Monoma deserved more focus in the My Hero Academia finale, and his role in the final war supports it

Modified Sep 12, 2024 08:30 GMT

My Hero Academia finale shows Monoma could have used more development (Image via Bones). — My Hero Academia finale shows Monoma could have used more development (Image via Bones)

The My Hero Academia finale has been divisive to a lot of people and several characters were given a raw deal, with class 2-B student Neito Monoma being an interesting example. While not the most prominent UA student in the series, Monoma was one of the most relevant when it came to class 2-B, and served a pivotal role during the earlier portions of the final war arc.

In that sense, it feels as if the My Hero Academia finale did him a disservice when considering that he was one of the key players in keeping Tomura Shigaraki on hold, and also one of the most charismatic characters in UA.

Moreover, his ability to copy other people's Quirks is quite fascinating, when considering the nature of One For All and All For One's own ability to steal powers from others. This could have been something quite interesting to explore.

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

Explaining why Neito Monoma deserved more attention in the My Hero Academia finale

Monoma as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Neito Monoma was key during the earlier events of the final war arc because he could copy other people's Quirks by just touching their shoulders.

He used Shota Aizawa's Erase Quirk to keep Tomura Shigaraki from using his powers, which proved to be pivotal in the final battle as Izuku "Deku" Midoriya arrived to fight the villain, especially considering that the UA teacher wasn't in top condition to do it on his own.

In that regard, Monoma was often treated as a gag character during the vast majority of the series, but the display of his abilities proved to be quite flexible and varied, thus showing that he could be a capable fighter in his own right. And while the epilogue of the My Hero Academia finale had him getting a statue for his efforts in the final war, fans would have loved to see more of him in the last chapter.

The final chapter of the My Hero Academia finale doesn't show much of class 2-B and Neito Monoma is absent. That has been something that has annoyed some fans, which makes sense when considering how vital he was for the final arc of the series, and didn't even get a panel in the conclusion.

The problem Monoma and other characters have

Monoma deserved more screen time (Image via Bones)

A major issue that was reflected by the My Hero Academia finale and characters such as Neito Monoma is the wide cast that author Kohei Horikoshi created and didn't manage to fully develop.

While the main characters, such as Deku, Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, Endeavor, All Might, and a few more, got a lot of time to shine and grow, there is no denying that there are many characters who didn't fare as well.

There are some other examples such as Tenya Iida or Eijiro Kirishima, who were characters with some focus and attention in specific arcs but lost a lot of prominence as the series went by. Characters like Ochaco Uraraka got a decent amount of focus, but there is no denying that her role was undermined during a large portion of the series.

Final thoughts

The My Hero Academia finale didn't give a lot of characters their time to shine and Neito Monoma was certainly one of them. He was a key player in the battle against the League of Villains, but didn't get a moment of attention during the final moments of the series.

Related articles

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay