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My Hero Academia Final Season Series Finale Review

This is it, everyone. After almost ten years, eight seasons, and four movies, we’ve made it to the end of the main series of My Hero Academia. However, this won’t be the end of the franchise as a whole, for reasons that I will go over later. It is, however, the end of the story of how Deku and his friends became the world’s greatest heroes.

With all of that said, I think I would like to just get into the final episode and see how it compares to the final chapter, as I know that the anime added a few things that made the ending, which was a bit controversial, a lot more palatable.

Another Shigaraki? NOT ON OUR WATCH!!

The final episode opens up on the best note possible: showing us that society has learned from the mistakes it made with Shigaraki. We see a new character, a boy whose Quirk led him to be abused and imprisoned by his family, only to escape thanks to the chaos of the war. As he’s walking around and seeing everyone happy and smiling, he’s on the verge of crashing out and becoming another Shigaraki. Then suddenly, an old woman, the same one that turned away from Tenko Shimura when he needed it, steps in to help him. She has no idea that that boy she didn’t help became Shigaraki, and likely never will. However, she’s regretted what she failed to do, and seeing what Midoriya did has made her want to step up and make the same mistake twice. And thanks to that, a potential villain will never come to pass.

I loved this moment in the manga, and I love it just as much in the anime, and the anime makes it better by having placed alongside a conversation between Hawks and All Might about the future of how heroes fit in society. As most people who have followed the story by now have realized, a society where superheroes are real has left everyday people complacent. When they see something bad happen, they aren’t willing to step up, thinking someone else will. But the problem is that when everyone thinks like that, no one ever will step up. Not even heroes can solve all these problems on their own. Heroes had become a reality, but in doing so, they lost sight of what it means to be a real hero, until Midoriya reminded them of that. And it seems like that lesson has begun to stick.

All Might sums it up pretty well: instead of a single Symbol of Peace, there can now be many Symbols of Peace. If everyone helps each other out, then the world will be all the better for it. And as the timeskip shows, that little boy ends up becoming a student at UA, under none other than our own hero.

An Extended Look at What Came Next

In the manga, we only managed to get a single page covering everything that happened in the rest of Midoriya’s time at UA, but in the anime, that gets extended into several minutes worth of time. We see the pro heroes returning to work, Bakugo undergoing rehab, and Class A planning their futures. We see Spinner got his book published and it looks to sell well. And most importantly, we get to see the class have their graduation ceremony. It’s a very touching and emotional moment as we see the people we’ve come to know and love as they head out into the world. And of course, Bakugo makes a big show of things!

But, while Deku did manage to graduate and get his license as a pro hero, it’s a bittersweet feeling. By the time he graduates, the last embers of One for All are gone. Considering how fast All Might used up his own embers, though, it’s impressive that Midoriya managed to hold onto them for two more years. That must have taken a lot of willpower and concentration on his part.

And so, we cut to eight years later, when everyone is all grown up.

Everyone’s Living their Best Lives

Like in the manga, we get snippets of what everyone in the cast are up to. And the world has changed for the better as we see a class of middle school students talking about their plans for high school. Whereas everyone in Deku and Bakugo’s class wanted to be heroes, others are saying they want to work in other professions, like becoming a doctor or working with Mei Hatsume or at La Brava’s cyber company (good on her!) The point is that heroes are not as needed as much anymore, with heroes finding new ways to help beyond fighting crime as the U.A. students make a splash. But there’s one kid who still wants to be a hero, and like a certain boy before him, he has his own fateful encounter.

Without his powers, Midoriya is Quirkless once more, meaning he hasn’t been able to do hero work despite having his liscence. Instead, he’s become a teacher at U.A., helping the next generation on their path. It’s poetic, if you ask me. Deku knows more about heroes and what jt means to be one, and like All Might before him, he’s there to encourage another youth to aspire to become a hero. It’s fun to see him in All Might’s position with someone younger than him. He may not have powers, but in his own way, he’s still able to be a hero. And most importantly, he’s passing that dream onto others as My Hero Academia comes to an end…is what you’d THINK!!

DEKU IS BACK BABY!!

