Giving help, even when it’s not asked, is the true meaning of heroism. That is Izuku Midoryia’s motto as he continues his journey to becoming the world’s greatest hero. The next stop in that journey is the fourth film in the franchise, My Hero Academia: You’re Next. Here, Deku and his classmates battle against Dark Might, a villain who is twisting All Might’s ideals in his image.

I was blessed with the opportunity to interview the cast of You’re Next, not just about the film but also about how their characters have grown as the hit anime’s penultimate season comes to an end.Daika Yamashita (Deku), Nobuhiko Okamoto (Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight), and Kenta Miyake (All Might) reveal their thoughts on the characters’ relationships, the film’s place in the timeline, and one really deserved One For All.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity as we translated the cast’s responses from Japanese to English.

A Reflection on Bakugo’s Growth

MIKE THOMAS: Bakugo has had the most character development since the series started. What was it like seeing your character grow so much over the years?

NOBUHIKO OKAMOTO (KATUSKI BAKUGO): Yeah, I think that this growth is also reflective of my own personal growth throughout the years as well. But what’s really important, I think, is Bakugo’s growth in his relationship with Deku. So Bakugo has done really bad things, and has always been pretty consistently harsh on Deku.

But I feel that, especially with the early stages of their relationship, it’s because Bakugo really was looking down on Deku, but then Bakugo sees that Deku gets into U.A. high school, and that makes Bakugo panic a little bit, and Bakugo is kind of in the state of panic because he can’t figure out why and how Deku got into U.A. So then, you know, Bakugo, along with everyone else, eventually finds out about the quirk, One For All, but that still doesn’t matter. Bakugo continues to say that even though he knows what Deku’s quirk is that, you know, he’s [Bakugo] still better than Deku, and it seemed that Bakugo was not happy with feeling as if Deku was catching up to him. And it seemed like Bakugo felt as if, you know, Deku, who used to be way back in his rearview mirror, was now right behind him and now next to him and almost even surpassing him, which Bakugo definitely did not like, and what really stuck with me was after Bakugo’s battle against Tomura Shigaraki. And that’s when there’s a specific line of dialogue when he says, “Hey Izuku, can I still catch up to you”?

That, to me, is Deku’s moment of victory. That’s when Bakugo has his pride, but I think it also showed his growth because he can recognize where Deku is in relation to himself. But it was also a little bit of a hard thing for Bakugo to come to terms with.

How ‘You’re Next’ Pushes Deku Forward
Image via Toho

Each Boku no Hero Academia movie has introduced new concepts to the franchise. Be it I-Island in the first, Deku sharing One For All in the second or the World’s Heroes uniting in the third. What’s something that stood out about You’re Next?

DAIKA YAMASHITA (IZUKU MIDORIYA): Yeah so, the biggest pros of these movies is that, you know, it really is able to show and capture what all couldn’t fit in the anime series, whether that be something that they wanted to showcase or, and just didn’t have enough time to do so. And for, for the first from the first movie (Two Heroes), I really felt that it was something that (creator Kohei) Horokoshi sensei wasn’t able to put, whether that be in the manga or the anime series. So, the movie was a great place to showcase that to his audience. Yeah, and so for the second movie, Heroes Rising, Horokoshi actually left a comment that he incorporated what he had planned to be one of the conclusions for the My Hero series into the second movie. And I feel like that was one point from that movie, right? For the third film (World Heroes’ Mission), showcases more of the growth for each of these characters, with Deku fighting along with some of these other pro heroes abroad. And despite it being that he did borrow or ask for their help, it was still a movie that truly showcased his growth as a hero himself, truly becoming a hero [Deku’s battle against Flect Turn is one of the few moments he fights a villain one-on-one].

Image via Toho Animation

As for this movie, You’re Next, Deku is now fighting as a true hero, not just fighting alongside his classmates, but he’s also fighting alongside all these other pro heroes as equals. And the movie truly showcases again the strength, not just in numbers but also the strength of working alongside others. This movie takes place just before Season 7, and it truly solidifies that My Hero Academia worldview now that as they prepare for this final battle. Showcasing that strength in numbers, how that strength and teamwork really truly come together, and showcases everyone’s growth. I think that’s the biggest point for this movie, and that’s why I truly feel like all the movies were amazing, because they fill in all the missing pieces that couldn’t be shown throughout the anime series.

Also for You’re Next specifically, I also think that one thought that was going on in behind the scenes was that, you know, now that they’re facing a character, Dark Might, who’s supposed to be this evil mirror of All Might,I think that truly kind of is a chance for Deku and the others to showcase that, “Oh, you know, as heroes, they actually might have reached a point where they might have caught up to All Might.” Maybe not entirely, but just in terms of how much they’ve grown. This film shows their growth, and I think was really interesting.

There Was Only Ever One Person Worthy of All Might’s Power

Besides Deku and Bakugo, who do you think would have received One For All?

KENTA MIYAKE (ALL MIGHT / DARK MIGHT): Yeah. My conclusion or my answer to this question is that there is none. There was someone who could have, and it would have been possible for Mirio [Lemillion] at one point. So generally, in My Hero Academia, All Might’s existence, you know, he exists as a Symbol of Peace, and he’s the number one hero, but I think that All Might’s existence is that he’s actually there to be the glue between Bakugo and Midoriya. So, as All Might’s voice, Kenta Miyake as a person, I think that there really is no others and, and I wouldn’t want to give them [other heroes] One For All anyway. So, other than those two, sorry to all the other heroes.

My Hero Academia: You’re Next is now playing in theaters across North America.

My Hero Academia: You’re Next In a world where heroes and villains clash, Deku faces a powerful new threat in the form of Dark Might, an evil doppelgänger of his mentor, All Might. As a mysterious fortress begins devouring entire cities, Class 1-A must rise to stop this unprecedented danger and uncover the villain’s true motives.Release Date October 11, 2024 Director Tensai Okamura Cast Daiki Yamashita , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Yûki Kaji , Mamoru Miyano , Meru Nukumi , Kenta Miyake , Ayane Sakura , Kaito Ishikawa , Uoken , Yuki Ono , Minako Kotobuki , Yûsuke Kobayashi , Michitake Kikuchi , Masaki Terasoma Runtime 110 Minutes Writers Yôsuke Kuroda , Kohei Horikoshi Expand

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