MHA: Everything Anime Fans Need to Know About the Manga’s Ending (2024)

After ten years of publication, the mega-popular My Hero Academia manga series has come to an end. Even if the final chapter is a bit generic and unfocused compared to other series finales, there's plenty for fans to unpack and analyze about the end of Izuku Midoriya's manga journey. As of Chapter 430, an eight-year time skip has taken place, making the final chapter far removed from the final battle against Tomura Shigaraki and All For One.

That means Chapter 430 allows Deku and all his friends to stride confidently into the future, and everyone almost seems carefree about it while a new generation of young heroes prepares for new adventures, including a certain boy named Dai. On the face of it, Chapter 430 is a casual send-off for the heroes while all is right in the world, but if fans read below that surface-level narrative, they may realize that the heroes have merely gone in a circle, and not that much has changed after all.

What Happens in My Hero Academia Chapter 430?

Deku is a Teacher, Dai Wants to be a Hero, and Class 1-A is Still Unified

As of Chapter 430, the series finale, a new era has begun in Japan and presumably, the entire world. A two-panel spread summarizes the process of class 1-A graduating UA to become pro heroes at last, and Deku is now a suit-wearing teacher who is more interested in inspiring others to fight than doing any fighting for himself, all while a boy named Dai dreams of becoming a pro hero in an age that hardly even needs such things. In short, the series has come full circle between students and teachers, creating a sense of endless continuity in My Hero Academia's world. Just the way Deku was once a 14-year-old kid who needed All Might, the symbol of peace, to scout him and prepare him for the superhero lifestyle, Deku is now that teacher who is igniting a fire of purpose and confidence in Dai's heart, all while class 1-A's students, from Ochaco to Shoto to Mina, are the new face of the pro hero industry.

Each of these things is worth some extra thought from longtime My Hero Academia manga readers. Even if this final chapter shows many familiar faces all at once, most of them only get passing appearances while Deku is the focal point (as fans would probably expect). This chapter shows that Deku has grown up a great deal, because even if he is still the same good-hearted person he always was, Deku has a more confident way to express it. He no longer has anything to prove, having already saved Japan with the power of One For All, and he has abandoned his excessive hero complex, odd as that may sound. All pro heroes are expected to risk their lives to defend and inspire other people, but Deku once took it too far in the final saga, hence his descent into his Dark Deku persona. He tried to save the world alone and assume all risks himself, but that was the wrong call.

Now, Izuku Midoriya is nearly the total opposite, and not just because he has become Quirkless once again. Izuku can change the world not by fighting alone, but by nuruturing the young, fresh minds of everyone else around him, making him a leader in ways he never could have as Dark Deku. He has nothing left to prove, and instead, wishes to help others prove themselves — such as Dai, who makes his debut in Chapter 430. Other students' happiness is Deku's own, and if this keeps up, Deku just might have the same warm, paternal aura that All Might once had around him as "Dad Might."

Chapter 430 is both an end and a beginning, which might feel appropriate for a shonen manga that's about superhero high schools. Izuku is no longer a student and has no Quirk, thus "graduating" him from the Deku whom fans once knew, but he can still fight, because his adventure is never truly over. That's because, at the very end, Izuku receives a suit of armor that allows him to fight as a hero once again, not unlike Quirkless heroes like Knuckleduster and even "Iron Might." That open-ended conclusion to Deku's narrative is a fine send-off for the character, giving him more of what he loves while making it clear that the plot-heavy power of One For All is gone for good. There's plenty to miss, but there's also plenty to look forward to for Izuku Midoriya.

Deku has plenty of good company in Chapter 430, too, because the 20 students of class 1-A are still a tight-knit group, even after 8 years and high school graduation. Fans can imagine UA graduates all going their separate ways as pro heroes and only occassionally seeing each other in civilian life or in the line of duty, but Chapter 430 suggests otherwise. In the last two pages, all of class 1-A's 20-something graduates are in a final group shot, Deku included, meaning the power of friendship is stronger than ever for them. It's entirely possible that class 1-A is the exception for how graduating classes normally behave once they become pro heroes, but either way, it's a heart-warming way to end the series. Not the passage of time, the loss of Quirks, or the hardships of the pro hero industry can keep these 20 crime fighters apart for long.

My Hero Academia fans may also note that aside from Izuku Midoriya being a sympathetic mentor to the young Dai, there isn't much of a personal angle in this swan song manga chapter. Unlike some other action manga finales, Chapter 430 of My Hero Academia has no canonical pairings of any kind, and Deku does not end up with anyone. While no action manga is obligated to create canon ships, it's a gratifying thing to see in the eyes of many readers, and it helps remind them that there's more to the hero's journey than fighting and training. Love and friendship are what make all those battles worth fighting, but there is no sign of that here. Each reader can decide whether that's a disappointment or whether it's appropriate, since Chapter 430 is about all of class 1-A as a team of friends rather than focusing on one person's potential love life.

My Hero Academia's Final Chapter Doesn't Guarantee That Hero Society's Problems Are Truly Fixed

Though Ochaco and Tsuyu are Making an Effort

As for the bigger picture, the final chapter of My Hero Academia clearly states that society has been peaceful for the last 8 years, to the point that there are fewer pro heroes than before, and that is why Dai is concerned he might not make it as a pro. However, it's possible that in the long run, such as a few decades down the line, the societal problems that led to the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army being formed may rear their heads once again. In many ways, Chapter 430 simply returns everything to the old status quo, and that status quo had operated on borrowed time. A cruel paradox led to a humanitarian crisis that the pro heroes could sweep under the rug, but not eliminate.

The problem with hero society was that for there to be pro heroes, the "right" people with the "right" Quirks, there also had to be the wrong people with the wrong Quirks by definition. The advent of Quirks rebooted humanity's habit of dividing and labeling itself, and that continued for generations until it reached a boiling point in My Hero Academia's main story. People like Himiko Toga and Spinner were born with the "wrong" Quirks and were thus doomed to be rejected and live on society's fringes, which created a self-fulfilling prophecy about them being villains. Not even the peaceful years with All Might around could solve that problem -- in fact, All Might's excessive power and symbolism may have aggravated the problem even more.

Now, in the final chapter, it's left to interpretation whether the paradox of heroes and villains can ever be truly resolved, or whether society is about to loop back around again and see another war of heroes vs villain outcasts who have nothing to lose. For the sake of a happy ending, My Hero Academia's manga had an optimistic tone as it concluded, allowing readers to infer that society was on the right track at last. For all fans know, that could indeed be the case, but it could also not be the case. Even with Ochaco Uraraka nd Tsuyu Asui counseling and guiding people about their Quirks, there's no guarantee that the paradox will return and violently divide humanity once again. So, the final chapter has a subtly ominous tone, depicting the same kind of era of heroic peace that All Might once had, and everyone knows how All Might's era ended.

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

Publisher

Shueisha, Viz Media