My Hero Academiais one of the most popular anime adaptations in recent years, for a number of understandable reasons.Its standout character development, action-packed fight sequences, and stellar animationprovided by Studio Bones are all aspects that have attracted adoring fans to the franchise.
However, there is one lesser-known detail ofMy Hero Academia’sanime that actually completely changed the way anime is produced for the better: its release schedule.My Hero Academiaadopted an innovative seasonal release model,rather than debuting new episodes every week, which has had many positive benefits and paved the way for other shonen giants to follow suit.
My Hero Academia Shook Up Shonen Anime With a Seasonal Release Schedule
Until This Development, Most Shonen Series Released New Episodes Weekly Rather Than Seasonally
Big shonen anime serieslikeOne Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto,andBleachrelease episodes fairly consistently with few breaks, typically putting out one new episode per week. Although this may seem like a favorable outcome for fans, these weekly release schedules can cause a few unanticipated issues. For starters, eventually, these franchises run out of canon manga content, and while waiting for the manga to come out with the next chapter,filler episodes become a necessity to bridge these gaps,which is sometimes tough since all-new storylines need to be created that will not interfere with the manga timeline.
“It Won’t Ever Be Back to Normal”: My Hero Academia’s Epilogue Proves What Makes It a Different Shonen
My Hero Academia’s epilogue defies one key shonen trope that makes all the difference, showcasing Horikoshi’s unique storytelling at its finest.
Another struggle these weekly release schedules cause is variations in production quality across episodes of these animes. Although these shonen anime adaptations are mostly executed well by their animation studios, having to release a new episode every week as opposed to a batch of new episodes a couple of times per year places a larger strain on these companies and their animators. It can be difficult to ensure quality stays consistent when so many episodes of an anime are being produced without a break, soMy Hero Academiachose to build in gaps between anime seasons instead.
Studio Bones Is Able to Focus On Exceptional Quality and Leave Out Filler
The Seasonal Schedule Gives My Hero Academia’s Animation Studio More Time and Makes Filler Unneeded
My Hero Academia’sseasonal schedule is the key to solving these problems. Although fans have to wait longer in between episodes, that trade-off is well worth the benefits.My Hero Academia’sstudio, Bones, is able to focus on high-quality animation and show a careful amount of attention when creating each new episode of the series, rather than being rushed to debut a new episode each week.My Hero Academiais also one of very few shonen anime series that contains no fillerin its anime; the storyline follows the events in the manga exactly, creating a more cohesive viewing experience.
My Hero Academiamay lack filler in its official anime adaptation, but the franchise does contain several movies entirely made with content that was not in the manga.There are fourMy Hero Academiamoviesin total:Two Heroes, Heroes Rising, World Heroes' Mission,andYou’re Next.These movies may not have been derived from the manga’s story, but they do fit well into the canon and theMy Hero Academiamanga’s author,Kohei Horikoshi, has even seemed to hint that these films are canon compliantby using characters and storylines from the films in the manga.
Other Shonen Hits Began to Follow My Hero Academia’s Lead
Series Like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen Started to Debut Episodes Seasonally and Release Canon Movies
These films allowedMy Hero Academiaa chance to explore stories and characters the manga did not have time to expand upon, thus growing the universe of the franchise. BothMy Hero Academia’sinnovative seasonal release schedule and its approach to creating films seem to have inspired other modern shonen series that have taken similar actions, following inMy Hero Academia’sfootsteps. Shonen anime series likeJujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man,andDemon Slayerhave all usedMy Hero Academia’sseasonal releasemodel, rather than putting out new episodes weekly like most shonen series did before My Hero Academia.
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My Hero Academia is a staple of modern shonen, showcasing incredible powers, deep friendships, and a main character who doesn’t know how to quit
The majority of the most popular shonen anime series today come out with new episodes seasonally rather than weekly, which has led to an increase in higher quality, more creative anime.Theatrical anime movie releases are also becoming more common.My Hero Academiawas certainly not the first franchise to make anime movies or put them in theaters, but the franchise did seem to inspire others to begin creating canon films. For example,Demon Slayer’smovies have proven immensely successful worldwide, with itsMugen Trainmovie being one of the best-selling anime filmsever, and they are all canon.
My Hero Academia Improved the Anime Industry With This One Simple Choice
A Seasonal Release Schedule Has Worked for Many Series, Allowing for Higher Quality, More Consistent Anime
The creators behind Demon Slayer’s anime have even made the groundbreaking decision to releaseDemon Slayer’sfinal two manga arcs, Infinity Castle and Sunrise Countdown, in the form ofa three-part theatrical Infinity Castle movie trilogy. A release format like this for canon anime content was previously unheard of and the success of bothMy Hero Academia’srelease schedule and canon-compliant movies helped pave the way for animation studios to take greater risks,such as this one. Now, it is more common to see anime series releasing seasonally rather than weekly, and there are more anime films than ever before.
My Hero Academia Just Reversed The Most Important Shonen Trope In The Best Way
Shonen characters often have to suffer to become great heroes, but My Hero Academia’s latest chapter proves that doesn’t have to be the case.
My Hero Academiaclearly had a massive impact on the anime industry as a whole,both because it is a phenomenal, one-of-a-kind story and because of the way its anime release was handled. The series has not only won numerous awards, inspired spin-off mangas and animes,likeMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes,and been enjoyed by fans worldwide, it has offered animation studios a new seasonal release schedule idea that was not really used previously.My Hero Academia’ssuccess has improved the entire anime industry by proving that not every series has to follow the exact same release schedule, and that seasonal releases can really pay off.
