Why My Hero Academia's Ending Felt Lacking (2024)

After 10 years, author Kohei Horikoshi's ultra-popular My Hero Academia manga series has come to an end with Chapter 430, "My Hero Academia." That chapter had many hallmarks of a final episode/chapter, from cheerful group shots to a strongly sentimental tone and voice-overs to help narrate the ending and tie up some loose ends. On some levels, it was a fine send-off to Deku's incredible adventure, but fans may still feel a little underwhelmed by what they read.

Chapter 430 was not terrible by any means, but it still felt a bit lacking, given the massive hype around this modern classic. That chapter simply went through the motions as a gentle farewell, and it compares poorly to other series-ending manga chapters that fans have seen in shonen, and for that matter, in shojo, too. Everything My Hero Academia's final chapter did, other series-ending chapters did better, and there were a few things the final chapter actually didn't do at all, even if fans wanted so badly to see those things unfold in My Hero Academia's swan song chapter.

What Made My Hero Academia's Finals Chapter so Generic and Underwhelming?

Chapter 430 of My Hero Academia did a few things that experienced manga fans would expect from a final chapter, but not in any special or unique way. That chapter began with an eight-year time skip, which is a common way for a story to cleanly move on from the post-battle chaos and depict a healed world where everyone is happy. Doing that allows a shonen action series to end on a hopeful and fresh note, making it feel like another chapter of everyone's lives is about to begin. Given how lengthy and messy the final battle for Japan's fate was, it made sense for My Hero Academia's concluding chapter to use a time skip to flash forward eight years, but nothing unusual or memorable happened after those years passed. It was all exactly as devoted fans would expect, no more and no less.

In the chapter's main events, Deku and his classmates are now close to their mid-20s, and have all become pro heroes or, in Deku's case, a suit-wearing teacher like All Might before him. Just the way All Might was once a symbol of peace and inspiration for Izuku Midoriya, Deku is now an inspiring role model for a timid boy named Dai, who dreams of becoming a pro hero despite the steep odds he faces. Thus, Deku is paying it forward after all that All Might had done for him, creating a sense of continuity as the same situation plays out once again. Thus, Deku is doing his best to change the world despite being totally Quirkless once again, while his old 1-A classmates are advancing in their own hero careers as planned. The story moves everyone forward, but only in a linear fashion, with no special surprises along the way.

The chapter ends on that conventional note, with a final group shot of 20-something heroes like Shoto Todoroki and Ochaco Uraraka as Deku notes that by inspiring a new generation and protecting a peaceful society in varied ways, everyone is a hero, and always will be. It's pleasant to see all of 1-A's classmates succeeding as intended and have all their hard work at school pay off, but that sort of thing is easy for fans to infer without having to see so much of it. That makes Chapter 430 feel like an obligatory, open-ended update about how everyone is doing in the postwar peace, with no supervillains like All For One to occupy their attention. There are no surprises or twists here, nor are there any major personal developments, and fans can compare that unfavorably to what other shonen and some shojo manga series did with their own final chapters.

Chapter 430 Didn't Have a Memorable Final Twist Like Bleach and Naruto Did

Any TV show, book, manga series, or anime must end on a strong and memorable note, because it's not enough to merely end the story -- the end must have a strong hook, just like the introduction. An ending hook isn't meant to entice the audience to watch/read the material since the story is over, but rather, hook the viewer into remembering the series and continue thinking about it for days, weeks, or even years to come. It's a parting gift, and My Hero Academia did not deliver in that regard. That's part of what makes Chapter 430 feel pleasant yet weak, a predictable send-off that had no special parting message or scene to give readers one more special thing to remember. Not even Deku speaking to Dai as Dai's own All Might figure did the job, because while that was a charming scene, it didn't say or do anything new concerning Deku's character of My Hero Academia as a whole.

In the world of shonen manga alone, fans can find several examples of a parting hook done right, a strong reason to remember the series and/or look forward to a possible sequel or spinoff. Two members of the original shonen "big three" did just that, and fans have hope that one day, the epic One Piece will do the same. One notable example is Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which introduced manga fans in 1999 to a prankster ninja named Naruto Uzumaki who dreamed of becoming someone great, someone worthy of respect. In the final chapter, Naruto Uzumaki joined a formal meeting as the Hokage, thus realizing his life-long dream, and it was an immensely cathartic moment that allowed Naruto to end on such a powerful note as Kurama peacefully slept.

