All’s Justice is the third installment in the tag team 3D arena fighting games developed by Byking Inc., with this one being a direct follow-up to My Hero One’s Justice 2. I appreciate that the game wastes no time getting into the action, aside from a basic tutorial to reintroduce you to the game’s mechanics. Just a few minutes in and you’re free to explore the city overworld to fulfill missions, battle online, or engage with the game’s story mode, which covers the Final War arc of the anime series. Suffice it to say, this shouldn’t be your main entry point to the My Hero Academia franchise, since a lot of context and buildup is missing from this game, and I don’t think it’s the ideal way to experience the My Hero Academia story.

The voice acting and music remain top-notch, carrying over the original soundtrack and voice cast from the series. When the game goes all out with dynamic, expressive presentation, the story shines. The cel shading on the 3D character models looks great, and some cutscenes use fast cuts and dramatic poses that really take advantage of the 3D environments in a way that rivals iconic moments from the show. However, these moments are few and far between, with most of the story told through awkward still frames from both the game and the anime itself. In fact, some points in story mode look very cheap, as if someone just grabbed a screenshot from the anime to shift around or zoom in on, like it was edited in Windows Movie Maker.

Story Mode offers a variety of branching paths, depending on which character you choose to follow. Whether it’s Todoroki going after Dabi, Endeavor fighting All For One, or Uraraka confronting Toga, Story Mode gives players a bit more variety from previous installments, given that this is the part of the story where multiple battles are technically taking place simultaneously. Even if there is a particular character or play style that you prefer, a lot of these battle scenarios make sense and act as a good vehicle for showcasing everyone’s abilities without compromising the original narrative, unlike a lot of other fighting games that will sometimes need to make up new scenarios just for the sake of showing off all of the characters. Granted, this setup has a tradeoff: less environment variety during Story Mode. There are plenty of fun combat environments to explore in the game’s other modes that perfectly depict iconic areas from the series, but since the final arc only took place at a handful of set locations, like the floating Hero Academy, those are where a majority of the fights take place, and it gets visually dull.

The combat itself is the best this series of games has ever had. Byking Inc. built on the foundation of the previous games, creating a combat system that is fast-paced without feeling as janky or floaty as before. The learning curve is definitely a bit higher here due to the increased speed and character move sets, but that makes sense given this is the third installment and the power levels/abilities of a lot of the cast. However, the controls are still incredibly easy to grasp for newcomers; it just might take a second to fully adapt to how aggressive these characters can be. There are basic attacks that can be executed both on the ground and in the air, with a combo system that integrates the game’s tag-team mechanic, where you can either have your teammates deliver damage or swap mid-combo in order to build up the pain. You can also deliver Plus Ultra attacks or enter an enhanced mode once your battle gauge is full enough to maximize even more damage.

The particle effects and unique animations for everybody’s finisher moves are pulled right out of the series with additional flair that does not feel forced. Whether it’s the story mode or online matches, you’re bound to have a good time for a couple of hours, both by yourself and with friends, especially if you’re a diehard fan of the series. Outside of that, the game doesn’t really offer much. There are a few missions that will put you in unique scenarios, with a majority of them being combat-focused. It can be fun to reach certain achievements with specific handicaps or under different circumstances, but these missions feel a lot like filler. You can cover most of the game’s content in just a couple of hours, but it’s hard to say how much of a shelf life this game has beyond the basics.

Even at its best, there is nothing here that you haven’t seen before compared to other 3D arena fighters. Like the previous installments, this game doesn’t break new ground, even if it is a definitive improvement across the board. If the main goal was to create a fighting game that organically integrated the new moves and forms of all these unique characters from the series, then it succeeded. If you are a diehard fan of the series or have played the previous installments, then you are the audience that is definitively going to get the most out of this game. If you’re not, this game will have limited appeal to you. This game is meant to enhance the experience of an established fan rather than draw in potential new ones.

Chizu Kamikō‘s Seijo Mellia to Sennen Ōkoku no Kishi (Saint Melia and Knight of the Millennial Kingdom) manga ended on the KadoComi website on Friday.

