My Hero Academia Chapter 358: Bakugo debuts his new moves and weapons to take down Shigaraki/AFO

Instead of focusing on Deku, as was predicted in the last chapter, My Hero Academia Chapter 358 returns to the U.A. and the heroes’ battle against Tomura Shigaraki. While the focus is clearly on Bakugo and his new artillery, AFO’s views regarding a post-war world also become clear in the chapter.

On the other hand, Bakugo’s growth and character development have come full circle in this chapter. Despite the impressive showdown between the heroes and Shigaraki, My Hero Academia Chapter 358 makes it clear that Shigaraki still has the upper hand.

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My Hero Academia Chapter 358 showcases the clash of ideals between Bakugo and Shigaraki/AFO

In the last chapter, Endeavor overpowered AFO in the Gunga Mountains, but the villain had previously subjected himself to a drug that allowed him to regenerate. Across the ocean, Yoichi sensed something was amiss and warned Deku, who was prepared to fight a slew of incoming unidentified objects.

My Hero Academia Chapter 358 is titled “The Guy Who’s Made Some Progress.”

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My Hero Academia Chapter 358 synopsis

The chapter begins at U.A. High, where Shigaraki is still attacking the heroes with his growing flesh. The heroes try their best to evade the growth, with Best Jeanist making it clear that their goal is to keep moving so that the flesh does not swallow them. They aim to find Shigaraki’s main body. Edgeshot is in disbelief that this is not a quirk, but AFO, now in control of Shigaraki’s body, explains that as the All for One quirk settles into this body, stolen quirks manifest in new ways.

AFO goes on to say that today’s world is divided by differences and disparities in status and ideals. Under AFO’s tyrannic rule, everyone will be equally oppressed, thus unifying the world. Bakugo thinks how everyone, from Monoma to Yaoyorozu, has worked their hardest to keep this fight going. He retorts that he knows the disparities, but he had to overcome them to keep pace with the incredible people around him.

Here, Bakugo debuts his new equipment, Suppressive Heavy Mobile Unit: Strafe Panzer, which is an array of machine guns poised above his shoulder and powered by the sweat produced by his movement. After blasting AFO with it, he debuts his new attack, which he had talked about in Chapter 335, called “Howitzer Impact: Cluster.”

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Final thoughts

My Hero Academia Chapter 358 makes it clear that Shigaraki’s body will continue to change and manifest such new and dangerous attacks which cannot be nullified. However, it is still unclear how far AFO is in control of this body, considering that he is still maintaining that old body in the Gunga Mountains.

It is uncertain if and how much, Bakugo’s attacks will affect Shigaraki. However, My Hero Academia Chapter 358 does clear up some things. Firstly, Cluster is not an entirely new attack but an improvisation of Howitzer Impact. Secondly, Strafe Panzer was created by the support group, which is in itself an anomaly considering the tight control Bakugo asserts over his new equipment. Thirdly, Strafe Panzer needs a larger quantity of Bakugo’s sweat than his grenades.

Bakugo’s character development comes in full circle in this chapter. His negative arc had been completed during the Deku Retrieval sub-arc, with his apology to Deku. This chapter shows his growth beyond that point and allows him to build a positive character arc from that point forward. His open acknowledgment of other people’s superiority and his own deficiencies indicate a sense of maturity, which will be further expanded upon in upcoming chapters.