MHA Watch Order: Complete Anime, OVA, and Movie Guide

My Hero Academia looks quite simple on the surface. You’ve got yourself seven seasons, a few movies, and a handful of OVAs. Sounds pretty easy to cover, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s what you think initially, and then suddenly find yourself 30 tabs deep into Reddit trying to figure out when Heroes Rising fits in the timeline. Been there, done that.

In all honesty, if you want the easiest and stress-free MHA watch order, then the release order is the way to go. So, grab your popcorn and Plus Ultra through this simple guide so you can enjoy one of the best shounen series in recent times.

MHA Watch Order in Terms of Release Date

Below is a complete master list of My Hero Academia in release order, covering every anime season, OVA, and movie, along with key details like release year, director, and IMDb rating for quick reference.

1. My Hero Academia Season 1 (2016)

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

This is where it all began, with a crybaby protagonist, some standard school bullying, and a world of quirks, heroes, and villains that you’ll get to know more intimately later on. The first season sets the foundation really well.

2. My Hero Academia: Save! Rescue Training! (OVA – 2017)

This OVA dropped right between the first two seasons and feels like a bonus class at UA. It’s low-stakes, character-focused, and basically lets you hang out with Class 1-A without the trauma they’re subjected to way too frequently than they should be.

3. My Hero Academia Season 2 (2017)

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The anime gets a glow-up in Season 2. Character designs improve (yes, we’re all thinking about one icy-hot boy), and the Sports Festival arc alone turned side characters into fan favorites overnight.

4. My Hero Academia: Training of the Dead (OVA – 2017)

Studio Bones comes back again with yet another fun OVA. This time, you go full zombie survival mode. 

The second OVA is goofy, dramatic, and oddly intense for a side story. You get the horror movie vibes, but with hero costumes.

5. My Hero Academia Season 3 (2018)

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Season 3 is where the stakes become very real. We move away from the standard school setting, the villains get terrifyingly real, and the story reminds you that being a hero isn’t always as glamorous as it seems.

6. My Hero Academia: All Might Rising (OVA – 2018)

At this point, you should already be in love with All Might. So, you’ll love this OVA, which explores All Might’s past and what made him the Symbol of Peace.

It might be brief, but it really adds some emotional weight to the story that pays off later.

7. My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (Movie – 2018)

Watch on Apple TV

Two Heroes is the first MHA movie, and you can really tell the animation budget was pretty high compared to the anime seasons. You get bigger fights, flashy animation, and All Might absolutely stealing the show.

8. My Hero Academia Season 4 (2019)

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Season 4 takes on a darker and grittier tone. The Overhaul arc introduces some of the series’s most intense villain moments and one of its most heartbreaking characters.

It’s slower in pace compared to the previous seasons. But the payoff is worth it.

9. My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising (Movie – 2019)

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This movie is arguably the best of the lot, and that’s saying something. The villains are terrifying, the animation is god-tier, and some moments feel almost too powerful to be canon (but are).

10. My Hero Academia: Make It! Do-or-Die Survival Training (OVA – 2020)

This two-part special OVA drops Class 1-A into an intense disaster rescue exercise just before their Provisional Hero License Exam. This is a great side story that focuses on teamwork, strategy, and pure MHA fun without messing up the story.

11. My Hero Academia Season 5 (2021)

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

The pacing in Season 5 needs some work, but it’s solid in terms of character development. You get more insight into Class 1-A, evolving quirks, and major villain perspective arcs. 

It’s a setup season. So, don’t drop the anime yet. The best is yet to come.

12. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (Movie – 2021)

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This is the globe-trotting spy thriller of the franchise. This movie is what happens when anime meets James Bond, and you get to experience Midoriya’s summer trials and tribulations in peak animation style as he juggles multiple quirks.

13. My Hero Academia: Departure (OVA – 2022)

This OVA acts as a prologue to the World Heroes’ Mission movie. This six-minute short follows Izuku, Bakugo, and Todoroki as they prepare to jet off with the Endeavor Agency to help a foreign nation called Otheon.

14. My Hero Academia: Hero League Baseball (OVA – 2022)

This is the first part of a 2-part OVA where the goffiness really hits the roof. The heroes ditch villain-busting for America’s pastime. Two rival agencies face off in a championship baseball game narrated by Present Mic as Eraser Head watches on with zero chill.

15. My Hero Academia: Laugh! As If You Are in Hell (OVA – 2022)

Welcome to the second part of the 2-part special OVA that explores Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki interning with the Endeavor Agency. The mission? Try to catch a graffiti-loving villain named Mr. Smiley.

16. My Hero Academia Season 6 (2022–2023)

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This season focuses on the Paranormal Liberation War. The hero society as a whole takes hit after hit, and the fallout changes how heroes, villains, and the public see each other. From this point on, My Hero Academia stops building up and starts tearing everything down.

17. My Hero Academia: U.A. Heroes Battle (OVA – 2023)

Watch how Class 1-A splits into teams to face off in a series of training battles judged by their teachers. You’ve got quirks everywhere, flashy moves, trash talk turned up to eleven, and plenty of hilarious mismatches.

18. My Hero Academia: You’re Next (Movie – 2024)

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As is standard with MHA movies, you can expect to be blown away by the animation, and the new villains and characters are interesting enough to keep you hooked till the end.

The highlight of this movie has to be that viral opening shot of Midoriya, the final showdown, and Midoriya having absolutely no chill with an All Might wannabe.

19. My Hero Academia Season 7 (2024)

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It’s the Final War arc, and things look dark (literally! You barely see any sun out throughout the season). Midoriya’s off in his vigilante era, everyone’s suffering, the villains are getting stronger day by day, and prison breaks are happening left and right.

20. My Hero Academia: A Piece of Cake (OVA – 2025)

This OVA was bundled with the You’re Next movie. If you want a sugar-coated break from all the bleakness, this one will give you all the laughs you want.

21. My Hero Academia Season 8 (2025)

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Season 8 of My Hero Academia delivers in every sense of the word. The final battles fully play out. 

Every character gets their chance to shine, and you get clear, definitive resolutions for most of the running arcs. It is probably the most emotionally heavy season of all.

Why Release Order Is the Best MHA Watch Order

If you watch My Hero Academia based on the order of releases, the emotional pacing remains intact. You see animation upgrades naturally, character arcs unfold the way fans experienced them, and the movies feel like celebratory side adventures instead of timeline puzzles.

It’s also the least stressful option. So, just press play and go Plus Ultra.

Dishari Sarkar

Writer. Dreamer. Journalist (maybe?). Anime lover (definitely). I turn curiosity into stories and everyday life into a narrative worth reading.

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