My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 2: Training Camp

My Hero Academia Light Novels #2

by Anri Yoshi

At U.A. High School, it’s tradition for students to attend a training camp in the woods. Though the kids are mostly there to improve their Quirks, it’s also an opportunity for these aspiring heroes to cut loose in a way they can’t during regular classes.

Genres: Manga, Light Novel, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Novels

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 3, 2017

Reviews

[sally ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

iida tenya is a good boy.

mineta minoru is not a good boy.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish these novels would stop focusing so hard on Mineta. There's literally 19 other kids in the class to write about and the author keeps focusing on the most insufferable character in this entire series.

Otherwise, I thought it was cute. Especially the slumber party with all the girls from class 1A and 1B. Their conversation about Ida seems so Ida like (not holding hands until marriage) it made me chuckle.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second book is all about what happened behind the scenes during the eighth manga volume, covering 6 different stories before the villains attack.

A Learning Experience has a few of the heroes in training in various studying team-ups. Midoriya is first up, studying by himself, while Momo, Jiro, Ojiro, Sero, Mina, and Kaminari make up the second introduced, but main focus of the story. Bakugo and Kirishima are the last pair, but the chapter switched up the POV quite a bit so everyone could get their share.

A Bumpy Ride is the second part, where the students of Class A ride the bus to their training camp. Games are played, stories are told, and Aoyama gets carsick!

Peeping Fool is Mineta through and through. His thoughts and fantasies are laid bare in this chapter so be warned, it isn't explicit, but. It's Mineta.

A + B features the girls from Classes A and B in a slumber party. Most talk revolves around love, courtesy of Mina Ashido, before derailing into other topics towards the end of the chapter.

Over the Top is about the boys side of the night, featuring Bakugo's temper, Monoma's trickery, and pillow fights.

The final chapter states Tenya himself, searching for his glasses while covering his sleeping classmates back up with their blankets. Ending has the teachers playing mahjong, and Stain has a brief, but foreboding mention.

All in all, this was, in my opinion, a great follow up to the first book!

[Courtney Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Hero Academia: School Briefs Volume 2 continues from the manga, adding in little side stories of larger scenes we saw play out for plot earlier. I find these collections to be adorable, and I like getting a bit of insight into the characters outside of the usual manga realm. In the manga and show, everything is focused on Midoriya, which is understandable, but it's nice to have some backstory on some of the other characters like Momo and Jiro. We get some insight into Momo's home life, Jiro's feelings about the people around her, what Kirishima and Bakugo get up to in their time off, and a super cute sleepover chapter with the girls from class A and B. The only thing that drags this down is Mineta, per usual. Who would have guessed? But these little additions to the canon are unoffensive and silly, and just add more to the lore and world-building of the MHA universe, so I'm all for it. 

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[Helen Praspro · Rating 4 out of 5]

بانمک! مثل جلد قبل. کلی باهاش خندیدم!
حس می کنم این معلم بازی مومو یائویوروز، هم تو ناول هم تو انیمه، مقدمه چینی برای اینه که بعدا تبدیلش کنن به معلم یو ای(چهره متفکر) مثل آیزاوا-سنسی. به نظرم بهش میاد!

"داری چیکار می کنی، کامیناری؟"
"دارم کتاب ریاضی رو میکوبم تو سرم."
"اونو که میبینم... ولی چرا؟"
"که بره تو مغزم."
"اینجوری که تو میکنی، احتمال اینکه سلول مغزی از دست بدی بیشتره."
(و خب... باید بگم موووود!!)

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars.

I loved this and it definitely put a huge smile on my face, especially the last two stories in this light novel! I will be blunt though; This would have been a 5 star read if it didn't include that story about Mineta being a pervert and trying to see all the girls in the onsen. I felt that the story was completely unnecessary and just made me dislike Mineta even more. Maybe that's just my opinion but it was just a waste of a story and that could have been replaced with something better!

BUT overall, I did like this novel a lot! Really love the characters and just think some of the moments in this novel were adorable.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This only gets three stars because of Tenya trying to get his glasses amused me and Aizawa. The rest was astonishingly boring if not down right annoying. When are they going to learn the less we see and hear of Mineta the better.

