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10 Years of My Hero Academia

I have been an avid reader of Weekly Shonen Jump manga since I was a child, and later started following the magazine closely since around 2009. In that time I've witnessed countless titles start and finish. My Hero Academia is the rare kind of series that connects us from the previous generation of the magazine to its current era. It started in Issue 32, 2014 and finished in Issue 36-37, 2024. That makes it the 2nd oldest series in the line-up at the time of ending. Below is my review of the series. I give my thoughts on several of the story moments and give my final impressions. There will be spoilers and it's a long discussion.

Let's first flashback to the summer of 2014. I was in college preparing to spend my Junior year abroad in Japan. My Tumblr was very active and about to reach new highs with my presence in the Nisekoi fandom. In the Weekly Shonen Jump world, a generational shift was about to occur with the new debut of a new battle manga from a previously 2 time canceled author, Kohei Horikoshi.

Looking back on the issue when My Hero Academia started, we can clearly see how it was a completely different era of Jump. Naruto was still running at chapter 683. That is near the end of the 4th Great Ninja War arc. Naruto would later finish that fall in Issue 50, 2014. Additionally, Kuroko was just a couple of issues away from wrapping up and cementing itself as one of the best sport manga Jump had seen in a decade. One Piece was in the middle of Dressrosa, where little did we know that chapter 752 would only put us halfway through the arc. Gintama was just about to make a major pivot into full time battle manga mode. This issue also saw the conclusion of iShoujo at 20 chapters. (It would later get rebooted on Jump+ as a launch title and run for 14 volumes). It's very clear how My Hero Academia started in a complete era than where are now. So, how was My Hero Academia in the early days? Well, quite honestly I thought it was a very middle of the road title. I was already familiar with Horikoshi through Barrage (the very first simlpub in the digital Jump era that Viz started from chapter 1). He always had a good sense of perspective and the way he draws mouths with depth is a distinctive feature. The series also wore its Naruto inspirations quite openly, while taking advantage of the popularity in superhero movies to add some visibility in the eyes of readers. I thought it was riding the coattails of current trends. The early chapters were standard fare in modern day shonen. Speeding through character introductions and establishing the setting. Shigaraki made an early appearance with the mob baddies called Nomus but it was hard to get invested in the central conflict so soon. However Shigaraki’s eerie design of being covered in hands certainly stood out at the time. I was curious but not necessarily invested right away. (of course in retrospective its clear how Horikoshi used the early events as building blocks for what was to come later)

But you know what sways me the most: Tournament Arcs! This Sports Festival tournament was where I finally started feeling invested in the series. In part because tournament arcs provide an easy to use template for establishing character relationships, create unexpected match ups, ground character arc trajectories, and provide payoffs if used later in the story. The big plot point introduced in this arc was the #2 Hero Endeavor and the relationship with his son, Todoroki. If All Might is the honest public face hero, then Endeavor is the power obsessed guy. He destroyed his family and took extreme measures to produce a child that can beat All Might. Todoroki's story begins with him outright rejecting his father. However, this changed during a fight with Deku. Deku and Todoroki are both foils and yet mirrors of each other at the same time. They were both blessed with powers that were not obtained naturally. Deku was given a quirk on the spur of the moment from All Might. Todoroki was given his abilities in service of someone else’s goals. One accepts their reality and the other does not. Deku showed that Todoroki accepting the power is not the same as acting in father's wishes. He should use the powers gifted to him in whatever ways he sees fit. This moment comes with the first end of chapter title drop and the moment when Horikoshi’s writing clicked into place for me. The scene when Todoroki uses his flames for the first time is powerful because I loved how they were depicted coming out so naturally. These flames are a part of himself and always have been. Todoroki has at last accepted that side of himself going forward.

After the tournament, it shifts into a short arc with the Killer Hero Stain. He brings up the idea that Heroes should be more than symbols for people to worship, and instead Heroes should practice what they preach. He sees All Might as the only authentic hero to follow. This is the first time we see a villain figure making a valid point that pins down one of the faults to hero society. Stains describes how everyone is doing it for fun, out of obligation, or for making money. All Might is someone whose confidence is so strong that his hero persona and outward personality are one in the same. Sadly this arc was too short to fully explore the idea, but it would come up again later. Jumping ahead, the series quickly reached its first major story climax: All Might vs. One For All. I went into this fight thinking All Might was going to die and was very surprised when he didn't. The master passing the torch to his student through a death scene is such a common trope (which yes, it made me even more surprised how All Might survived the entire story). I was on the edge of my seat when reading this weekly and consider it a high point of the series. This fight ended up marking the beginning of the end to the Hero Society. All Might's retirement shakes the very foundation of the Hero world. Who can possibly replace someone who inspires people from all walks of life? From this point on, Deku and Shigaraki are now walking similar paths as the heirs to this conflict. The following arcs saw the league of villains poking at the cracks and expanding the seeds of distrust.

