Why is there so much hate towards My Hero Academia?

On a Reddit forum dedicated to the analysis of anime culture, a heated debate recently broke out about the bad reputation that the series "My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia)" has among certain sectors of the fandom. One user asked the question: "Could you explain, in a civilized and objective manner, why My Hero Academia has such a bad reputation? Honestly, I'm curious." This generated a massive response, with diverse and controversial opinions that tried to unravel the reason behind this phenomenon.

The user explained that despite having watched a lot of anime, he found that he enjoyed the series a lot, especially during the final arc. He highlighted the quality of the animation and commented that, in his opinion, the series had a good balance between fast and leisurely pace, which kept interest throughout the episodes. In addition, although he initially did not like the protagonist, the development of the main character had won him over time, appreciating his growth and evolution. Another point he highlighted was the social subtext of the story, which he considers an interesting commentary on society, something that, according to him, adds value to the narrative.
However, despite his admiration for the series, the user mentioned that he receives uncomfortable looks when he confesses that he is a follower of My Hero Academia, which led him to wonder the origin of this negative perception among the community. The answers to this question were diverse and addressed various aspects of anime and its fandom. Some users pointed out that part of the bad reputation could come from the perception that the fandom is excessively passionate, which in some cases has led to undesirable behavior on social networks.
In the midst of this debate, some highlighted that the structure of the story and the development of the characters might not be to everyone's taste, which caused severe judgments towards certain arcs or narrative decisions.
- "It's not a perfect series by any means, but it's in the top 5 of popularity this decade. Popularity on Reddit or in anime/manga circles doesn't mean real-world popularity (who uses WRONG?). My Hero Academia is a mainstream series, it crossed the threshold into the 'real world' a long time ago, just like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, and JJK, so it can clearly be criticized, but its low popularity in otaku circles doesn't reflect reality."
- "It is not like that. What you're seeing is a noisy minority. The show is incredibly popular, so much so that there was a trailer for You're Next before my Transformers One performance on opening night."
- "I like it, but it has obvious flaws that it is fair to recognize. He introduces a multitude of characters, but does not develop them or uses them briefly and then discards them. His conclusion feels extremely hasty. Deku goes from barely getting a superpower to becoming the biggest champion in the world in MAYBE a year, and in the second half when he just receives and masters like 8 new powers, he feels very undeserved to the viewer."
- "I'm someone who thinks it has ups and downs in terms of quality, but, like anything popular or mainstream, people exaggerate the flaws and look down on those who enjoy it just to feel edgy and superior."
- "I loved MHA seasons 1-3 and 6-7. The low points for me in the series were mainly due to the drop in average animation quality in S4 and S5 and the very slow pace at the beginning of S5. I know that readers of the manga have been complaining for a long time, but I don't identify much with their criticism, especially since I prefer to binge several volumes instead of reading weekly."
- "It's the fans, and only a small portion of those fans. Yes, some of them are terrible, but I can say the same about any fandom."
- "I don't think it has a bad reputation (nor a very good one either). I think it's just like any other popular series that's everywhere: it just has a reputation. Ordinary people (in Japan and in otaku circles) know about it. People with reviews are fans who still follow her or ex-fans who left her after following her for quite some time. People who never liked the concept probably never stayed in the first place."
- "My main complaints with the show, as someone who is still a fan and will watch it again, can be summed up as follows: Horikoshi wasted a lot of time writing TYPES of characters and wanting to show you new things or subvert what you had never seen with different TYPES of characters... Which means that a whole story went by without actually writing characters within this story. The secondary characters do not sustain the entire narrative. The main characters don't talk to each other. And the villains don't fully reflect the worldbuilding of the story because he wants them to be as cruel as possible, but it doesn't show that the world was so cruel to them."
- "I think the story just lost steam in some arcs. Also, Deku is a somewhat disappointing protagonist."
- "MHA is really popular. The more popular something is, the more eyes are going to be fixed on it. The more eyes, the more chances there are that people will find it and dislike it. And what you're seeing is the noisy minority that doesn't like something popular."
- "Most people despise fandom (which is sometimes justified). I love the show too, and I was confused about its popularity when I came to this sub, but it's mainly the fandom that gives the show a bad name."
- "It's been one of the most popular shonens of the last decade. I think his reputation is fine."
- "The Overhaul and Gentle Criminal arcs were not well received, as the former had animation issues and the latter was a bit disconnected from the main story. The current arc is incredible, though."
- "I would say it's not the anime that's wrong, it's mainly the fanbase that's awful. Not the regular fans, but the extreme fans who really make it less enjoyable."
- "It's mainly the fandom, romantic couples and stuff... But actually, it's a very good series!"
- "The most boring shonen protagonist and a season usually has a good arc and a boring one. The show isn't bad, but it pales in comparison to JJK, Demon Slayer, Chainsaw Man, etc."
- "Because 2% of the fan base is super cringe, which most people say means they're all cringe."
- "The reason for the bad reputation, from what I've seen, is not so much the show itself but the fan base."
- "I watched the first 4 seasons, but after that I didn't feel like I wanted to continue. It just fell for me. It's neither great nor bad, it's just fine."
Source: Reddit