My Hero Academiais headed into its final season, finishing off the climactic battle between the heroes and villains. However, if the series is to do that in a satisfying way, it’ll have to change its behavior on one key issue: censorship of violence.
As a shonen series with a young audience, it’s often a concern as to just how much violence is being shown on screen, even more so than in manga form. Over the years ofMy Hero Academia’s run, there have been several moments which have been censored for violence, often by omitting blood or using discretionary shots where the violent act occurs off-camera.The “My Villain Academia” arc, for example, saw Toga’s use of Ochaco’s Quirk censored, omitting the physical bodies of her adversaries hitting the ground in favor of blood spatter. For the final arc to work properly, however, this kind of censorship should be done away with.
My Hero Academia Has a Long History With Censorship
The My Hero Academia Anime Has Been Censoring Since the Beginning
My Hero Academiaisn’t new to the censorship game; while early chapters had little that needed to be censored, there have been scenes censored almost from the beginning. Fans really began complaining about censorship in the fifth season, and while the degree of censorship has varied over the episodes since then, it still remains a problem that many are upset about. One infamous scene from season 5 shows how extreme the censorship can be, withShigaraki in the manga being much more clearly torturedby Dr. Garaki, pierced by metal and bleeding, whereas in the anime, he is simply shocked by electricity, with no blood at all.
With the story in its final arc, an all-out war between heroes and villains, the violence in the anime is currently very near its peak. There’s little in the way of mercy being shown by either side, and to the show’s credit, it has kept in some particularly violent scenes that some fans worried would be cut, such as Endeavor’s right arm being ripped off during his fight with All for One. Much of the battle between Shoto and Dabi was also left uncensored, not shying away from showing the damage that Dabi’s burns are doing to himself. But there are other scenes which haven’t been so lucky.
My Hero Academia’s Final War Will Work Best Uncensored
The Manga’s Depiction of the War is Appropriately Violent
If the final arc ofMy Hero Academiais to be a war, then it should be as violent as waris. Censorship may aim to tone down graphic imagery, but sometimes that graphic imagery has been put there to evoke a certain feeling in the audience, and censoring it can change how a scene is perceived. Horikoshi wasn’t being violent for the sake of being violent; it’s to make a point. In order forMy Hero Academia’s finale to have the impact the author intended, it absolutely must be left as minimally censored as possible.
