Horikoshi deserved trust with My Hero Academia's side characters all along, & chapter 419 shows why

My Hero Academia chapter 419 is set to be released on April 8, 2024, but the early spoilers are already out. According to the spoilers, Kohei Horikoshi could be planning to finally give the side characters of his series some much-needed spotlight.

In the earlier chapter, fans speculated that the side characters had lost their spotlight because the series was completely centered around the battle between Tomura Shigaraki and Izuku Midoriya. However, things seem to have changed in the recent chapter. The author might have planned something grand for the side characters as they make an entry when the protagonist has no hope of fighting back.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the My Hero Academia manga series.

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Why the side characters are still a big part of the final battle of My Hero Academia

All for One, as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

According to the spoilers, chapter 419 begins with a conversation between the All for One vestige and a limbless Izuku Midoriya. The villain reveals his plans for how he was responsible for Tomura Shigaraki's demise from his birth, while the latter is seen disintegrating in his imagination.

The villain starts by describing his failed attempt at capturing One for All through two of the vestiges when they were human. He later tells the tale of Tomura Shigaraki. All for One forced Kotarou Shimura, Tomura's father, to have another child after his daughter because the latter didn't fit his description. As soon as Tomura was conceived, the villain abducted him and transplanted Decay.

After this conversation, Deku was forced out of Tomura, and All for One emerged as Tomura Shigaraki, declaring the latter dead. As Deku tried to stop the villain, he was hit by extreme pain, and All for One tried to end him at the stop. Fortunately, Sero made an eleventh-hour entry and wrapped All for One in his tape.

Hanta Sero, as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Ajiro and Sato also made their entry after Sero, and they all went towards All for One to stop him. Aizawa also appeared through a portal and declared that their arrival could have been a little late as the situation had gone dire.

Since the start of the series, where the story has been centered around Izuku Midoriya, the side characters have also had their moments. In the second season, there was Todoroki and Ida; in the third, there was Bakugo; in the fourth, there was Jiro, and alongside the moments of these characters, there were times when the origins of some characters also won the hearts of fans.

However, during the final war arc, this spotlight seems to have disappeared for the side characters until chapter 419. So, this could be a hint that Kohei Horikoshi is aiming for redemption for his characters, whom he may have forgotten amid the final season's hype.

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Final thoughts

Hanta Sero, as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Interestingly, Sero, Ojiro, and Sato are among the few students of Class 1-A whose origins haven't been explored. So, these three characters could be set up for an origin reveal in the upcoming chapter. Out of these three, Seto's origins could be the most interesting because his quirk is considered one of the most unimpressive.

Hanta Sero's quirk is 'tape', which gave him organs in his elbows that dispensed tape. The tape he dispensed was stronger than normal tape, but this quirk couldn't be considered a significant one. So, it would be interesting to know how he reacted to receiving such a quirk when it manifested.

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