The fourth season of My Hero Academia, as the previous three seasons, was produced by Bones (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Noragami, Darker than Black) and directed by Kenji Nagasaki (No.6). The fourth season covers the second half of the 14th volume to the first chapters of the 21st volume. The series focuses on a superpower that is called 'Quirks'. Mankind has developed superpowers known as "Quirks"; this is the power the vast majority possesses, those who do not, are being discriminated against and looked down on. Indeed, villains have the superpower, too and want to rebuild the world for it to look the way they seeit. However, a prestigious school known as the The Hero Academy trains its students for them to become heroes and to help those who have less powerful Quirks, or those who do not have them at all, as well as to stand against the plans of the villains. The series focuses on a middle school student Izuku Midoriya, who has no superpowers. Will he be able to become a hero and somehow to contribute to the peace and stability in the world, where the weak is the minority that needs to be defended.
My Hero Academia season 4 shifts its focus away from Midoriya and the team to help establish the My Hero Academia Big Three: Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado. The series also focuses on the students, who performed well in the U.A. Sports Festival and who are about to be sent out into the world for their hero internship, which is supposed to greatly influence the life choices of the heroes that will undergo it. Many new villains are also being introduced. For example, Overhaul, who was briefly seen at the end of My Hero Academia season 3. And it might sound as if the storyline in the new season is nearly flawless, but the problem here is that while many new things are being introduced, the story feels a bit too forced. What I am trying to say is that after some of the fights, for example, you do not even have time to weigh what happened and what is going to happen next.
Animation wise, it looks pretty beautiful, as always. However, it is hardly enjoyable, when you are a manga reader and know how most of the fight scenes looked in it. In other words, what the anime does is that it censors many fights. Check the Red Riot scene in the anime and in the manga. Huge difference, innit? You do remember the scenes, where Midoriya was trying to get accustomed to his new powers? Every single time, he sustained some serious damage, but here you do not see it any more. And that is not the only example, some of the fights just look lazy animated. Also, the new season overuses still-frames a way too much, which makes it ridiculous. OST and voice acting wise, it was pretty normal.
Character wise, even though many interesting characters are being introduced, they suffer the same problem as the storyline. They do not have the time to shine and get enough development. There is no difference between season 3 and season 4, even though the 4th season focuses more on the characters that have not been introduced in the previous seasons, there is absolutely no growth, even the 3rd season is much better story and character wise than the 4th. Supporting cast does not get any needed development, too, they serve only as something that should make Deku shine, they do not have any other need.
I am disappointed, I cannot describe my disappointment. If you still think that there is no drop in quality, step 1: read the manga that covers the 4th season, see how amazing it is and it really is amazing and then step 2: watch/rewatch the 4th season. Still do not see the difference? Repeat steps 1 and 2. All in all, a pity I am saying that, but this is the worst My Hero Academia season so far, as well as the fact that they ruined the best possible manga material. I did not enjoy the 4th season at all, the only thing, which helped me keep going was Overhaul and what happened in the last episodes. With that being said, I would only recommend you to watch the new season if you are a hardcore fan. If you want to enjoy the story, read the manga, it is 100 times better than the TV series. Hopefully, the new season will not be as bad as the 4th, Kouhei Horikoshi will take all the needed time and impress everyone with the 5th season.