To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Studio BONES’ anime adaptation of Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia, Toho Animation held a public vote to decide My Hero Academia’s best fights once and for all. Gathering over 100,000 responses by the end, the official My Hero Academia Twitter account started to count down the top five starting Monday, building tension for when the overall winner was announced.
And to which bout went the crown? Deku vs. Bakugo from season three, of course.
【#ヒロアカアニメ5周年 企画】
『僕のヒーローアカデミア』#ヒロアカアニメベストバウト 発表!!第1位
デクvs爆豪
（TVアニメ第3期／第61話「デクvsかっちゃん2」より)https://t.co/N7vvUeanj9#heroaca_a #ヒロアカ #5期放送開始はいよいよ明日！ pic.twitter.com/lCK8aEhtT4
— 僕のヒーローアカデミア "ヒロアカ"アニメ公式 (@heroaca_anime) March 26, 2021
Deku vs. Bakugo was already described by us as a moment where the team ‘really ran with the creative potential of this My Hero Academia fight and elevated it to even greater heights’ in our analysis of how Studio BONES adapted the original manga, so it’s a well-deserved win. Indeed, even looking back at it now, Yutaka Nakamura has never really animated anything as good as that flying roundhouse kick. It probably is one of the best My Hero Academia fights.
The fight in second place is also a classic: Deku vs. Todoroki from season two, which still blows our socks off thanks to its beautiful climax. Recency bias appears to be avoided until you look at numbers three and four, occupied by Endeavor/Hawks vs. Nomu High End and Deku vs. Overhaul from season four: they aren’t bad fights per se, but are probably a little fresher in fans’ minds due to being adapted just last year. Not the best My Hero Academia fights, perhaps.
【#ヒロアカアニメ5周年 企画】
『僕のヒーローアカデミア』#ヒロアカアニメベストバウト 発表!!第5位
オールマイトvsオール・フォー・ワン
（TVアニメ第3期／第48話「平和の象徴」第49話「ワン・フォー・オール」）#heroaca_a #ヒロアカ pic.twitter.com/BxL85TMD5f
— 僕のヒーローアカデミア "ヒロアカ"アニメ公式 (@heroaca_anime) March 22, 2021
It’s almost surprising to see All Might vs. All for One all the way down in number five, given its thematic and narrative importance. Deku vs. Muscular from season three took sixth, while Bakugo vs. Ochaco from season two ranked surprisingly high at number seven: to be honest, it’s been so long that I’d completely forgotten about that one!
Kirishima/Fat Gum vs. Rappa/Tengai and Mirio vs. Overhaul from season four bring up places number eight and nine respectively, while Hero Killer Stain’s standoff against Deku, Iida, and Todoroki from season two finishes at number ten. That’s a fine way to finish things, but I want to hear from you: what do you think is the best My Hero Academia fight? Let us know via social media or our Discord server, linked below.