My Hero Academia interview: The cast of season 5 tease what’s to come in the exciting My Villain Academia arc

My Hero Academia fans! We know that you’ve been enjoying an awesome fifth season thus far and we’re happy to announce that the fun doesn’t stop there!

As you know, the latter half of season 5 will focus on the League of Villains and has been aptly (and awesomely) named, My Villain Academia. We at FanSided recently got a chance to sit down with some of the voice actors of the upcoming arc and you’re definitely going to be thrilled to hear what these voice actors have to say about what’s to come very soon.

We were joined by Jason Liebrecht, Leah Clark, Eric Vale, and Sonny Strait who voice the characters Dabi, Himiko Toga, Tomura Shigaraki, and Re-Destro, respectively. Liebrecht and the rest of this talented ensemble were super excited for this new arc but were even more excited for fans to finally feast their eyes on these new electrifying episodes.

Read on to learn how this cast answered some of our burning questions that you may have always wanted to ask, too!

*The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

My Hero Academia season 5 interview with Jason Liebrecht and Leah Clark

Hidden Remote (HR): What are you looking forward to the most in this arc? What do you think fans would be most excited to see?

Leah Clark: I’m looking forward to learning more about Toga, and, hopefully, learning more of her backstory to figure out why she’s so crazy, haha. I think fans will be interested in that as well. I think there is always a cool investment when you learn more about someone who you have learned a lot about before, but now there’s a new layer.

Jason Liebrecht: I agree. I want to know just as much as any fan and I am super excited at the prospect of getting a little more information to fuel my portrayal of this very, very complicated dude.

HR: As we know, this arc will be shifting more towards the villains’ perspective. Now that the focus is on the League of Villains, do you think that the audience will have a bit more sympathy this time, or do you think they will still be convinced that villains are only bad and heroes are always good?

Liebrecht: I, for one, don’t think it’s that black and white. I think it’s all about perspective. I certainly hope that they (audiences) will gain a little bit more understand and realize that there are circumstances that lead people to where they are. People don’t tend to do things without motivating factors, so, I hope for a little more empathy and understanding.

HR: What or who do you believe stands in the way of your character getting what they want? Pride? Power? Resources?

Clark: For Toga, it’s an understanding of self. She says over and over again, “I want to be the people that I love. I want to make a world that’s easier to live in”, she’s not doing that right at the moment.

Liebrecht: I think it’s opportunity, for Dabi. He’s given indicators of what his plan is for the very beginning: tear the false heroes down from their pedestals. I think in order for him to move forward in his path, he needs the opportunity to arise.

HR: Jason, do you think that your character is as ruthless as he comes off? Will he truly stop at nothing to achieve his goal?

Liebrecht: I feel like Dabi feels like he’s doing the right thing for society. His plan, while it may be exceptionally flawed, in his brain, it’s for the good of everyone. He doesn’t trust the current situation in society, he feels that the pro heroes’ motivations are all not pure. He feels that he can help set that right.

HR: Leah, as you’ve mentioned, Toga is our crazed princess with lots of love to go around, but how will she grow in this arc and will we maybe get to see a different side of her?

Clark: I hope so! I hope we get to see an explanation. I don’t know what’s to come but that’s on my wishlist: knowing more about her. Like, “why are you like this!”.

HR: I agree! I think fans are dying to know what exactly is going on in these villains’ minds!

Liebrecht: Not just them, us too!

My Hero Academia season 5 interview with Eric Vale and Sonny Strait

Hidden Remote (HR): What are you looking forward to in this arc? What do you think fans will be most excited to see? 

Sonny Strait: Re-Destro is a very conflicted character. I’m looking forward to exploring those conflicting emotions more in the future.

Eric Vale: For me, I’m looking forward to the fans’ response to what’s coming!

HR: Eric, what do you hope that people truly learn from Shigaraki this time around that they may not have initially understood in previous seasons? 

Vale: Some understanding. I think that we always want to know why the bad guy is bad. So, it will be interesting to see how people are going to respond to what’s revealed because no one is going to respond the same way. I look forward to seeing all the fans’ nuances. I like seeing that kind of conflict in the fandom.

HR: Up front, Re-Destro and Shigaraki are two sides of the same coin in that they are both leaders and both have a mission larger than themselves, but how do these villains actually differ? 

Strait: I think my character truly believes that he is doing the right thing. That may be a major difference.

HR: Why do you think that both of your characters decided that now is the time to strike? Pro-Heroes have only gotten stronger and villains’ plans have all been foiled. What makes now different than the past?

Vale: It’s probably something along the lines of the chess pieces being in the right position.

Strait: And also probably because, who would be expecting them to strike now?

HR: A question that I’ve asked previously to your fellow castmates is, what or who do you believe truly stands in the way of your character getting what they want?

Vale: I would say the inner conflict between the good and the bad.

Strait: I still don’t quite know. There’s something enigmatic about Re-Destro.

HR: It’s great to hear that your characters are a mystery because that’ll only make fans super excited to see the remaining episodes of season 5.

Strait: I think that’s what’s great about this show is that the characters are super complex. It’s not just a straight answer of this or that. The characters are more than just 2-dimensional.

HR: That brings me to my final question! Re-Destro and Shigaraki may be heroes to many, but who do you believe is their hero and why? It’s okay if they don’t look up to someone in particular.

Strait: I could tell you but that’s a spoiler!

Vale: I’m going to have to side with Sonny on this one!

Strait: I think they’re trying to trick us into giving things away!

Vale: I think so too!

HR: Oh, you know how it is with us die-hard fans! We’ve got to try to get a little more info on what’s to come. You can’t blame us for trying!

If you’re feeling super pumped after reading this interview, don’t worry, you’re definitely not the only one! Trust us when we say that you’re certainly not ready for what’s to come!

Watch new episodes of My Hero Academia season 5 streaming right now on Funimation.