My Hero Academia: 5 ways You're Next movie is similar to the Shie Hassaikai Arc (and 5 ways they differ)

My Hero Academia: You're Next is a phenomenal entry in My Hero Academia's series of movies. Some fans, however, noticed more than a few similarities to the Shie Hassaikai Arc in the series proper. This isn't necessarily a problem, as sometimes homaging or calling back to an arc has been done before with anime movies and shows such as the Blood Prison in Naruto.

That said, upon closer inspection, My Hero Academia: You're Next and the Shie Hassaikai Arc have several major similarities as well as differences. The story structure may be similar, but the events play out differently. The villains may be in the same profession, but they're nowhere in the same league. These are just two examples.

Disclaimer: The following article will contain spoilers for My Hero Academia: You're Next, as well as the series proper. All opinions are exclusive to the author.

5 ways in which My Hero Academia: You're Next is similar to the Shie Hassaikai Arc

1) A similar story structure

Similar stories (Image via Studio Bones)

Both My Hero Academia: You're Next and the Shie Hassaikai Arc share a similar story structure: Class 1-A, while out on patrol, runs into a girl being held hostage. They find a villain hoarding her power for his own, and mount a rescue mission that inevitably goes sideways, leading to a major brawl against the villain.

The two stories are structured so similarly that You're Next feels like a spiritual sequel to the Shei Hassaikai Arc, down to the themes, characters, and callbacks. Mirio comes back into play, the pro-heroes help rescue civilians, Anna's Overmodification makes the Gollini family more threatening, and the final fight against Dark Might is just as bombastic as the fight against Overhaul.

2) Quirk Mafia villains

Quirk mafia villains (Image via Studio Bones)

Although the Gollini crime family and Shie Hassaikai are fundamentally different beasts, and the Gollinis are far richer and generally more of a threat than the Shie Hassaikai, the two organizations are Quirk using mafias. The similarities don't stop there: both of their bosses are powerful people with superiority complexes, both represent unique threats, and both are defeated in the storyline they premiere.

Both of their bosses (Dark Might and Overhaul) vie for greater power than they already have, with both looking up to someone whose message and life's work they utterly misconstrue. They're also both rather difficult to defeat, with Overhaul requiring Eri to boost Deku up to past 100% and Dark Might needing Bakugo, Shoto, and Deku to go Plus Ultra, as well as having Giulio save Anna.

3) Anna and Eri

This example will focus on both hostages in their respective My Hero Academia stories: Eri and Anna Scervino. They're the same character archetype: the damsel in distress whose Quirk is severely overpowered and downright dangerous in the wrong hands.

Anna and Eri were both depressed since they saw their Quirks as curses. Both grew up in relatively happy circumstances before being orphaned, criminal organizations weaponized both, and both had to be convinced of their worth as people. They likewise stay with their saviors, Anna with Giulio, and Eri at U.A.

4) Similar themes

Both the film and the arc share several themes that carry over from the series proper. The Shie Hassaikai Arc has a "passing the torch" theme, which You're Next shows in its entirety via taking place during the Final War Arc. The former takes place following the Hideout Raid Arc, showing how the heroes deal with All Might's immediate absence and inspiring hope in the darkness.

Both have themes of hope, rescuing people from darkness, and saving lives. Anna, Eri, and Giulio have to be convinced of their worth as people, especially since the former had their Quirks weaponized and used for evil intent. It ties back to the idea of saving people with a smile and getting people to smile again, especially with Giulio, who started out as a cynic trying to kill Anna.

5) Spectacular finales

Spectacular finales (Image via Studio Bones)

This is no surprise, given how My Hero Academia's end-of-arc and movie fights tend to be spectacular. Examples abound in the series proper: All Might vs. All for One, Stain vs. Deku and Tenya and Shoto, and the Shie Hassaikai's Arc's final fight against Overhaul, to name but a few.

The fights against the Gollini family, however, in My Hero Academia: You're Next are not to be discounted. They are all animated and choreographed beautifully, each showing off the villain, their Quirk, and how the heroes have to overcome them. The final fight takes up the back half of the movie and is loaded with gorgeous animation and catharsis at seeing the villain defeated, much like the Overhaul fight was.

5 ways My Hero Academia: You're Next differs from the Shie Hassaikai Arc

1) Different contexts

Different Contexts (Image via Studio Bones)

The first and most obvious difference that My Hero Academia: You're Next and the Shie Hassaikai Arc share is their different contexts and timeframes. The Shie Hassaikai Arc came fresh off the Hideout Raid Arc: All for One was captured, the League of Villains was on the run, and All Might was freshly retired. Despite Sir Nighteye's death and Mirio being rendered Quirkless, the Shie Hassaikai Arc still ends with the heroes standing tall, the Yakuza in tatters, and the League of Villains on the run.

