20 Best 'My Hero Academia' Episodes, Ranked According to IMDb

In a world where 80% of the world's population has a superhuman ability, also known as "quirks," a young man named Izuku Midoriya (Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner), aka Deku, is born quirkless. But one day, when the world's symbol of peace, All Might (Kenta Miyake and Christopher Sabat), decides to hand his own powers down to Deku and sends his life into a whirlwind of possibilities.

My Hero Academia took the world by storm both in Japan and in America upon release. The anime garnered wide praise across all sides of its production, and it's considered an icon of the genre. With the show finally over, it's interesting to look at how the audiences have reviewed the series' episodes over the years.

20 "Symbol of Peace" (Season 3, Episode 10)

IMDb Score: 9.4/10

With Bakugo (Nobuhiko Okamoto and Clifford Chapin) still being held hostage by the League of Villains, Class 1-A devises a plan to get him out so All Might can let loose and make a comeback in his fight against All for One. Utilizing everyone's quirks all together, Deku, Kirishima (Toshiki Masuda and Justin Cook), Ida (Kaito Ishikawa and J. Michael Tatum), Momo (Marina Inoue and Colleen Clinkenbeard), and Todoroki (Yūki Kaji and David Matranga) pull off an incredible stunt that gives Bakugo the chance to escape.

The tension in this episode is enacted wonderfully through the clever writing and stellar musical score. With this being the first time that Class 1-A actually ever saw and went up against All for One, the fear of what he could do to our favorite characters looms in the form of All Might needing to go full force against the villain just to keep his eyes off the students.

19 "My Hero" (Season 3, Episode 4)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

When the League of Villains attacks Class 1-A at the forest training camp, Deku steps up in a big way as he protects the troubled youth, Kota (Michiru Yamazaki and Cassandra Lee Morris), from his toughest villain yet, Muscular. In a fight that seems unwinnable, Deku pushes himself far past his limit against Muscular to barely win the day, self-titling his feat "One for All One Million Percent."

Deku vs. Muscular is known amongst fans as one of the best fights in the series. Going up against a villain who had zero problems exerting all of his force on Deku, the young hero is faced with an impossible battle and still finds a way to win. The fight showed viewers how dedicated to saving lives Deku truly is, not caring about how badly he would cripple his arm from the incident.

18 "My Hero Academia" (Season 8, Episode 11)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

The final episode of My Hero Academia, sporting the same title, had a huge amount of pressure on its back. How does one finish off a series as big, popular, and impactful as the likes of this one? After everything the heroes have seen and gone through, how could they bring it all to an end in a way that feels natural and well-done? Thankfully for fans, My Hero Academia Season 8, Episode 11, "My Hero Academia" does exactly that.

Jumping forward far into the future, a time in which Deku and the rest of his class are now adults. The once young hero is now a teacher at U.A. High, where he can inspire kids to be heroes the same way he was inspired by those around him. It's a great full-circle bit, and the entire episode does a wonderful job doing the same for every character in the series — even the likes of Chisaki (Kenjiro Tsuda and Kellen Goff) get a final full-circle moment. It's one of the better endings an anime has had, which is saying a lot, given how much anime can struggle at times with big finales.

17 "A Chain of Events, Across the Ages" (Season 7, Episode 13)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

My Hero Academia Season 7, Episode 13, "A Chain of Events, Across the Ages," finds itself being well-reviewed for a number of reasons. The pacing is immaculate, the animation is gorgeous, the score is thrilling, and, most impressively, Deku pulls off the greatest feat he's ever performed in the series so far. The reveal and use of the last quirk in One For All's catalog, Gearshift, turns the tide of the battle between Deku and Shigaraki.

As he lays the beatdown on Shigaraki (Kōki Uchiyama and Eric Vale), he pushes beyond his limits, hitting 120%, and using all of One For All's quirks in unison, allowing him to pull off Detroit Smash: Quintuple, his most powerful move in the series. This is genuinely such an impressive episode, and the vocal performances from Deku's two voice actors, Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner, are some of the best they've delivered in the series.