[Tseke · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO CUTEEE i love class 1B and monoma was here so much 🥹🥹 i was fed

(ignoring mineta and his annoying existence though$

[Kate (Looking Glass Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of My Hero Academia’s light novel series features short stories of class 1-A just prior to and during the Training Camp Arc in the manga. My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 2: Training Camp is written by Anri Yoshi with illustrations by Kohei Horikoshi. This light novel series is a spin-off of the manga My Hero Academia with chapters taking place between moments readers have previously seen. The second volume of My Hero Academia’s light novel series features short stories of class 1-A just prior to and during the Training Camp Arc.

Like the first light novel in this spin-off series, readers are treated to interconnected short stories showing scenes not featured in the main series. These are more mundane, day to day activities of Midoriya, the other students, and their teachers at UA that show their everyday lives. This second volume takes place in the space immediately leading up to and during the training camp arc of manga.

The story opens while the students are still at U.A. just before their exams. The first two chapters follow two incidents very briefly shown in both the manga and anime. The first is what occurs when Yaoyozoru tutors several students from class 1-A at her family’s mansion. Readers get a more in-depth look at what Yaoyozoru’s home life and parents are like while seeing the students interacting outside of U.A. The second chapter is Bakugo’s tutoring session with Kirishima, also in preparation for exams. This chapter in particular was quite enjoyable, not only because we get to see Bakugo’s loud, antagonistic behavior coupled with him genuinely trying to help teach his friend, but because we see the two students Bakugo and Deku have been shown playing during childhood, the first time they’ve been on page outside of a flashback since the very first volume of the manga.

As the story continues, we see the long bus ride to the training grounds as well as the beginnings of the training camp arc itself. Two of these stories heavily feature Mineta – a very polarizing character disliked by many – being his usual self, attempting to spy on girls and partaking in behavior generally more consistent with sexual harassers than young heroes. Mineta always gets what’s coming to him in the end. However, despite whatever comeuppance he receives, Mineta never seems to learn anything, and some reader may be frustrated with multiple stories involving him so closely.

A great deal of Class 1-B is seen throughout the second hand of the volume, providing readers with another chance to get to know some of Year 1s other heroes in training better. There isn’t always very much interaction between the two classes at UA, but times such as training camp is different story altogether. Downtime between training and nighttime activities involving both classes are relayed in the second half of the volume.

A fun glance into the student’s everyday lives, fans of the manga or anime will enjoy getting to see these smaller moments. This volume in particular will be of interest to many as we see more of the calm before the storm. My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 2 Training Camp by Anri Yoshi is a memorable volume in the light novel series.

I received a copy of this light novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.

[Kat B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most parts of this novel are fluffy and fun, as you'd expect of a light novel. Nothing very exciting happens, it's largely domestic, day-to-day life stuff, but it's cute. Good for when you're trying to gently read yourself to sleep.

My biggest problem is that a disproportionate amount of time focuses on Mineta being a creep, which is even more unsettling in writing than it is in the manga (and I find it VERY unsettling in the manga). Ick.

[Zafiroki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como su anterior volumen me parece que sigue un poco en la misma línea. Tiene sus más y sus menos pero me parece un muy buen complemento para los fans de la saga y para poder pasar más momentos junto a sus maravillosos personajes.

[Mavis Ros · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was way more interesting than the previous. I really enjoyed most of the chapters here especially the Bumpy Ride and the A+B Slumber Party.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another fun light novel set in the MHA universe, this time set during the training camp before the young heroes apply for their provisional licenses. The writing was still average, and not a huge amount happened in the story, but it was still nice seeing the slice of life from the beloved characters.

The first couple of chapters were really slow, and I had a hard time getting through them, and one particular chapter that followed pervy Mineta trying to glimpse of the girls' bath felt unnecessary and weird. However, the adorable story that showed the students' bus trip and how they all worked together to help Ayoma feel better was sweet, and the girls' slumber party and talks of romance was also cute. I also enjoyed seeing the boys' pillow fight and how after Ida took care of them like a big brother, tucking them in whilst looking for his glasses. Aizawa is such an adorable dad too (I love him!). The way he defends his students whilst reprimanding them just makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Whilst this book wasn't memorable or overly detailed, it still provided a fun and nice break from the chaos which is MHA S7.

