Table of Contents

Everyone who told you My Hero Academia is just Naruto with superheroes was technically right. Here’s why that’s not even close to a criticism.

Naruto is one of the greatest shonen anime ever made. So if MHA shares its DNA - the underdog protagonist, the escalating power system, the found-family theme, the rival who starts cold and slowly earns your respect - then you should be watching it. The comparison people make as a dismissal is actually the strongest argument for giving this show a chance.

What My Hero Academia does differently is the world. This isn’t a hidden village with ninjas. This is a modern society where 80% of people have superpowers, pro heroes are celebrities, and becoming one is a career path with entrance exams, internships, and licensing tests. That bureaucratic texture gives the show a different kind of tension. It’s not just “will he survive?” - it’s “will he make it through the system?”

Seven seasons. Three movies. One of the best final arcs in recent shonen memory. Here’s how to watch all of it.

Quick Answer: My Hero Academia Watch Order

# Entry Episodes/Runtime Year Notes
1 My Hero Academia Season 1 13 eps 2016 Start here, no exceptions
2 My Hero Academia Season 2 25 eps 2017 Sports Festival + Stain arc
3 Movie: Two Heroes 97 min 2018 Watch after S2 (optional but good)
4 My Hero Academia Season 3 25 eps 2018 Forest Camp + All Might’s last stand
5 Movie: Heroes Rising 104 min 2019 Watch after S3 or S4
6 My Hero Academia Season 4 25 eps 2019-2020 Overhaul arc
7 My Hero Academia Season 5 25 eps 2021 Joint training + My Villain Academia
8 Movie: World Heroes’ Mission 104 min 2021 Watch after S5 ep 3
9 My Hero Academia Season 6 25 eps 2022-2023 Paranormal Liberation War (the peak)
10 My Hero Academia Season 7 21 eps 2024 Final War arc begins

Total commitment: ~159 episodes + 3 movies. At 3-4 episodes per sitting, you’re looking at about 8-10 weeks to complete the whole run.

Three Routes Through MHA

Not everyone comes to an anime guide with the same goal. Here’s how to approach MHA based on where you are.

Watch everything in release order as listed in the table above. This is the right call if you’re a first-time watcher with no prior attachment to the franchise. The pacing is deliberate - Season 1 is short (13 eps), and each season builds on character relationships you’ll care about more as the series goes on.

The movies slot in cleanly and don’t require rewatching anything. Two Heroes and Heroes Rising are self-contained enough that placing them roughly where they fit tonally works fine, even if they’re not strictly canon. World Heroes’ Mission has a minor spoiler consideration (covered below in the FAQ), but it’s manageable.

Route 2: Fast Track (For the Skeptic)

If you’ve heard it’s “slow” and want proof it gets great before committing:

  • Watch Season 1 (13 eps) - required foundation
  • Watch Season 2, episodes 1-13 (Sports Festival arc) - this is where the show clicks
  • Skip to Season 3, episodes 11-13 (All Might vs All For One) - this is the emotional peak of the early run
  • If those sell you, go back and watch everything from the beginning

This is the “demo” version. It shows you the show at its best without asking for 40+ hours of faith up front.

Route 3: Essential Minimum (Already Know the Show)

Coming back after a long gap? Watched some seasons years ago and need a refresh path?

  • Seasons 1-3: Do not skip these. They’re fast and the foundation matters.
  • Season 4: Overhaul arc is good but some fans consider it a soft spot. Still watch it - the ending pays off.
  • Season 5: The first half is slow. The second half (“My Villain Academia,” episodes 14-25) is secretly excellent and reframes the villains in a way that makes Season 6 hit harder.
  • Season 6: Non-negotiable. This is where the series becomes something different. The Paranormal Liberation War is MHA at its absolute peak.
  • Season 7: Watch it. The Final War arc is ongoing and the manga ending is close enough to the anime adaptation to warrant seeing it through.

Season-by-Season Breakdown

Season 1 - “The Beginning” (13 episodes, 2016)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 7.86

Izuku Midoriya is born without a superpower (called a “Quirk”) in a world where having one is the norm. His hero worship of All Might - the world’s greatest hero - drives him to push forward anyway, which is exactly when All Might shows up in his life and changes everything.

Season 1 is a tight, confident origin story. Thirteen episodes sounds short, and it is, but Kohei Horikoshi wrote this arc knowing exactly what he needed to establish. You meet the core cast at UA High - Bakugo (the furious rival), Todoroki (hinted at), Iida (earnest), Uraraka (warm) - and you get the show’s thesis stated plainly: anyone can be a hero.

Don’t let the short length fool you. The final three episodes have a weight to them that most shows don’t hit until much later in their run.

