REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia’ Volume 24

My Hero Academia Volume 24, which is published by VIZ Media, is from mangaka Kohei Horikoshi and lettered by John Hunt. In the previous volume, we see the conclusion of the battle training between Class A and Class B. The results will determine whether Shinshio earns a spot in the hero class. Also, Midorya enters a fugue state and meets a former user of One For All. Meanwhile, the Meta Liberation Army (MLA) starts to put their plans into motion against the League of Villains.

Volume 24 focuses more on the Meta Liberation Army as they launch their assault against the League of Villains. Led by the son of Destro, Re-Destro, the MLA is determined to crush the League of Villains once and for all. The MLA is willing to cross lines for the sake of wiping out Shigaraki and his team. However, the League of Villains won’t just sit back and accept defeat. Each member of the League of Villains puts everything on the line to gain dominance over the MLA. It’s an all-out war between two villainous forces where there must be one winner.

A major key element of My Hero Academia Volume 24 is that every member of the League of Villains gets there time to shine. Normally, it’s Shigaraki who’s at the forefront of the team, but we now see what the rest of the League can really do. Seeing more of people like Toga and Twice made me appreciate their characters so much more. Fans of these two characters will surely love how the attention they’re given in this volume. Rather than being just villainous side characters, I found myself empathizing with them. It’s been a while since a piece of literature has made me feel this way towards villains.

Since the Meta Liberation Army was introduced in the previous volume, I was excited to see how truly powerful this secret organization really was. My expectations were completely blown away. Besides All Might, many others who have gone up against the League have had their fair share of challenges. I was surprised to see that the MLA was more than a match for the League. The most surprising factor was Re-Destro, somehow who I thought would just be the typical head boss that didn’t have any powers. He quickly proved that he was much more than that, especially with how far he was willing to go to get rid of the League. His actions quickly showed that he was as much of a villain as Shigaraki, except Re-Destro thought highly of himself.

I’m once again blown away by Horikoshi’s artwork in My Hero Academia Volume 24. The multiple fights in this volume are excellently drawn. There are even close-up panels of the characters that show the raw emotion that this fight is having on both MLA and League members. The character designs of the MLA members have a more professional aesthetic,  making them seem like they’ll be easy opponents. That serves to their advantage since they’re severely underestimated from the start of the fight. I’m excited to see how I’ll be surprised in volume 25, especially with how things were left off in this volume.

Overall, I enjoyed reading My Hero Academia Vol 24. The entire fight between the MLA and the League of Villains was such a pleasure to read. I’m excited to see how this is adapted into the anime series in the future. The immense character development from many of the League members is something I want to see more of down the road. I’m glad that the series is still taking time to flesh out its villains, even after so many volumes. If a battle of this magnitude is a sign of what’s to come in the series, I’ll surely continue to read the manga rather than wait for the anime adaptation.

My Hero Academia Volume 24 is available for preorder wherever manga and is available June 2, 2020.