The must-watch hero anime after MHA

Key recommendations

• SHY is a hero anime with themes familiar to MHA, focusing on the protagonist's insecurities and struggles to be a hero.
• SHY's world is similar to MHA with celebrity-like heroes, but the rarity of powers and societal pressures provide a unique perspective.
• SHY stands out for deepening the protagonist's insecurities, offering a sometimes more thorough approach than MHA.

The My Hero Academia manga has officially released its final chapter in Weekly Shōnen Jump starting August 5, 2024. The anime will likely end airing as early as next year, and the final manga volume has just been released. While there will be many other events, art books, exhibitions and more to celebrate the MHA story, many people will be eager to find another hero story; not to replace what MHA stood for, but to capture similar important themes that MHA's story did. Invincible is streaming on Amazon Prime. The Boys is technically a hero story, but not in the MHA vein. So what will be the next hero story to take up the mantle of MHA?

For those of you looking for the next hero anime to satisfy your cravings, you're in luck because there's one more such story in the works, and it just finished airing its second season. Although not yet as popular as MHA, SHY is a hero anime that MHA fans can find a lot of familiarity with. The themes, protagonist, and social setting evoke many of the same questions and feelings as MHA. But SHY is more than an homage or paraphrase of MHA. Although it was first published in 2019, 5 years after the start of MHA, it certainly stands out on its own, even with the clear inspiration taken from MHA.

If you haven't heard of SHY yet, then please let me introduce you to an incredibly charming story about the hero.

SHY's story

The introduction should look very similar to MHA fans

SHY takes place in a hero world similar to MHA. However, the prevalence of heroes is not nearly the same. In SHY, Heroic powers are incredibly rare, so much so that a single hero will usually be the representative of their country. In SHY, the titular character is Japan's hero, but while other countries' heroes are a source of pride, Japan's hero is not as popular. This is because, as the title suggests, she is quite shy.

But shyness is a pretty mild word to describe our heroine's struggles. Her intense insecurities and social anxiety mean she struggles to be the face that inspires hope and security in the population that supports her, to the point where even her heroic powers become inoperable at times. This is due to many things, but perhaps most notably the fact that he is only 14 years old, while heroes in other countries are often mature.

So SHY deals a lot with themes of insecurity, anxiety and more, with the personal issues of other heroes also becoming a subject of focus and reflection for the story. This is where the real strength of the story lies.

You're right… Even heroes can be defeated by fear… I'm really scared right now… My whole body is shaking… But I… I want to conquer this fear because I don't I don't want you to see me in this embarrassing situation. Because… I… I'm shy! – Shy

Similarities to MHA

A unique social setting that is explored

SHY places the audience in a society reminiscent of MHA. We are immediately thrown into a world where superheroes are now an accepted and commonplace phenomenon, even reaching celebrity status. We see images of heroes from other countries and learn about the steps they have taken to make their countries proud. While the number of superheroes doesn't compare to MHA, their elevated status should be familiar.

We are also told that with the rise of these heroes, the world has entered a time of relative peace, and we hear the same in MHA. But again, like MHA, we are warned of a looming threat that will call our heroes to rise to a great occasion in the future.

Both protagonists have similar traits

“SHY”, civilian name Teru Momijiyama, has many similarities with Deku right from the start. At the beginning of the first episode, we are first introduced to her civilian identity as she nervously revises her lines for a speech she has to give at an upcoming event. The images of Deku floundering in the classroom and nervously moving through life are very reminiscent here.

The parallels only become more apparent when “SHY,” the hero, finally transforms. While her shyness makes her public presence uncommittal to her speaking audience, when it comes time to save someone, there's no doubting her commitment. A roller coaster at the amusement park he's speaking on begins to malfunction, and after hearing screams from the children on board, SHY ends up rescuing them. In a scene very similar to Deku attacking the 100 point robot in the UA exam, Shy gets in the way of a red roller coaster, saving the girl on board and taking a lot of damage in the process.

Despite her best efforts, the girl on board is still injured, although she is alive. This causes Teru to panic, and her doubt that she can be a hero makes her unable to transform (more on that later). This is a point where we see many of the same thoughts Deku had early on about his self-worth and whether he really deserves to be a hero.

Where it stands out

SHY lingers where MHA Sometimes rushes

Reminiscent of the anime's name, a very important focus of SHY is dealing with the heroine's shyness and feelings of doubt and insecurity. If that was a big draw to MHA for you, then you might even enjoy SHY more for how deeply it delves into this aspect of the heroine.

From the first incident at the amusement park, SHY actually regresses a bit because of the outcome of the incident. With the girl he saved still badly injured from the accident and seeing the media's scrutiny of her ability to be a hero, SHY begins a period of isolation. When she receives a visit from a friend and fellow hero, she reveals that she has failed to change her heart, so the heroes assume their identities in the world of SHY.

This may be a bit more heavy-handed than MHA's approach to dealing with insecurity, but having the change-of-heart mechanism in the story means that SHY's shyness needs to be discussed and foregrounded much more often. When your hero's insecurities make him physically unable to be the person he needs to be, it becomes all the more necessary for these personal discussions to become an essential part of your story's ongoing conflict. As the story continues from this first incident, we see the struggles SHY and his fellow heroes face in handling this massive responsibility to protect the public.

Why should you watch this anime?

There are more great heroes to see

My Hero Academia became a legendary anime due to its unique way of handling Deku and Hero Society. Among the Japanese Manga stands out. Even among the hero comics it draws inspiration from, it stands out. And with this legacy will inevitably come stories and authors who were inspired by this incredible story.

SHY is probably the first post-MHA era anime to show clear inspiration from the story. And while those similarities are certainly noticeable, it does a great job of managing to stand out on its own. It is very inspired and not copied from the incredible story that is MHA, which could have been much more difficult to achieve. So, for those of you who loved seeing Deku overcome his insecurities and realize the hero he's always been at heart, you'll definitely fall in love with Teru's journey to do the same thing.

SHY is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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  My Hero Academia

  In My Hero Academia, Young Deku was born into a world where people usually have something called quirks, also known as superpowers. He himself is born without, but circumstances lead to this change. He enrolls at UA High School, a prestigious academy where future heroes of the world learn to use their powers.

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