The superhero concept, which exploded with the MCU and DCEU films, was bound to be the subject of an anime. As a result, My Hero Academia has become one of the most well-known and beloved shonen anime series of the modern era.
In a world where everyone has quirks (special abilities), Izuku Midoriya aspires to be a superhero like his idol, the world’s Symbol of Peace, All Might. Unfortunately, Izuku lacks the superpowers required to be a superhero. However, due to a series of events, All Might selects him as the new successor of his quirk, One For All. This allows him to get accepted to U.A. High School to learn how to be a true hero.
All we need to do is find a platform where we can watch My Hero Academia in high quality with the subtitles we prefer. If you already have an account and don’t want to pay for additional subscriptions, you can watch My Hero Academia on Netflix. Unfortunately, this only applies to a few countries. Your Netflix catalog may or may not include My Hero Academia due to licensing agreements.
But there’s no need to worry. In most Asian countries, including Japan, Netflix owns the broadcasting rights to all seasons of the series. In this article, I’ll show you how to use a VPN to access Netflix Japan and easily stream My Hero Academia with English subtitles from anywhere in the world.
Analysis: My Hero Academia is the right anime for you if you like superheroes and action. However, due to copyright and licensing agreements, watching My Hero Academia on Netflix becomes a little complicated. If you live outside of Asia, My Hero Academia is either not available or only the early seasons are available in your Netflix catalog. On Netflix Japan, you can watch all seasons of the series with English subtitles. However, in order to do so, you must first obtain a Japanese IP address.
Solution: VPNs are designed for people who are concerned about their online privacy and security. When we connect to a VPN server, our traffic is rerouted through a secure tunnel, masking our local IP address. Any system that analyzes us sees an IP address from the location of the VPN server. We can avoid geo-restriction by using this obfuscation. By connecting to a VPN server in Japanese data centers, we can watch My Hero Academia on Netflix from anywhere in the world.
A quick guide to streaming My Hero Academia on Netflix via VPN:
- Visit Surfshark VPN. It has servers in Tokyo, Japan.
- Click the “Get SurfShark” button in the upper right corner to choose a plan.
- Enter your email address and complete the payment with a preferred method. (Surfshark will send your login information to your email address.)
- Log in to your SurfShark account, download the VPN app for your device, and install it.
- Log in to the SurfShark app using the same credentials.
- Go to the “Locations” menu, type “Japan” into the search bar, and connect to a server that is available.
Once your connection is established, you can watch My Hero Academia on Netflix from anywhere in the world using your new Japanese IP address. Furthermore, unlike Deku, you do not need to break your bones to use this power.
I understand that all of this information may be a little overwhelming. However, no one is born a hero. In the following sections, I’ll explain why we need a VPN service to watch My Hero Academia on Netflix, how VPNs can help us watch a different Netflix catalog, and what we should look for when selecting a VPN service.
Understanding Netflix geo-restriction
Did you know that Netflix provides different catalogs to its users depending on their location? Despite being a global platform, Netflix is unable to offer its entire catalog to the entire world due to copyright and licensing agreements. As a result, our access to certain content may be restricted based on our local IP address. This practice is known as geo-restriction.
In our case, because the series is licensed to Crunchyroll outside of Asia, watching My Hero Academia on Netflix is a little difficult. If I need to provide more concrete examples, new episodes of the series are available weekly in countries such as Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, albeit with different language options. When we search Europe, we find that most European countries only have the first two seasons available, with the exception of the United Kingdom, which only has the first season. My Hero Academia is not available on Netflix in the Americas.
In my country, the situation is as follows:
I can only watch two seasons of My Hero Academia on Netflix, despite the fact that the show is already in its sixth season. Let’s see what Netflix says in its terms of service about the situation.
- The statement: “You may access the Netflix content primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer your subscription plan and have licensed such content. The content that may be available will vary by geographic location and will change from time to time.”
Netflix appears to blame licensing agreements for the current situation. It is much easier to find a solution now that we know where the issue originates from.
Watch My Hero Academia on Netflix via VPN
We discovered that Netflix has different catalogs depending on the country we are in. So, how does this occur? Platforms and websites use our IP addresses to determine our location. So, if we change our IP address, Netflix automatically changes the catalog it offers us based on our new IP address’s location. Using a reputable VPN service is the simplest and most practical way to change our IP address.
When we connect to a VPN server, our internet traffic is routed through that server using the protocol that we choose. Our data is encrypted during this process, and a new IP address is given to us based on the server’s location. This virtually relocates us to the location of the VPN server.
I mentioned that we can watch all seasons of My Hero Academia on Netflix in a number of countries. Japan, the birthplace of anime, was my choice among these countries. To put it another way, I’ll show you how to obtain a Japanese IP address so that you can watch Netflix Japan.
Choosing the best VPN for My Hero Academia
A VPN service is required to watch My Hero Academia on Netflix. But how do we choose the best VPN service when the market is flooded with options claiming to be the best?
Because our goal is to watch Netflix Japan, the most important factor to consider when selecting a VPN service is whether the service has servers in Japan. This is the only way to obtain a Japanese IP address and watch My Hero Academia without facing any difficulties. The next step is to evaluate criteria such as the VPN service’s server technology, the download speed value it provides, and the monthly fee for the service.
Of course, I’ve already reviewed the market, and if you were to ask my opinion, the VPN service I’d recommend is SurfShark. SurfShark offers dedicated streaming servers, and by connecting to SurfShark’s Tokyo server, I received a download speed of 94 Mbps. With such speed, you can watch My Hero Academia in the highest possible quality.