I’ve heard rumors that Horikoshi initially planned to end the series with Midoriya losing his powers for good, and leaving it at that. While that would have been poetic in some fashion, I’m glad that he realized that this would end up making a lot of fans mad. I’ve already said it, but it seemed unfair that Midoriya would have to give up on his own dream to save the world; it’s not something that he deserves. And thank heavens, he chose to rewrite the ending. And thanks to the research done with the suit All Might wore in the final war and the funding of Bakugo and his old classmates, Midoriya gets a second lease on being a hero: his own armored suit.

I already knew this thanks to a lifetime of Marvel and DC, but you don’t need powers to be a superhero. Sometimes all you need is a cool suit of armor and training, like Batman and Iron Man. And so, the series truly comes to an end as we see Midoriya, after eight years of retirement, gets to live out his dream. Deku, the One for All Hero, soars once more!

What makes the ending even better, though, is the credits.

The Credits Really Cinched it for My Hero Academia

A big criticism of the final chapter of My Hero Academia is that we only got snippets of what Class A was up to after becoming pro heroes. It wasn’t until later that we even knew where most of them ranked on the Hero Chart! But in what has to be the best improvement the anime makes to the finale, the final credits are a montage showing where everyone is now and what they are doing. It’s glorious. We get to see everyone live their best lives, and their futures are all bright.

This is a much better way to end My Hero Academia, and one that almost brings a tear to my eye. But thankfully, this isn’t the end. There’s still one last chapter that Horikoshi wrote to wrap up another loose end, and it’s getting its own special episode this spring. In addition, this ain’t the end of our time in the MHA universe. As of right now, the second season of the prequel/spin-off, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has started to air, so we can still enjoy that. Plus, since this is a world about superheroes and powers, who’s to say that we won’t get any more spin-offs in the future? The point is that while the original series is over, I doubt this is the last time we’ll see Deku and the others. And if it is, then it was one heck of a ride. Hopefully, this series inspires someone else to write a hit Shonen series in the future. So, until that day, be kind to everyone, help out where you can, and go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!  

I Give “My Hero Academia” a 5/5

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My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 5 Review

All for One is dead. The greatest villain in history is finally dead. But the battle is not over. Thanks to All for One, Tomura Shigaraki has been molded into someone who wishes to see the entire world reduced to dust. If Deku doesn’t stop him, he will destroy everything, starting with Japan. However, this is when the series decides to do something that never sat right with me. It may have to do with the themes of heroism, or Horikoshi couldn’t figure out a better way to end this, but for Midoriya to beat Shigaraki, he has to give up something important. Something that he shouldn’t have to give up in the first place. Deku really is like Spider-Man, but in this case, that’s not a good thing.

Shigaraki is Really Just that Tough!

With All for One finally dead thanks to Bakugo delivering the final blow, all that is left is for Deku to defeat Shigaraki. A task that is made infinitely harder by virtue of the fact that Deku, despite everything, still wants to help Shigaraki. Or rather, he wants to help Tenko Shimura, the little boy that Shigaraki has suppressed for all these years. Having spent years watching Naruto try to save Sasuke from his own darkness, I get where Deku’s coming from. However, Shigaraki’s gotten to the point where beating him by conventional means may no longer be possible.

Then it gets worse. Using the All for One Quirk, Shigaraki manages to reach into Deku and grab the fourth user, Shinomori, and his Danger Sense.

Suddenly, the game changes entirely. With Shigaraki now having anime Spider-Sense, Deku’s forced on the defensive, and the show really sells to us how bad this is. Even worse, Shigaraki manages to bring their fight to Mount Fuji. AKA one of the most important symbols of Japan as well as an active volcano. If Shigaraki uses Decay on it, it will erupt and take Tokyo along with it. In other words, even if Midoriya wanted to run (which he doesn’t), Japan would be screwed. If he stays and fights in his current state, Deku is screwed. He’s effectively boxed in with no way out. And this is when Deku and the past users of One for All come up with a truly insane plan.

A Plan of Self-Sacrifice

Thanks to Star and Stripe’s Quirk Vestige, a tiny crack appeared in the mental barriers that Shigaraki created to suppress his childhood self. If Deku transfers each Quirk Vesitge into Shigaraki, they could break the sphere and let him reach his true self, taking away his reason to be evil. However, the catch to all this is that this means Izuku Midoriya will have to sacrifice One for All forever. He’ll be Quirkless once more.

