Season 5 of My Hero Academia is a swingy season. It swings between playful experimentation, grounded superhero storytelling, and some of the darkest, most ambitious villain‑focused material the show has attempted so far. It’s uneven in places, but never uninteresting. The joy of new quirks and creative battles sits right beside the tragedy of Tomura Shigaraki’s past, and Bakugo’s long‑overdue growth runs alongside Endeavour’s painful attempts at redemption. And by the time the season ends, the story has widened into something massive, a conflict that promises to reshape the entire world of the show. Season 5 is transitional in that it builds and deepens the world, and prepares us for what’s to come.
The Joint Training arc is pure, messy fun that reminds you why this world is so enjoyable to spend time in. The Class 1‑A vs Class 1‑B matchups are some of the most inventive battles the series has staged, full of clever quirk applications and unexpected strategies. It’s a playground for creativity: shrooms sprouting everywhere, shadows twisting into new shapes, and Dark Shadow getting some of its most interesting uses to date. There’s also a real sense of playfulness here, a joy in seeing how far these powers can be pushed.
But the real surprise is Bakugo. I’ve made no secret of my dislike for him, especially in the early seasons, but this is one of his best moments. For once, he isn’t just explosive aggression wrapped in ego; he’s a teammate. Still prickly, still very much himself, but actually working with others in a way that feels like genuine, long‑overdue growth. It’s the first time the show lets him be competent and cooperative without undercutting either trait, and it’s refreshing to finally see him move forward.
The arc doesn’t try to be profound, but it’s energetic, inventive, and character‑driven. It aacts as a reminder that the show shines brightest when it’s simply letting its cast experiment, clash, and grow.
The Endeavour Agency arc is more straightforward superhero storytelling, but it’s done well, and it’s one of the season’s stronger stretches. Endeavour’s ascension to the Number One spot forces him into a role he never expected to fill, and the arc leans into that discomfort. He’s trying, genuinely, awkwardly, painfully, to become someone worthy of the position he’s inherited. It’s not redemption yet, but it is effort, and the show treats that effort with surprising nuance.
Working with Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki gives the arc a sense of momentum. Each of them grows in ways that feel organic: Midoriya continues to push the boundaries of One For All, Bakugo sharpens his instincts and discipline, and Todoroki confronts the complicated legacy he’s been carrying since childhood. Endeavour becomes a catalyst for all three, not through lectures or grand speeches, but through example, and through the way he throws himself into danger, the way he studies villains, the way he tries to communicate even when he’s terrible at it. The family angle also further opens up the vulnerability that we started to see at the end of last season.
There’s a weight to this arc that feels refreshing after the chaos of the Joint Training battles. It’s quieter, more focused, and more mature. It’s about responsibility, growth, and the challenge of becoming better than the person you used to be. That philosophy is actually kind of just the show in a nutshell, and for Endeavour, that work is only just beginning.
The Meta Liberation Army arc is where Season 5 stops playingaround and dives headfirst into something far darker. It’s one of the rare times the show hands the narrative over to the villains and says: watch them grow. It works disturbingly well. One of the episodes is even named My Villain Academia. Apt. The League of Villains, who have often felt chaotic and directionless, suddenly become the centre of the story, and the shift in perspective is electric.
Tomura Shigaraki’s origin story is the heart of the arc, and it’s brutal. The show doesn’t soften the horror of his childhood or the suffocating pressure that shaped him. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s the moment the series finally commits to making him more than a symbol of destruction. His “rebirth,” when he stops running from his past and embraces the monstrous potential within him, is chilling. It’s cathartic in the worst possible way: a release that feels both inevitable and terrifying.
The rest of the arc is packed with striking moments: the League pushed to their limits, the Meta Liberation Army revealing the scale of their power, and the horrifying realisation that the villains are evolving just as quickly as the heroes. But everything circles back to Tomura. By the end of the arc, he’s a fully realised antagonist with purpose, conviction, and a terrifying new level of power. The story widens around him, and you can start to visualise the conflict that’s coming.
This arc sets the stage for the future. It changes the tone of the entire series as the world stands on the brink of something catastrophic. In terms of stakes, we’re beyond the classroom drama of earlier seasons.
Season 5 closes by stepping into the opening scenes of the Paranormal Liberation War, and even in these early moments, the scale is huge. We’ve had so much buildup, with Endeavour’s growth, the League’s evolution, and the rise of the Meta Liberation Army. Now, suddenly, it all converges into something vast. The heroes are mobilising, the villains are consolidating power, and the world feels like it’s shifting under everyone’s feet. People are going to get hurt.
What’s striking is how quiet these early scenes are. There’s no immediate explosion of violence, no dramatic confrontation. Instead, there’s a sense of tightening threads: Hawks has been amazing whilst working undercover. Endeavour has spent time piecing together fragments of information. The students are preparing for something without fully understanding what’s coming. It’s the calm before a storm that the show has been hinting at for a few seasons now.
And because we’ve just watched Tomura Shigaraki’s transformation, the tension is sharper. We know what he’s becoming. We know what he’s capable of now. The heroes don’t.
Season 5 doesn’t resolve any of this; it just opens the door. But the promise is clear: the next season is going to be enormous, wiyh the kind of conflict that reshapes the entire series. You know the war is coming, and you’re ready for it. I’m actually curious how hard they’re going to go in a show that, when you consider all of the power getting thrown around, hasn’t actually had much of a body count.
This season was playful, brutal, and always moving the story toward something bigger. Season 6 is going to be huge.