Boku no Hero Academia Season 5 anime preview: Izuku Midoriya’s new powers and My Villain Academia

Hitoshi Shinso and Izuku Midoriya in My Hero Academia
Hitoshi Shinso plays a critical role in helping Izuku Midoriya unleash his true powers in the Boku no Hero Academia Season 5 anime. Pic credit: Kohei Horikoshi

The My Hero Academia Season 5 anime has officially been confirmed to be in production by Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.

Anime fans waiting on the Boku no Hero Academia Season 5 release date are probably eager to know what happens next to Izuku Midoriya and the rest of Class 1-A at UA High.

Needless to say, the rest of this article is filled with spoilers and should not be read until you’ve finished the ending of the My Hero Academia Season 4 anime.

READ: My Hero Academia Season 5 release date and manga comparison

These spoilers are intended to be an overview or summary of sections of the story from the My Hero Academia manga series by Kohei Horikoshi.

Certain details will be omitted from the spoilers so there will still be some surprises.

And we’ll start by recapping the main story events from the ending of the fourth season.

My Hero Academia: U.A. School Festival arc

In the wake of the tragic confrontation with Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai (Eight Precepts Of Death) yakuza, Class 1-A prepares for the upcoming UA School Festival.

The class decides to hold a dance with a live band for their program. Kyoka is the lead performer on the band, but even Bakugo turns out to be a talented drummer.

Meanwhile, Izuku Midoriya continues to train with All Might, and he’s working on his long-range attacks.

Special gloves created by Mei Hatsume allow him to generate an air pressure wave that he calls the Delaware Smash Air Force (the gloves were also featured in the My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising movie, which is set ahead of even Boku no Hero Academia Season 5 in the timeline).

Along the way, Izuku runs into villains called Gentle Criminal and La Brava. This is the first time that Izuku has a chance to take on a villain by himself since receiving his hero license. But this criminal is quite different from the others he’s faced before.

As a youth, Gentle Criminal had tried becoming a hero but decided to turn to crime. But Gentle Criminal is not seeking money or physical objects.

Instead, he desires fame and wants to go down in history by boosting his reputation with online videos. And what better way to gain infamy than to infiltrate the security of UA High during its festival?

My Hero Academia: Pro Hero Arc

The story picks up again after the events of the U.A. School Festival. The official hero rankings are announced once a year through the Hero Billboard Chart. With All Might in retirement, Endeavor officially becomes the number one hero, while the hero Hawks becomes number two.

Hawks reveals that he was never a fan of All Might, believing that the hero society did not need an iconic figure as a leader. Instead, Hawks desires a leader who possesses the mental fortitude to support all the heroes below him.

Hawks doesn’t wish to become the Number One Hero himself since he likes the freedom bestowed by being lower ranked.

Endeavor’s position as Number One Hero is soon put to the test when rumors of Nomu sightings spread all over Japan. Spotting a Nomu called High-End flying through the sky, Endeavor uses flames to fly up and engage in battle.

The battle in the sky is broadcast on TV, so Shoto and Class 1-A are able to watch as Endeavor begins to lose the fight. The Nomu impales Endeavor through the torso and slashes his face, splitting his jaw and left eye wide open.

My Hero Academia Season 4 Pro Hero Arc Hawks Endeavor Key Visual
The key visual for the Pro Hero arc for My Hero Academia Season 4 showed off Hawks and Endeavor. Pic credit: Studio Bones

Watching the broadcast, everyone is horrified, and All Might feels helpless since he can’t rush to Endeavor’s aid.

It’s only with Hawks’ help that Endeavor survives. Barely functioning, Endeavor still manages to destroy High-End while shouting “Plus Ultra” even though he hated the UA High motto. Rising from the ashes victorious, Endeavor even strikes a pose, mimicking All Might’s victory stance by raising his fist in the air.

Any celebration was short-lived since Dabi appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the clearing with blue flames. Even more surprising is that Dabi seemingly knows Endeavor personally somehow, calling Endeavor by his real name.