I’m sorry, but even as I was reading this in the manga, I was not okay with it. Becoming a Hero was Deku’s dream, and he worked so hard to make it come true. It won’t be impossible for him to keep being a Hero without a Quirk, but it won’t be the same. And I hate that he has to make this kind of decision!

I’m Still Upset about Spider-Man: No Way Home

My reasons for hating it stem from my feelings about Deku’s inspiration, Spider-Man. I’ve been a fan of Spider-Man most of my life. I’ve read the comics, watched the cartoons, played the games, and seen the movies. For many, he’s the ideal hero. But despite deserving all the happiness in the world, the universe (and the writers) find a way to screw him over. I told myself that he could keep bouncing back, but then I saw Spider-Man: No Way Home. I watched as Spidey had to wipe the entire world’s memories of him to save all of reality, and I hated it.

No Way Home was my breaking point when it came to watching Spider-Man suffer. Yes, he did act impulsively and didn’t think things through, but he was a teenager. That’s what most teens are like! But he had to watch as his secret identity was outed, his name unfairly dragged through the mud, his aunt died, and his friends had to forget he ever existed. For God’s sake, Spider-Man doesn’t deserve to suffer that much! Is it so wrong for him to want to think about his own happiness a little? Because looking at Deku, I’m reminded of this exact thing, and I hated it!

With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility

In the end, though, I have to remind myself that, powers or not, Deku doesn’t need them to be a hero. He’s always been a hero at heart, and nothing can take that away from him. Granted, he technically needs those powers to have a job as a Hero, but Horikoshi has already shown us the workaround for that. In other words, I’m just bummed that Deku won’t be as strong as before. But if he weren’t willing to give up One for All for the greater good, he wouldn’t have been worthy of it in the first place. So, for one last time, it’s time to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “History’s Greatest Villain” a 4.5/5

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My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 4 Review

In fiction, there are many different kinds of villains, but a lot of them can be broken up into one of two categories. There are villains who become evil because of things that happened to them, and villains who might have just been born naturally predisposed to evil. In the case of someone like All for One, though, I would say that he was born evil. From the minute he was conceived, he was going to end up being a menace to society for the next century. But despite all his attempts to become the ultimate villain who rules the world from the shadows, All for One’s story is about to come to an end. And I think the way that Horikoshi chooses to end his story is nothing short of poetic.

The First Quirks

At the beginning of My Hero Academia, we got an explanation at how mankind evolved to develop superpowers, or Quirks, as they came to call them. Officially, the first Quirk was the glowing baby in China. However, that was only the first recorded case. In reality, the first people to be born with Quirks might have All for One and his twin brother, Yoichi Shigaraki, as we see in a flashback to their origins.

The world might be comfortable with Quirks by the time of the series, but as this flashback shows, when Quirks first began emerging, the world acted in a very realistic manner. While some reveled in having superpowers, others were afraid and acted accordingly. It’s like looking at how Mutants are viewed in Marvel Comics: some celebrate them, while others fear and hate them. In a way, My Hero Academia is like looking at what the best future for the Marvel Universe could be. However, while many worked to help Quirks become accepted, there were plenty of those whose powers people should’ve been afraid of. And All for One was one such example

All for One was born a jerk!

From the moment All for One was born, he saw himself as better than everyone else alive. To him, everything existed to serve him, and those who wouldn’t would be punished. And despite claiming that he did love his younger brother, it’s clear that what he felt toward Yoichi wasn’t love, but possessiveness. The narrator even says that All for One only saw Yoichi as something that belonged to him. And despite Yoichi trying to steer his brother right, he just kept abusing him and abusing him until he gave him the Quirk that would combine with his to become One for All. Yet as we see through these video journals that Yoichi made, he still thought that his brother could do good.

And you know what? Yoichi was right!

