My Hero Academia Season 7 Dives Headfirst Into the Final War

It’s that time once again to revisit U.A. High School and see what Class 1-A is up to in the grand fight against Tomura Shigaraki and All for One. My Hero Academia season 7 finally arrived, and while it doesn’t appear to be the final season of the long-running anime series, it certainly doesn’t need to be.

The premiere episode of My Hero Academia Season 7, Episode 139 “In the Nick of Time! A Big-Time Maverick From the West,” wastes no time in getting back into the thick of everything. Following Deku’s return to U.A., it appears the final war with Tomura Shigaraki and All for One is gearing up. The episode gave a little bit of screen time to Deku and some of his classmates, but considering everything happening it wasn’t much at all. This actually worked in the episode’s favor, as it meant it didn’t take too much time recapping everything like past season premieres.

Instead, it dove into the newly introduced number one hero from the US, Star and Stripe. As the apprentice to All Might, she has both the unbelievable power and ridiculous costume taste of the lovable hero. Her journey to Japan brings her face-to-face with the series’ main villain Tomura Shigaraki alongside her own fighter jets. Much of the episode features the initial part of the two supes duking it out with one another in terrific fashion.

This battle between Star and Stripe and Shigaraki/All for One makes for an excellent way to start Season 7. It focuses less on the character development and story, and more on action. I actually don’t mind this, as we are so far into the series at this point, it feels great to see high-stakes battles like this one. Much like some of the best fights in the series, this one is almost like a turn-based puzzle, in a way. We see Star and Stripe use her fascinating superpowers against Shigaraki. It looks like she is going to win. He counters it, she counters back, and it continues. All the while, we get to learn more about Star and Stripe’s exceptionally overpowered quirk.

Though much of the episode and action takes place in the sky, this doesn’t detract from the animation. If anything, this blank canvas allowed for some striking visual effects and facial animations. Shigaraki, as always, is as terrifying as ever. Meanwhile, Star and Stripe has all the blonde hopefulness of All Might 2.0.

While the episode ends on a cliffhanger, it becomes clear this fight is only getting started. As such, this premiere did its job right. It teased the final war and themes of this season well. And at the same time, it offered its own set of meaningful action that stands out well among the already great fights in the series.

I also can’t fail to mention the new opening theme from TK. If you love some of his classic anime openings in the past, you’ll probably enjoy this one, too. Overall, the My Hero Academia Season 7 first episode does just about everything right. It sets the stakes high again for the final war between the heroes and villains. In addition, the premiere wastes no time in diving headfirst into the beginning of the end. As such, I can’t wait to continue watching the latest season of this long-running anime.

My Hero Academia Season 7 is now streaming as part of the Spring 2024 anime season on Crunchyroll. Viz Media handles the manga outside Japan.