Please follow these instructions to make use of this service:
- Visit the official website of SurfShark.
- Select a subscription plan and complete the order form. (The discounts increase with the length of the subscription.)
- Complete the payment using your preferred method.
Your login credentials will be emailed to you once your payment has been processed. This step may take several minutes.
VPN app installation
Now that we have our account information, let us quickly download and install the VPN application on our device.
- Return to the SurfShark website.
- Click the “Log in” button and enter your login information.
- Go to “Apps and Extensions” on the menu, and then download and install the VPN app for your device.
Note: To avoid future issues, make sure to grant the SurfShark VPN app all permissions during installation.
Connecting to the Japan VPN server
Our final step will be to connect to SurfShark’s Japan server. This connection will provide us with a Japanese IP address, allowing us to view My Hero Academia on Netflix Japan.
- Launch the SurfShark app on your device.
- Choose the “Locations” menu from the app’s interface.
- Enter “Japan” into the search bar and connect to an available server.
Have you noticed that your SurfShark icon has turned green? If that is the case, it indicates that the connection was successful. Congratulations! You’re virtually in Japan now.
Streaming My Hero Academia on Netflix
Let’s see how Netflix reacts to our new Japanese IP address.
- Make sure you are connected to the SurfShark Japan server.
- Open the Netflix app or go to the official Netflix website at https://www.netflix.com/.
- Search for My Hero Academia.
As you can see, Deku, his classmates, and teachers, as well as the League of Villains, are now available on Netflix. Furthermore, with the series’ six seasons and the option of English subtitles.
You can use this method to watch the latest episodes of My Hero Academia on Netflix from anywhere in the world.
VPNs for streaming My Hero Academia on Netflix (3 Alternatives)
Even among VPNs with Japanese servers, the number of services that let me access Netflix Japan can be counted on one hand. Furthermore, platforms and VPN providers, like heroes and villains, are constantly at odds. Every day, new methods for blocking VPN traffic are discovered.
As a result, our hero, SurfShark, who assisted us in watching My Hero Academia on Netflix Japan, could be defeated by villains one day. But don’t be concerned. In case this happens, I’ve listed some alternative VPNs that you can use to watch My Hero Academia. All three are prepared to take responsibility for ultra-fast Japanese servers.
You can choose the best option for you by comparing the features of these options.
AtlasVPN
For my first alternative suggestion, I wanted to try out a new name. AtlasVPN was founded in 2019 and acquired by NordSecurity, which also owns NordVPN, one of the market’s most well-known brands, in 2021. AtlasVPN currently has 750 servers in 42 different locations. In Japan, the company provides dedicated streaming servers.
AtlasVPN’s Japan server provided a download speed of 34 Mbps when I tested it. Although AtlasVPN is not the fastest VPN service on our list, keep in mind that all we need is a speed of 25 Mbps to watch any Netflix content in HD quality.
Finally, unlike our other options, a single AtlasVPN subscription supports an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. Furthermore, AtlasVPN has a competitive pricing policy, with prices beginning at $2.05 per month.
Cyberghost
Recognition, worldwide coverage, lightning-fast performance, and dedicated streaming servers. CyberGhost, based in Romania, provides everything we could want in a VPN service. CyberGhost currently operates in 91 countries and has nearly 9000 servers. In addition, 109 of these servers are located in Japan.
Apart from country-specific servers, CyberGhost’s interface includes a “For Streaming” category with dedicated servers for streaming platforms such as Netflix. In my most recent speed test, I obtained a download speed of 43 Mbps by connecting to one of these servers. This level of performance is more than adequate for a high-quality streaming experience.
Finally, CyberGhost charges a fair service fee and offers a 45-day money-back guarantee. A single CyberGhost account can support up to 7 simultaneous connections, and the most basic plan costs just $2.29 per month.
ExpressVPN
Don’t be fooled by ExpressVPN’s position at the bottom of the list. With over thirteen years of experience, ExpressVPN is one of the market’s most established companies. With thousands of servers in 94 countries, the company provides worldwide coverage.
Unlike its competitors, ExpressVPN’s Japan servers are spread across the country, with locations in Tokyo, Shibuya, and Yokohama. Furthermore, this is not ExpressVPN’s only advantage. With a download speed of 72 Mbps from the company’s Tokyo server, it is the fastest option on our list.
Unfortunately, ExpressVPN’s advantages do not extend to its pricing policy. ExpressVPN also ranks first in terms of subscription prices. ExpressVPN allows for 5 simultaneous connections with a single subscription and charges $6.67 per month for the basic plan.
Summing up the My Hero Academia on Netflix article
Is a hero defined by his or her superpowers? Izuku Midoriya may have acquired the power of “One For All” but does he have what it takes to bear this burden? Since its debut in 2016, My Hero Academia has been a favorite of many anime fans. The show is currently in its sixth season, with new episodes airing weekly.
If you have a Netflix subscription, you can watch My Hero Academia without paying for additional subscriptions. Unfortunately, license and copyright agreements prevent us from accomplishing this with just a few mouse clicks. We need to gain access to Netflix Japan in order to watch all seasons of My Hero Academia. As I detailed in the article, the quickest and most cost-effective way to accomplish this is to use a VPN service.
By following our VPN guide, you can change your virtual location to Japan. This way, you can watch My Hero Academia on Netflix from anywhere in the world.
I’ve been a translator for many years. During this time, geo-restriction has always been the most problematic issue in the many countries I’ve visited. I’m here to tell you about my experience.