My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission

I got through to the last thirty minutes of this movie, where they served up the best fight scenes, the coolest main male protagonists, suspenseful situations, and high stakes. I really enjoyed the movie during the very end, and if it had all been at that pace and quality, I would have awarded this movie five stars without question. However, there were parts of this movie I did not find enjoyable. The opening introduction of the main antagonist and what he is getting up to was still great and set the right atmosphere for the movie, although the whole thing just started not to feel quite right. Plus, the anime’s creators were trying hard because the camera work was interesting during the first chase trying to give viewers the most interesting shots. They tried to give the impression of speed and dynamics in every movement. However, what struck me was how empty and sometimes poorly drawn the backgrounds where the characters are moving through were, especially during the rooftop passage. I got a similar feeling during the fight in the mountains near the border a little later. Once again, instead of watching every movement of the main protagonists fighting and their enemies, I could not tear my eyes away from how strange the ice looked at certain moments. Plus, the landslide in the background looked unnatural, almost like cubes were falling. So I did not enjoy the two action-packed moments that should have been the best. Also, the narrative did not really grab me. It was pretty straightforward, although perhaps sometimes too predictable. Somehow I did not feel any great tension, and emotionally it also left me feeling quite cold, and the music did not seem to suit the vibe of certain scenes. I only felt engaged in the second half (from the plane journey onwards), as I wrote before. When things got tough, the anime’s creators finally unpacked the important ideas they wanted to convey; everything got more emotional, the fight scenes were suddenly flawless. At least two out of three of the fights were very intense. Even Roddy, who I had not cared about for most of the movie, finally started to matter. I do not know how the movie’s producers did it. However, they finally managed to capitalize on all the rather mediocre and, for me, not very interesting build-up during the first half and draw out a cool and flawless conclusion that I enjoyed. 7.5/10. (17/02/2022)