My Hero Academia Ep 107’s Sharp Contrast between Anime And Manga Riles Fans

If you are an avid My Hero Academia fan, then you must have already noticed the difference between the fluffy manga that it started as and the dark mess that it currently is. 

Of course, all the dark imagery in the manga cannot be animated due to the anime being rated pg-13. 

The disparity would’ve become an issue sooner or later, but I didn’t expect censorship to cut down on the scenes so soon.

My Hero Academia’s season 5 episode 19 showed Shigaraki getting experimented on by a mysterious doctor. He is undergoing an excruciating operation that has him writhing and screaming, but the anime has diminished the scene to suit its rating. 

In the original manga chapter, Shigaraki’s whole body was bloody and gory, with every visible area bruised. Yet, the anime has reduced it to a very tame scene in comparison. 

Fans are feeling very uncomfortable because of the censorship. The flames were fanned even more after Ian Zhang, the animator for the series, posted an original cut of the scene. 

The original cut indeed does justice to the manga, but it is too much for a children-friendly anime. In fact, it shows the doctor who is very excited over the experiment and is practically cackling over Shigaraki’s tortured writhing.

There are even more gory scenes that are waiting to get animated as the series only gets darker and darker from here on out. Thus, you should expect more censorship in the upcoming episodes too. 

Although I love Horikoshi’s graphic depictions in the manga, the anime needs to reach a broader range of audience. The censorship cannot be helped in this case. Except that episode 19 itself was very well-received by fans, and I can’t wait to see what episode 20 brings to the table.

About My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected in 24 tankōbon volumes as of August 2019.

It follows a quirkless boy Izuku Midoriya and how he backed the greatest Hero alive. Midoriya, a boy who has been admiring heroes and their ventures since the day he was born, came into this world without a quirk.

On one fateful day, he meets All Might the greatest Hero of all time and discovers that he was quirkless as well. With his diligent attitude and unwavering spirit about being a hero, Midoriya manages to impress All Might. He is chosen to be the heir to the power of One for All.

Source: My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 19

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