Structuring the Pilot: My Hero Academia
Coming back for another pilot, this time with My Hero Academia. That’s right. Switching things up so much that an anime is taking centre stage.
Before I get into the breakdown itself, I’m going to clarify a few choices being made here. First off, I watched the dub version of the episode for this breakdown. So, any differences in quotes I bring up, that’s probably why.
Secondly, I’ll be breaking this down into a kind of act structure that I can’t say for sure is accurate to the way it was written but feels like it makes the most sense as a retrospective of it. I’ll be calling the opening scenes that happen before the theme song the cold open, as it would often be called here. Act one being from the theme until the episode’s title card. Act two from the episode’s title card to the halfway break. And act three being the rest.
Originally, I was thinking of this entire thing as two acts, much like how the pilot of The Office is structured. But that would also make it seem less purposeful when the breaks in the first half appear. So, that why I’m going with a three act + cold open kind of set up. Whether or not this is how Yôsuke Kuroda ((the original writer of the episode) broke it down, this gives us a shorthand to more easily communicate when things occur.
With all the semantics out of the way, here’s how the episode goes down:
Cold Open: Izuku Midoriya
Young Midoriya stands up to Bakugo; gets his ass kicked.
Years later, Midoriya excitedly runs to watch a fight with a supervillain.
In just these couple short scenes we start off the series learning quite a bit. The concept of “quirks” as a term for superpowers is at least hinted at, though not totally explained. Bakugo being a bit of an asshole is set up. And, between the opening scene and the narration, we get a strong idea of who Izuku Midoriya really is.
We’re immediately told that Midoriya doesn’t have a quirk, unlike the other kids. He’s even told he can’t be a hero without one. This doesn’t dissuade him. Quirk or not, he wants to stand up for the child that’s getting bullied. After Midoriya gets beat up by the three bullies, we hear an older version of him narrating:
“Here’s the sad truth. All men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned some kids have more power than others.”
Let’s be honest, it’s more than a little depressing, especially with the visual of Midoriya laying on the ground, hurt, the kid he was trying to protect looking over him helplessly. But the narration continues as we transition to the next scene:
“But that won’t hold me back. If anything, it pushes me to do better.”
Midoriya has no powers, it is very explicit that he is at a disadvantage, but he refuses to stop chasing his dreams. Hell, even the imagery here is him literately running toward the future he wants. He is going as fast as he can to reach a supervillain crime in progress.
In these two scenes, with a little narration transitioning between them, we basically have a thesis about who the main character is. Midoriya has no powers but pushes himself to be a hero in spite of this fact.
Act One: The World in Exposition
Midoriya explains quirks
Midoriya watches pro heroes defeat the supervillain; admits he wants to be like them.
Where the cold open focused on Midoriya and his drive to be a hero, the first act is all about explaining the world and how heroes work in it.
We start off in a kind of montage where Midoriya explains in the narration how quirks came to be. What started with a single child, quickly spread as more and more children were born with these special powers. And, of course, some people used their quirks for evil, and so, superheroes came about. We’re told 80% of the world now has powers, but only a minority of them choose to use their them to protect others.
After the montage we jump back to the super villain that Midoriya ran toward in the cold open. It’s our first chance to see pro heroes in action. And, though this is a fun action scene, its purpose is still exposition. Everything we see in this fight, and the reactions of people around it, are there to show us what this world is really like.
The civilians gathered around demonstrate the range of what a fight like this has them feeling. There is Midoriya, and others like him, who seem incredibly excited to watch what is about to happen. But then there are others who just sound annoyed as they call in late for work, this super fight coming off as the equivalent of something like a traffic jam to them. There are also civilians who have physical quirks, making it even more clear that not everyone with a power is a hero.
Through the reactions of the crowd, we also see the level of celebrity involved in being a hero. Everyone in the crowd seems to know all these heroes by name, and every time another shows up there is at least one person calling out how cool they are.
This finally culminates with Mt Lady arriving, showing up for what we’re told is her first big appearance to the public. This pushes the celebrity idea further as, well, gross dudes act as paparazzi saying “money shot” as they snap pictures of her ass in a skintight costume.
The fight itself shows a lot of variety in the types of quirks these heroes can have. There is the monstrous physicality and size of the villain, followed up by four pro heroes each with entirely unique looks and abilities (with the slight exception to Mt Lady being a second person with the ability to get big). Even in the way the heroes act we see variety. The first two heroes that come in seem to prioritize keeping the civilians safe and lessening damage. Whereas the next two entirely focus on fighting the villain.
Midoriya pulls out a notebook (labelled #13, to make sure we know he’s been doing this a while) and writes everything he learned from the fight. He isn’t just a passive observer; he wants to know everything he can about being a real hero. When someone asks him about it, he admits he wants to be a hero more than anything.
Act Two: UA and All Might
Midoriya and Bakugo both want to go to UA, everyone laughs at Midoriya.
A slime monster robs a woman, All Might appears.
