Did My Hero Academia build or ruin Studio Bones’ reputation?

Modified Oct 16, 2024 20:30 GMT

My Hero Academia and the impact that it had on Studio Bones (Image via Bones).

My Hero Academia is reaching its ending with the anime adaptation by Studio Bones, and there have been some debates regarding the latter's reputation after working with this series. That is because there is a general feeling in the fandom that this studio didn't do justice to the source material in terms of the visuals and the action sequences.

In general, fans of My Hero Academia have felt that the latest seasons adapted by Studio Bones have failed to do justice to their favorite series, although the reality is a lot more complex. This studio has managed to help with the franchise's increasing popularity throughout the years and also has proven to deliver high-quality adaptations that deserve a bit more attention.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

Explaining whether Studio Bones' reputation was ruined by the My Hero Academia adaptation or not

Shigaraki and Deku about fight in the anime (Image via Bones).

The history of Studio Bones' reputation with this series could be described as "from hero to zero" since the first three seasons were quite praised by the fandom. These first seasons propelled the franchise's popularity when they came out and were a major part of its success since they reached out to a lot of people, but it was during the fourth season that a decline started to take place.

The creative team of Bones made some changes, and author Kohei Horikoshi's art began to become a lot more detailed, which is a combination that truly didn't benefit the adaptation. A good example was how Mirio Togata, after losing his Quirk, was shown fighting Overhaul in slides instead of actual movement, which is controversial in the fandom to this very day.

There is an argument to be made that Studio Bones' reputation is a lot more divisive after adapting this series, which is a lot more telling that the former's focus with this project was making money. A different mindset can be seen in other anime they have adapted, such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, and Mob Psycho.

The ups and downs of Studio Bones with this series

All Might's last stand in Kamino in the anime (Image via Bones).

As mentioned earlier, Studio Bones' reputation has taken a hit in the recent seasons of My Hero Academia, with some criticisms even going as far as fans complaining about portraying the sky as blue in the final arcs during the war. Perhaps it is not ruined, and the studio is bound to get more prominent work in the coming years, but there is no denying that its reputation has seen a decline.

However, this doesn't mean that Bones has not delivered some great moments throughout this adaptation. Some of All Might's fights, such as the one against the Nomu in the first season and the one against All For One in the third one, have been highly praised, as have some of Deku's fights, such as the short one he had against Katsuki Bakugo in the aforementioned third season.

There were also some notorious low points, such as the now-infamous fifth season that focused too much on the Class A vs. Class B arc, which was generally reviled by fans and shortened the celebrated My Villain Academia arc. This could be considered the breaking point for a lot of people and the beginning of the franchise's decline in popularity, especially coupled by the animation quality not living up to what Horikoshi was drawing so masterfully in the manga.

Final thoughts

Studio Bones never had an easy job to do when it came to adapting My Hero Academia, but there is no denying that the end result was divisive. Granted, at the end of the day, this anime adaptation was beneficial to both sides since the franchise became a lot more popular worldwide and has been a commercial success for Bones.

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Edited by Somava