The story follows Melia, a young girl unable to use magic who suffers at the hands of her new caretakers after being separated from her beloved grandmother. She has a fateful encounter with the princess’s knight Douglas, who is in search of a mysterious cure for the princess’s illness.

Kamikō launched the series on Kadokawa‘s Young Ace Up web platform in 2021. Kadokawa shipped the sixth compiled book volume in June 2025. 

Manga UP! publishes Kamikō’s manga adaptation of Shusui Hazuki‘s I’ll Become an Elegant Villainess! (Kareinaru Akujo ni Naritai wa! Aisare Tensei Shōjo wa, Tanoshii Nidome no Jinsei o Okurimasu) light novel in English. Kamikō launched the manga adaptation on Square Enix‘s Gangan Online web platform in March 2025. 

J-Novel Club publishes Kamikō’s My Death-Defying Dog: Man’s Best Friend, World’s Best Savior (Uchi no Inu ga Tsuyosugirun Desu ga!? Tensei Shitara Megami-sama no Shukufuku de Sekai o Sukū Koto ni Narimashita) manga in English.

Sources: KadoComi website, Young Ace Up‘s X/Twitter account

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

I couldn’t think of a better way for this show to end than such an intense match between Mio and Arisa. The time really down to the wire, both players on their last speck of health—it’s obvious, quintessential hype, and there’s just no beating that. Watching matches like this in real life gets the crowd going in ways that I really wish could be better communicated through an anime, but still, it’s not to say that it didn’t get the point across. Both girls were pushed to their mental and physical limits, lost in the absolute bliss of a thrilling competition with a skilled player. Moments like these are what fighting game players—or anyone who plays anything competitively—live for.

What I particularly enjoyed about the way this is portrayed in the anime is that you really got a sense that as far as Arisa and Mio were concerned, there was no one else around but them. When you get into intense matches like that, it really does feel like a dance of sorts, and that kind of feeling can absolutely watch over you. Moreover, Aya knew it, and wanted so badly to have that feeling between them.

Anime and the portrayal of jealousy can be a messy thing. There was a long stretch of time—in particular, I tend to associate this with the 90s/early 00s—where in romance anime, especially, a character being jealous was supposed to be sweet and a bit romantic; As though to say “Look, they care so much that they’re jealous when anyone else is around the target of their affection!” This has, thankfully, largely fallen out of fashion. But what we’re seeing between Aya and Mio shouldn’t be confused for that. Aya isn’t jealous of Arisa for getting to be around Mio—she’s jealous that Arisa gets to experience this sort of competitor’s high alongside Mio, for whom she considered herself to be The Rival. Not to say there’s not a romantic tension underpinning this—there is—just that it’s not quite the same thing we’re used to seeing.

The spirit and love of competition has been alive and well throughout this whole anime, and that’s been one of the things I’ve appreciated about it most of all throughout its airing. As for other overall thoughts? Not quite anime of the season material (especially in such a stacked season—if you haven’t read it yet, I implore you to look at ANN’s best of Summer 2026 anime list!), but certainly a weekly highlight all the same. Also, by far the best opening theme of the year as far as I’m concerned—I absolutely love the spicy queens of HANABIE. Frankly, it’s about time we had an FGC anime—that it’s a girls’ love series is just icing on the cake.

In fact, the characters were the biggest part of what made this series so fun to watch. In addition to loving their explosive chemistry, Mio and Aya are both just such powerhouses in their own right. It’s tricky to pick a favorite between the two of them, but I’m inclined toward Mio if I must, if only because I still love her overly optimistic, “But we’ll have to stay at EVO all day Sunday because I’ll be playing in grand finals!”-attitude. But that’s not to say the other girls were slouches in all this—while their storylines weren’t explored nearly as much, Tamaki and Yuu definitely seem like they got something going on, and if we’re fortunate enough to get a second season, I’d be really curious to see more from them. Hopefully we can get another season of this at some point. And double hopefully, they’ll get HANABIE back to do the opening theme again.

Rating:

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.