A high-energy superhero anime sequel with stronger pacing, bigger action, and a crowd-pleasing emotional payoff. It works best if you already like My Hero Academia’s character dynamics and want a polished, fan-service-heavy team-up movie.
Class 1-A visits Nabu Island where they finally get to do some real hero work. The place is so peaceful that it's more like a vacation... until they're attacked by a villain with an unfathomable Quirk! His power is eerily familiar, and it looks like Shigaraki had a hand in the plan. But with All Might retired and citizens' lives on the line, there's no time for questions. Deku and his friends are the next generation of heroes, and they're the island's only hope.
Director
Kenji Nagasaki
Cast
Daiki Yamashita, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Yoshio Inoue
Curator Review
Verdict
A high-energy superhero anime sequel with stronger pacing, bigger action, and a crowd-pleasing emotional payoff. It works best if you already like My Hero Academia’s character dynamics and want a polished, fan-service-heavy team-up movie.
Best for
My Hero Academia fans
Viewers who like ensemble superhero action
Fans of rivalry-driven shonen stories
People who want a big emotional finale
Anime viewers looking for glossy theatrical animation
Skip if
You want a fully standalone story
You dislike franchise continuity and fan-service
You prefer grounded or low-key superhero stories
You are not invested in the cast or their relationships
Overview
Heroes Rising is exactly the kind of franchise movie that knows what its audience wants and delivers it with confidence. The setup is simple, the island setting gives the story room to breathe, and the film quickly shifts into a sustained action showcase that feels larger and more cinematic than the TV series.
Worth noting
What stands out most is how well it uses the core trio of Deku, Bakugo, and the rest of Class 1-A as a team. The movie leans into character chemistry, rivalry, and the idea of young heroes stepping up before the adults can save them. Even when the plot is straightforward, the momentum stays strong and the animation gives the big fights real punch.
Bottom line
The final stretch is the main attraction: loud, emotional, and engineered for maximum hype. It is less interested in subtlety than in catharsis, but for fans of the series that is a feature, not a flaw. If you want a polished superhero anime with genuine scale and a satisfying payoff, this is one of the better theatrical entries in the genre.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ethan Ethan (3★) · 793 likes
TW: The first student from class 1-A to appear was Mineta.
Mauricio Velazco (4.5★) · 630 likes
Cinema. Dead serious, better than the first.
Elijah999 (4★) · 613 likes
My hero: Animation budget rising
Tom Page (4.5★) · 439 likes
Wow you guys, that bakudeku fic was so cinematic
Tommy Williams (4★) · 417 likes
WE DID IT 1A! WE SAVED THE ISLAND! *Island on Fire*