What do you think?
Rate this book
Magical Girl Undergrad #1
Heroics 101
In this imaginative progression fantasy, when a small-town superhero heads to college, she’ll have to juggle coursework, supervillains, and romance.
Anika DuPont just knows she’s bound for stardom. As Magical Girl Understudy, she’s already a big deal in her hometown, and now that she’s eighteen, she’s heading to Tokyexico University, where the real action is. Every superhero on Earth is jockeying for better roles in a global reality show created for the amusement of alien children, and Annie’s trying to keep her secret identity hidden while she makes her way out of dead-end Little League roles.
On her own for the first time, Annie begins to settle into her new college routine. There’s plenty of studying to do, parties to attend, friends to make, and supervillains to fight. And that’s all in between leveling up for new skills awarded by the Style System in order to take her from kid stuff into the superhero minor leagues.
As she grows into her new powers—and her rivalry with her high school sweetheart/nemesis Peter aka Professor Panic intensifies—a new distraction enters stage Intro to Drama classmate Bianca, who’s as talented and awkward as she is beautiful. Can Annie still make all her dreams of fame and fortune come true, or has this small-town super met her limits?
Anika DuPont just knows she’s bound for stardom. As Magical Girl Understudy, she’s already a big deal in her hometown, and now that she’s eighteen, she’s heading to Tokyexico University, where the real action is. Every superhero on Earth is jockeying for better roles in a global reality show created for the amusement of alien children, and Annie’s trying to keep her secret identity hidden while she makes her way out of dead-end Little League roles.
On her own for the first time, Annie begins to settle into her new college routine. There’s plenty of studying to do, parties to attend, friends to make, and supervillains to fight. And that’s all in between leveling up for new skills awarded by the Style System in order to take her from kid stuff into the superhero minor leagues.
As she grows into her new powers—and her rivalry with her high school sweetheart/nemesis Peter aka Professor Panic intensifies—a new distraction enters stage Intro to Drama classmate Bianca, who’s as talented and awkward as she is beautiful. Can Annie still make all her dreams of fame and fortune come true, or has this small-town super met her limits?
- GenresScience Fiction
419 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2024
61 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 25, 2024
Super
(pun intended)
A really interesting take on things like post apocalypse and supes + capes.
I've been a bit meh about young protagonists for a while but Anika was well written, not too immature etc.
Would recommend!
(pun intended)
A really interesting take on things like post apocalypse and supes + capes.
I've been a bit meh about young protagonists for a while but Anika was well written, not too immature etc.
Would recommend!
June 7, 2024
A magical adventure
I would recommend this book towards any fans of litRPG, its written well and by someone who is clearly passionate about their writing and loves what they do.
I wish this book the best and hope other people also enjoy it :)
I would recommend this book towards any fans of litRPG, its written well and by someone who is clearly passionate about their writing and loves what they do.
I wish this book the best and hope other people also enjoy it :)
Read
September 17, 2024DNF at 56%
Not rating because the issues are mine.
This was my first time reading a serious LitRPG. I found it charming and fun, but the stat reading is very, VERY awkward in audio form. Not the narrator’s fault, she was lovely, there’s just no real way to make reading a list of stats fun.
I also didn’t care for the relationship side of the plot. The way she goes out of town and tells her boyfriend, who is already struggling with it, to not text her outside of classes or while he’s working was annoying – she could simply ignore her phone while in class. And he’s a genius working a job that doesn’t challenge him, not a lineman or someone in the hospitality industry. Shooting off a text while on a coffee break isn’t the end of the world.
To be clear, I am fine with reading about a first-time relationship fizzling out when facing the challenges of long-distance. But in this case, the narration never felt fair to Peter, which doesn’t lead me to believe anything with Bianca would be given a fair chance either.
Not rating because the issues are mine.
This was my first time reading a serious LitRPG. I found it charming and fun, but the stat reading is very, VERY awkward in audio form. Not the narrator’s fault, she was lovely, there’s just no real way to make reading a list of stats fun.
I also didn’t care for the relationship side of the plot. The way she goes out of town and tells her boyfriend, who is already struggling with it, to not text her outside of classes or while he’s working was annoying – she could simply ignore her phone while in class. And he’s a genius working a job that doesn’t challenge him, not a lineman or someone in the hospitality industry. Shooting off a text while on a coffee break isn’t the end of the world.
