Volume 2 of My Hero Academia covers issues 8 to 17.

My Hero Academia continues to keep me fully invested by not only raising the stakes in every volume but introducing the reader to new characters or at least fleshing out those we’ve only been barely introduced to up until this point. One of my favorite things about this volume is that the writer takes a character we were introduced to early on, Tenya Iida, and gives us an actual story and reason to care about him. We learn that he has a lot to live up to, considering his hero is his older brother, the pro hero Ingenium. Tenya strives to be like him in every instance and when faced with read life villains, it is Tenya who races back to UA in order to gather the other teachers. He ends up being a hero of this volume, and that simple arc from annoying kid at the placement exams to loved character is wonderful to see over the course of one volume.

This volume also builds in tension in that it presents the students of UA with their first real challenge in actual villains. While away on a trip to the USJ for training, the students, Aizawa and Thirteen are set upon by the League of Villains. For the first time we see the power of the villains and Shigaraki’s willingness to do whatever it takes to take down All Might, even resorting to attacking children. I found the showdown at the USJ to be incredible and honestly, even better in the anime. It builds to great tension pieces while also showing the skills of the students scattered across different combat zones. It’s a nice taste of what everyone can do with their quirk. The standout here for me is Shota Aizawa, the homeroom teacher of class 1A and his amazing badassery (is that a word? Who cares?) in protecting his class. Aizawa has an awesome quirk, but one with severe limitations, so to see him use his capture scarf and get the shit kicked out of him and still fight back was fantastic. At the end of the volume when All Might finally appears, the relief is fantastic. Great episode for world building, character introductions and intensity.

Also of note:
This volume of the manga corresponds with episodes 6-11 of Season 1.

Title: My Hero Academia (Volume 2)
Author: Kohei Horikoshi
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-1421582702