My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising took a huge risk by jumping the timeline of the anime adaptation and taking place in between arcs that happen much later than where Season 4 of the anime currently is. Because series creator Kohei Horikoshi originally thought of the film’s concept as a potential finale for the series overall, it needed each of the young heroes to be developed to a certain point where they could feasibly fight off a group of powerful villains on their own without potential backup from the official pros.
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While it won’t hinder the enjoyment of fans who aren’t completely up to date with the latest chapters of the manga, it does mean that there are several developments that happen later in the story that have gotten animated for the first time. One of the more noticeable changes was for Fumikage Tokoyami as he showed off a few new tricks in the film.
Throughout the film each of the members of Class 1-A showed off their various tricks against the group of new villains led by Nine, and it was here that Tokoyami showed off what he learned during his work study with the pro hero Hawks. This work study was only teased during the fourth season of the anime, and gets shown off a little later during the Pro Hero and Joint Training arcs of the manga that would most likely come during a potential fifth season.
Along with showing a mastery of the Black Ankh that coats his body in Dark Shadow for melee and close ranged attacks, in the fight against the hairy villain Slice he showed off variations of this ability with Gloom of the Black Arm (which stretches out Dark Shadow’s arms) and the use of metal claws he now wears during battle. But the biggest shift in his abilities is that Dark Shadow not allows him to fly.
It’s only in the film for a brief moment, but this is Black Fallen Angel. After working with Hawks and trying to keep up with the flying hero’s speed, Tokoyami figures out how to wrap Dark Shadow’s arms around his body and use it to fly even outside of shadows. It’s a huge boost to his skills overall, and now we all have a clear idea how it’ll look in the anime!
What did you think seeing Tokoyami’s new abilities in the film? Did they take you by surprise seeing them animated for the first time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter! You can find ComicBook.com’s spoiler-free review of the film here.