Dabi attacks Endeavor and Hawks but is forced to fall back. Shortly later, it is revealed that a certain hero meets with Dabi and is working as a double agent to gain the trust of the League of Villains.

My Hero Academia Manga Endeavor Scar
Endeavor’s grisly fight against the Nomu High-End leaves the hero with a horrible scar. Pic credit: Kohei Horikoshi

Endeavor only avoids death from his injuries thanks to the help of Recovery Girl, but he’s still left with a large scar on the left side of his face.

The beating isn’t over yet since Endeavor returns home for a family dinner. However, Shoto’s brother, Natsuo Todoroki, chews Endeavor out for being the same person who neglected and abused his family despite becoming the Number One Hero.

Endeavor realizes that he must atone for what he did to his family in the past.

Note: It’s expected that Boku no Hero Academia Season 5 will pick up with Chapters 190 through 193 of Volume 21, the final chapters of the Pro Hero arc.

Back at the UA High dorms, an exhausted Izuku finishes training and falls asleep. Dreaming, he has a vision of All Might’s mentor, Nana Shimura, and the previous users of the One For All quirk.

He sees the events from the past that led to the creation of One For All. When Quirks first started spreading in the world, they were called Superpowers, but the negative ramifications of almost everyone receiving Quirks caused society to break down.

Physical mutations to a person’s appearance could cause some to be ostracized from society. Worse, organized hero organizations did not exist, and those with Quirks preyed on the Quirkless.

All For One used the chaos to establish a power base for himself. While his actions were for personal gain, he was also seen as a symbol of unity since he could give and remove Quirks, thus “fixing” the problems in society.

All For One claims he is restoring order, but his brother realized that he was simply building an army of loyal servants. The Quirkless brother could do nothing to stop All For One’s rise to power, and the brother was imprisoned.

All For One eventually visits his brother in prison and uses comic books they read together to explain his recent actions. But the brother points out that All For One never finished reading the story, and the Hero of Justice eventually defeated the villains.

Enraged, All For One grabbed his brother and transferred a Quirk that allowed the user to stockpile power. The dream ends with Izuku being able to interact with his predecessors, including All For One’s brother, the first user of One For All.

What does the future hold for Midoriya, and what do his dreams about One For All mean?

My Hero Academia Season 5 Weekly Shonen Jump Announcement
The official announcement of My Hero Academia Season 5 in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Pic credit: Weekly Shonen Jump

My Hero Academia: Joint Training arc

The young heroes resume their schooling by having joint training sessions where Class 1-A and Class 1-B compete in multiple rounds. The classmates work hard on honing their quirks, but the real surprise is when Hitoshi Shinso of Class 1-C joins the joint training sessions.

Hitoshi hopes to prove that he has what it takes to be in the Hero Course at UA High. He has a new costume and a device called Persona Code, a mask that helps activate his brainwashing Quirk by tricking others into responding to his voice.

He’s also mimicking Eraser Head’s fighting style and wields a steel cloth woven with carbon nanofibers.

Each class is divided into groups of four students, and they battle it out in a series of rounds. While it might seem like a foregone conclusion that Class 1-A will win, Class 1-B has been steadily improving their abilities while staying out of the limelight.

My Hero Academia Season 5 Anime Teaser Visual
The My Hero Academia Season 5 anime visual teases that a new power is awaking. Pic credit: Studio BONES

Many of the young heroes have been developing new powers. For example, Fumikage Tokyoami developed his technique during an internship and work-study with Hawks.

Fumikage learned from Hawks the ability to fly by wrapping himself in Dark Shadow and using its arms like wings. Called Black Fallen Angel, this technique was already shown in the My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising movie.

Similarly, Tenya Iida also used his Recipro Turbo technique during the movie. Before the jointing training exercise started, Tenya visited his brother Tensei in the hospital, and the elder brother suggested “tuning” his engine.

This painful procedure involved removing the muffler, but once it grows back, the engine’s performance is increased, making Tenya faster than Gran Torino.