3/5 🌟

[Steph ✌️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

hi everything about this book is so cute, it was easy enough to pick up and put down around my class schedule too

[Carolina Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole book is very wholesome and sweet ❤️😊
I really like how the author put into the many stories of the novel and the details in the book too.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

The girls’ sleepover and Iida tucking everyone in was so perfect that even Mineta’s existence couldn’t knock a star off of this one.

[val · Rating 4 out of 5]

actually really good except the parts with mineta :|

[Estel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The translation for these continues to absolutely hit things out of the park, and there are some absolutely lovely character moments in this that should appeal to a lot of people. That being said, I found my enjoyment severely impacted by two things: the focus on Mineta, and the incongruity of saying that what he's doing is illegal versus forcing the reader into his head and making him sympathetic; and the way everyone is slotted into very gender-specific roles. It wouldn't irk so much if the series didn't also make good nods towards inclusion of queer characters (this novel specifically points out that one of the characters is a trans man) and didn't allow the female characters some moments to shine in a fairly standard shonen way. I know that Japanese culture is very different from American culture, and judging the former by the latter is unfair, but the two things mentioned greatly soured my enjoyment of about half the book.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this volume! Nothing groundbreaking or anything happens it just features Tetsutetsu, and I absolutely ADORE that boy.

The scene with Iida covering up his classmates so they don’t catch colds while they sleep as he looks for his glasses was really sweet and silly. Made me like him a little more since he’s always so damn stiff and by the book.

[Damaris M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. The training camp was very intense for the students, so it was incredibly wholesome getting to see them have some down time and just be kids for a while. The competitiveness between the class A boys and the class B boys was also a lot of fun to watch.

[Anna Zulpo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me lo leí en ingles/traducido con google y me encantó tanto ♥️♥️♥️ son escenas boludas pero que me hicieron disfrutar tanto

Además que nos permite un poco entrar en la mentes de los personajes más secundarios y tienen escenas cotidiana al mas puro estilo fanfic pero CANON

[Beni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than the first and while Minetas was the worst the rest were a fun read.I liked Yaoyorozus study one and Idas closing one the best.

[Kirbyfan23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute stories that add to canon...good as long as you pretend Mineta doesn't exist.

[Lexine Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun read. It was as though I were reading an OVA or a filler episode of the main series, although it didn't feel meaningless.

This novel gave us some extra scenes and details about the training camp arc, but in particular the downtime in between the harsh training the students go through. We also get to see quite a bit of 1-B, a class that 1-A don't have too much interaction with outside of joint training exercises. You have a study session round Momo's expensive house, the coach ride to the camp, which felt very reminiscent of school trips one takes as a child, pillow fights and arm wrestling with the 1-A and 1-B boys, and slumber parties with the 1-A and 1-B girls.

A lot of characters were given time to shine and fleshed out, especially those who feel a little left out or overlooked in the main series. As I said, we got to see a lot of 1-B, which was nice. Unfortunately, there's a whole chapter dedicated to one character that I absolutely despise. No guesses who that is (Mineta). Why they keep giving him screen time, I don't know. I find the character repulsive and disgusting, and the fact that he has an entire chapter to himself about attempting to perv on the 1-A and 1-B girls is gross. I found that chapter very hard to read.

The only issue (apart from the chapter mentioned above) I had with the novel was that unlike the manga where you can see each character and learn their names by putting faces to them, the novel lists lots of names of which I can't remember who they belong to, in particular regarding to the 1-B classmates. We only see them a handful of times in the main series, so unlike 1-A that I know all the names of, I had to keep pausing to look up character names to see who was speaking.

The problem with light novels is that the novel sort of reads like you're taking the text from manga panels and depositing them directly into a book. It's not always clear who's speaking, nor what characters are doing. If you're very familiar with the characters, that's fine, but sometimes you can feel a little lost and confused about who is speaking. It feels like images are needed alongside it. Perhaps if they fleshed out the text a little more, it'd be easier to read.

Overall, though, apart from one chapter, I really enjoyed this book. It's nice to see the kids having fun and acting like teens instead of trying to be heroes all the time. It was refreshing to see them kick back and have silly fun with one another, mixed in with some class rivalry between 1-A and 1-B. I definitely recommend this spin-off series to big fans of the anime/manga, like myself.

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[CJ Redding · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first half of the book where it focused on the kids tutoring one another for their upcoming finals and was exactly the kind of thing I want out of extra content. The second half . . . not so much.

