All Might and Deku: a Relationship in Five Openings

My Hero Academia has been a darling of Animanga City ever since it strolled into town a few years ago. Kōhei Horikoshi’s superhero shonen adventure about a boy striving to become a hero against all odds has captured the hearts of even the most jaded manga fans worldwide thanks to a deceptively simple story that nonetheless touches some deep and prescient lessons on the risks and rewards that come with following your dream. The anime adaptation has also been praised for its stellar music, stunning yet succinct fight scenes, and overall tight narrative that breaths with the warmth, humor, and odes to the possible inherent to the source material

Whole volumes of hyperink have been dashed out on various aspects of the series, but I’d like to focus on just one tiny part of this brilliantly composed shonen epic: the anime openings.  That’s right, with the second half of season 3 underway and the fifth OP out, I will examine a theme I've noticed running through all the openings: the evolution of the series’ most crucial relationship - that between our hero-to-be Izuku “Deku” Midoriya and his mentor Toshinori Yagi, aka All Might, the world’s greatest hero. All five openings sprinkle little hints about where their relationship stood at the time, and show us how Izuku grows to see All Might less as an idol and more of a comrade and father figure as time passes, while All Might evolves into a more complex figure, with his own hurdles to move past. I won't give a play-by-play of all parts of each and every opening, as many others have before me. I examine the Deku-All Might relationship alone, with glances at other parts just to highlight their ever-changing dynamic.

Opening #1: The Eternal Longing

MHA’s first opening, “The Day” by Porno Graffitti, establishes in the first few shots what will be a recurring image in the rest of the openings: All Might standing in the light, his back turned to the viewer, while bathing in a shower of sparkles. We only get glimpses of the big man himself at first; parts of his body that, when combined, make a whole. We then cut Izuku, his huge eyes bursting with wonder as they fill the screen, and soon realize that we’ve been seeing All Might this whole time the way he sees him: powerful, godlike, and larger-than-life - so much so that Izuku needs to work up the effort just to glimpse him in full, magisterial form. Stuck in the shadow of All Might's radiance, Izuku can only stare in awe before stretching a hesitant hand out to touch him.  Perspective is key here, for we don't know how close Izuku actually is, but it doesn't matter for the metaphor at play. All Might represents the impossible goal, an ideal that seems too far to reach no matter what Izuku does.  At this point the boy is still an outsider, something the rest of the opening really drills in.  He wears a tense, unhappy expression the entire time, combined with frequent shots of him strolling through the rain lost in thought.  He seems detached and disconnected, either weighed down by the impossible goal of being a pro hero without a quirk; or, post meeting with All Might, now heavy with the burden of being a (potentially inadequate) inheritor of a tremendous power he has yet to understand, let alone master. Izuku seems locked in the role of eternal spectator, longing for a dream bigger than his ability to grab it, and the two don’t even share the same frame until the very end, with the fledgling hero now nervously under All Might's tutelage along with the rest of his new classmates.

Opening #2: The Dream in Reach  

“Peace Sign,” performed by Kenshi Yonezu, brings on a small but noticeable shift in the hero/protégé dynamic. Not much hints yet at the deeper relationship the two have begun to forge in the series, but Izuku’s perspective has certainly changed for the better. Standing from a high place, he sees All Might in the distance, leaping between skyscrapers, and smiles, something totally absent in "The Day." The top hero may remain out of reach, but Izuku's eyes now sparkle with a determination to catch up to him. The sky is clear and blue - again, a nice contrast to the first opening, where the dreary overcast mirrored Izuku's burdens and inability to see past his assumed inadequacy - and its reflection in his eyes matches the clarity of focus he now has due to his relationship with All Might and his newfound friends. With his mentor no longer an impossible hurdle to climb over, Izuka now has a course of action, a chance to make his dreams come true, and he's taking hold of it with gusto.  All Might isn't seen again until he makes his signature dramatic entrance towards the end, dropping down at the head of a group of our main characters.  Pay attention to how everyone is positioned: All Might stands at the front, while a line of first teachers, and then students, zoom out to finally reveal Izuku at the very back.  The message is clear: All Might is the goal, and Izuku is still at the starting line, behind a host of more experienced mentors and more naturally talented peers.  But while the race ahead will be long and daunting, it isn't as flat-out hopeless as it seemed before. And thanks to All Might, Izuku feels up to the challenge.

