Toonami Announces ‘My Hero Academia’ Marathon

My Hero Academia fans are in for a treat this Labor Day when Toonami will air a marathon of the first half of season 1.

The official Toonami Facebook page announced the marathon last week. Starting at 10 p.m., the entire section of the Adult Swim bloc will be dedicated to Izuku Midoriya’s quest to become the world’s greatest hero. The saga will go on all night, ending at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday.

“Labor Day might be a day off for most, but Toonami’s putting school back in session!” the post read. “Study up with the My Hero Academia marathon, featuring the first 13 episodes. The Labor Day weekend marathon binge begins on September 1st from 10p to 4:30a!”

The post picked up nearly 600 likes and dozens of comments, with some fans tagging their friends and proposing a holiday binge session. In the few year it has been on, My Hero Academia has already risen to dominance amongst new and old anime fans, in both Japan and overseas markets. With season 3 on the air now, many have noted that it is a great time for a re-watch.

“Good use of a marathon. Season 1 is better watched several episodes at a time IMO so this could bring in some new viewers for MHA.”

Not everyone was pleased by the news, however. While it reaches the same kinds of fans as other anime series like Naruto and Dragon Ball, many nostalgic fans feel that My Hero Academia is being forced on them in some way. In part, this could be due to the faster turnaround on translations, as Japanese media used to be much slower to reach the United States. At the same time, fans complained that Toonami, Crunchyroll, Funimation and other services were somehow conspiring to convert viewers into MHA fans.

“I expect as much,” one person wrote of the marathon on Reddit. “Adult Swim is really trying to push My Hero Academia as your new favorite anime.”

“It’s not just adult swim doing that,” replied another.

“Crunchyroll, Funimation, YouTubers and bloggers are too.”

Of course, others fired back in favor of My Hero Academia, urging the reluctant few to get on board.

For those unfamiliar, the series takes place in a fantastical future where superpowers have become all but ubiquitous. It follows Izuku Midoriya through his education at U.A. High School for heroes, as he inherits the One for All quirk and attempts to become the world’s No. 1 Hero.

My Hero Academia simulcasts on Hulu and Crunchyroll in the U.S., with new episodes Saturdays at 4 a.m. ET.