I've Been a My Hero Academia Fan From the Start, & the Final Saga Is Making Me Proud to Be a Fan

Summary While there's a lot to love about My Hero Academia, the story's core is its characters and their relationships.

Pacing multiple storylines is incredibly difficult, but the manga strikes the right balance.

The series' ending fulfills its promise, emphasizing themes of heroism and teamwork.

One of the most popular manga in recent years, My Hero Academia, is finally near its end after almost a decade-long run. The final saga of the series, detailing one last major battle between the heroes and the villains, has been going on for years now, and that slow pace has attracted no small amount of criticism, with some of it absolutely warranted. Despite all these things, though, the direction that the manga has taken for its finale has me proud of being a fan of Kohei Horikoshi and the series as a whole.

I first heard about My Hero Academia from my wife, who strongly encouraged me to check out this superhero manga she'd been reading. At the time, I was a bit burnt out on superhero content, but I eventually gave it a try and was quickly hooked. Deku is a protagonist unlike any other in shonen manga: he's thoughtful and strategic, rather than the idiot hero-type that remains ever-popular. Deku has relatable fears and concerns, and his dream of being a hero is an honorable one that instantly makes him worthy of respect. Deku's nerding out behavior is also incredibly relatable, and something that few shonen manga allow their main characters to engage in.

My Hero Academia's Core Appeal Is Its Characters

The Series' Beloved Characters Draw You In

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There are lots of things I love about My Hero Academia, like the abundance of epic action sequences, or the cool and unique abilities that characters put on display. However, the heart of the manga's story is and has always been its characters. From those who were lovable off the bat, like Deku and All Might, to those who really took their time growing, like Bakugo, the series handles its massive cast with care, performing the difficult task of juggling all these characters and the amount of focus they get. While it's not perfect, no one ever said it had to be.

Each of these characters also had their own story arcs and things they were trying to accomplish. Although everyone is ultimately fighting for the same greater goal, they have different objectives and means of getting there. One of the things that really sets My Hero Academia apart is the fact that Deku isn't on his journey by himself, or even with just a few close friends; in a lot of ways, the series is as much about Class 1-A as a whole as it is about Deku. As the series itself says later on, this is the story of how we all became great heroes. It emphasizes that Deku isn't doing this all alone.

And, of course, with characters comes the importance of relationships, and this is somewhere that My Hero Academia really shines as a whole. Deku and Bakugo's relationship is one of the most complex and developed anime rivalries of all time, a long and difficult path that eventually leads to the two being friends who share a mutual respect. Deku and All Might's relationship is also one of the greatest mentor relationships ever seen, emphasizing not only the good that comes with learning from someone like All Might, but the bad as well; even All Might isn't a perfect figure, no matter how much he might look it.

My Hero Academia's Ending Has Handled (Most) of Its Storylines Perfectly

Pacing Multiple Storylines Is Difficult, but My Hero Academia Found a Balance That Works

The end of a story is naturally one of its most important points, to the extent that a bad ending can sometimes ruin an entire series retroactively. In that sense, Horikoshi has been incredibly careful. There were a lot of ongoing storylines that needed to be wrapped up, so it was expected that it would take a long time to finish them. Todoroki's family drama, Ochaco and Toga, Aizawa and Kurogiri, All Might and All for One, and, of course, Deku and Shigaraki: all of these plotlines had to come to a head at once, and balancing that is no small feat.

Pacing is a delicate issue with so many storylines going on, and it seems to me that this has been one of the main fan complaints so far. Fans knew that when the manga cut away from one story to go to another, it would be months (in real time) before the first storyline returned to focus, and that can be a little disheartening when reading week to week. However, the week-to-week release is something that only has to be accounted for once. Anyone reading the manga now will be able to read these chapters back to back, the way they were really intended to be enjoyed. When read like this, the pacing is actually pretty decent.

While it's true that these storylines weren't all balanced equally, I feel that the way they've been handled has been overall exceptional. As a fan of Aizawa, for example, I was quite invested in him and Present Mic getting through to Kurogiri, which was largely skimmed over. However, with so much to juggle, I can hardly blame Horikoshi for that; it's easily one of the less important storylines going on, and if I were in his position, I'd probably have trimmed it down, too. The focus needs to be on the biggest moments, those that have been most impactful throughout the series.

My Hero Academia's Ending Fulfills the Series' Promise

The Series' Themes Come Together in the End

In that sense, My Hero Academia's ending has delivered exceptionally well. From the beginning, Deku has been about his ideals above all else, and has strived to live up to the example set by All Might. The ending of the story has challenged Deku on that, specifically in his dilemma of whether to kill or save Shigaraki. The story even pushed Deku into an impossible choice, his powers or his ideals, and he chose the latter, even knowing it would cost him his dream, a future as a hero. If that kind of self-sacrifice is not the most heroic decision one can make, I don't know what is.

My Hero Academia has made it so that Deku truly is the greatest hero, but he never got there by himself, and the ending has emphasized that fact, too. This has kept the other characters relevant to the last, something that a lot of shonen manga struggle with in the final fight. It ties into the core themes of the series, like how one man can't balance the peace of the world on his shoulders alone, and you can't really ask more from an ending than that. With all the complexities of My Hero Academia's story, creating a satisfying ending was a daunting task, and I couldn't be more proud of how it was done.