My Hero Academia’s Ending Is Good, But It Could’ve Been Even Better

Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia manga has finally come to an end after following the emotional and exciting adventures of Deku and his classmates at U.A. High School for 10 years. The decade-long story concluded with chapter #430, presenting a satisfying conclusion after the devastating events of “Final War.”

How Does My Hero Academia End?

The final chapter of My Hero Academia jumps ahead eight years to catch up with Deku and his former classmates after his life-changing battle against Shigaraki. Although the climatic battle left Midoriya without his borrowed quirk, he nonetheless continued in the hero course and graduated alongside his classmates. After graduation Deku elects to return to U.A. as a teacher, making it clear that despite the pain he endured in the final battle he still has a heart to help others any way he can.

While Deku embraces the path of becoming a teacher and mentor to the next generation, a few of his most powerful classmates have gone on to achieve their personal goals in impressive fashion. Most of his classmates have gone on to become pro heroes, but Shoto Todoroki and Kasuki Bakugo in particular have stood out, becoming top heroes eight years after graduating,

Impressively, many of Deku’s other classmates have found even more ways to serve their community. Shoji has received a peace prize for his fight against discrimination, while Asui, Iida, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu have starting offering counseling to children with quirks.

The final chapter also provides an update on the status of All Might, who suffered grievous injuries in his battle against All For One. Remarkably, the former number one hero is still alive and kicking eight years later (although he is now old and gray), and at the end of the chapter he provides Deku with one of the greatest gifts he can give: a battle suit that allows the now quirkless hero a new opportunity to fight the good fight alongside the other heroes of his world.

The Greater Significance of My Hero Academia’s Ending

Although My Hero Academia ends on the hopeful note of Deku gaining a chance to once again fight as a hero, the manga masterfully highlights that even without his quirk, Izuku Midoriya is still a hero. He goes out of his way to inspire and motivate a young boy to follow his dream, becoming for someone else what All Might was for him – an inspiring symbol of hope.

My Hero Academia comes full circle in its finale, proving once and for all that Deku really has become the greatest hero in the world – not because of the power of his borrowed quirk, but rather because of his ability to bring out the best in others. Him gaining the battle suit at the end of the chapter is a mere formality – by this time, Deku has already achieved the goal he set out to achieve in the very beginning. He truly has become the greatest hero of his world, and in the process proved that we can all become heroes.

How Could the Ending of My Hero Academia Have Been Better?

Although the ending of My Hero Academia was good (and bittersweet), there are a few ways that things could have been even better for Deku and his U.A. classmates – or at least most of them.

For starters, it would have been nice if the status of the relationship between Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka had been directly addressed. For much of the series, there has been an obvious attraction between the two, and Uraraka actually confessed to being in love with him during her battle with Toga back in chapter 394. Ochako was the very first person Midoriya encountered upon entering U.A. and she was the one who inspired him to use “Deku” as his hero name. There has since been a nervous attraction between the two, and it would have been nice to see them finally together. The final chapter implied that their relationship had progressed, with them holding hands as they went on patrol together and her incorporating his mouthguard into her costume in the epilogue, but nothing is clearly stated, resulting in a somewhat unsatisfying ending to their story.

Additionally, it would have been great to see Izuku Midoriya actually keep One For All. Although he made a tremendous sacrifice by giving up the power in order to finally defeat All For One (becoming the greatest hero in the process), he still worked long and hard to harness the quirk. After all the time he spent training (and all the damage he did to himself in the process) Deku deserved to keep the power and take his place as All Might’s successor, the new Symbol of Hope.

Even without the power of One For All, it was disappointing to see Midoriya relegated to the sidelines following “Final War.” After all, he proved himself as a tactical genius throughout the series, his mind always taking in whatever situation he and his friends faced and coming up with unique ways to overcome all obstacles. Even without powers, Deku proved himself to be an awesome leader, able to motivate and inspire others while also coming up with the best plan strategically. At the very least, he should have been commanding a team from behind the scenes, most likely his former classmates who have already learned to respect him.

Last but not least, there’s Bakugo.

First of all, let me say that I get it. Katsuki Bakugo is one of the most popular characters in My Hero Academia. He’s the rival of the main character, and serves as the Vegeta to his Goku. And his raging temper makes him even cooler.

Still, the ending of the series would have been better if Bakugo stayed dead.

Bakugo had arguably the best character development in the entire series. This made his death in battle all the more poignant and meaningful. He had ascended beyond being a bully to Midoriya and evolved into a friend, and beneath his gruff exterior beat the heart of a great hero. This is a large part of what made his death so meaningful.

Bringing him back cheapened one of the most emotional moments in the series – and this is compounded by his appearance in the final chapter. Here he is seen operating as one of the top heroes – despite the fact that he literally had his entire chest blown out of his body. Even if he did miraculously come back by way of his powers, it was revealed by Edgeshot that every breath he took was complete agony for him. I get that Bakugo is a popular and beloved character, but I also honestly believe that the ending would have been so much better with him having ultimately died, and the rest of the students fighting on in memory and reverence of this character who they had mixed feelings about, but ultimately came to respect as a hero.

That being said, it’s important to note that not all manga and anime series are able to stick the landing as well as My Hero Academia did. While I do wish some bits of the ending had gone a slightly different way, ultimately these are nitpicks. And far be it from me to disparage an incredible, long-running series that manages to wrap things up nicely.

The entire My Hero Academia manga is available to read with a subscription to Viz Media.