This act feels like a transitional point. Though we’re still getting exposition, both about who Midoriya is and heroes in general, this is where the episode steps back from the world building and begins this particular episode’s story.
Midoriya is in class, where we learn that all the students want to be heroes. Not only that, but they all have quirks that they show off, some interesting, some not as helpful (one student pulls his own eyes out). Again, we’re highlighting how rare it is for someone to not have a quirk, how Midoriya is literally the only kid in his class without one.
Bakugo is in the same class as Midoriya, and he’s as big an ass as ever. He’s not afraid to say out loud that he is the only one in the entire class good enough to be a hero. We hear he’s trying to get into UA, a hero school with a 2% acceptance rate. And then the class learns he isn’t the only one, Midoriya applied too.
This new information is enough to have Bakugo stop boasting. Midoriya explains the school recently got rid of the rule that you need a quirk to apply. This just pisses of Bakugo even further, like Midoriya even applying makes him look bad. Midoriya tries to make a point, but it comes out entirely as a question. He asks Bakugo that even though he may not have a quirk, he can still try his hardest, right? Bakugo’s answer is that Midoriya will just embarrass their school by even trying.
From here we jump back to the street were a woman has just had her purse stolen. A slime monster races away, and people all around are asking why no hero is around to stop him. It’s our first time (and only time in the episode), where we are fully taken away from Midoriya’s POV and narration.
A skinny figure comes out of a store, hearing all the commotion from the people around about how a villain is getting away. Suddenly the skinny figure grows massive muscles. He steps forward, telling them all that he will stop this monster. A huge smile on his face while he says, “I am here”. The fact that this character’s arrival happens in the only scene away from Midoriya’s POV is a sign to the audience of just how important he really is, even if we don’t know it yet.
Another thing we have no way of knowing yet, but the transformation of this hero, the fact that he started off skinny in this scene, is actually a major reveal. The show is taking this moment to show us something that without context really doesn’t mean much but come episode two will become a major facet of the character. (This all seems like I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, bringing in episode two, but it felt important to address).
Act Three: Beating Down Midoriya
Midoriya’s is told by Bakugo that he could never be a hero.
Midoriya finds his burnt hero notebook.
Young Midoriya makes his mom play a video of All Might’s debut for him.
Young Midoriya is told by a doctor that he’ll never have a quirk.
Young Midoriya asks his mom if he could still be a hero, she doesn’t say yes.
Midoriya is attacked by the slime monster; saved by All Might.
Midoriya is star struck by All Might, who rushes away.
Midoriya clings to All Might as jumps away; All Might is coughing blood.
Midoriya asks All Might if he could ever be a hero.
The entire latter half of this episode comes down to beating down Midoriya as much as possible. So far, we’ve really only seen Bakugo and his friends actively push back on the idea of Midoriya ever being a hero. This act takes that and shows just how much Midoriya must overcome for his dreams to ever be realized.
As the school day ends, Midoriya takes out his hero notebook to write down anything else that he remembers from the earlier fight. Bakugo steals the notebook from him, mocking the very idea of having a notebook like this. He takes it so far that he burns up the notebook and throws it out the window.
Bakugo has another rant about how he is the only one in their school good enough to even think about being a hero. Through all of this, Midoriya just stands there and takes it. At the door, Bakugo off-handedly comments that Midoriya’s only chance to be a hero is to kill himself and hope he is born with a quirk in the next life. This finally get Midoriya fired up, looking like he is going to fight back. But, Bakugo shows off his explosive quirk some more and it scares Midoriya out of doing anything at all.
Midoriya leaves the school completely defeated. He finds his burnt notebook in a koi pond, looking about as destroyed as Midoriya feels. This notebook is basically a symbol for all Midoriya’s hopes for himself; it’s solid symbolism. He’s upset with Bakugo for everything that was said, so much so that it sends us into a flashback, back to the younger Midoriya.
Young Midoriya is obsessed with the hero All Might. His walls are covered in posters. He has an All Might toy in his hand. He even gets his mom to put on a video from the first time All Might ever saved the day. Midoriya is completely entranced by the hero. Young Midoriya yells out that as soon as he gets his quirk, he’ll be a hero just like All Might.
That idea is immediately dashed as a doctor tells him he’ll never develop a quirk. We learn that usually a kid will gain one or both of their parent’s quirks, but that should have happened by now. Then there is a sort of scientific explanation given for how to tell if quirks will develop: people with quirks are missing a joint in their baby toe. And so, a single x-ray is enough to tell Young Midoriya he is out of luck. (It’s a situation that feels mildly midichlorian as an explanation, but thankfully doesn’t seem to appear ever again. At least not up to season 4).
Back at home, things get even worse. Young Midoriya tries to ask his mother if he can still be a hero. She doesn’t explicitly say no, but she apologizes to him, saying she wishes things were different. The way she cries, the implication is clear even to the small child.
