My Hero Academia has recently taken the world by storm and with its rising popularity, Japan’s number one school for budding heroes, UA, has been equally as popular. While UA may be the most well-known superhero school in pop culture today, it wasn’t so long ago that there was another school designed to train young heroes that people couldn’t help but talk about.
That’s right, that school is none other than Sky High. Though both of these schools have been rather popular, which of them is actually worth attending? Is UA the ultimate stop for anyone looking to become a hero? Or has Sky High always been the school where heroes go to truly soar? Let’s find out.
10 Mysterious location - Sky High
During the first season of My Hero Academia, it became apparent that the location of UA was readily available to anyone who was looking to find it. Though UA is filled with some of the greatest heroes alive, Shigaraki and his league of villains make it incredibly clear why the location of the school should have remained a secret to both the public and the press.
While the location of UA is general knowledge, Sky High, on the other hand, is flying high above the rest of the world, presumably drifting throughout different locations as the school day/year goes on. Definitely, a bonus when someone like Shigaraki could be planning an invasion.
9 The Teachers - UA
Though Sky High is seemingly protected from outside invasions by its constantly changing location when they are attacked by a villain not only does the villain manage to take down the two greatest heroes alive, but she manages to take down the entire staff and pretty much everyone else at the school.
One villain along with a couple of henchmen did that. However, in contrast, when Shigaraki showed up with a giant group of villains to kill All Might at the school, the few teachers there, along with the students of class 1-A were able told hold off the villains nearly the entire time. This just goes to show how incredibly outmatched the teachers at Sky High would be were they ever forced to take on the teacher of UA.
8 Better Transportation - Sky High
Though students of UA are forced to slub it to the school grounds on their own, whatever way they might manage to get there, it’s certainly not as cool or convenient as the transportation going to and from Sky High.
When going to school at Sky High, every morning begins with an adventure. Not only are students greeted by the friendly bus driver, Ron Wilson, but they are also taken in a shapeshifting school bus that essentially turns into a plane. The truly awesome type of transportation that one would expect of a superhero school.
7 Lack Of A Hero/Sidekick Dichotomy- UA
One of the major problems with Sky High’s entire system, as it is repeatedly pointed out throughout the entire movie, is their reliance on using a potential heroes powers to decide whether or not they will be trained as a hero or sidekick. In fact, at the end of the movie, it is the group of heroes that have been sidelined on the hero support track that ends up saving the day.
In UA, while there is certainly a hero support track, it is shown to be more for those who are interested in that area. Even the most powerful and successful students at UA strive to become worthy sidekicks before ever making their debut as professional heroes.
6 House Parties - Sky High
While the students of UA were originally allowed to stay in their own homes while they attended the school, after the league of villains’ attack on UA, the rules regarding the housing of the students dramatically shifted. The students were then forced to take up residence within the grounds of UA, which may seem pretty cool at first but it does have some serious repercussions for the young students. Mainly, no house parties.
They may have been able to pull something like that off while they were staying in their own homes, much like Will Stronghold does, but just try to imagine the students trying to throw a party without Mr. Aizawa getting wind of it. Just try.
5 Better Hero Support Program - UA
While this point somewhat touches on the lackluster teaching staff of Sky High, it is nonetheless important to mention. The hero support program at Sky High is absolutely atrocious. Taught by “Mr. Boy” as he would have his students call him, the class is essentially a joke.
Meanwhile, the students of U - even the students of the hero support program, are focused on being the very best that they can. The Sky High hero support program may be focused on turning young kids into sidekicks, but UA is making sure that the students in their hero support program are creating the best tech, the best suits and doing everything they can do to make lifesaving decisions for the heroes fighting on the foregrounds.
4 Safe For Budding Young Heroes - Sky High
Though UA, at this point at least, has the serious upper hand when it comes to where budding young heroes should spend their precious youths, there is one very serious problem with UA, security.
While Sky High had to infiltrated be a villain who, unlikely enough, was turned into a baby and then became a student once again, in order to break into UA and wage war on the students and teachers, all Shigaraki and the League of Villains had to do was find a villain capable of warping inside. Easy peasy.
3 Better Training Exercises - UA
Though UA may be lacking is some pretty obvious precautionary measures--things like a secret location, some decent security measures and other stuff like that, what they certainly don’t cut corners on is the sports festival they’ve designed to help budding young heroes truly prove their worth through a series of challenges.
Sky High, on the other hand, may as well have made their hero training simulations in arts and crafts class, because it’s certainly low-budget. A mannequin hanging from a rope that inches ever closer to a series of rotating blades while two pairs of students fight to either save the mannequin or let it drop? Come on, Sky High. You’re better than that.
2 Power Neutralizing Detention Room - Sky High
Something that may have been incredibly handy when the League of Villains attacked UA is the power neutralizing detention room that Sky High has within its grounds.
Any quirk-destroying weapons are actually more suited to villains like Overhaul. However, after capturing Royal Pain and the rest of her flunkies, the Sky High faculty was able to safely hold them in the detention room where they were left unable to do much of anything without the use of the powers. Something that UA may want to look into should villains attack the super well-known location of their school.
1 More Opportunities For Actual Hero Work - UA
Though it is true that Sky High mostly focused on the class of incoming freshmen, even so, it didn’t seem like the upperclassmen that it did feature had done much hero work at all.
In comparison, UA students, even students in their first year, are practically bombarded with opportunities to get right down to the nitty-gritty of the professional hero lifestyle. From hero internships to work-study programs, the student-heroes of UA have so many opportunities to get a taste of the professional hero lifestyle before they ever leave the school grounds.
Maybe if Sky High had a similar setup their teaching staff wouldn’t be such a joke (shots fired).