How to watch My Hero Academia in order
Your guide to watching each season and film from My Hero Academia in the correct order.
Set in a world where superpowers have become the norm, My Hero Academia sees a boy named Izuku Midoriya strive to become a superhero even though he was born without a "Quirk" of his own.
With the help of All Might, Japan's greatest hero, Midoriya soon enrols in a special school designed to help young superheroes in training.
On the face of it, the anime doesn't sound too far removed from the X-Men and other Marvel or DC stories that revolve around wannabe superheroes. However, that comparison massively undersells this franchise which has achieved global success with both Kōhei Horikoshi's original manga and the anime that followed.
Like trying to watch Naruto or Attack on Titan in order, trying to watch My Hero Academia in order can be quite confusing given the various releases over the years.
Since 2016, the My Hero Academia series has spawned six seasons and three films as well as numerous OVAs. These are often shorter specials that are included exclusively in the anime's home releases. There's also a confirmed My Hero Academia season 7.
Combined, that's a lot of story to get through, so where do you start? That's where we come in. Here's how to watch My Hero Academia in order.
How to watch My Hero Academia in canon order
Here's how to watch the whole My Hero Academia saga in order including the movies, from the very beginning to where we are now:
- 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
The main My Hero Academia anime adapts Horikoshi's manga closely, but films and OVA specials are also added in occasionally to bulk things out and add something new to the story.
However, anyone who's pressed for time could theoretically skip these extras, classed as My Hero Academia filler, and just stick to the main six seasons - as they're separate enough to be enjoyed on their own.
There is one big caveat to all this. OVA 3: My Hero Academia: All Might Rising is a prequel story that reveals what first drove All Might to become The Symbol of Peace.
It's placed first here because this chapter takes place before we meet Midoriya, but the emotional impact of the story will hit much harder once you've become familiar with All Might's journey in the first couple of seasons.
Because of that, we'd actually recommend watching OVA 3 after season 2 instead of at the start for a more complete experience.
How to watch My Hero Academia in order of chronological release
If you want to watch My Hero Academia in the same way long-time fans had to when it first came out, here's the correct watch order to dive in according to each official release date.
- 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)
How to watch My Hero Academia in the UK
My Hero Academia is available to watch on the streaming service Crunchyroll.
On Netflix, the original 2016 season of My Hero Academia is available, as well as the 2019 film Heroes: Rising.
Elsewhere, the series can be bought or rented 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.
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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.