Meanwhile, Tite Kubo's Bleach ended on a mostly generic note, but it did pair up Ichigo Kurosaki with Orihime Inoue, thus introducing fans to their son Kazui, who amusingly shocked the young Ichika Abarai with his Soul Reaper powers. Given how playful and whimsical Bleach's humor is, it's appropriate for that relaxed, happy final chapter to make fans laugh and do a double-take with Ichika's exaggerated reaction to Kazui's unexpected powers that made Ichika feel less special as a trainee Soul Reaper. It was almost a last-minute Boruto scenario for Bleach, except it was just a brief snippet to let fans' imaginations do the rest as Ichigo's story ended.

Fullmetal Alchemist also had a mostly generic final chapter, but it did have some symbolism to end the manga on a stronger note than My Hero Academia did. By then, the Elric brothers were whole and happy without any need for the Philosopher's Stone, and Alphonse had moved on from his trademark armor body. In the final panel, a bird's nest with several eggs was seen in that helmet, hinting at the circle of life and the stubborn persistence of life as a whole. Something as gentle and ordinary as a bird nest was a symbol of life's strength, something truly eternal and inspiring while unfair powers from the Philosopher's Stone were not. It was almost like "slow and steady wins the race" when comparing the power of life to dark energies like the Philosopher's Stone.

The final strong example is Death Note's last chapter, which abruply switched from Near's and the cops' happy ending to a grim scene featuring a long procession of Kira worshipers. Light Yagami and Teru Mikaki were dead, but the idea of Kira lived on, an ominous sign that an idea never dies so easily, and the spirit of Kira continued to haunt the world. The very last page featured one such Kira acolyte, an unnamed young woman who prayed to Kira as everyone's savior. Thus, Death Note may have featured Light's death but still had a "the battle is never truly over" vibe, which was excellent for a thematically weighty series like that. The Kira worshiper, who oddly resembled Misa Amane, served as a wonderfully impactful final hook, and My Hero Academia had nothing like it.

Chapter 430 of My Hero Academia Had No Shipping

While shonen action series like My Hero Academia aren't obligated to deliver any romantic relationships, or shipping, such an idea is still hugely popular, and fans have many expectations and hopes in that regard. A final chapter like "My Hero Academia" may be evaluated on such grounds, whether or not the original author cares about it, and if there are no substantial ships, then fans may react negatively to final chapters like this one. Author Kohei Horikoshi created a final chapter that disappointed fans simply because he didn't indulge in the unofficial rule that shonen characters should deliver emotional payoffs with romantic pairings. Fans are quite invested in such things, after all, showing how attached they are to fictional characters.

In this case, everyone wanted Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka to become an item, but there was no hint of that, and in fact, Chapter 430 didn't even honor their friendship. There's plenty of precedent for this, with Fullmetal Alchemist showing Edward Elric proposing marriage to Winry Rockbell in the story's final action while Ichigo Kurosaki and Naruto Uzumaki each married their female love interests, leading to children like Boruto and Himwari Uzumaki and Kazui Kurosaki. My Hero Academia didn't have to take Deku and Ochaco to the alter, but even so, fans wanted something for these iconic lovebirds, and Chapter 430 gave them exactly nothing. Shonen action anime series may be light on romance in general, but that won't stop fans from loving certain ships and asking for official shipping material from the story, and they may enjoy or dislike a final chapter accordingly.

My Hero Academia

Izuku Midoriya, a Quirkless teenager, inherits the powerful Quirk "One For All" from his idol All Might, embarking on a journey to become a hero. As he and his classmates at U.A. High School face challenges from the League of Villains, led by Shigaraki, societal unrest unfolds, leading to revelations, betrayals, and intense battles. The story culminates in a final confrontation against the League of Villains, All For One, and a transformed Shigaraki, with Izuku and his friends striving to protect a society on the brink of chaos.

Author

Kōhei Horikoshi

Artist

Kōhei Horikoshi

Release Date

July 7, 2014

Genre

Adventure , Science Fiction , Fantasy , superheroes

Chapters

386

Volumes

37

Adaptation

My Hero Academia (2016)

Publisher

Shueisha, Viz Media