As a Quirk, All for One is not inherently evil. As Yoichi himself points out, that kind of power could help those with unwanted Quirks and give Quirks to those who needed them. All for One could have changed the world for the better, but instead, he only cared about himself. That would lead to his brother’s death, One for All passing onto its second user, Kudo, and All for One devoting his existence to trying to get back what he saw as his. He even went as far as to wipe out the families of One for All’s users, until All Might defeated him. And now, the consequences of his life of sin have finally caught up to him in the form of Bakugo.

Bakugo Ain’t No Side Character!

After All for One first pointed out their resemblance, there was likely a fan theory that Bakugo was a descendant of Kudo, One for All’s second user. Sadly, the manga never confirmed nor denied this, and the anime seems to have taken the same route. In the end, though, I don’t think it matters. If anything, it’s more important that Bakugo isn’t related to Kudo, but is just someone who made it to where he was on his own merits. He’s a guy whose will and determination have driven him to become one of the best of his generation of budding heroes, yet All for One arrogantly considers him as a side character in the story. As we know by now, Bakugo is not a side character. He’s the co-protagonist of the series. And more importantly, he’s smarter than All for One gave him credit for.

Using his sweat as a delayed explosive implanted into the villain’s body was pure genius. It slowed down All for One long enough for Bakugo to get in close and give the Demon Lord one of the greatest beat downs in Shonen history. And the sight of All for One’s stolen Quirks turning on him from within was just the cherry on top. Absolute cinema!

Good Riddance to All for One!

By the time Bakugo is finished, All for One is reduced to being a baby, crawling around, unable to talk, unable to fight. The big bad of My Hero Academia who’s spent a century terrorizing the world with his evil is a helpless baby, unable to stop himself from fading out of existence. It’s the most pathetic that we’ve ever seen him be, and when I read it in the manga, I couldn’t help but feel how incredibly cathartic it was to see him meet his end like this. Even better, it’s fitting that he meets his end at the hands of someone he considered a side character. Like I said before, Bakugo ain’t a side character. He’s got main character energy written all over him, and he earned this win for himself!

The fight is not over yet, though. Izuku still needs to stop Shigaraki, and with everything else taken care of, our focus can fall solely on the clash that we’ve been waiting for. Bakugo already did it, but it’s time for Deku to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!!

I Give “Quirk: Explosion” a 5/5

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My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 2 Review

Back when the My Hero Academia manga was still running, a big question was about the fate of All Might: would he live or would he die? Sir Nighteye’s Quirk had him convinced that the hero would die if he continued down his path. However, he had said the same about Deku during the fight with Overhaul, and Deku proved him wrong. There were, in fact, moments in the final battle where I thought All Might wasn’t going to make it. They had been building throughout his fight with All for One, but it was at this point that the fears really hit their peak. All for One is just that strong a villain!

Stain Goes Out Like a Badass

This entire episode can be summed in one answer: All Might keeps getting lucky breaks. By this point, his armor and AI are both spent. He’s used up every trick in the book, and he knows that continuing to fight will lead to his death. But being who he is, he keeps on fighting anyway to buy Midoriya more time. He keeps gambling on All for One’s hatred for him overriding his sense of urgency to distract him, but even that has a limit. However, that’s when he gets the first of several breaks when Stain jumps in to save him.

Stain is not a good person, by any stretch of the imagination. He hates evil as much as most heroes do, but he was so jaded by people becoming heroes for fame and fortune that he thought the only solution was to kill the fakes. But despite his twisted nature, he does believe in heroes, and will applaud when he sees people being truly heroic. Plus, when All Might was doubting himself, it was Stain who gave him the pep talk he needed. Stain is not a good person, and he knows that he’s going to Hell when he dies. But that’s not going to stop him from helping the heroes one last time.

I won’t lie when I that I loved how Stain managed to turn the tables on All for One, however briefly it might have been. Conversely, I was equally saddened to see this final gambit fail, and end with All for One killing Stain. The man may have been a killer, but I still respected his belief in true heroism. And dying at the hands of the biggest villain in the story is a pretty good way to go out of this life.

Bakugo Comes in to Save the Day!

Despite no longer being in any shape to fight, All Might refuses to take the L. And thankfully, All for One’s ego compels him to drag the hero with him just so he can show off his broken body to the world. Once again, that almost costs All for One as it gives him another opening to try and take him out. Unfortunately, that also doesn’t work. And neither does the last-minute save by Star and Stripes squadron. For a minute, it actually looks like All Might might die, with even the episode title grimly noting this is the end of an era.

