My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ヒーローズ：ライジング (Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising)
- Action
- Super Power
- Episodes
- 1
- Duration
- 1 hr 44 min
- Aired
- Dec 20, 2019
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
Izuku “Deku” Midoriya and U.A. High’s Class 1-A are assigned to a safety program on the peaceful Nabu Island, where they spend their days helping residents with routine tasks and getting a taste of everyday hero work. With crime nearly nonexistent, the assignment seems like a welcome change of pace—until a sudden threat shatters the island’s calm.
A ruthless villain known as Nine arrives in search of a specific Quirk to advance his plan for a world ruled by the strongest powers. As Nine and his companions endanger the island’s people, Class 1-A is forced into a real fight, balancing evacuation and protection with the need to stop the attackers. When a local boy, Katsuma Shimano—someone Deku has grown close to—becomes a particular target, the students must rethink their approach and do whatever it takes to keep him safe.
Otaku Consensus
Heroes Rising is received as the My Hero Academia film that most convincingly earns the big screen, using Bones’ high-impact action animation and a genuine Class 1-A ensemble focus to deliver the “ultimate MHA movie” experience critics wanted after Two Heroes. The common reservation is that it still plays like a franchise event built for existing fans, with spectacle and emotional payoff valued more than standalone depth; even favorable reactions often frame it as a very fun 7.5/10-style ride rather than a major reinvention.
Why You Should Watch
Watch Heroes Rising if you want My Hero Academia at maximum team-battle intensity without the slower school-life setup that often surrounds the TV arcs. It is built for viewers who enjoy seeing every member of a large shounen cast treated as a tactical asset, not just background color for the leads. The appeal is closer to the best Naruto squad fights than a solo-power fantasy: coordination, rescue priorities, counter-matchups, and escalating physical punishment all matter. Compared with Two Heroes, this film has a stronger case for being theatrical because its action is spread across the class rather than saved mainly for one finale. If you follow MHA for Bones’ kinetic animation, Deku’s self-destructive resolve, and the catharsis of young heroes being forced to operate like professionals, this is one of the franchise’s cleanest payoffs.
Key Characters
- IIzuku Midoriya
Deku is compelling here because the film pushes his familiar rescue-first idealism into a setting where leadership, triage, and raw combat stamina all have to function at once.
- KKatsuma Shimano
Katsuma gives the movie its emotional anchor, reflecting the kind of vulnerable civilian perspective that makes hero work feel personal rather than abstract.
- NNine
Nine stands out as a movie villain designed around overwhelming Quirk pressure, making him less a philosophical foil than a stress test for Class 1-A’s teamwork.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
Studio Bones handles the film, and the reception repeatedly singles out its animation as a theatrical upgrade, with reviewers calling it some of the best-looking action animation in the franchise.
- 2
Unlike Two Heroes, which one cited critic dismissed as largely a Die Hard-style setup with a major climax, Heroes Rising is praised for spreading its set pieces and character utility across Class 1-A.
- 3
The film’s structure leans into ensemble hero operations: evacuation, protection, and combat are treated as simultaneous responsibilities rather than separate story beats.
- 4
Its rural Nabu Island setting gives the superhero action a different texture from the franchise’s usual school and city environments, a distinction also reflected in AniList’s high Rural tag rating of 88%.
- 5
The movie’s fan standing is unusually strong for a franchise tie-in film, sitting at a 7.93 MAL score from 372,601 votes and a 79/100 AniList score with 3,403 favorites.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- Heroes Rising opened in Japan on December 20, 2019, making it the second My Hero Academia theatrical film after Two Heroes.
- Fun fact 2
- The production’s key animation credits include Yuki Satou, Haruka Sanetou, Atsushi Hasebe, Mami Horimoto, Masakazu Yamagishi, Shizuka Okumoto, Fumika Arakaki, Noriko Morishima, Osamu Murata, and Shuu Sugita.
- Fun fact 3
- AniList tags the film as Superhero at 96%, Chimera at 95%, and Super Power at 92%, showing how strongly viewers associate it with comic-book-style escalation and Quirk-driven spectacle.
- Fun fact 4
- Critical write-ups repeatedly emphasize that the film works best as a theatrical MHA experience, with one review specifically contrasting it favorably against Two Heroes for better justifying its cinema release.
- Fun fact 5
- One fan-review data point rated it 7.5/10 while still calling it fun and worthwhile, which matches the broader consensus: highly satisfying for MHA followers, but not usually framed as a standalone masterpiece.
Studios
- Bones
