How to watch My Hero Academia in order
Your guide to watching each season and film from My Hero Academia in the correct order.
Subverting the typical format for superhero stories, My Hero Academia takes place in a world where most people have superpowers, and the story's protagonist stands out because he doesn't have a "Quirk" of his own.
Determined to overcome his lack of superpowers, the young Izuku Midoriya enrols at a school for aspiring heroes, supported by Japan's greatest superhero All Might.
On paper, My Hero Academia sounds like it might overlap with American superhero stories like X-Men. However, this anime and manga franchise is a phenomenon on its own terms.
The original manga series by Kōhei Horikoshi is an international best-seller, and its ongoing anime adaptation is equally popular.
In a similar vein to high-profile anime franchises like Naruto or Attack on Titan, watching My Hero Academia can feel like a daunting challenge at first. The canon is pretty extensive, covering seven seasons, four movies, and numerous OVAs (ie. short spin-off specials).
To make things as easy as possible, we've put together this viewing guide for how to watch My Hero Academia in order.
How to watch My Hero Academia in canon order
Covering the entire My Hero Academia saga including the movies, here's our guide to watching My Hero Academia in chronological order:
- OVA 3: My Hero Academia: All Might: Rising (Two Heroes Special)
- Season 1: My Hero Academia
- OVA 1: (Jump Festa) My Hero Academia: Save! Rescue Training!
- TV Special: Hero Notebook (Recap Episode)
- Season 2: My Hero Academia 2 (Ep 1-20)
- OVA 2: My Hero Academia: Training of the Dead
- Season 2: M hero Academia 2 (Ep 21-25)
- My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
- Season 3: My Hero Academia 3 (Ep 1-14)
- ONA: My Hero Academia: Make It! Do-or-Die Survival Training (2 Parts)
- Season 3: My Hero Academia 3 (Ep 15-25)
- Season 4: My Hero Academia 4
- My Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes: Rising
- Season 5: My Hero Academia 5 (Ep 1-18)
- OVA 7: My Hero Academia: Hero League Baseball
- OVA 8: My Hero Academia: Laugh! As if You Are in Hell
- Season 5: My Hero Academia 5 (Ep 19-25)
- OVA 6: My Hero Academia: Departure
- My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission
- Season 6: My Hero Academia 6
- OVA 9: UA Heroes Battle
- OVA 10: A Piece of Cake
- My Hero Academia: You're Next
- Season 7: My Hero Academia 7
The movies and OVA specials are generally considered to be non-essential viewing, so you can skip them if you're in a hurry to catch up with all seven seasons of the TV series.
The one exception to this rule is the third OVA, All Might Rising. This story acts as a prequel for All Might's role, explaining his origin story as The Symbol of Peace.
We placed it at the beginning of our viewing order because it takes place before we meet Midoriya. However, the emotional impact of All Might Rising will hit harder once you've seen more of this character, later in the show's run.
For that reason, you might be better off watching this OVA as a flashback story after season 2, rather than sticking strictly to the main chronological timeline.
How to watch My Hero Academia in order of release
Alternatively, if you'd prefer to enjoy My Hero Academia in its original release order, here's how to get started:
- Season 1: My Hero Academia (2016)
- My Hero Academia 2: Hero Notebook (2017)
- OVA 1: (Jump Festa) My Hero Academia: Save! Rescue Training! (2017)
- Season 2: My Hero Academia 2 (2017)
- OVA 2: My Hero Academia: Training of the Dead (2017)
- Season 3: My Hero Academia 3 (2018)
- My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018)
- OVA 3: My Hero Academia: All Might: Rising (Two Heroes Special) (2019)
- Season 4: My Hero Academia 4 (2019)
- My Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes: Rising (2019)
- My Hero Academia: Make It! Do-or-Die Survival Training (Two-Part Special) (2020)
- Season 5: My Hero Academia 5 (2021)
- My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (2021)
- OVA 6: My Hero Academia: Departure
- OVA 7: My Hero Academia: Hero League Baseball (2022)
- OVA 8: My Hero Academia: Laugh! As If You Are in Hell (2022)
- Season 6: My Hero Academia 6 (2022)
- OVA 9: UA Heroes Battle (2023)
- My Hero Academia: You're Next (2024)
- Season 7: My Hero Academia 7 (2024)
- OVA 10: A Piece of Cake (2025)
How to watch My Hero Academia in the UK
You can stream all of My Hero Academia on the anime platform Crunchyroll.
You can also watch the first four seasons of the series on Netflix, along with three of the movies: Heroes Rising, World Heroes Mission, and Two Heroes.
Alternatively, you can buy or rent the first four seasons of My Hero Academia on Prime Video.
Check out more of our Fantasy or Anime coverage or visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
Authors
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw is a freelance critic and entertainment journalist specialising in geek culture, TV and film. She has written for numerous outlets including Empire, TV Guide, Wired and Vulture, and hosts the film podcast Overinvested.