By the time of You're Next, fortunes are reversed. The Hero Society had crumbled, plenty of heroes died or retired, and most of Japan lay in ruin due to the calamitous events of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc. The movie shows this in various ways: Tartarus escapees and other villains running amok, civilians using guns and other support items for self-defense and hiding in makeshift shelters, and Class 1-A having to help round up villains in devastated cities.

2) Different threat levels

Different threat levels (Image via Studio Bones)

At the beginning of My Hero Academia, the Sludge villain nearly killed Bakugo and Deku, the students of Class 1-A almost died during the villain's attack on the USJ and Hero Training Camp, and rescuing Bakugo was a harebrained scheme that was lucky to succeed. The Shie Hassakai Arc continued that idea: the titular Yakuza gang, despite being lower than the League of Villains, were still hard to take down thanks to the Quirk Destroying bullets they created.

By the time of You're Next and the subsequent Final War Arc, that's changed. While the Gollini Crime Family is not a pushover, the film speaks to the growth the heroes have gone through since Class 1-A trounced the Gollinis despite the Gollinis being boosted with Anna's Overmodification. The Gollini family threatened all of Japan and UA by themselves with their giant fortress, whilst Overhaul was more of a rising threat backed up by the League of Villains.

3) Different characters in focus

Different people in focus (Image via Studio Bones)

As the Shie Hassaikai Arc is presented in My Hero Academia proper, and You're Next is a movie, fans should consider that the show's main characters aren't in focus as much, if at all. Given that You're Next takes place within the Final Act Saga, the main characters remain static for the movie as they've already advanced as characters.

This is smart, as it avoids the problem of putting important character moments in the optional movies. The bulk of the focus in You're Next is on Giulio and Anna, with Dark Might being focused on as the villain. This is contrasted with the Shie Hassaikai Arc, which focuses on everyone from the League of Villains to Overhaul to Suneater to Eri to Mirio to Kirishima, and of course, Deku.

There are also time constraints to consider. A movie that runs for roughly two hours has limited time to fit all its key points, especially while keeping its events relatively self-contained. A series can take time to develop all the major players and set up events for later on, and even get called back to.

4) Different consequences

Different Consequences (Image via Studio Bones)

There's a criticism of My Hero Academia that seems to plague shonen anime as a whole: the "lack of consequences" and unfortunate implications. Most fans who say this expect a change to stick and not get undone later on, citing examples like Mirio being Quirkless being undone, forgetting that My Hero Academia has many changes, including deaths, that aren't undone.

While the movies don't affect the main story, Giulio and Anna cameo alongside all the movie-only characters in the manga and anime during the Final War Arc, and they're all alive and well. Likewise, Armored All Might was designed by Two Heroes' main support character, Melissa Shield.

The Shie Hassaikai Arc has consequences galore that echo through the series. To name a few: Eri becomes a recurring character and finally smiles in the School Festival Arc, this leads into helping her develop and control her Rewind Quirk, Mirio gets his Quirk back thanks to Eri which takes well up into the Paranormal Liberation War to show the results, and Eri comes in clutch during the Final War Arc to help repair Deku's arms.

5) Different portrayal of Quirklessness

Quirklessness portrayed differently (Image via Studio Bones)

Quirklessness is usually considered something debilitating. Mirio's Quirk was destroyed until the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, though he maintained a positive attitude throughout. Oberhaul was rendered Quirkless forcibly by the League of Villains. Deku started off Quirkless and was hopeless afterward, and so was Yuga Aoyama. In Aoyama's case, his parents were desperate enough to make a contract with All for One.

In a nuanced take, My Hero Academia shows that some Quirks hurt their users, like Dabi's flames burning his body. Anna's Quirk gave her seizures and caused her daily pain because Overmodification is always active. It overtook her by the end, also powering up Dark Might to an unbelievable level and nearly killing everyone.

Only Giulio's enhanced Neutralization Quirk saves Anna's life, rendering her Quirkless. It's a good thing because she's no longer in pain. While this is an exception, it is worth pointing out that being Quirkless isn't a curse, as Melissa Shields shows, likewise with Deku by the series' end.

Final Thoughts

Other shots of heroes and villains (Image via Studio Bones)

There are doubtlessly plenty more differences and similarities that can be found between My Hero Academia's fourth film and the Shie Hassaikai Arc. Dark Might and Overhaul, though sharing a lot in common, are not the same. Mirio and Giulio go through different arcs throughout the story, the Pro Heroes being involved a lot more actively, and so on.

The point being is that My Hero Academia: You're Next almost felt like a spiritual successor to the Shie Hassaikai Arc, a well-earned one. The fact that the stories end differently, with You're Next on more of a high note than the bittersweet one the Shie Hassaikai Arc closes out on, doesn't diminish this point.