My Hero Academia’s Final Season Does Not Disappoint

When My Hero Academia first aired in 2016, I was immediately captivated by the story of Midoriya Izuku (Deku). Despite being born without a quirk in a super-powered society, he clung stubbornly to the dream of becoming a professional hero. Despite his lack of confidence and timidity, Deku reveals himself a tenacious and uncommonly courageous individual. Impressed by Midoriya’s character, the Number One superhero and Deku’s idol, All Might transfers his power, One for All to Deku.

Deku gets into UA High, the prestigious high school of his dreams. For over eight years, we got to watch Midoriya struggle against all odds to eventually make this great power his own.  Then he learns of the dire origin of One for All and the existence of the greatest of all villains, All for One, realizing the true weight of the mantle that has been passed on to him.

My Hero Academia seriously ramped up the suspense and action in seasons six and seven with The League of Villains joining forces with the Liberation Army. The heroes go on the attack. The battle culminates into a large-scale melee and the world watches helplessly as all hell breaks loose and Japanese society collapses.  

As a longtime fan of anime, I respect this move. Many anime and manga series tend to attempt to minimize the stakes, or at the very least the damage done when the heroes fail to completely suppress the villains. It used to be that the heroes would save the day just in time to stop the world from being destroyed. Now stories like My Hero Academia and Kaiju No. 8 have thrown that milqetoast approach right out the window and are going for the jugular.

So far this season, All Might finds a way to confront All for One for the last time, despite his lack of super powers. Bakugo finally matures into the kind of hero he truly wants to be he acknowledges All Might and Deku’s influence on his evolution. I’m sure Deku and Kacchan’s chaotic rivalry doesn’t quite end here, but they’re finally at a point in their relationship where they can relate to each other as equals. The worst has already happened and everyone is giving it their all to save what’s left of the country and prevent a great evil from triumphing.

“My Hero Academia’s Final Season Is Falling Flat & We Know What the Problem Is” says Casandra Ronning of Screen Rant. They also mention that the viewership numbers for My hero Academia have decreased this season.

I think it’s a bad idea, though, to write off an entire season only three episodes in. If anything, it tempts me to dismiss what I’ve read as a symptom of the fact that no matter how a story goes, some audiences are never satisfied. I can understand, though, how watching seven seasons of an anime with continuously escalating stakes can lead to overly high expectations.

Even so, I think we owe it to ourselves to suspend our disbelief long enough to appreciate what the creators of My Hero Academia have managed to accomplish, and what they have in store for us as the story approaches its grand finale.