The seventh season of My Hero Academia is just a few months away, with the fourth feature film in the franchise following closely behind, making the wait for the premiere that much more excruciating. Thankfully, Studio Bones has made quite a few shows and films over the years that share a lot of qualities people love about MHA, and they're well worth a binge if you can find them.

Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia is a superhero story about a boy with no powers in a world where 80% of the population has one, and his journey to become the greatest hero in the world. This story - and in particular, its anime - is popular for its unique and vibrant art style, emotional score, and narrative that cuts to the core of what superhero fiction is all about. With these qualities in mind, here are some recommendations.

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Concrete Revolutio: Superhuman Phantasmagoria

Honestly, right out the gate, this is a bold recommendation, and one that will not appeal to everyone, but a fitting and appropriate one nonetheless. Concrete Revolutio, or just ConRevo as it is often referred to, is like the insane older cousin of MHA. It is a story that is seemingly designed to perplex and frustrate, but should one persevere, it might also be one of the most fascinating amalgamations of pop culture influence in anime.

ConRevo is a faux-period piece set in an alt-historical 1960s Japan. It follows Jiro Hitoyoshi and the members of the Super Population Research Laboratory on their mission to protect and manage superhumans. However, it is a story told out of order, jumping back and forth between a colorful past and a bleak present where the once-allied protagonists are now at odds.

From the Mind Behind Fullmetal Alchemist 2003

To put things into perspective, it was written by Sho Aikawa, the writer behind the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime - the one that famously diverged from the manga. With that said, ConRevo makes the OG FMA anime's bold narrative choices look tame by comparison. Similar to how MHA breaks from its optimism to dissect the problems with a superhero society, ConRevo uses superhero iconography to tackle the politics of post-war Japan.

It's absurd, it's niche, and it's not for everyone, but if you like MHA, you owe it to yourself to try it.

Concrete Revolutio is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Darker than Black

If ConRevo was the controversial pick, then Darker than Black is the no-brainer. Longtime fans of the studio have certainly heard of the series, even if they haven't watched it. It is a verified cult classic, and though it might not technically occupy the superhero genre, the art direction, tone, and iconic vigilante protagonist have earned comparisons to Batman. It scratches a particular itch in terms of action and aesthetics that's hard to beat for those to whom it appeals.

Darker than Black is a story about power and cost. In this story, a phenomenon has replaced the sky with a fake one, filled with fake stars, all of which correlate to a person on Earth with a superpower. These individuals are called Contractors - agents without conscience, if the rumors are to be believed. Our protagonist, Hei, is one such contractor, taking on missions from the simply-named "Syndicate" while searching for his missing sister.

What Makes Darker than Black Interesting?

Contractors have powerful abilities but must pay a cost for using them, from simple things like smoking, to more egregious payments, like self-harm. Except for Hei; he doesn't have to pay a price, one of many mysteries. This story - at least in Season 1 - isn't the most forthcoming about where it's all leading, but despite the cards it keeps close to its chest, it draws the viewer in through the sheer force of its style.

This series is worth watching for its action and music alone. Fight scenes display a creative clash of superpowers made all the more exciting thanks to the work of Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop) in Season 1 and Yasushi Ishii (Hellsing) in the rest. This show might also be a great primer for the new MHA movie, as Darker than Black's creator/director, Tensai Okamura, will be directing it. While the second season is divisive, the first deserves the praise it gets, at the very least.

Darker than Black is currently unavailable to stream.

Towa no Quon

This might be one of Bones' most slept-on projects - a series of six short films by the director of the original Hellsing anime. Part of the reason for its barely-cult status might be that it's not technically finished - or, at least, it clearly could have continued. Sadly, before the films even debuted, the director passed away on November 26, 2010. They were released posthumously, and it makes it all the more sad that this series is so hard to find nowadays.

It deserves more recognition than it gets. It's practically the anime equivalent of X-Men (discounting the actual X-Men anime no one talks about). Set in a near-future Tokyo, humans with supernatural powers known as "Attractors" rally under the leadership of a young man named Quon as a shady government agency hunts them down with cybernetic soldiers.

A Familiar Story Told Well

While its story is not the most original, there's something about the combination of narrative elements, the designs, and the presentation that feels like a time capsule of this era of anime. As Quon strives to save the awakening Attractors and give them a place to belong, one of the cyborgs hunting them, Epsilon, undergoes an awakening of his own. This leads him on a path to redemption in what is a highlight of these films.

It is a uniquely captivating kind of science fiction that wears its inspirations on its sleeve, lending it a nostalgic quality. The animation can also be quite gorgeous, especially when Bones' very own Yutaka Nakamura lends his talents. Funnily enough, all three of these recommendations feature the famous My Hero Academia animator, with ConRevo in particular featuring some of the most iconic work of Nakamura's recent career.

Towa no Quon is currently unavailable to stream.

The author of this piece wants to apologize that the majority of these recommendations are not more easily accessible on streaming/ Blu-ray. Sure, anime fans have their ways of finding them, but more than ever, this speaks to the importance of preserving physical media. The qualities that make My Hero Academia so enjoyable are similarly found in those stories that predate it, and they are worth remembering for whatever fragment of that sensation they excel in so well.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

My Hero Academia

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