My Hero Academia–or also known as Boku No Hero Academia–is a very successful anime and manga. It is both hated and loved in the anime/manga community.

My Hero Academia is a world where everyone except 20 percent of the world has a superpower, more commonly called quirks, they come into the power when they are about four. The world is built around heroes, people who save civilians from villains.  The story focuses on a boy named Midoriya Izuku who doesn’t have a quirk, due to this he has been ruthlessly bullied by his peers. The main instigator is Midoriya’s old childhood friend: Bakugou Katsuki. Bakugou has a strong quirk which gives him the ability to make explosions.

One day when Midoriya was walking home, he got attacked by a villain made of sewage,  causing him to pass out. Once he awakened, he saw the number one hero in Japan, All Might, trying to wake him up.  Later Midoriya asks All Might – his favorite hero – after learning about his secret, if he can still be a hero without a quirk, All Might altimity said no, that it was too much of a danger for himself and others if he tried to be a hero. Midoriy later encounters the same villain he was attacked by when he sees the villain attacking Bakugou. Despite how much Bakugou had hurt him he rushed in trying to help the other, disregarding the heroes who are on standby waiting for a hero with a better quirk.

Midorya and Bakugou were saved by All Might after Midoriya helped Bakugou breathe. After being saved Midoriya walks home ignoring the scolding the heroes gave him for not letting them do their jobs. Before long Midoriya meets All Might again, All Might takes back what he said before and says he could be a hero and asks Midoriya if he wishes to become his apprentice. Midoriya of course says yes leading to him attaining All Might’s quirk and getting into the top hero school; UA.

He doesn’t know that All MIght’s arch enemy is coming back with his own apprentice.

Due to the fact that Midoriya is considered plain, boring and doesn’t fit in with Japan’s standards, he was immediately loved for how different he was – how he breaks Japan’s unsaid rules (i.e.; having an imperfect face – freckles, being weak for a boy, and trying to stand up for himself from bullying – most teachers in Japan will say to just keep your head down.)

He was also hated due to the same reasons, to some he seemed too boring, too plain, too unoriginal. For numerous people it seems as though he will never understand how the real world works, how his beliefs are too idealistic for people to relate with him, making people believe him to be too ‘perfect’ of a hero, too unhuman-like.

Because people both loved and hated the main character, people got interested, got curious on how others seem split on hating it and loving it. As the popularity of My Hero Academia increased, people started to interact with other fans, making content of MHA–which attracted even more people, and so on.

The fandom got so big that if you were in any fandom, you would have probably heard of MHA. But there are many different reasons on why MHA gets hate.

The most widespread one is because of how toxic the fandom is. The fandom has a history with racism, transphobia, sexualization of the minors in the show, ‘shipping’ wars, and has fujoshi’s – people who sexualize male on male relationships.

There is also the fact that MHA has a pacing problem for its arcs.

On the other hand people love MHA because they love how a simple concept is turned into something more. They like the better parts of the fandom – the non-toxic part.

Another reason is that Midoriya had to actually train to get where he is and wins with his mind and his wit.

“The only reason why I still even interact with the fandom is because of how much fanfiction there is, and how good it is. Sometimes it’s even better than the actual plot.” A fan says.

“I understand how bad the MHA fandom is, and why it’s hated, but the show will [always] hold a place in my heart.”