To be clear, I am fine with reading about a first-time relationship fizzling out when facing the challenges of long-distance. But in this case, the narration never felt fair to Peter, which doesn’t lead me to believe anything with Bianca would be given a fair chance either.
January 5, 2026
I like how action packed and fast paced this book was. It was silly at times but not in a way the took away from the narrative. As I've read more books about magical girls I see a common theme of exploitation. This book doesn't explicitly confront how Annie is exploited it does hint at it with her contract with Rocko. I think it had space to get deeper with the impact of how being a hero and a product for entertainment changes how she sees herself and the world.
I liked the world, I liked the setting, and I liked the side characters and villains. There were times I did not like Annie and it was because she made some stupid choices. I like smart proganists.
The plot was gripping and kept me moving forward. I enjoyed that Understudy didn't win every fight and she had to learn and struggle. I wish the school had given more instruction but I think book 2 will even that out as she enters combat class.
I liked the world, I liked the setting, and I liked the side characters and villains. There were times I did not like Annie and it was because she made some stupid choices. I like smart proganists.
The plot was gripping and kept me moving forward. I enjoyed that Understudy didn't win every fight and she had to learn and struggle. I wish the school had given more instruction but I think book 2 will even that out as she enters combat class.
June 10, 2024
Heroics 101 is a fun, light-hearted YA LitRPG. This is an alternate world where aliens called Ilneats saved humanity from itself on something called Launch Day. These aliens wanted more of our superhero movies so they choose some humans to give real life powers to so they can use drones to video their fights to turn into television episodes they stream throughout the galaxy. Anika Dupont is Magical Girl Understudy from the tv show Small Town Heroes. She's earned enough money that she's paid for herself to go to University.
A lot of the angst from normal problems like what to do with her high school boyfriend when she moves away, and how to succeed in college. But less common problems include whether to be a hero or a villain, and how to move up into the minor leagues of superpowered people.
A lot of the angst from normal problems like what to do with her high school boyfriend when she moves away, and how to succeed in college. But less common problems include whether to be a hero or a villain, and how to move up into the minor leagues of superpowered people.
November 8, 2024
An enjoyable slice of life LitRPG progression fantasy like Card captors x Xmen!
The abilities are fun and the MC is incredibly college freshmen, with cringe relationships too. Definitely a lot of fluff but I mean look at the cover... you know what you are getting.
The only issue was the audiobook reads the abilities every time so the repetition is a bit annoying but honestly a small gripe.
The abilities are fun and the MC is incredibly college freshmen, with cringe relationships too. Definitely a lot of fluff but I mean look at the cover... you know what you are getting.
The only issue was the audiobook reads the abilities every time so the repetition is a bit annoying but honestly a small gripe.
September 28, 2024
Well done for what it is. So very, very not my speed.
February 10, 2025
Slow start
But the book got better
But the book got better
October 30, 2025
a really cheap teen drama. I didn't finish, there are just no compelling characters.
November 20, 2024
I honestly enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would? Like, the premise seemed interesting enough to try the book out, but I got way more sucked in, way faster, than I was expecting.
I love the concept, that aliens want entertainment from superheroes, and superheroes have alien agents pushing for higher ratings, but different 'shows' have different ratings and so there's language filters and damage reduction to prevent too much gruesomeness.
I also thought Anika was a pretty fun protagonist to follow, with the rather standard 'steal others' power' power restricted by having to have a piece of said other voluntarily given. And the number of costumes available being restricted. She is also the worst at keeping a secret identity, and it was actually hilarious how quickly Bianca found out about her versus vice versa.
Overall I had a lot of fun reading this book, which was exactly what I was looking for.
I love the concept, that aliens want entertainment from superheroes, and superheroes have alien agents pushing for higher ratings, but different 'shows' have different ratings and so there's language filters and damage reduction to prevent too much gruesomeness.
I also thought Anika was a pretty fun protagonist to follow, with the rather standard 'steal others' power' power restricted by having to have a piece of said other voluntarily given. And the number of costumes available being restricted. She is also the worst at keeping a secret identity, and it was actually hilarious how quickly Bianca found out about her versus vice versa.
Overall I had a lot of fun reading this book, which was exactly what I was looking for.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews