" Superhero Media articles, but it still bugs me, though due to the serial nature of Manga, I'm more inclined to forgive this lapse. Still, Todoroki is the product of an arranged marriage between the Number 2 hero, Endeavor, and a woman with a complimentary power set; he is the youngest of at least seven children, having the perfect balance of both powers, he is trained by his father whilst the other children get normal lives. After years of abuse, Todoroki's mother snaps and pours boiling water on the boy, leaving his "Father" side scarred. Now that's a backstory. Sadly, Deku's fragile emotions are still the main focus, though after some training from veteran hero Gran Torino, he learns to control both his power and his crying somewhat. A new villain, Stain, the Hero Killer, comes and goes pretty quickly, which is a shame, because his motivation is interesting and would have been something to explore. 

Probably the best part of the season involves the students doing "Work Placement" with professional heroes. Deku is, of course, the focus, but Ochaco joining up with a Bruiser style hero to learn to fight and Tsu getting a decent chunk of an episode to be more than a joke character make me want to see more of them as well. Late in the season, there's an "Origins" episode for Bakugo, which still doesn't explain his anger issues or why he's not either in therapy or prison. Seriously, he attacks teachers and civilians during the Sports Festival, that's gotta be an expulsion offense. I'm still not completely sold on My Hero Academia, but I am more keen for season three than I was for season two, when I eventually get there, not that I'm hurrying or you should expect to see it here anytime soon.