When manga serializations are constantly one-upping itself on story climaxes, it can be hard to return to any semblance of a daily life in the aftermath of major moments. This middle section of the manga from about volume 12 to 24 is a boring stretch of the series. First getting the provisional licenses felt unnecessary in the grand scheme since there's really nothing stopping them from fighting the bad guys other than technical loopholes in the writing. Then the Shie Hassaikai arc was almost like canon filler to me. It amounted to very little at the time and came off like a side quest. (This arc also marks the beginning of frequent breaks). Afterwards the U.A. school festival was a refreshing turn back into school life but still, Gentle isn't the fodder we need to see. Lastly, the worst offender of this stretch by far was the class A vs. B matches. A tournament style arc just for show. No stakes. Nothing of consequence. It basically paused the story for about 2 volumes. Thankfully Horikoshi would resume the plot right afterwards with a bang.

My Villain Academia is exactly what the story needed to get itself back together. The League of Villains seemed like they were supposed to be foils for class A-1 and yet any comparable character development just wasn’t happening. This was finally going to change. This arc focused exclusively on the villains and each member would get a quirk power up, while Shigaraki received the rampaging ally Gigantomachia. We also have the Tenko: Origin chapter to put his past into perspective. While I still have issues with the villain writing, it felt like the villains could finally stand on their own in the story.

The momentum continued into the Paranormal Liberation War. An all-out fight between the heroes and villains at their peak across multiple areas of Japan. The countdown to Mirko stopping Shigaraki from reaching his true form was thrilling. Then came the first real clash between Deku and Shigaraki. However, the star of the show for this arc was undoubtedly Dabi who effectively canceled Endeavor’s entire career. Dabi exposed the past of Endeavor by explaining his own story. He showed that Heroes put up a public positive face to hide their power hungry desires motivating them behind the scenes. This makes Heroes no different from villains in many regards. These words brought an end to Hero society as we knew it. The public was already feeling uneasy after the retirement of All Might, and signaling out Endeavors’s past showed how the system was built on an image, not human understanding. Japan was left in ruins, numerous convicted villains were released back into the wild, and the people have nobody they can trust.

I consider the spread page above to be my favorite from the entire series. Horikoshi’s art reached new highs throughout the Paranormal Liberation War arc. His ability to depict Shigaraki as a real force of nature against the Heroes was crazy good. You could really feel the impact behind every attack on each individual and the surrounding environment. Shigaraki ability is something that alters landscapes wherever he goes.

The final stretch of the story begins with Deku acting like a vigilante. Hero Society at-large has hit its lowest point where the institution of Heroes who maintain public safety is no more. The public is scared for their life. Heroes have largely abandoned their post. One for All and the strongest villains are on the loose, and Deku has been completely worn down by the burden of his role. His mind has entered the idea that only he alone can fix this. The Lady Nagant storyline was awesome. She is someone who had to adapt to survive in these precilous times. A hero and a villian is only matter of perspective after all. Sometimes people will do what they need to in order to survive. If even our main character can be swayed then where is the line hero and villain?

The Dark Deku arc is when Deku is stripped down to his core convictions: the desire to protect his friends and defeat One for All. However it's the very friends that he was trying to push away, who ultimately reached out the hand to save him. Deku has touched each of their lives in ways he can't even begin to imagine. Now it was time for them to return the favor. This brings the story to a touching scene where Uraraka yells to an audience of scared citizens to remind them how Heroes are people too and Deku is one of them. This section is my favorite part of the entire story. It felt like everything had changed. We didn't know where the story was going next nor where to begin tackling the awful state of the world. Everything was so raw. It was an exciting time to be reading weekly.