Opening #3: Face to Face At Last

Now we’re getting down to business. “Singin' to the Sky” by amazarashi is definitely my favorite opening by far - nothing else even comes close. Note the radical departure it makes from the other two in how Izuku - or rather, Deku - relates to All Might. Unlike the impossible dream in the first opening, or the distant yet obtainable goal in the second, All Might now squares face-to-face with him for the first time. The initial scenes show Deku dispelling some of a misty gray fog with his fist, before All Might, in typical dramatic fashion, comes spiraling out of the sky to land in front of him, bringing the sun and banishing the rest of the haze. They exchange warm smiles and clasp hands in a gesture of comradery. This shows just how close the two have become, as well as how their student/mentor relationship has blossomed; though Deku now charges down the path of a hero-to-be, he still needs his idol to light the way. Still, Deku activating his Full Cowl in the middle of it points to a central theme of this arc: despite all his admiration for All Might, he’s steadily moving out from the shadow caused by his blind admiration, slowly but surely making One For All his own. But there’s another change with the opening, and that’s with All Might himself. Until now, he's been more an idea (or ideal) than a person; he is Deku’s dream, his goal, and the few times we see him, he’s either posing or socking baddies in the face with his awesome self. But after Deku punches the title card into being, we’re treated to a more contemplative All Might standing on a rooftop, as images of his two masters flash by. In other words, All Might - or more specifically, Toshinori - is becoming a more human figure in Deku’s eyes. He’s flawed, he makes mistakes, and while he’s every bit the hero Deku and everyone else admires, parting All Might the myth from Toshinori the man is a significant step in how his student (and the audience) relates to him.

Opening #4: Deku Steppin’ Out

UVERworld’s "ODD FUTURE" continues the same theme developed previously, but with a few odd twists. For one, it’s definitely more Deku focused in the beginning, but 10 seconds in we’re given a major tease related to Toshinori’s background: the moment he received One For All, tying more into the expansion of the character as a person in our eyes. After that, we see him and Deku sitting together on a park bench. That’s it, really; they’re not posing, or locked in combat, or anything of the sort. They’re just kind of chilling, hanging out and enjoying each other’s company while cherry blossoms - known symbols of life, death and renewal in Japan - dance around them. This is the culmination of their relationship on a personal level; All Might has become a familiar and comfortable presence to Deku. But the real clincher comes at the very end, when Deku, rising from the ground, stares determinedly into the distance, while the swirl of smoke behind him clears to reveal All Might, staring off with him. Long gone are the days when All Might was practically a god to him, admired but so out of reach; he's become a mentor, a friend, a true comrade in arms setting their sights on the same goal. The fact that Deku stands in front is notable, for whatever goal lays before them, it clearly belongs to him. Deku's ambitions no longer orbit around being like All Might or making him proud. Right then, at the opening's end, it's all about his fight, his focus - with All Might behind him as if to say, “I’ve got your back.”

Opening #5: My Story

And now we come full circle with the aptly named "Make My Story" by Lenny code fiction. This one is all about Deku, with All Might faded into the background, with a few significant peeks here and there. For one, there’s a blink-and-you-miss-it shot 28 seconds in, where Deku hesitates while watching his classmates jump into the fray. He then gets a gentle push from behind by All Might, setting him off while Toshinori looks on in pride. The names are there for a reason; All Might’s muscular hand is the one giving him the push, showing that while Midoriya is still unsure of himself and whether or not he has what it takes to be the new Symbol of Peace, the spirit of his mentor - of the perfect hero All Might - still moves him forward. But it’s Toshinori - thin, frail, and newly depowered - who now stands behind Deku, waiting to give aid and advice if and when his successor falls. But there’s a bit of a down note in all of this, one shared with Deku's rival, the ever-temperamental Katsuki Bakugo. Towards the end, we see the image of All Might standing with his back to us as so often in previous openings. But the brilliant sparks of light and flowing cape befitting a dazzling Symbol of Peace have all vanished. He stands against a bare, stark-white background, as washed and faded as the powers he used to wield so masterfully.  His shadow trails behind him, connecting to both Deku and Bakugo. Both boys, for different reasons, feel the fall of the house of All Might as a more personal burden than anyone else, but for Deku in particular, the reality of it brings a daunting challenge: the Age of All Might has ended, and now, the Story of Deku truly begins - whether he’s ready or not.

These are just a few of the observations most readily apparent from a quick look at the openings; more could be mined by comparing lyrical content, as well as context from the show. But even with what’s given, the openings share much about the iron bond between Izuku and Toshinori - how it has grown, and where it may go next.