The fourth My Hero Academia film, My Hero Academia: You're Next, is set between the sixth and seventh seasons of the wildly popular anime series. It introduces several new characters while including a whole list of fan favorites.
At the end of season six, All Might passes the torch, but to whom it is passed is unclear. When a sinister villain who calls himself Dark Might decides that he is the next symbol of peace, it is up to Deku, Bakugo, and the rest of their friends to save the day.
My Hero Academia: You're Next Cast Talks About Latest Film
The Direct caught up with some of the voice cast, both English and Japanese, at the North American premiere of My Hero Academia: You're Next. They tease the new film, as well as discuss their most challenging scenes to record in Season 7 and how they get in the mindset of their characters considering how dark the storyline has gotten.
For those newcomers to My Hero Academia, they tease their characters and detail what it has meant to them to join the MHA family.
Daiki Yamashita, who is the Japanese voice of Izuku Midoriya (hero name, Deku), details Deku's evolution through the series as they start to touch on the darker aspects:
"He's always learning as the seasons progress. He grows both physically and mentally. Starting from a more naive boy, he truly grows into this boy who is more understanding of the world, but behind that there's the presence of his family, his friends, his rivals, that all helps to keep him growing."
Yamashita admits that he has learned a lot from Deku over the years:
"The biggest thing really has to be courage. The courage that is in Deku's character. Whenever I perform as him, there's always something, from his daily life to when he's actually fighting, there's always a lot that I can take away from his performance."
Kenta Miyake not only voices the hero All Might in My Hero Academia: You're Next, but he also takes on the role of Dark Might. When asked what it was like to get to explore a villain this time around, Miyake admits he had a good time, before going on to explain what he has taken away from voicing All Might:
"Sorry to Midoriya and everyone but it's fun playing the villain sometimes. Because All Might has always been a symbol of peace, his unbreakable heart, his infallible movements and actions, that's something that I like to catch up to and aspire to."
Fan favorite Bakugo has some great sequences in the film, from action to comedy, which voice actor Clifford Chapin teases:
"[There are] some really great fights, obviously. This film starts off with Bakugo bringing a pretty good amount of comedy in the early half of the film, so I, as much as I know everyone's going to be excited for those fights, I hope everyone has a few good laughs before we really get into the meat of the movie."
When asked which of the episodes in Season 7 was the most challenging for him to record, in terms of either emotion or skill, Chapin admits that it is the Light Fades to Rain – episode 11:
"Well, the episode is out, but the Light Fades to Rain episode was clearly, easily the most challenging because I had to bring a lot of emotion to it, and I have these eight years of voicing the character, so I could always call back on what I've been through as the character, but kind of going to that emotional space where the other characters are not present, and not emotional, was a little bit more challenging because I was basically just getting beat up for the whole episode."
Mauricio Oritz-Segura voices the new character Guilio Gandini, who is sure to become a new fan favorite after this film. When asked what he is most excited for viewers to see in terms of his character, he hopes they stick with him as he slowly reveals himself:
"When he starts off, he's more of an enigma. No one knows what he's about, why he's doing what he's doing, and he seems a little cold at first. But of course, as you get to know him and as his adventures progress along with the rest of the cast, you get to see him peel back a bit of those layers like an onion. He peels back his layers just a little bit more, and you get to really, really see his character and why he's doing what he's doing in the movie."
Anime films are almost always considered non-canon, but My Hero Academia has recently opened the door for characters to step into the main storylines of the seasons. Guilio is sure to be one of those that fans will be begging for to return, and Oritz-Segura is ready to do so:
"I don't know if you saw the most recent episode, but not only was the voice of young All for One, who's Ryan Negron, shout out my boy, revealed, but it was also revealed that everybody there is anime canon, all the movies. And so, one, two, three… and four. So, I mean, if he ever needs to come back to cheer on Deku in Season 8, I'm not going to say no."
Anna Scervino is another new character for My Hero Academia fans. She is voiced by Kayli Mills in the dubbed version of My Hero Academia: You're Next, who reveals her fun connection to MHA before she was brought into the cast:
"A few years ago, I saw the second movie as a guest of a friend who's in the series. So getting to come here as an actor four years later is pretty surreal for me."
Mills goes on to tease what she is most excited for MHA fans to see in the new film:
"I think the relationship between all of the characters is just really interesting to watch. But also Anna and Giulio specifically. The creator even mentioned that watching their relationship really gives you a lot of insight into where the series is going from here. I thought that was really cool."
Throughout the seasons of My Hero Academia, Hawks has walked a thin line between villain and hero. He is a double agent of sorts, even leaving the audience questioning what side his alliances lie at times. Voice actor Zeno Robinson reveals how much fun it has been for him to explore this duality:
"It's been really fun threading the line, threading the needle. Evil, good, where is he? Where do his allegiances lie? How much can I trick the audience into thinking this or what do I want the audience to think and how do I interpret this moment that's really ambiguous for everybody and how can I leave room for suspense, you know what I mean? I always try to keep that in mind when threading that needle with Hawks."
So far, Hawks has had a lot going on in Season 7. When asked about the most challenging thing to record this season, Robinson did not even hesitate:
"I think the most challenging thing about Season 7 is trying to keep Hawks' ideals at the forefront. He's in this really, really desperate situation for most of the season and keeping his moral compass at the forefront of every line and everything he says. He's been really impassioned this season, so weaving in that layer is the one thing I want to focus on the most."
Anairis Quinones, who voices Mirko, claims never to be surprised by her character. When asked if anything stood out to her this season, she quickly answered no:
"Not really actually, because I think she's someone who knows what she wants. Her whole thing is that she wants to be a hero, her whole thing is that she wants to protect people at any cost necessary, so I don't think it surprised me where she went this season."
A video with all of The Direct's conversations with the cast of My Hero Academia: You're Next can be seen here:
My Hero Academia: You're Next is now playing in U.S. theaters.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.
