If the previous two movies are anything to go by, MHA movies have settled with a nice bunch of action, a serviceable plot and some new characters, and that's it. And the third MHA movie, World Heroes' Mission doesn't reinvent the wheel - but for me, personally, it takes the series' motto "Plus Ultra" probably the most serious.

SPOILER WARNING

By that I do refer to the action partly, the most present and maybe strongest aspect of this movie. Instead of being slowly introduced to the new setting, characters, and the main struggles the plot tries to solve, we jump right into action with the top heroes immediately responding to the terrorist group Humarise. The first encounter of our main cast with the protagonist of this movie, Rody, was also a grand parkour chase, tying in with the introduction of one of the side-villains, too. The action sets the pace, and in this case, it's pretty fast. The movie doesn't bother much with worldbuilding, lore, or even introducing and exploring many characters. The little breaks and moments of breath it has are used to characterize Rody and his relationship with Deku, knowing that these two are the focal point of this story and without establishing their relationship properly, it just won't work out. And that was fine by me, really. Despite never being better than just okay for me, the first two movies had two appeals: a) the action b) the fan-service. So if MHA: World Heroes' Mission is going to give me more of that, I was happy with it.

▶ Video KA: Yuki Hayashi, Shuu Sugita

And the action was as expected, very good. Not only do we have ace animators like Yuki Hayashi, Shuu Sugita, Norimitsu Suzuki, Yukina Kosaka (the list goes on…) on board, but also much more impressive camera work. In season 5 they already showcased a more confident and dynamic usage of 3D backgrounds, enabling more flashy sequences similarly to Attack on Titan. For this movie, they took a step further, turning the previously mentioned parkour chase into a camera rollercoaster, allowing neat transitions in action sequences, adding to their flow with fast camera rotations. Add the new weapon Black Whip to the mix, we get very Spider-Man-esque sequences which were just really exciting to watch.

▶ Video KA: Jason Yao (confirmed), Hiroo Nagano (presumed)

We have Norimitsu Suzuki animating the best cut I ever saw from him so far (1 min and only one cut, Jesus Christ. One cut being this long is something I wanted to see from Nozomu Abe, but well, Suzuki did it first. And it was glorious.)

▶ Video KA: Norimitsu Suzuki

Not to forget Yutaka Nakamura: His cut made me laugh, the creative freedom he has with his cuts is pretty wild.

▶ Video KA: Yutaka Nakamura

If there's one thing to criticize about the animation and action, for me personally, it was too much. At some point all the amazing action boards, the camera work, the gorgeous effects or the incredible animation itself didn't faze me anymore, as I saw so much of it already. It's like eating a gorgeous meal, but being completely full after eating too much. It seems my eyes and brain weren't able to go beyond their limits, and the constant action became tiring and lost its unique appeal. But maybe it's simply due to myself leaning more towards atmospheric and sensible works, maybe? I don't know. I very much enjoy fast-paced and flashily arranged action, but MHA: World Heroes' Mission had for my taste too much of it.

However, this movie is not all action, and I personally find the plot and character work of this movie to be the most serviceable from all the three. Of course, there is little worldbuilding and depth given that it's a movie with a focus on its action, so many aspects of this story are meant to be enjoyed and not looked much into past that; An example would be Humarise itself, a cult taking advantage of people's fears while spreading conspiracy theories, and big enough to take active influence in institutions like the police. There is little exploration however in the workings of this organization, or the discussion about its theories, as there is some truth to it. It's ultimately a mere plot device. There is also some lost potential, as an international mission could've been a fantastic opportunity to create a crossover with the spin-off Vigilante, as Koichi and Mr. Celebrity are both in the USA. Maybe they were left out because this movie is ultimately filler, and a crossover in the main series is already planned. Still a pity.

But despite that, as I said, the story in this movie is still fine. Due to his screen time, Rody ended up being a pretty memorable and nuanced character, and he ultimately sold this movie for me, at least when it comes to the emotional side of it. He’s a man of dirty work, but ultimately a good guy caring for his family and trying to do the best he can. However, due to his father abandoning him and his brother and sister, he grew disillusioned and came to terms with life being pretty much terrible for him. But that changed with Deku, who pretty much invalidated any view Rody had towards other people, especially those calling themselves heroes, which he initially called out for only working for monetary gain. Deku gave him both hope that there is good in this world, but also the confidence to take the risk to do the right thing. While already a common theme, it’s nonetheless a serviceable iteration of Deku, once again, being an inspiration and symbol of hope for other people. And maybe, given that this wasn’t highlighted really in previous movies, you can also see it as a sign for growth. Deku still has to learn, but it shows that he already is in mark and bone what makes a hero a hero: Someone who can make things possible no one else can, who can achieve miracles, or, to put it into MHA’s terminology, who can go beyond his limits, “Plus Ultra”.

I also really like Rody's quirk, by the way. It was such a sweet reveal at the end.

To sum it up in total, MHA: World Heroes' Mission made a fine movie, being MHA at heart and an entertaining action spectacle most of the time too. Despite my personal issue with the excessive amount of flashy action however, there is also the fact that it lacks depth or anything interesting beyond the common theme it works with, so it doesn’t manage to be anything outstanding or special. But I have to admit, this movie was better than expected and in my opinion, the best movie out of all three.