How did Deku lose OFA in My Hero Academia? Explained

Modified Aug 05, 2024 08:30 GMT

My Hero Academia and the answer to the question "How did Deku lose OFA?" (Image via Bones).

My Hero Academia chapter 430, the conclusion to the story, was released recently and there are some people who are still questioning how Deku lost OFA in the manga. That is mainly because author Kohei Horikoshi was a bit ambivalent when it comes to the way the scene was executed but the character did lose One For All.

This took place in the final war arc of My Hero Academia when Izuku "Deku" Midoriya was going up against the leader of the League of Villains, Tomura Shigaraki. This battle resulted in Shigaraki having the upper hand in this conflict, which led Deku to take desperate measures and give away One For All to fight the villain within the vestige world, although that came with the price of losing his powers forever.

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

Deku ended up Quirkless in My Hero Academia

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Deku lost his OFA Quirk during his battle with Tomura Shigaraki in the final war arc as the two characters were duking it out and the latter was proving to be the superior fighter. In that regard, Deku also attempted to reason with Shigaraki and tried to appeal to his humanity, although the villain rejected the notion that he still cared for others.

As a last resort, since he didn't want to take Shigaraki's life, the protagonist decided to give away One For All, one Quirk from a previous user at a time, so they could enter the vestige world and defeat the villain from within. That is how Deku slowly began to lose his OFA Quirk but he did manage to reach out to Shigaraki's, when he was Tenko Shimura, alongside the latter's grandmother and seventh user, Nana Shimura.

Eventually, All For One returned and took over Tomura Shigaraki's body, with Deku being the last man standing without his Quirk and his arms severed by the villain. He got support from the heroes and, together, they managed to defeat All For One, with Izuku using the dying embers of One For All, much like All Might did after giving that power to him at the beginning of the story.

The consequences of Deku losing One For All

Deku using One For All in the anime (Image via Bones).

The decision author Kohei Horikoshi made by taking One For All away from Deku was a controversial one among the My Hero Academia fandom, especially considering the conclusion that was shown in chapter 430 of the manga.

A lot of fans feel that this decision undermined Deku's achievements and hard work, ending up as a regular citizen who didn't even get public recognition for saving the world.

There are also those who think that Deku losing his powers as he tried to reach out to others and save people is a sign of heroism since he didn't care for having a Quirk but rather for saving people. In that regard, those who have that train of thought also believe that the protagonist receiving a special suit by All Might in the final chapter undermined that theme in the story.

Final thoughts

Deku lost his One For All Quirk against Tomura Shigaraki as he gave those powers to the latter so they could fight in the vestige world. Thus, the My Hero Academia protagonist ended the story Quirkless, just like he started, which is something that has been quite divisive to a lot of people.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande