Hi, I know you said you didn't want to talk about this last chapter until the other rereads, but you're one of the few blogs that I trust won't respond with biased information about any particular ship or character. I'm hearing that there's a problem with chapter 431, that it shouldn't be counted as part of the chronology because the author didn't write it or something? but it doesn't appear in the final volume and is part of the end? Sorry for the question, I'm just really confused.
This comes from a misinterpretation of commentary written by Horikoshi expanding on the metaphor of BNHA as live theater. That theatrical connection has long been established. There was a reason the manga was split into three acts; the story focused on masks, roles, stages, etc.; and the manga spent so much time breaking the fourth wall and speaking of fantasy and reality.
I'm paraphrasing, but Horikoshi's commentary was that chapter 429 was the end of the play, chapter 430 was the curtain call, and chapter 431 was what happened after the curtain fell and the cameras dimmed.
It makes sense why chapter 429 would be "the end" of the play. It was the end of the hero society where everyone played black and white roles with very particular masks. (Because Shigaraki destroyed the stage). The play reached its conclusion with an ordinary person putting down the mask and reaching out to the child in need in front of them.
Chapter 430, where it ends with a spread of all of Class 1A, is the curtain call. If you've ever seen a play live, the actors all come back on stage for one final bow to the audience. That is the role of chapter 430.
Chapter 431 is what is left after all of the dramatics of theater are gone. The stage is no more, the masks are destroyed, and the roles will never be the same. Their current roles may eventually disappear entirely. This chapter is what they chose after the fantasy ended.
Even if the final two chapters were "extras", it would be dubious to argue they aren't canon. This argument is either coming from a place of those unhappy for shipping or other reasons...or they don't read much. Seriously, epilogue chapters (even those labeled as extras) set after a time skip are common from mainstream YA novels to Korean webtoons. Some folks in this fandom interact with BNHA as if they have never read a book before and it's mildly concerning...
Beyond that, acting as if a chapter included in a published volume of a text isn't canon is absurd on its face. Even if Horkoshi said it wasn't, at that point apply Death of the Author and actually read the manga as presented.
Tl;dr: Yes, chapter 431 is canon. It's in the official final volume and Horikoshi's commentary about this chapter was part of a metaphor about BNHA as a play.
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