Is My Hero Academia: You're Next movie canon? Explored

Released on 2 August 2024 in Japan, My Hero Academia: You're Next is the fourth installment of movies from the universe. With the popularity of the anime at its peak and nearing its end, this movie served as a refresher between the sequences.

A question among viewers remains: Is the movie canon? Since its narrative is taken from the main series, The My Hero Academia: You're Next movie can be considered anime canon. However, though the events in the movie are derived from the series, it acts as a standalone.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the anime/movie.

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My Hero Academia: You're Next movie's canon value

Dark Might vs Izuku Midoriya (Image via Bones)

Although the story of My Hero Academia: You're Next can be considered anime canon, it does not develop the plot of the main storyline of the series. The movie's storyline occurs between the timelines of seasons 6 and 7, specifically during the intermission of the Paranormal Liberation War arc and the Star & Stripe arc.

The events taking place have been considered to have happened within the story, but not to the extent that it interferes with the main storyline. While the movie is optional for following the main story, it provides depth to the My Hero Academia universe.

The story My Hero Academia: You're Next presented in the movie has no narratives from any manga chapters. However, it does belong to the narrative of the main My Hero Academia manga series as the movie derives most characters and backgrounds from it. It can be considered a supplementary story that only serves to provide entertainment and depth to the anime universe.

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My Hero Academia: You're Next explored

Valdo Gollini as Dark Might from My Hero Academia: You're Next (Image via Bones)

The movie revolves around a villain, Valdo Gollini, who imitates All Might and turns into his version called Dark Might. Dark Might is the doppelganger of All Might who flouts the values of All Might and the world's symbol of peace. Midoriya and his team now must face this villain.

At first, it seems Dark Might overwhelmed them with his power. However, his limitations soon came into play. Anna overuses her quirk and reaches quirk singularity, which causes her to lose control of her quirk. Her quirk consumes everything else on the battlefield, including Dark Might.

Dark Might, still under the effect of Anna's overmodification, regains consciousness and transforms into a colossal monster, using the fortress to repair himself. Guillio is provoked to get in contact with Anna, and due to her over-modification quirk, Guillio's neutralization quirk is enhanced, making him reach his limits by nullifying Anna's quirk.

A Flashfreeze Heatwave from Shoto, followed by a Howitzer Impact with maximum power cluster from Bakugo, got Dark Might to the point when defeat was near for him. Izuku delivers a final Smash as the finishing blow, destroying Dark Might and his entire fortress.

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Final thoughts

Valdo Gollini- Dark Might (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia: You're Next was a special joint volume released alongside the premiere to Japanese audiences. This movie serves as an in-between sequence from the main anime arcs and provides a refresher for the audience.

Kohei Horikoshi's writing serves as a what-if as well. What if All Might turned to the villain side one day? The My Hero Academia: You're Next movie perfectly exemplifies that perspective.

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