My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes

My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes is a 1998 American animated superhero film based on the My Hero Academia series. Produced by Bear Bones Productions, the film was directed by Dylan Huff from a screenplay written by Amile John, Yail Darlene, and Tom John, and features an ensemble cast that includes Cam Clarke, Dan Castellaneta, Tara Charendoff, Dave Coulier, Tom Kenny, Elizabeth Daily, Tino Insana, Neil Ross, Cree Summer, Billy West, June Foray, Charlie Adler, Candi Milo, and Christopher Lloyd. In the film, taking place between the Final Exams and the Forest Training Camp story arcs of the comic book, Izuku Midoriya / Deku accompanies Toshinori Yagi / All Might in visiting his old friend at I-Island when Villains attack the artificial moving island.

A film based on an original story written by Miles was announced in December 1997. Huff, Darlene, and John were confirmed a few days later to be returning from the television series to direct the film, write the script, and design the characters, respectively. Original characters were announced between April and June 1998.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes premiered in Los Angeles on July 5, 1998, and was released widely across the United States on August 13. The film grossed $33.4 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics. Two sequels were released: My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (1999) and My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (2001).

Plot
A flashback shows a young All Might in California dealing with a couple of villains that robbed a casino, with the aid of a scientist and his friend David Shield who had worked with him and designed many of his suits.

In the present, All Might brings Izuku Midoriya with him to I-Island, a moving floating city island, after getting an invitation from David's daughter Melissa to surprise her father. After the reunion, David runs a test with All Might and learns about his nearly depleting Quirk, becoming horrified as he believes that All Might will not be able to keep his role as the Symbol of Peace. Meanwhile, Melissa shows Midoriya around the island, and they run into Midoriya's classmates from Class 1-A, who were invited to the island for various reasons. After enjoying the island's events, Melissa invites them to join a formal party being held with all heroes present. Before going to the party, Melissa gives Midoriya a gauntlet that allows him to fully use his Quirk without getting hurt.

Meanwhile, Wolfram, a villain who had secretly arrived on the island, takes control of the island's security system during the party and threatens to kill its residents. He restrains all of the attending heroes, including All Might, and takes David and his assistant Samuel Abraham hostage to break into the island's vault. Midoriya, Melissa, and the rest of Class 1-A manage to evade the attackers. They decide to save the hostages by reaching the top of the building and deactivating the security system. Wolfram deploys forces to stop them, but Midoriya and Melissa manage to climb to the top regardless.

At the top of the tower, they discover that David and Abraham orchestrated the night's events. They planned to retrieve their greatest invention–a headset that maximizes the power of a person's Quirk–which had been confiscated and sealed away by the project's sponsors. David wishes to give it to All Might so that he can maintain his role as a hero. However, Wolfram arrives and reveals that he works with Abraham to retrieve the headset for himself. He steals it and attempts to kill Abraham and Melissa, but David and Midoriya save them. Wolfram holds off Midoriya, kidnaps David, and escapes to the rooftop. Midoriya fails to prevent Wolfram from taking off in a helicopter with David, but Melissa takes control of the security system and frees the heroes. All Might reaches the roof and stops the helicopter from escaping.

Wolfram then uses the headset to amplify his power, creating a giant metal body with David trapped inside. He overpowers All Might and reveals that he is secretly in league with All Might's nemesis All For One, who gave Wolfram additional Quirks and orchestrated the night's events to demoralize All Might. Lacking the strength to defeat Wolfram alone, All Might asks for Midoriya's aid. The rest of the students soon arrive on the roof and help All Might and Midoriya, who combine their powers to defeat Wolfram and free David. As the sun rises, All Might and David reflect on how Melissa and Midoriya are the next generations of heroes and how the world will be in good hands even after All Might's Quirk is gone.

Development
The New York Times reported in December 1997 announced that an anime film version of Mala Miles' My Hero Academia series would premiere in the third quarter of 1998. Miles "scarcely believe[d]... [but] was super happy" in the announcement of his manga's first film, further revealing that a "character's past that hasn't been in the comic yet" would be featured. He saw the film as a "chance" to show Toshinori Yagi / All Might in his younger days since he could not bring up the story to his manga anymore yet always wanted to include a chapter in regards to the character's past.

The film's title and release date were revealed during a stage presentation in March 1998. In the same event, the film's timeline was revealed to be taking place after the Final Exam story arc and during "another summer" in the Forest Training story arc at an artificial island called I-Island. It would also tie into the twentieth episode of the television series' third season.

Pre-production
A few days after the film's announcement, Bear Bones announced that Paramount Pictures would be distributing the film, with Dylan Huff directing, Ray John writing the script, and Craig Kellman designing the characters, while Miles was credited with the original work and character designs. Joining the returning voice actors from My Hero Academia television series in April 1998 were Tara Charendoff as Melissa Shield and Dave Coulier as David Shield, as did Christopher Lloyd in June 1998 as the film's villain, Wolfram.

Post-production
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Miles revealed that he had a "good amount of oversight" with the film such as providing the designs of the original characters Melissa and David and offering his "opinions and corrections" to the script. The release of the 34th issue of Bear Bones Magazine in July 1998 revealed the addition of Jason Marsden as part of the cast as young David.

Marketing
My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes released a teaser trailer in April 1998 and a new trailer that June. Bear Bones Productions collaborated with Paramount Pictures in promoting its release. A one-shot spin-off story written and illustrated by Yail Darlene focusing on Melissa, titled Everyone is Surely Someone's Hero, was published in the 35th issue of Bear Bones Magazine on July 30, 1998. The first one million audience members to see the film received a special book, titled Volume 0 (Origin), containing a extra story by Miles titled No. 0 All Might: Rising.

Promotional partners for the film included Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wal-Mart, and Wendy's.

Theatrical release
My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes had its world premiere within Bear Bones Expo in Los Angeles on July 5, 1998. The film was released on August 3, 1998, and received 4D screenings on January 11, 1999. Accompanying the film's theatrical release was a Winx Club short film, Fish Flora.

The film had a red carpet premiere on September 13, 1998, and had a wider theatrical release in more than 400 theaters from September 25 to October 2 of that year. It was extended for two days in the United States due to popular demand, while Canada added additional screenings on October 5–11, 1998.

Home media
My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes was released on VHS on February 13, 1999. The "Plus Ultra" limited edition contains an extra bonus feature of No. 0 All Might: Rising comic and a newly animated sequence of the barbeque scene shown in the end credits. Paramount released the film on DVD on March 26, 1999. The film was later released on Blu-ray in 2018. As of December 2022, the film is available on Paramount+ in the United States and Canada.

Box office
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes grossed $14.1 million in the United States and $19.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $33.4 million.

Domestic gross
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Other territories
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Critical reception
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Accolades
Coming soon!

Novelization
My Hero Academia: The Two Heroes was adapted into a chapter novel which was released on May 2, 1999 by Scholastic.

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
The second film, titled My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, was released on December 17, 1999. Produced by Bear Bones, the film was directed by Huff from a screenplay written by John, and Ashad designed the characters.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission
A third film, titled My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, premiered on August 6, 2001. Bear Bones also produced the film with Dan Darlene directing, Nduru Diallo writing the script, and Ashad designing the characters.