16 "Deku vs. Class A" (Season 6, Episode 23)

IMDb Score: 9.4/10

It was clear from pretty much the very start that Deku wasn't going to be able to keep up his darker persona for long. He was actively deteriorating his own body and mind, pushing himself to an unhealthy limit. The person who knows him better than anyone, Bakugo, decided that Class A needed to take action and bring the hero home.

Deku's a stubborn little guy, though, and wasn't going to give up without a fight, truly believing that being around his friends was going to get them killed. Class A took on their abundantly overpowered peer and almost didn't get him. Thankfully, though, their words of encouragement rang through to him a little and allowed them to catch him. The most impactful part of the episode, however, is when, finally, Bakugo becomes fully vulnerable and apologizes to Deku for everything he did to him growing up, being honest about his feelings. It's a gigantic moment for his character arc and quite moving, as well.

15 "Dabi's Dance" (Season 6, Episode 11)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

In the heat of the war battle, fan favorite villain Dabi (Hiro Shimono and Jason Liebrecht) decides to reveal his mysterious identity to the world. Todoroki and Endeavor are shocked to discover that Dabi is none other than the long-lost Todoroki family member, Toya.

This episode took the internet by storm, confirming fan theories about Dabi across the board. Fans also got to see a new side to Dabi, who is typically calm and collected, but when presented in front of his father, he becomes maniacal and cheerful. The reveal was executed wonderfully and complimented by manga readers for its faithfulness to the source material.

14 "Katsuki Bakugo: Rising" (Season 6, Episode 9)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

The war has hit a rough spot as Aizawa (Junichi Suwabe, Alex Organ, and Christopher Wehkamp) is taken out of the battle, forcing Deku to bring Shigaraki into the sky and battle him there, utilizing all of his quirks like never before. Bakugo sees that Deku is reaching his limit, so he steps up and crafts a plan to come to his aid.

Bakugo is quite beloved among the fanbase; therefore, his groundbreaking character moment in the climax of the episode was widely shared and talked about upon the episode's release. Beyond the hype, the scene marks real growth for his character—showing his shift from prideful rival to true teammate.

13 "Tenko Shimura: Origin" (Season 5, Episode 23)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

Shigaraki sees flashbacks of his past as he continues his epic battle against Re-Destro (Hiroaki Hirata and Sonny Strait). He thinks back to his origins in his toxic home-life, where he would grow to hate heroes thanks to discovering his family was abandoned by his grandmother, Nana (Mie Sonozaki and Stephanie Young), the seventh user of One for All and All Might's mentor.

The episode is one of My Hero Academia's bloodiest and darkest, showing us the manifestation of Shigaraki's destructive power when he accidentally kills his young sister and pet dog. As the seeds of hatred are built into Shigaraki's heart, he moves on to intentionally murder his abusive father. The episode is incredibly dark, but also gripping, as it gives us a deeper understanding of this terrifying animated villain.

12 "Lemillion" (Season 4, Episode 11)

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

With all the other heroes occupied, Lemillion (Tarusuke Shingaki and Ricco Fajardo) finally manages to catch up with Overhaul, who is still holding Eri (Seiran Kobayashi and Emily Neves)hostage. The battle that follows is one that fully embodies the indomitable human spirit. Lemillion faces off against Overhaul, Shin (Takayuki Masuda and John Burgmeier), and Deidoro (Kōji Takahashi and Zeno Robinson). The fight results in Lemillion sacrificing his quirk to a quirk-removing bullet to save Eri, and even while quirkless, he continues to fight Overhaul.

Lemillion cements himself as one of the best characters in the series in this episode, giving everything he has to protect Eri. Reminding many of Deku's battle against Muscular (Kōsuke Takaguchi and Jim Foronda), Lemillion puts everything on the line to be a hero and garnered love from fans everywhere.

11 "Shoto Todoroki: Origin" (Season 2, Episode 10)

IMDb Score: 9.6/10

As the School Sports Festival rages on, Todoroki and Deku finally get the fight that has been in the making since the start of the festival. In order to awaken his true potential, Deku gets in Todoroki's head and forces him to face his troublesome past head-on and accept his entire self.

Not only is the fight here expertly animated, and the voice cast in both sub and dub beautifully performed, but the expert use of flashback placement culminates in one of the best character moments in the entire series. Not to mention the use of the show's best musical track, "You Say Run," brings it all home as they finish their climactic battle.