Season 2 - “Rise to Prominence” (25 episodes, 2017)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 8.21

This is where most fans fall in love. Season 2 opens with the UA Sports Festival arc - a tournament arc that doesn’t follow tournament arc rules, where the outcome of a fight matters less than what it reveals about character. Todoroki’s backstory alone justifies this entire season.

Then comes the Stain arc, which introduces the concept of “what does it actually mean to be a hero” as something worth fighting over. Hero killer Stain is one of the most compelling villains in shonen precisely because his argument isn’t entirely wrong.

The Sports Festival (eps 1-13) and Hero Killer arc (eps 14-25) together form the best back-to-back storytelling MHA ever does. Watch this season and tell me the Naruto comparison is still a problem.

Movie: Two Heroes (97 minutes, 2018)

Watch after Season 2

The first MHA film sends Deku and All Might to a floating artificial island for an international hero expo. Then everything goes wrong. It’s not canon, strictly speaking, but it’s a fun All Might spotlight film and gives the character more room to breathe than the main series usually allows.

If you’re running through the series for the first time, watch this after Season 2 finishes. If you’re rewatching, it’s comfortable viewing that won’t drag. Not essential, but worth it.

Season 3 - “Symbol of Peace” (25 episodes, 2018)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 8.11

Two arcs define Season 3. The first is the Forest Training Camp arc, which is a villain kidnapping storyline that matters primarily for what it sets up. The second is the Hideout Raid arc and All Might vs All For One, which is the most emotionally earned fight in the series.

I’m not going to oversell it. Just know that by the time the last few episodes of Season 3 arrive, you will understand why MHA has the fanbase it does. The show earns that moment.

The finale also ends at one of the most satisfying natural breakpoints in the series. Season 3 is where MHA transitions from “very good shonen” to “franchise I need to see through.”

Movie: Heroes Rising (104 minutes, 2019)

Watch after Season 3 or Season 4

Heroes Rising is the closest thing MHA has to a true movie event. The plot sends Class 1-A to a remote island as standalone heroes without their teachers, and then an actual villain attack forces them to handle it themselves. Without spoilers: there’s a sequence in the third act that the director himself described as the “what if” conclusion they never got to do in the main series.

This one is genuinely excellent. Watch it. Placement is flexible - after Season 3 or 4 works fine narratively.

Season 4 - “Shie Hassaikai” (25 episodes, 2019-2020)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 7.72

The Overhaul arc. A villain named Kai Chisaki (Overhaul) is using a young girl named Eri to produce bullets that can destroy Quirks. Deku goes on a rescue mission.

Season 4 is frequently cited as the series’ weakest major arc, and there’s some truth to that. The pacing drags in the middle third. But Eri’s storyline has genuine emotional weight, and the finale delivers. The Eri-Deku dynamic is worth the slower stretch to get there.

Don’t skip it. The emotional payoff of Season 4’s ending needs the setup.

Season 5 - “Joint Training and the League” (25 episodes, 2021)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 7.23

This is the most divisive season among fans. The first half - the joint training arc between Class 1-A and 1-B - is slower than anything MHA has done before. A lot of side characters get moments, but the stakes feel low after Season 4.

Then comes “My Villain Academia” (episodes 14-25), and Season 5 earns its place.

The villain arc follows Shigaraki and the League of Villains getting recruited by the Paranormal Liberation Front. These episodes reframe the entire villain side of the show in a way that makes Season 6 feel inevitable. This is controversial to say, but the villain focus in the second half of Season 5 is better writing than anything the heroes are doing at this point in the story.

Watch Season 5. The first half is a slog for some. The second half is worth it.

Movie: World Heroes’ Mission (104 minutes, 2021)

Watch after Season 5, Episode 3

This placement matters more than the other movies. World Heroes’ Mission shows Deku using a specific ability that is only explained in Season 5. If you watch the film before that point, a key visual will be confusing. After S5 ep 3, you’re clear.

The film itself features Deku going on the run as a wanted criminal while tracking a terrorist cult trying to detonate Quirk-destroying bombs worldwide. It’s stylish, well-animated, and has the best original character introduced in any of the three films (Rody Soul).

Season 6 - “Paranormal Liberation War” (25 episodes, 2022-2023)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 8.57

This is the season that made people rewrite their MHA takes.

Season 6 is MHA going full dark. The Paranormal Liberation War is the largest-scale conflict in the series, a simultaneous raid on the villain faction that goes catastrophically wrong in multiple directions at once. Characters who felt untouchable get hurt. The world changes in ways that don’t reset. The consequences of prior seasons pile up.

If you’ve been watching since Season 1 and felt the series was good-but-safe, Season 6 is when that impression gets corrected. There’s a stretch of episodes in the middle where MHA does things I genuinely did not expect from this franchise.

This is the peak. The seasons before it are setup. The season after it is reckoning.

