Premiere Report: My Hero Academia Season 5 OAV

While we patiently await the arrival of My Hero Academia season six, Crunchyroll was kind enough to premiere a nice OVA at Anime Expo with it coming to Crunchyroll later this summer. The premiere was in one of the main event halls and it was absolutely stacked. Lauren Moore came on stage to cheer the audience on and take a group photo to commemorate the turnout. After repping Crunchyroll's merch, including some really nice PC covers, the OVA began screening and the best way to describe it is that it's the result of putting together two slightly shorter than average episodes.

Remember when Class A had the work study programs and we would get a side episode focusing on what everyone else was doing outside of the main plot? That's what we have here with both halves only taking themselves seriously by the smallest of margins. The first half is about a baseball game involving pro heroes and interns. Gang Orca and Pro Hero Lionel apparently have a fierce rivalry, trying to settle the score with Heroes baseball. It's just like regular baseball except if you get knocked out while playing, you're out of the game and the last person who has players left is the winner. What that leaves us with is an incredibly comedic segment where various heroes and students use their powers in creative ways to either take each other out or just barely survive. For such a low stakes and borderline dumb premise, the amount of hype generated was noteworthy. The crowd loved every exchange with each character having their own way of dealing with the situation and the resolution was perfect.

The second half of the OVA focuses on Deku, Bakugo and Todoroki while they're working under Endeavor to take on a vigilante who is vandalizing the city by painting all over public property. This half also has a comedic slant to it as the criminal in question has the ability to force people to uncontrollably laugh for two hours just by looking at his face. That doesn't sound funny on its own but the almost seductive sounding voice over that happens when the ability is triggered just kept getting funnier and funnier. Plus, the opportunity to see certain stern characters unable to control themselves while also watching Deku crash into a wall after losing his composure played a part in the appeal. The second half isn't as kinetic as the first as Deku tries to figure out why this vigilante is doing what he's doing and ends up empathizing with the man's situation. There is a bit of a redemption arc at the end and it does feel nice if not a little bit like a double beat of similar situations that we have seen in the show. It's definitely consistent with the series thematically, however I feel like that setup was already executed better in the show prior to this point.

But I don't think this OVA was meant to pull at the heartstrings. In terms of animation quality, this OVA on the whole is pretty standard but the sense of comedic timing in his first half was amazing. It's honestly the most I've laughed during an episode of the entire show and the crowd seemed to agree as there were a handful of loud audible laughs and cheers. Overall, this OVA was a solid side track from the main series. I don't think it'll be enough on its own to satiate fans until the next season comes along but if you are a fan of the series, I am positive there's plenty of enjoyment and laughs to keep you entertained.