My Hero Academia Season 5 is one unique season covering three arcs. Joint Training arc, the Endeavor Agency arc (which connected to the World Heroes Mission movie), and the Meta Liberation Army arc/My Villain Academia which marked the beginning of Shigaraki’s true rise as All for One’s heir.

Synopsis: As the students of UA Hero Class A and B hone their skills in battle by working in teams, Shigaraki’s League of Villains go through a major challenge of their own trying to tame One for All’s “bodyguard” Gigantomachia to gain the support of Doctor Kyudai Garaki. Todoroki also invites Bakugo and Deku to join him as interns in his father’s agency.

My Hero Academia Season 5 is all about character development. The Joint Training Arc shows both Class A and Class B moving forward and taking great strides towards becoming great heroes. Even though Vlad King provided ample comic relief because of his biased commentaries in favor of his students, the arc was made exciting by the fact that the students were able to utilize their strengths and work together to score a victory against the other team. Most notable among the fights was Bakugo’s perfect victory against Class B in a way that Bakugo could only do. Izuku’s victory against Shinso’s team was truly a miracle after his Blackwhip went berserk. While Eraserhead took his class’ victories and defeats in stride (which is a testament to how cool he is as a mentor), you’ve gotta love the guy for his patient mentoring of Shinso, much like he took Eri under his wing.

Oh, and for Deku and Uraraka shippers, some progress seems to be made with these two as Ochaco quickly springs to Deku’s aid when his Quirk goes awry.

Endeavor Agency Arc: I like how the trio of Deku, Bakugo and Shoto is shaping up. While Bakugo remains as prickly as ever, Endeavor’s no nonsense training style is truly a great challenge to these trio of rising stars. Only these three can stand to be pushed to their limits to produce great results because of their innate rivalry and (reluctant on the part of Bakugo) friendship. They have three totally different personalities and its hilarious how they clash, often at the instigation of Bakugo but its more funny when they just ignore his outbursts. The drama surrounding the Todoroki family was a bit sad. The way it was resolved in the end left a lot to be explored.

Meta Liberation Army arc: Shigaraki was a constant threat from the first attack against UA and his decay is no joke. However, he never really did any real fighting until this season when he tirelessly went up against Gigantomachia. He held his own against the giant and fought relentlessly to exhaustion and even came up with an idea of how to stop 100,000 sympathizers of the Meta Liberation Army with only a handful of comrades in his corner. He may be a villain but mad props to this guy for rising up to the challenge and scoring a massive victory for his cause. I also can’t help but feel a bit sympathetic to the villains in this arc as their backstories unfolded and their loyalty to each other was tested. The League of Villains stuck with Shigaraki through thick and thin and seemed to develop a strong bond that allowed Twice to overcome his trauma and help turn the tide against their enemy. It was fantastic when he unleashed his true power after being relegated as a henchman in seasons past.

I love that on both sides, the camaraderie has shaped up quite nicely, and exploring these relationships help fans invest more in these characters — what happens to them, whether they make it to the end or not. In any case, My Hero Academia just seems to get better with every installment, great stories from mangaka Kohei Horikoshi, and great animation from Studio Bones.