So Long and Thanks For All The Quirks, My Hero Academia!
**THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL SEASON OF MHA!**
S3E2: It's post-TAGGS week and Josué & Rae are TIRED. This episode, Josué & Rae say goodbye to My Hero Academia and reflect on the journey of the characters and story- as well as events and growth in their own lives- during the manga's 10 year and the anime's 9 year respective runs. Josué talks about how he's rarely experienced the end of a massive mainstream hit show in real time and how different this ending feels- particularly because this ending was happy. Rae reflects on her experiences in online fandom spaces during new episode and chapter drops. Josué reflects on how frequent moving has affected his attachments and how a long-running show can provide consistency and stability in a very inconsistent and unstable world. Rae recounts how hearing about the MHA manga ending felt at the time, the additional factors that intensified her feelings, and contrasts that with how the anime's ending hits more positively now that she's in a better place. They both agree that their goodbye to My Hero Academia feels less sad and more appreciative and full of gratitude.
Themes/Topics Discussed:
S3E2: It's post-TAGGS week and Josué & Rae are TIRED. This episode, Josué & Rae say goodbye to My Hero Academia and reflect on the journey of the characters and story- as well as events and growth in their own lives- during the manga's 10 year and the anime's 9 year respective runs. Josué talks about how he's rarely experienced the end of a massive mainstream hit show in real time and how different this ending feels- particularly because this ending was happy. Rae reflects on her experiences in online fandom spaces during new episode and chapter drops. Josué reflects on how frequent moving has affected his attachments and how a long-running show can provide consistency and stability in a very inconsistent and unstable world. Rae recounts how hearing about the MHA manga ending felt at the time, the additional factors that intensified her feelings, and contrasts that with how the anime's ending hits more positively now that she's in a better place. They both agree that their goodbye to My Hero Academia feels less sad and more appreciative and full of gratitude.
Themes/Topics Discussed:
- Real, tangible, and valid grief experienced by a beloved, long-running show ending
- Grief and loss in its many forms
- Stories with happy endings vs stories with tragic endings
- Attachment
- Acceptance, gratitude, meaning-making, and closure
- Recognizing and building resilience and capacity
- Accepting what you do and do not have control over
- Common therapist experiences of burnout, termination, and licensure grind
Relatable Experiences:
- Frequent moves and necessary detachment- or, difficulty forming deep attachment
- Having something to look forward to when you're feeling hopeless; The grief when that thing you look forward to ends
- Collective, global fandom experiences
- Media reaching kids-playing-the-show-on-the-playground-and-having-themed-birthday-parties levels of mainstream popularity
- Fandom twitter experiences (MHAtwt, CRtwt, OPtwt, etc.)
- Stories with rich, expansive worlds and how "playing in the sandbox" affects grief, loss, and acceptance of a story's end
- Life events coinciding with a show's duration
- When life is inconsistent, long-running media provides consistency
- Living in the present moment because the future is not guaranteed
Anime/Characters Mentioned:
- My Hero Academia
- One Piece
- Attack on Titan
- Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super
- My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
- Sailor Moon
- Hamtaro
- Deku (Izuku Midorya) (MHA)
- Katsuki Bakugo (MHA)
- Todoroki family (MHA)
- Bulma (DBZ)
- Dragonball Xenoverse III (video game)
- Wano arc (One Piece)
- Midnight (MHA)
- Best Jeanist (MHA)
- Hawks (MHA)
- Toonami (Cartoon Network anime programming block)
Non-Anime Media/Characters Mentioned:
- Game of Thrones
- Star Trek
- Skywalker saga (Star Wars movies)
- Critical Role (Campaigns 1, 2, and 3)
- Arya Stark (GoT)
- Doctor Who
- The Kardashians (joke/reference)
- Spider-Man (Miles Morales, Spiderverse films)
- Magic: The Gathering (TCG)
Contact Us:
- Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org/ and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org/.
- Check out our other shows on the GT Network: https://network.geektherapy.org/
- Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord
- Follow Geek Therapy on Bluesky: @GeekTherapy.bsky.social
Conversation Starters:
What shows have you had to say goodbye to? Was it easy or hard? What tips can you offer someone going through this experience?
