Japanese debate whether My Hero Academia is in decline

With the premiere of season 7 of the anime series adaptation of the manga My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) by Kōhei Horikoshi scheduled for May 4th in Japan, fans of the anime are debating whether its popularity has been declining in recent months.

The comments reflect widespread concern about the apparent decline in interest in “Boku no Hero Academia”. While the series has been praised by fans and critics alike, many argue that its popularity is in decline, especially compared to the period between 2018 and 2021 when fervor for Marvel films and superhero content was at its peak.

Some forum participants attribute this decline to what they call “superhero fatigue,” suggesting that the saturation of the genre in the entertainment market has led to a decline in interest in superhero stories in general. However, others disagree, noting that the superhero genre has been a stable part of anime and that the decline in popularity of “Boku no Hero Academia” may be due to more series-specific factors than a general industry trend.

Although some participants recognize that “Boku no Hero Academia” remains popular in terms of manga sales and viewership on streaming platforms, they also highlight that it has lost the “hype” factor in online conversations. They argue that, despite its continued commercial success, the series is no longer the dominant topic in online discussions and has been overshadowed by new series that have captured the public’s attention.

• Isn’t it over after all this time?
• Oh God, are they seriously still writing and expanding this story?
• Between Jujutsu Kaisen and Boku no Hero Academia, the authors compete to extend their final arcs more and more.
• The paradox of drawing incredibly but not knowing how to write a story correctly.
• I remember I started reading it once, but there were so many characters that I couldn’t remember them.
• Surely it’s because history is full of men, when was the last time we saw a pair of boobs in history?
• How many years has the situation been “on the verge of exploding” in this story? I don’t really feel like there has been any significant progress since then.
• Even worse, some authors began to copy Horikoshi’s ideas and consider the worst in the characters, story, and dialogue.
• The story lasted so long that it stopped being interesting, maybe I’ll read it when it’s finished.
• The story is so tangled today that it is difficult to understand what is happening.
• Boku no Hero Academia’s power system went to hell with this last arc, I really don’t understand what’s going on anymore and I just keep reading so I don’t feel like I wasted my time.
• In fact, the criticism is about the fact that there is no catharsis. I can’t feel sorry or happy for the characters, it’s as if they have stopped being important. I even laughed when Deku lost…
• I don’t understand, I wasn’t at all moved by the antagonist’s story, it’s as if I already knew what they were going to tell about him.
• Unfortunately, we’ve reached the point where many read Boku no Hero Academia out of obligation, just to finish it. As if they didn’t want the years they followed the series to be wasted.