My Hero Academiais one of the most popular anime franchises of modern times thanks to its universal story about heroes that is enjoyed by the public. However, given the series' demographic and premise that has appeal to younger audiences,My Hero Academia’s anime has had a rocky time living up to the most gruesome and violent moments of the original manga.
Throughout its many seasons,My Hero Academiahas been heavily censoredon multiple occasionsdue to some TV broadcasters having stricter restrictions on content, and while some of these scenes were later changed during the blu-ray edition, it often sparked controversy about the accuracy of the series to the source material and how it downplays the dangerous battles between heroes and villains. From the use of blood to the injuries inflicted on some of the characters, these are some of the worst cases of censorship inMy Hero Academia’s anime that have shocked fans.
This article contains a discussion of graphic and violent situations.
10Toga Vs. Curious
Manga Chapter #226; My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 21
Not only wasToga censored inMy Hero Academia’s animeseveral times after using her quirk, covering her body in a type of white skin suit, butthe adaptation also changed how the manga featured her using Uraraka’s quirk. In her fight against Curious, one of the leaders of the Meta Liberation Army. In the manga, when Toga drops out from Curious and the other Meta Liberation Army members from the sky, she faces them upfront, showcasing how the bodies hit the ground.
However, in the anime, Toga doesn’t look at them as they fall, and the people are only shown reaching the ground and later the splashes of blood. Even though this still conveys Toga’s action,the result isn’t as impactful as in the manga and feels like a way to simplify the animation required for the scene, as it is only the still frame of Toga with the characters falling behind her without much detail. Even Toga’s injured face was toned down in the anime, having significantly less blood.
9Re-Destro’s First Kill
Manga Chapter #218
My Hero AcademiaSeason 5 was the season where the Bones studio took more creative liberties when adapting, with several moments cut and censored from the adaptation, one of these changes beingRe-Destro’s first appearance in the manga that didn’t make it into the anime. In the manga, Rikiya Yotsubashi—known as Re-Destro—is first shown as an important CEO in a commercial for his company, Detnerat, and is later seen having a conversation with his assistant, Miyashita, where Re-Destro brings out his copy of the Meta Liberation War.
Their conversation takes a dark turn when Miyashita makes it clear that he doesn’t sympathize with the ideas of the Meta Liberation Army, to which Re-Destro seems to be struggling, before asking Miyashita if he had any relatives and later killing him.Cutting this moment from the anime takes away the impact of Re-Destro’s introduction, as it showcases his violent side and weird psyche through how he naturally killed Miyashita and then cried as if he was feeling compassion.
7Mirko Vs. Shigaraki
Manga Chapter #363-365; My Hero Academia Season 7, Episode 12
The fights of Rumi Usagiyama, the No. 5 Pro Hero known as Mirko, have also been censoreddue to the graphic nature of her wounds. Mirko loses her left forearm and right leg during her fight against the High-End Nomu in the Paranormal Liberation Arc, which was toned down in the anime’s broadcast due to Japan’s regulations for early time slots on TV about explicit scenes when characters cut off limbs or body parts.
If My Hero Academia Wants to Nail Its Final Season, It Must Fix One Thing
With one season’s worth of material left to adapt, the My Hero Academia anime will need to overcome its past in order to properly deliver the finale.
This explains whythe scene in the final war when Mirko’s right forearm is bitten off by a mouth growth by Shigaraki is also softened. However, the anime also cuts the blood leaking from the tourniquet in her forearm, making it less visually shocking that she just sacrificed another limb, and she was still giving her all while fighting Shigaraki.
6Overhaul Kills Rappa
Manga Chapter #146; My Hero Academia Season 4, Episode 10
After the fight against Kirishima and Fat Gum, when Kendo Rappa is talking about how he joined the Shie Hassaikai, one of the Eight Bullets,the anime censored how he was killed by Overhaul with his quirk, dissemble. While the manga featured how Overhaul disassembled the upper part of Rappa’s body, leaving a splash of blood and the legs behind, the anime only showed the silhouette of the scene.
Although this could be considered a valid type of censorship—as it was the same visual resource used inMy Hero AcademiaSeason 6, Episode 9 when Aizawa was forced to cut his leg—it’s a strange decision made by the adaptation during that arc, given thatOverhaul killed Magne in the same way only 7 episodes priorand that scene wasn’t censored.