But then, we get a deus ex machina. Bakugo re-enters the fray.

Some fans have taken issue with how Horikoshi initially chose to end MHA, and part of it is how Bakugo escaped certain death. It looked like Bakugo was going to die when Shigaraki ran him through, and had he done so, that would have been legendary. I’m happy that he survived, but I also don’t like how it takes away the emotional weight of what happened. However, what he ends up doing next will more than make up for it. Trust me when I say that what happens next is Bakugo’s finest moment.

Then again, the next episode is already out, so I don’t need you to trust me. I would like to end things, though, by mentioning how much I love the final ED for the series. It’s a recollection of the entire series in notebook form, and I think that it’s the perfect way to encapsulate the series. It’s come so far after all these years. Go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!

I Give “The End of an Era, and the Beginning” a 4/5

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My Hero Academia Final Season Ep 1 Review

Yes, I am well aware just how far behind I am on the final season of My Hero Academia. Yes, I am well aware that by the time this goes out, the climax of the anime will have already taken place. However, events in real life led me to procrastinate on the matter. That, and given how this was the final season, I wanted to wait until the dub came out, since this could be the last time we hear the cast playing their roles in the show. But that doesn’t mean my enthusiasm for the show hasn’t diminished. So, for one last season, I’m ready to go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!! And where better to start than with where we last left off: with Iron All Might fighting All for One.

Iron Might vs. AFO, Round Two

The first few minutes of the opening episode to the final season are meant to serve as a recap of everything that’s happening. Or rather, at just how bad things were getting for the heroes. Dabi was about to go nuclear, Toga’s use of Twice’s Quirk was overwhelming everyone, and All for One was making a beeline for Shigaraki and Deku.

It was hard to remember at first, but this opening does a good job of reminding us just how big this final war really is. Everything that we’ve seen up to this point has been taking place simultaneously across the entire country. In hindsight, it reminds me a lot of the Fourth Great Ninja War in Naruto as well as the Marineford and Wano Country Arcs in One Piece. They are all massive wars with a lot going on, so the story has to take its time focusing on them to give the viewers the experience we deserve. Of course, the main focus of the episode has to be on something, and in this case, it’s the continued fight between All for One and All Might.

What an Epic Fight!

One of the themes that I really like about My Hero Academia is the idea that you don’t need superpowers to be a superhero. The annals of comic books are rife with characters like Batman and Iron Man, AKA heroes who have no powers. Yet despite being physically normal human beings, they’re considered heavy hitters who can go toe-to-toe with gods. Why? Because they have the resources, and more importantly, the smarts to pull it off. And as this entire episode demonstrates, so does All Might.

I’m not gonna lie: when I read this entire fight in the manga, I was having the time of my life. Without any powers and just using a suit of armor, All Might was able to push All for One into a corner, even if it was only for a short while. More importantly, though, I liked how his armor allowed him to emulate the powers of all his students. It gave the entire beatdown the feeling of a collective effort. All for One may not have powers anymore, but he’s far from powerless.

Aoyama Redeems Himself

Special mention should go to how All Might paid tribute to Aoyama with his attack. I’ve never held it against Aoyama for being All for One’s spy, and I don’t think the other fans have. Aoyama is more of a hero than he realizes, and I know that he’ll eventually return to UA with his head held high.

Speaking of Aoyama, whatever focus that isn’t on the fight between All Might and All for One winds up being on Aoyama and Hagakure pulling a victory out of the jaws of defeat. They’re not the strongest of the UA students, but as All Might has shown, brute strength isn’t everything. Plus, I did enjoy getting to see what Hagakure looks like.

The fans are right. It was a sin for Horikoshi to keep this angel hidden away from us for so long.

This was a good start to the final season of MHA. And it only gets better once you see the final OP for the series. It gives off a lot of “this is the final battle” vibes to it, and I adore that. The anime needs to go big now or go home. Better yet, go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!

I Give “Toshinori Yagi: Rising/Origin” a 4/5

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