Deku was All For One's natural enemy in My Hero Academia, and his truly heroic spirit is the key

Modified Jun 21, 2024 21:00 GMT

My Hero Academia established a major contrast between Deku and All For One (Image via Bones and Shueisha).

My Hero Academia saw the defeat of All For One during the final war arc, and the manga is currently in the epilogue. Fans are still analyzing the evil overlord's role in the story and how that fits with the overarching narrative of the series.

A major element of the series has been what it means to be a hero, and this makes Deku the natural enemy for All For One since the former embodies a heroic spirit. A common theme throughout the My Hero Academia series is how several heroes struggle to be one and how All For One managed to defeat each One For All user since they all had one major flaw.

In that regard, Deku stands out from the former One For All users because he was totally committed to the concept of being a hero and also was willing to accept help from others, which is another contrast to All For One.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

Explaining how Deku was the perfect foil to All For One in the My Hero Academia series

Deku and the former One For All users (Image via Bones).

A major element of All For One's character is how he stands alone at the top and is willing to discard any connection he has to get what he wants. He also managed to exploit a weakness of each One For All user to defeat them and even destroy what they love the most, such as the case of the seventh one, Nana Shimura, and her family.

This is a direct contrast to Deku, whose entire character is centered around trying to become a hero and save people no matter what, which includes his own enemies if he is capable of doing so. That determination was a key aspect of Deku's victory over All For One since he didn't allow the latter to break him in any shape or form.

Furthermore, Deku eventually led his friends to join him in the final battle and they proved to be essential for the heroes' victory, which shows a willingness to count on the help of others. All For One lived alone and for himself, which is perfectly shown in the final battle as it was him against dozens of heroes.

What the epilogue could be for Deku

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The My Hero Academia epilogue has already established some plot points, such as the mysterious "new character" who appeared in chapter 425 and also the pending issues in the Todoroki family. However, it is understandable that fans want to know where Deku, the protagonist, fits in all of this.

It is very likely that the coming chapters will address Deku's state of mind now that he has lost One For All and only has the remaining embers, much like All Might when he handed the Quirk to him. This means that Deku is slowly going to lose his powers and become Quirkless again, it will be interesting to see what happens to him moving forward.

Final thoughts

Deku was a very good foil for All For One because they are direct opposites in the My Hero Academia series. Author Kohei Horikoshi made this very clear throughout the manga, and it makes sense that Deku defeated him at the end of the day.

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Edited by Gayatri Chivukula