One of My Hero Academia‘s earliest story arcs put a much-needed new spin on a classic of the shōnen genre: a tournament arc. Unlike many other series, My Hero Academia managed to keep its tournament arc from overstaying its welcome by showcasing a diverse array of challenges and competitions in its Sports Festival.
The Sports Festival was a major arc for the series, introducing a huge number of characters who would go on to be relevant all the way up until the manga’s final battle. Since these characters are so intrinsically tied to their Quirks, the best way to introduce them was to give them an opportunity which would allow them to demonstrate the power of their Quirks directly for the audience. Most tournament arcs are structured as one-versus-one fights, which does work well for showcasing a character’s powers, but given the sheer number of characters being introduced, such a structure would’ve surely dragged on for far too long, especially as the story moved on to later rounds of the tournament.
My Hero Academia’s Sports Festival Adapted Tournament Arcs For Its Huge Cast
However, rather than sticking exclusively to the one-versus-one tournament style, My Hero Academia opts to start with an open contest, with nearly every student participating in a massive race to the finish across a variety of obstacles. Its second stage was a team-based “Cavalry battle,” while the third and final stage took on a more traditional tournament style with one-on-one match-ups. These varied challenges not only kept the story from becoming repetitious and dull but also offered very different circumstances under which different Quirks could shine. After all, one of the big messages of the series is that not every character’s power is well-suited to battle, but that doesn’t mean their Quirks are inferior.
The Sports Festival introduced most of Class 1-B, as well as Mei Hatsume, a support course student who would go on to be one of Deku’s most valued allies, and Hitoshi Shinso, a student trying to get into the hero course despite his “villainous” Quirk. These characters were also given the chance to show off their abilities upon introduction thanks to the tournament, with Hatsume standing out in the Cavalry battle and Shinso in the one-versus-one, where each of their skill sets could shine best. It also allowed for some of the less highlighted members of Class 1-A to show off as well, proving that they deserved their spots at the school.
Tournament Arcs Are A Necessary Gamble In Shonen Manga
A tournament so early can be a risky prospect for a manga, which might face cancelation if interest in the tournament were to start dropping off, but if done right, the payoff is great. In fact, Naruto‘s author Masashi Kishimoto was forced to create the Chuunin Exams arc by his editors to stir up fans’ interest in the series, despite his dislike for tournament arcs. By making sure that My Hero Academia‘s Sports Festival had such a variety of competitions, and only bringing in the one-versus-one elements in the last stage, the series expertly avoided the dreaded tournament stall and made sure it was indispensable to the story by introducing many important characters for the first time.
