Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, our weekly check in on Viz’s various Shonen Jump series. Viz has recently changed their release format, but our format will mostly remain the same. We will still review the newest chapters of one title a week, now with even more options at our disposal. The big change for our readers is that, even without a Shonen Jump subscription, you can read these most recent chapters for free at Viz.com or using their app.
This week, Rowan checks in with “My Hero Academia.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
My Hero Academia Chapter 404
Written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi
Reviewed by Rowan Grover
If there’s one thing I’ve always found about Horikoshi’s “My Hero Academia” it is that it always balances style and confidence in its execution. It leans hard on bright, ridiculous superhero stylings but delivers them with so much earnestness. Horikoshi never needs to wink at the audience or have a character make some self-referential dig because he believes you’re in hook, line, and sinker. This theme is evident throughout the series, and chapter 404 is a focal point for it.
The funny thing is, this chapter shouldn’t work on its own. It’s a snapshot of a bigger fight. It would only last about ten seconds if it played out at regular speed. But Horikoshi stretches and compresses moments of it, creating a snapshot that fills readers with pure enthusiasm. The story is a clutch moment for the narrative, where Deku swings a flailing Bakugo through mid-air and propels him forward to rescue a near-death All-Might from All For One. That’s it! Yet, every panel feels like the heroes are defying an oppressive fate at every turn. Horikoshi sprinkles doom throughout the narration. On top of that, Tomura is taunting on every second panel. It’s a great use of tension and release to tease readers into begging for our heroes to win out.
Horikoshi makes the interesting choice to have next to no dialogue from our protagonists in this chapter. It serves as a great way to channel the reader into their mindset. When we read Nighteye’s prophetic narration and see people around the globe begging for our heroes to triumph, it’s inspiring. We’re inspired right alongside our silent protagonists, and having them remain silent and focus on the task at hand feels like a great storytelling choice.
The artwork on display here is Horikoshi firing on all cylinders. There have been very few times I’ve exclaimed “This comic is pure good vibes” aloud to a friend after reading. The way that Horikoshi bends the scale of visual storytelling gives a grandeur to everything. The chapter opens with a massive scale contrast. We see a few panels of regular people going about their everyday lives. Next thing we know, the page is blown open with a panel of pure destruction as Bakugo fires from his platform. It’s a great visual way to establish stakes before a fight. Here’s the peaceful status quo our protagonists are striving to protect. I love it!
The movement and freneticism in this chapter are infectious, too. The way Bakugo explodes from his platform is portrayed with a great eye for perspective and scale, showing him shooting forth from a tiny corner of the panel. The successive panel of Deku catching him while swinging Tomura around with his other hand has a real sense of oomph, spiraling directly from the page prior. Horikoshi uses successive pages to build momentum underneath the narrative, showing Deku swinging Bakugo around from different angles and positions. It’s tension and release at work again, and by the time we see Bakugo released, I couldn’t help but hoot and holler.
Final Score: 9.2 – “My Hero Academia” continues to escalate through a climax and conclusion, and it’s a joy to witness how much creator Horikoshi is letting it all out on his victory lap.