When I think 'extra' material, I think about stories I want to read, characters I want to know more about, the little things that happen behind the scenes, and as such, I thought Mineta's story was really unnecessary and uncomfortable to read. Maybe if it had been from someone else's point of view, thwarting his attempts to peep on girls, I would have been ok with it, but when it's from Mineta's perspective, even if he was stopped, it kind of sends the wrong message. The fact that he was willing to take physical punishment for attempting to grope ADULT WOMEN, and instructors at that, went way too far for me. In fact this added story made his character worse for me. He was maybe salvageable in the main series, but this is too much. Why he's still allowed at the school is beyond me. I would have much rather had a story about the kids battling their way to the lodge than this perverted garbage.

I'm also picking up a bit of a trend with these novelizations where they tend to lean into character stereotypes a little too strongly. I understand that I'm not going to see a lot of nuance or development with characters in the extra content, but I was hoping for it to hold a little more true to the main series than it is. (Someone might suggest I read fanfiction, but I've found that fanfiction often butchers characters for me and mostly focuses on shipping. This is better for someone with my personal interests, but I did kind of hope for better.)

[Nanalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how the book went into more detail of some scenes from the anime/manga such as Bakugou tutoring Kirishima and the tutoring session at Yaomomo. This book is a really good read for any fans of bnha. The interactions between the characters didn’t feel off at all. All of the stories too were pretty interesting. It really gave off a youthful feel of school training camp which was nice to see with how much the anime goes straight to plot scenes it’s nice to see some of their day to day lives. My favorite scenes are the class A and B’s girls slumber party and Iida being the dad of class A by making sure they don’t get cold. The slumber party scene I thought was well written and in character. Mina would definitely be the one to bring up the topic of love, if not her then it would be Hagakure. This was really a good read, I was able to finish it in one sitting, 10/10. I’m also surprised by how little time Midoriya was in it. Usually he gets his own chapter but I thought it was nice to see the other characters more :)

You can really tell the author of this light novel is a fan of the anime by how in character each of the characters interacted with each other.

[YinYangReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the series. I especially liked the chapters about the study sessions between Bakugo and Kirishima and the other between Momo and the gang at her mansion. Momo was such a sweetie in this. The girls slumber party was really fun as well and nice to see the interaction with Class B girls. What was again a big flaw in the book that the first one also suffered from is way too many pages are devoted to Mineta. He’s a perv who does disgusting, basically illegal things (at least looking at it with American eyes) we get it. Ha Ha he is short and creepy. But why devote so much time in both books to his one note character with a boring quirk. Why not give us more of the lesser seen Class A characters like Ojiro or Shoji or something like the funny Ida and his glasses search story. It just kills the fun. I’m going to read the next one and fingers crossed Mineta is pushed to the sidelines or jail where he belongs.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a bit less than the last one because there was so much more of Mineta being a complete creep. Seriously, I don’t understand who those stories are for because they’re just gross and these girls are being preyed on. We get those moments and then the girls talking about how they hate him so much so I’m not entirely sure if they thought the stories about Mineta were humorous? Because I just hate him more with every sentence.

Sighs.

Anyway, the girls’ slumber party was really cute, especially because Momo had never had one before. Ida trying to tuck all his classmates in was especially cute! But it’s not a recommend from me because this was harder to get through than the last one.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your an MHA fan, this is a fun little way to whet your appetite while waiting for episodes. These "everyday" moments in between the action in the anime/manga definitely brought a chuckle or two. It's not exactly "on the edge of your seat" reading, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. My favorite part was definitely when Bakugo was tutoring Kirishima. There was, however, A LOT of Mineta in this book, and if you're not really a fan of that character... well, there's a lot of Mineta's personality to get through. Still, it's a relatively quick read and if you're craving a bit more time with Class 1A, then this will totally fill that niche.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this world and these characters so much. Nothing makes me happier than reading about everyone having fun and joking around with each other and just being normal regular people. The girls are so so so adorable and Iida is JUSY a sweetheart. Bakugo FR is so funny.

Mineta sucks take him out of the stories. Also the piss kink needs to leave. Literally why I cannot go higher than a 4 star

Overall, I think the translator did a better job on this volume it feels less stiff and more emotional.
Also I think the author had a way better sense of the characters and wrote them to a stronger degree.