After reaching a new series high, we drop down to one of its lowest points in my opinion. Star & Stripe vs. Shigaraki was an absolute shame. There should have been a study abroad arc so Deku could meet and experience heroes around the world. So when the Number One American hero is introduced, with death flags, I was skeptical about why. I don't like when characters are introduced just to die immediately. The whole point was to artificially weaken Shigaraki so the heroes would stand a chance in the upcoming final battle. Similarly, I would have liked the traitor reveal if it had been more important throughout the story. Barely came up after the training camp arc in volume 9. It came off like Hoirkoshi just needed to check off that box to appease readers before entering the final battle. But, finally seeing Hagakure’s face was a very nice reward. Despite the stumbles to set up the final battle, I thought it was incredible. One of the best in recent memory from Jump. A fight with the future of Japan on the line across numerous locations. In shonen manga style, it pulled in every single character from throughout the series, used all the mobs to their fullest, and pitted villains vs. their foil villain character. Iit definitely checked off all the boxes of what you need for a grand finale to a long running battle shonen. I think Dabi and Todoroki got the thematic ending it needed. Spinner could have used a little more focus. Himeko and Uraraka reached an understanding at the very end that was probably the safe end for their storyline. I loved seeing the floating stage slowly descend to the surface as the climax approached, while the fighting began to center around Deku and Bakugo. Horikoshi once again reached new artistic highs I couldn’t even imagine throughout the final battle. I like to think the frequent breaks allowed him to pace it better than you typically find in Jump manga final arcs.

As the series comes to close, I am left very pleased with where character arcs ended up. Deku is someone who had to grow up almost overnight. From a quirkless boy to saving all of Japan in the span of a year. He has something that All Might lacked. The spirit to never give up on leading a hand to someone in need. If All Might presented himself with confident bravado, then Deku was the honest human type. Shigaraki is someone who was beyond saving, and yet even if for a moment, Deku wanted to give the respect he deserved as a person. Deku losing his powers cements the story as being about a moment in his life. That he never took the powers he was blessed with for granted, and used them to the fullest throughout the story. I appreciated that Horikoshi made no effort to justify the villain's actions (besides partly Himeko). They are a product of unfortunate circumstances and deliberate choices which brought them to this point. Their actions speak for themselves. This applies to the heroes as well. Endeavor is a complex man with a storyline that reads more mature than you'd expect at first glance. He is a man who drove his family to ruin for the sake of strength, and those choices came back to haunt him in the form of Dabi and Todoroki. He's effectively lost everything. I think Horikoshi stuck the landing by giving readers the final judgment if he should be redeemed or not. The family members were left mixed, and Endeavor is prepared to rebuild from nothing. Shigaraki’s death is best for the sake of tying a bow on the story. Deku indirectly caused it, but he doesn’t beat himself over it that much. The world is the same as it was before the conflict. Heroes will remain in people’s lives. The systemic issues of a Hero society that sells certain images of people and casts aside those who don’t fit will persist. Another person or organization like the league of villains could easily rise up again in the future. However, Horikoshi presents a simple solution. Leading a hand to each other is a good starting point towards making the world a better place. Happiness can spread from person to another, and lead to a better understanding of those we don't know. It takes collective action to make the world a better place for everyone and that can begin with a single person.

So overall, what do I think of My Hero Academia? Ending at 430 chapters is an incredible run for a weekly manga in this current era. Horikoshi covered a lot of characters and topics, many of which I still didn’t cover at this post. I think the series has some of the strongest battle manga highs we’ve seen in the past decade, and of course some parts could have been better. I take issue with pacing and writing choices at times. The villains collectively speaking were the weakest aspect, but the genuine passion for Heroes shines through in every aspect of this work. He used that as a lens to look at problems of the world. Naruto is very optimistic with how communication is the key to bridging differences. My Hero Academia in comparison says that is only a piece of the puzzle. Everyone needs to make a conscious choice to reach out to others. We all can be a hero to someone out there. My Hero Academia will be remembered as the generation-defining Jump series of the past 10 years, In the same way its beginning overlaps late Naruto, perhaps in the future, Kagurabachi fans will remember how it started at the end of My Hero Academia’s run. My Hero Academia will finish as the 9th longest series ever in the history of Weekly Shonen Jump. This is a position it will hold long into the future. I don’t expect anything in the current line-up to come close in length. I've considered Horikoshi to be the best artist in the magazine for the past several years. He always kept improving right up to the end with insanely detailed panels and spread pages. His presence in the magazine will be missed. Thank you Kohei Horikoshi. It's been a long ride. I'm glad you could finally cross the finish line. I look forward to whatever you might do next in the future!

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