Back in the present, Midoriya narrates that it was that day that he vowed to always believe in himself, no matter what anyone else thinks. He’ll always smile, just like All Might. Unfortunately, in this moment he is attacked by the slime monster from earlier. The slime monster plans to go inside Midoriya, murdering him and using his body as a disguise.
So far, outside of the opening scene, all that Midoriya has gone through has been emotional torment rather than physical. And even in that opening scene, his life wasn’t on the line. Sure, quirks were involved, but it was childhood bullying aimed to hurt him, not kill him. This time Midoriya could die because he doesn’t have a quirk to save himself with.
Right before things get that far, All Might arrives. He kicks some ass and saves Midoriya with a Texas Smash! (All of All Might’s punches are named after American states).
Midoriya falls unconscious, waking up on a street where All Might has moved him to. Midoriya is completely star struck. He can’t say much of anything while All Might shows the slime monster now safely trapped in pop bottles. Midoriya gets his thoughts together and realizes he needs to get his hero notebook signed, but All Might has already signed it.
Let’s keep in mind, this notebook is a symbol of Midoriya’s dreams to be a hero. And now that symbol, in a way, has Midoriya’s idol’s approval. As a reading of the events, this might not entirely make sense if taken literally (again, jumping ahead to episode 2). But, if taken as foreshadowing, or as a push Midoriya needs to try even harder, this reading will line up with what is to come.
All Might is in a rush, claiming it is because he needs to get the villain to the police. He jumps away, only to discover that Midoriya is clinging to his leg as they both soar through the air. All Might is coughing blood, he seems worried.
They land on a nearby rooftop. Midoriya remembers the words from all the times people have told him he could never be a hero. He seems defeated for a moment before saying again that he’ll never give up.
As All Might is walking away, Midoriya asks his biggest question:
“Is it possible to be a hero even if I don’t have a quirk? I’m a normal kid without any powers, can I ever hope to be someone like you?”
No answer is given, but we do get a final bit of narration:
“Meeting All Might was a dream come true. A real miracle. Standing in front of me was the hero I idolized most of my life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that chance encounter would change the course of my future.”
Conclusions
Midoriya explicitly states after the final flashback in act three that when his mom didn’t say he could be a hero even without a quirk was he vowed to always believe in himself, no matter what anyone else thinks. But his words don’t really mesh with what the episode shows us.
The entire episode is about Midoriya looking for someone who will finally tell him that he can be a hero. From the narration in the beginning of the episode, he is already telling us that he is lesser than everyone around him and needs to work extra hard to make up for it. From that moment on, his drive is for anyone to tell him that with all his effort, his dreams are possible.
There are three major characters in this episode outside of Midoriya himself: Bakugo, his mom, and All Might. Midoriya asks each one of them if it is possible that he could be a hero.
Here’s the thing: though we see Midoriya timidly ask Bakugo if it is possible for him to be a hero before we see him ask him mom (the time he states he’ll keep trying regardless of what people think), the use of flashbacks to structure the episode twist time in a way. We have already seen proof that in present day Midoriya is still looking for the approval of others. Whether it is for the audience he is narrating to, or for himself, this is a young boy trying to say he is okay on his own when the truth is that he is desperate for help.
And, what do you know: the moment after he makes this declaration of being fine on his own, he is attacked by a villain and becomes literally desperate for help.
Even the order of the people we see Midoriya ask his question to build in importance with each one. He starts with his childhood bully. Sure, it would be nice if Bakugo was on his side, but the response he gets is exactly what is to be expected. Then we see him ask his mother, the person who should be a definite yes, supporting him no matter what. Then, finally, when everyone else seems against him, he asks the one person that he has always aspired to be, the one person who has given him hope when no one else would.
To really drive this point home, there is the final narration that comes in rather than us getting All Might’s answer in this episode. Midoriya says that this moment will change the course of his future. The way the episode is built, with All Might being set up as his last hope, possibly the last reason he continues to try, it feels like All Might’s answer would change Midoriya’s life regardless of if it is for the better or worse.
And, while I have been totally focused on Midoriya in this conclusion, there is something else important going on regarding this. We have seen with our own eyes that All Might isn’t always the super powerful hero that he appears to be. We have seen him in a much weaker form, as seen him cough up blood, giving us signs that there is something else going on here. While Midoriya is powerless, trying to make it in the world of heroes, the greatest hero of them all is showing he may not be as flawless as he appears.
But unfortunately, it’s impossible to say much more than that while sticking with just the pilot.
With all its bright colours, action scenes, and fun superpowers, My Hero Academia actually deals with a lot of really rough and depressing themes. This is not at all meant as an unfavorable review of the series. In fact, the way the show dives into these themes is probably its strongest quality.
This is an episode that spends at least half of its runtime on worldbuilding, and yet still feels like a lot of fun the whole way through. I’d argue that most of that comes out of having its worldbuilding be so reliant on the character that it spends almost the entire episode developing. It’s the connection it creates between Midoriya and the audience that is where this episode really goes Plus Ultra.
