The Good and Bad of My Hero Academia’s Ending
My Hero Academia has officially ended after 430 chapters
I only got into anime and manga a year ago after I unknowingly took on the colossal task of watching One Piece. From there, I’ve found a lot of great anime and stories that I cherish. However, it was only within the last couple of months or so that I found myself checking out My Hero Academia.
MHA has a rather polarizing reputation in the anime community from what I can tell. There are a lot of people who like the story and think this is one of the best new-gen anime/manga. On the other hand, there is a group of people that despise not only MHA but the fandom as well.
As much as I hate to fence-sit, I understand both perspectives. I like a lot of what’s in this story. And when I got caught up with the anime, I was excited to pick up where I left off in the manga. However, I certainly get why people aren’t into some of the decisions made. Additionally, some people in the fandom are…well, let’s say they are people who exist and leave it there.
I am interested in doing a full review of the entire story of My Hero Academia. For now, I want to look at the ending of the story since the final chapter has officially been released. Let’s take a look at the good and the bad regarding the end of My Hero Academia.
Spoiler warning: From here on, this article will contain spoilers regarding the entire story of My Hero Academia, including chapter 430. Click away now if you wish to avoid these spoilers.
The Good
One character that I’ve always gone back and forth on is Ochaco Uraraka. I think she’s more well-written than the fanbase generally thinks she is. And by extension, I think she’s over-hated. That said, her character certainly isn’t perfect and I was curious to see if I could land on a more concrete opinion with the ending.
After reading the final chapter, I believe I’m more of a fan than a critic of hers. I wasn’t exactly captivated by her fight with Himiko Toga in the Final War. But I think the Epilogue did a nice job of tying all of that together. Chapter 430 especially does a nice job with the reveal of the Quirk Counseling initiative.
Toga was a character who needed help dealing with her Quirk. Hero Society essentially left Quirk training up to the schools, and that works most of the time. However, for someone like Toga, not addressing the downsides of her Quirk can have disastrous effects. Her Quick gave her an innate fascination with blood. And since no one reached out to help, she went down the road of villainy. In her mind, there was no other recourse.
This is not to defend the actions of Toga. She was a murderous villain who took joy in making people bleed. This is to say that I like that her part in this story — and the impact made on Uraraka — is not forgotten. We saw in 429 that Uraraka struggled with Toga’s death immensely. In 430, we’re seeing her do her part in making sure people like Toga aren’t forgotten about.
People with Quirks similar to Toga have a resource that can help them better control it. Being ridiculed for being abnormal is no longer the knee-jerk reaction. I think that’s nice to see, and this initiative could certainly be explored more in a potential sequel.
If I may go back a bit, I want to talk about the Hellish Todoroki Family. When I first got into MHA, I was not prepared for the Todoroki’s. I figured Shoto would just be a brooding rival for Deku throughout the series. However, Shoto Todoroki turned out to be my favorite character in the story.
I expected the Todoroki family to get its own epilogue chapter, and it didn’t disappoint. I love the way their story ended. Endeavor does genuinely seem remorseful for his actions and the abuse he inflicted. However, that does not mean he has the right to redemption or forgiveness. The only people who can decide that are the ones he hurt.
I come from a family that isn’t exactly close. I didn’t have it nearly as bad as Shoto and his siblings. My Dad, may he rest in peace, was the best father I could’ve asked for. But my family won’t be having big gatherings around the fireplace any time soon. I found family in those outside my kin, and as a result, Shoto kind of resonated with me.
At the end of the day, things don’t always work out. There are too many hurt feelings and too many lines crossed for things to be repaired. That’s okay. It’s okay for people who were abused to decide they aren’t interested in mending things with their abuser.
Endeavor has to live with the fact that two of his sons hate his guts. He has to live with the fact that one of his sons may never have a truly great relationship with him. Additionally, he has to face the fact that his actions directly influenced Dabi to become the villain he became. He gets no complete redemption in the end, and I think it was handled really well.
The Bad
One thing that initially intrigued me about My Hero Academia was the side characters. Except for Mineta, I found each member of Class 1-A likable to some extent. As mentioned, Shoto Todoroki is my favorite character in MHA and one of my favorite characters to this point in my relatively early journey into anime/manga.