5Red Riot Kirishima Vs. Rappa
Manga Chapter #143; My Hero Academia Season 4, Episode 9
Even thoughMy Hero Academia Season 4’sadaptation conveys the emotional charge of the fight of Kirishima against Rappa, representing that it was a pivotal moment for him where he finds his inner confidence to be a hero and give his all,there is a really marked difference in how much physical damage he sustains in both anime and manga.
In the manga, Kirishima took his body to the utmost limit, bleeding even in his unbreakable form and being completely covered in blood when he loses consciousness. However,in the anime, Kirishima’s blood was censored. This gives viewers the feeling that Kirishima passed out due to being exhausted instead of demonstrating the extent of the damage he received from Rappa for the sake of Fat Gum.
4Deku Breaking Shigaraki’s Jaw
Manga Chapter #282; My Hero Academia Season 6, Episode 9
During the fight against Shigaraki in the Paranormal Liberation Arc, another instance of censorship is how Deku completely dislocates the villain’s jaw, knocking out several of his teeth in the process. Even thoughthe anime included the scene of Shigaraki biting Deku’s arm, there is only a little trace of blood, and it doesn’t look as dreadful as in the manga.
This not only damaged the following scene when Shigaraki launched to attack Aizawa and where, by having his jaw broken, created a much more nightmarish panel in the manga that isn’t as remotely as good in the anime, but alsodoesn’t demonstrate how much power Deku has amassed, as he is now capable of subduing Shigaraki, who has superhuman force, and even giving him that amount of damage with only his forearm.
3Tenko Shimura’s Backstory
Manga Chapter #236; My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 23
There is no doubt that Shigaraki has themost tragic backstory inMy Hero Academia, but, this was even more shocking in the manga. When Shigaraki recalls his memories as Tenko Shimura and the moment he activates his quirk decay for the first time with his pet Mon, in the anime, the dog turns into ash and crumbles, which is the case for all the following members of his family that fall victim to his quirk, like his sister Hana and his mom.
However, this scene is not only more graphic in My Hero Academia’s manga, with the characters bleeding profusely before disintegrating, but also represents a continuity problem in the anime.The adaptation included the puddle of blood and the remains of Hana and Mon from the mangawhen his mother arrives to see the scene, even though there isn’t any blood when Tenko touched them before.
2Shigaraki’s Experiment
Manga Chapter #255; My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 19
Shigaraki accepts becoming a test subject of Dr. Garaki to become stronger, a procedure that lasts 4 long months and has the hidden purpose of making his body suitable to control All For One’s power and being his vessel. While this was successful in the end, becoming practically invincible, this was a hellish experiment that Shigaraki had to endure, yetthe anime failed to convey the same terrifying nature of the experiment as in the manga.
Whilethe anime only shows Shigaraki being in pain on the stretcher with the tubes and blood attached to his body, the scene is more grotesque in the manga, with his body bleeding, covered in bruises, and even spitting blood, which explains why it impacted Spinner so much later when he remembered during the Final War how Shigaraki looked. Even minor tweaks, like adding drops of blood and a few bruises, could have improved the scene and made it more accurate to the feeling of the manga.
1Shigaraki Losing His Fingers
Manga Chapter #233-234; My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 23
The brutality of Re-Destro also took a deep dive inMy Hero Academia’s anime, particularly as to how powerful he was that by landing his punch on Shigaraki, he was able to completely blow off three of his left-hand fingers.This whole sequence was modified in the anime with Re-Destro crushing Shigaraki’s fingers after holding him.
Also, this completely changed the meaning behind the scene, as in the manga,Shigaraki had already lost his fingers and Re-Destro only held him to torture him, pressing his injured hand, because he couldn’t activate decay anymore. This is what makes it so shocking when Shigaraki is able to activate Decay without his five digits. However, since the anime still keeps Shigaraki’s hand complete, this action from Re-Destro is incredibly naïve and doesn’t make sense. Luckily, in season 6 of My Hero Academia, the adaptation did address this change, including Shigaraki’s prosthetic finger.
My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a multimedia franchise that follows a young boy named Izuku Midoriya, who dreams of becoming a hero despite being born without superpowers. These superpowers, known as “Quirks” are found in most people after birth, but Izuku wasn’t so lucky - until a fateful encounter with All Might, Japan’s greatest hero, Izuku inherits his Quirk and enrolls in U.A. High School to learn the true meaning of heroism. Alongside his classmates, each endowed with unique abilities, Izuku faces rigorous training and lethal threats from villainous forces.