Meanwhile, Endeavor is still working on making things right with his son Shoto. During a battle against Tetsutetsu’s Steel Quirk, Shoto recalls words from his father and figures out a way to increase his flames beyond their limit.

The heat is so intense that cameras recording the bout begin to melt. After the joint training battles are over Shoto realizes he needs his father’s help and is able to develop a new Super Move called Flashfire.

Katsuki Bakugo reveals a new super move called Explode-A-Pult. Bakugo grabs an opponent and uses explosions to spin rapidly, so he can throw his opponent away.

Already shown off in the Heroes Rising movie during the fight against Nine, Bakugo grabbed Izuku to increase his momentum during Deku’s St. Louis Smash attack on Nine.

Far away in Tartarus, All For One is plotting his next move even while imprisoned. But the villain has begun to slowly feel the presence of his younger brother.

During these joint training sessions, Izuku will unlock secrets from the past. Gran Torino also tells All Might about a dream that his predecessor Nana Shimura had when first inheriting One For All. She dreamed that a shadowy figure told her, “It’s not time yet.”

Izuku is in the middle of a match when suddenly unstable dark energy envelops his body. Izuku unleashes devastating dark tendrils, and he goes on a rampage across the field. But Izuku can’t get his Quirk under control despite commanding it to stop.

My Hero Academia Izuku Midoriya Blackwhip Quirk
Deku creates chaos on the battlefield when his new power goes out of control. Pic credit: Kohei Horikoshi

All Might demands Erase Head and Vlad King cancel the match before someone is seriously injured, but Eraser Head believes they shouldn’t intervene.

Fortunately, Ochaco used her zero-gravity Quirk to restrain Izuku and prevent him from injuring himself or his classmates.

Hitoshi manages to stop Izuku’s rampage by deactivating One For All by brainwashing him. Plunged into a waking dream, Izuku sees a bald man wearing goggles named Daigoro Banjo, who warns him about using his new powers carelessly.

It turns out Hitoshi’s Quirk can affect One For All, and Izuku is even able to speak to the previous One For All users. The dark tendrils were Daigoro’s Blackwhip Quirk, and it manifested when Izuku was thinking about capturing his opponent.

The One For All quirk has grown inside Izuku to the point that he’s unlocking new abilities that even All Might couldn’t access. The Quirks of the previous One For All users have lain dormant in the past, but now Izuku’s predecessors will be supporting him.

Back in the fight, Izuku consciously summoned Blackwhip without losing control, but it quickly fizzles out since it’s too powerful for his body. Izuku will now have five more Quirks he can discover over time.

My Villain Academia Boku no Hero Academia Manga Chapter 227
The next story arc for Boku no Hero Academia Season 5 is a bit crazy since the manga series literally shifts its title to My Villain Academia. Pic credit: Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia: Meta Liberation Army arc

It’s now time for the villains to rise, with the League of Villains being given a chance to shine as the protagonists of their own arc. All For One will provide a challenge to Tomura to prove he is worthy of becoming his master’s successor.

In the past, Destro formed the Meta Liberation Army (MLA), a militia group that espoused that freely using Quirks is a basic human right, including unregulated superpowers.

On the other hand, the national governments of the world wanted to control and regulate Quirks, so the MLA was eventually defeated and disbanded.

Destro spent years in prison and wrote an autobiography containing his ideals, which is why Gentle Criminal mentioned the MLA as having left its mark on history. Destro eventually committed suicide, but not before secretly producing a son.

This son was raised by the surviving members of the MLA and groomed to become their new leader. Taking on the name Re-Destro to honor his father’s memory, the resurrected Meta Liberation Army now has a new target: the League of Villains.

Re-Destro believes that the League of Villains represents a threat to Destroy’s legacy and thus must be destroyed.

The MLA captures one of the League’s members to lure Tomura and his followers into a trap set in Deika City, the MLA’s base of operations where even the local heroes are considered liberated soldiers for the cause.

Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the My Hero Academia Season 5 release date to watch and see what happens next. Stay tuned!

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