Season 7 - “Final War” (21 episodes, 2024)

Studio: Bones | MAL Score: 8.29

The manga ended in October 2024 after 430 chapters. Season 7 adapts the beginning of the Final War arc, which runs simultaneously across multiple fronts as heroes and villains face off in the endgame the series has been building toward.

Season 7 has not yet covered the full manga ending. More seasons are expected, though an official announcement for Season 8 timing has not been confirmed at the time of writing. If you’re watching in 2026, Season 7 is the current endpoint.

The quality is high. The animation during key fights is some of the best in the series. If Season 6 broke your expectations, Season 7 is the follow-through.

The Movie Question: Required or Optional?

Here’s the honest answer: none of the three MHA films are strictly required for the main story. The main series doesn’t reference them directly, and missing them won’t leave you confused.

But “required” isn’t the right frame for the movies.

Two Heroes: Best All Might character piece outside the main series. Watch it if you care about All Might (and by Season 2, you will).

Heroes Rising: The best of the three films. Treats Class 1-A as capable heroes rather than students who need rescuing. The climax is legitimately great.

World Heroes’ Mission: Most polished production of the three. Rody Soul works surprisingly well as a one-film companion character. If you watch any single film in isolation, make it this one.

My ranking: Heroes Rising > World Heroes’ Mission > Two Heroes.

Sub vs. Dub

This is a fandom debate worth addressing directly.

The Japanese cast is excellent. Daiki Yamashita as Deku captures a specific kind of earnest intensity that fits the character’s psychology. Nobuhiko Okamoto’s Bakugo is loud, aggressive, and fully committed to the bit.

The English dub is also legitimately good. Justin Briner plays Deku with a warmth that translates well for Western audiences, and Clifford Chapin’s Bakugo leans into the pure aggression. This is one of the cleaner dubs in recent shonen - it doesn’t feel like a downgrade.

If you’re new to anime, start with the dub and don’t feel guilty about it. If you’ve been watching anime a while and sub is your preference, the Japanese cast has the edge. Both are valid ways to watch this show.

Where to Watch

  • Crunchyroll: All 7 seasons + all 3 movies. This is the primary streaming home.
  • Netflix: Has select seasons depending on region (availability varies).
  • Hulu: Available in the US.
  • Funimation: Merged with Crunchyroll; same library.

If you’re starting from scratch, Crunchyroll has everything in one place. A subscription is worth it for this series alone if you’re planning to watch all 7 seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to watch the movies to understand the show?

No. The main story is self-contained across the 7 seasons. The movies are parallel adventures that exist alongside the main series without connecting to it narratively. Watch them for fun, not because you’ll be lost without them.

Is the manga ending adapted in the anime yet?

Not fully. The manga concluded in October 2024. Season 7 covers the beginning of the Final War arc but not the ending. Additional seasons are expected, but no release date has been announced for Season 8 as of early 2026.

Where do I place World Heroes’ Mission?

Watch it after Season 5, Episode 3. The film shows Deku using an ability that gets explained in Season 5, so that’s the earliest point where the movie makes full sense. Watching after S5 completely also works.

Is Season 4 really as slow as people say?

The middle of the Overhaul arc has pacing issues - there’s no debating that. But the emotional payoff at the end of Season 4 is significant, and it only works because of the setup. Watch it. Don’t start skipping episodes because a Reddit thread told you to.

Can I start with Season 6 if someone told me that’s where it gets great?

No. Season 6 works because of everything that came before it. The reason it’s so emotionally heavy is that you’ve spent five seasons with these characters. Starting there is like watching a series finale without context. Start at Season 1.

What’s the filler situation?

MHA has very limited filler compared to Naruto or Bleach. There are recap episodes scattered through later seasons (typically Episodes 1 of a new cour) and a few training montage episodes that don’t advance the plot, but nothing like Naruto’s 100-episode filler arcs. You can watch everything without a skip guide and not waste your time.

What to Watch After MHA

If you’ve finished all seven seasons and want the next hit, here are the closest matches based on what MHA does best:

  • Hunter x Hunter (2011) - If Season 6’s darkness surprised you, HxH goes further and earlier. The Chimera Ant arc is one of the most morally complex things shonen has ever produced.
  • Attack on Titan - Also built its reputation on a dark turn that changed everything. Different setting, same emotional investment payoff.
  • Naruto - If you enjoyed the mentorship and coming-of-age elements, Naruto has more of it at larger scale. Just be prepared for filler.

My Hero Academia rewards patience. Season 1 is short, Season 2 is where it clicks, Season 6 is where it matters. If you’re somewhere in the middle and wondering if it’s worth continuing - yes. The show earns the hours you put into it.

Start with Episode 1. That’s still the only watch order advice that matters.

And if you’re the kind of fan who still likes physical media, this is also an easy series to collect — the My Hero Academia manga volumes are worth it if you want the full run on your shelf, and the My Hero Academia Blu-ray sets are a solid pickup if you want the big fights in physical form.