I have not been aware of this show's existence until only 2 months ago where I saw it being showcased at my local Supanova in Australia which is a general game/comic book/ pop culture fandom convention. I saw a couple of people there cosplaying as Izuku Midoria with his iconic green hair. I was intrigued about this strange new anime show that I did hear some famous YouTubers talking about, so I bought a couple of the manga books and started watching the anime.

The very first that clicked into my head when a began to understand the show's premise that it's about a school where the characters go to discover and further master their hidden "quirks" or "powers" where they train to become heroes. The more I read and got into the story, the more I started to realise that this show might have a deeper meaning than I previously thought. ASD was literally the first thing that came to mind when I started to understand the characters and the way they were created and constructed, something about the way it's made which is especially shown in the humor and design of the manga series is that it's a positive and uplifting (though violent) teen-young adult orientated show shining light for people with Autism/Aspergers or anywhere on the ASD spectrum.

As a person on the spectrum I could really relate to just how clearly how not all but a majority of the characters seemed to hold characteristics of people on the spectrum, closely relating these "quirks" that these characters have to real like special interests and obsessions that many Autistic people naturally have and develop, usually from early childhood. I also like how characters have more than one quirk and are flexible aswell, they are not singular, fixed or set in stone which was something that I could also really relate to and I think they nailed the natural behaviour of how an Autistic mind works without putting any shame or stigma on it, even if the creators of this show did it indirectly or completely by accident. And it's beautiful

I have always had obsessions a child, mainly with elevators, trains, planes, machines like DVD and VHS players which eventually branched out into theme parks, air travel and general science. I have grown as an adult now how to curb these obsessions which to flow and change overtime unfixedly for me but never truly disappear or go away.

Right off the bat I seemed to identify Izuku as Autistic or at least Asperger's by his characteristics and mannerisms. He just felt like that type of character to me. I have only watched 10 episodes so that might change later for me, but I have personally witnessed very few fictional character that fit and mirror the characteristics of Asperger's so well and I thought he did characterise you young man who is confident and masculine while also being slightly withdrawn, shy and socially awkward. Just like a majority of young men on the spectrum at that age

This could all just be my personal rambling though and I have only dipped my toe into what this show has to offer, but that was my first impression of My Hero Academia and I am very happy that a show structured like this exists with so many entertaining characters, it's does fell like Overwatch at times with just how many unique and creative characters they can cram into it without it ever feeling like bloated unnecessary filler. It is very difficult to do that creatively, which I why Overwatch, being a video game is the only other direct reference I can currently comparing it to.

I do feel like at this point is time that entertainment is changing, learning from certain strides of origionality from previous shows and fandoms (as well as their mistakes) and further improving for the greater good of our real world society which is currently growing and changing socially right now in a very positive way due to the worlds reaction to COVID-19.

This show symbolises empowerment and diversity as well as freedom of expression of self to me, it's a sign that society in the not too distant future is going to change for the better and slowly transform into that "one world society" that some people throw around, breaking down all barriers of race, ethnicity and ultimately, neurodiversity between Autistics and Non-Autistics bringing these two neurotribes together in a way that hasn't really been established before. It is true that Autistic people's brains develop differently to a Non-Autistic and further research into the condition is going to give more insight into exactly why that is the case. But anyway I'm going on a massive tangent here.

Give this series a try even if you're not into anime like I once was, you have nothing to lose :)