That being said, I am pretty disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of Class 1-A in the end. Sure, we got an update on the Todoroki family, and we saw Uraraka’s struggle in 429. But overall, it felt like the side characters went through this brutal war and just kinda moved on. Some of them — Jirou and Tokoyami in particular — played a not insignificant part in this war.
To be fair, this is an immediate reaction. I wanted to get my initial thoughts on the ending out there so I have a reference point for any future articles. Once I re-read the epilogue, my thoughts on this could certainly change.
Moving on, one thing I’ve noticed since getting into anime/manga is that shipping is pretty intense. Fans are very passionate about this sort of thing. Personally, I’m not exactly heartbroken if two characters don’t end up together. However, if romance is a plot point, I think that plot point needs to be followed through to a conclusion.
That brings me to the case of Deku and Uraraka. It’s made abundantly clear throughout the story that these two have a little crush on one another. In fact, Uraraka’s romantic feelings for Midoriya are the focal point of her fight with Toga in the Final War. And yet, this is left unresolved. This is a not-insignificant part of the story that’s essentially left open-ended.
The likely explanation is that Horikoshi left it unresolved so he’s not pigeonholed into anything if he does a sequel. With the importance this was given, though, I think there needed to be some sort of confirmation either way. I’m not even demanding they get together. Just tie the loose end like the other loose ends were tied.
This coincides with my next point. I think that ending felt rushed overall. I’m talking specifically about Chapter 430 here. I figured there would be a time skip given how 429 ended. But it felt as if things just moved along very quickly. We see the time skip, mention a few things here and there, fake out ending, and then the real ending. Had the time skip occurred earlier, I think it would have been more beneficial for the overall ending.
What I’m Torn On
There is one thing that I’m torn on in the immediate aftermath of My Hero Academia’s ending. I’m not sure how I feel about how Deku’s story ends. After the Final War, the embers of One For All die out. He becomes a teacher at UA and watches as his friends become the heroes they worked hard to become.
However, right at the end of 430, All Might presents him with an augmented tech suit. This allows him to become a hero in his own right again without the need for a Quirk. We also find out that all of Class 1-A, Bakugou chief among them, pitched in financially to get this suit made.
On one hand, I think it’s great that Deku gets to be a hero once again. Additionally, it’s pretty thematically appropriate for him to be a Quirkless hero. After all, the question of whether or not someone without a Quirk could be a hero is relevant at the beginning and end of the story.
However, I think Deku not being a hero is a bit more interesting to me. He already achieved his goal. He became a hero without an inherent Quirk. Deku saved the world and destroyed All For One. I think it would’ve been cool to see him take a step back since has achieved what he wanted to achieve.
Imagine Deku becoming a strategist for his former classmates. We saw him obsessively taking notes whenever he encountered a new Quirk. Even in 430, we see him overanalyze a kid’s Quirk in conversation. I think it would have been more interesting for him to use this to help his friends and the new generation of heroes. He could even struggle with his desire to be a hero as he sees his friends doing the heavy lifting.
Overall, I don’t think the direction Horikoshi went in is bad. I do like that One For All wasn’t passed on given that All For One has been destroyed. But I’m not sure if Deku being a hero again was the more interesting route to go. This is something I’ll probably revisit down the line once I’ve sat with this ending a bit more.
Is This A Bad Ending?
I’m writing this knowing that my experience with My Hero Academia likely differs from that of most of the fanbase. I’ve only known these characters for a month or two at most. There are fans out there who have invested 10 years of their lives into this story. So I can understand why the reactions to this ending have been as intense as they are.
Personally, though, I don’t think I can call this a bad ending. I certainly think it was a bit underwhelming. But I think it could’ve been a lot worse than it actually was. And I do think this ending has received a lot more hate than it deserves.
The memes of Deku being the number one fast-food worker are funny. However, some people genuinely seem to think he was abandoned by his friends and is left with nothing. This is not the case. He doesn’t see his friends as often as he’d like, but he still sees his friends. They are adults now, after all. And hey, he’ll be seeing a lot more of them now that he is a hero again.
This isn’t the greatest ending of all time. It could have been better in a lot of ways. In saying that, though, I think the ending is fine for now. It leaves a lot of avenues open for a sequel, and most of the important story threads are neatly wrapped up. I’m certainly looking forward to whatever else the My Hero Academia universe has to offer in the future.
