Summary

• My Hero Academia's anime enhanced the execution of Bakugo's revival compared to the manga.
• My Hero Academia's anime improved Bakugo's revival scene with better pacing and notable changes from the manga.
• The anime emphasized the seriousness of Bakugo's condition and the emotions of those trying to save him.

Warning: Contains spoilers for My Hero Academia season 7, episode #12.Among the numerous divisive elements of My Hero Academia’s final arc, one of the biggest is the scene of Bakugo being saved from near death. It was already highly telegraphed that Bakugo wouldn’t stay dead, but the pacing and overall execution of the scene in the manga removed all tension and made it a point of contention even among people who didn’t want Bakugo to die.

My Hero Academia’s anime recently adapted the scene of Bakugo being narrowly saved from death, and it had a notably different handling on it. Naturally, the anime couldn’t change some of the more ridiculous and overall anticlimactic elements of the scene.

However, between the pacing of the scene and a small, but vital, change from the manga, the My Hero Academia anime had a much better handling of Bakugo’s revival than the manga did. The changes were small in the grand scheme of things, but they were still great to see in the anime, overall.

My Hero Academia’s Anime Fixes The Pacing Of Bakugo’s Revival

Bakugo's Revival Looks Much Better In The Anime Than The Manga

One issue with the scene of Bakugo’s revival was that it took the manga several weeks to get to it, even though it was obvious that an important character like Bakugo wasn’t going to die. In the anime, Bakugo begins the process of coming back to life only one episode after he dies. Granted, that quickness can also be seen as highlighting the anticlimactic nature of the whole thing, but the decision not to waste so much time on something that obviously wouldn’t stick was a great decision on the part of the anime.

The pacing was also fixed in areas where it made more sense to slow things down. In the manga, there was never much time spent on the reactions of the people trying to save Bakugo, but the direction of the My Hero Academia anime worked to put far more emphasis on how desperate everyone was to save Bakugo by slowing things down when needed to emphasize their emotions and giving them great art and animation to match. It all came together for a much smoother execution compared to the manga, and overall, it was great to see.

My Hero Academia’s Anime Expands On The Seriousness Of Bakugo’s Condition

Another commonly criticized element of this scene is that Bakugo was saved by Edgeshot, a Pro Hero he had little to do with before this moment, while one of his mentors, Best Jeanist, stood by. However, the anime added a quick but meaningful glimpse of Edgeshot and Best Jeanist's past at U.A., showcasing the bond between these two Pro Heroes that extended to Bakugo as well, and in general made them feel more relevant.

Another issue with Bakugo’s revival was that the story didn’t properly convey the seriousness of his condition, his body just not moving while Edgeshot began operating on him. My Hero Academia’s anime, however, had Bakugo’s body convulsing and spurting blood to play into the idea of him receiving heavy R, making it easier to see that Bakugo was barely hanging on. That addition, combined with other changes, made this scene far more impactful than it was in the manga, and it does a lot to improve on one of the weaker elements of My Hero Academia’s final arc.

My Hero Academia releases new episodes Saturdays on Crunchyroll.