My Hero Academia: Horikoshi hasn't written himself into a corner with Shigaraki and One For All's deaths, and it's obvious why

By Srinjoy Ghosh

Modified Jun 02, 2024 08:23 GMT

Horikoshi hasn't written himself into a corner with Shigaraki and One For All's deaths (Image via Sportskeeda)

My Hero Academia's Final War arc came to a definitive conclusion in chapter 423 of the manga, which saw All For One finally bite the dust for good this time. The final punch that Deku landed on the Demon Lord not only brought a decisive end to the war, but it also cleared the dark skies which were shrouded in a veil of clouds for almost the entirety of the Final War arc.

Additionally, My Hero Academia chapter 423 marked the respective deaths of both Tomura Shigaraki and the One For All Quirk. Although majority of the fanbase has been dreading this moment for a long time, Kohei Horikoshi managed to provide satisfying conclusions to both of them. He did it while simultaneously proving that he avoided writing himself into a corner.

Disclaimer: This article contains author’s opinions.

My Hero Academia: How Horikoshi delivered One For All and Shigaraki's deaths without writing himself into a corner?

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For the past couple of years, the My Hero Academia fanbase had pretty much expected the story to end with the deaths of Tomura Shigaraki and the One For All Quirk. That said, Deku is not only going back to his roots as a Quirkless hero, but also failing to save Shigaraki in spite of everything he has done. It is something that fans couldn't even think of accepting as a suitable climax for such a popular series.

If Kohei Horikoshi ended up going this route, there's no doubt that not all fans would have been pleased. As such, many thought that Horikoshi might write himself into a corner by removing both Deku's One For All Quirk and Shigaraki from the narrative since they had the preconceived notion that the ending wouldn't be as gratifying as they had hoped.

Fortunately, Horikoshi managed to deliver an overall satisfying conclusion and an aftermath to the Final War arc and its characters. Shigaraki's death is not something that could have logically been avoided in spite of how beloved the character has become. Meanwhile, One For All was confirmed to be still alive inside Deku's body in chapter 424 of the My Hero Academia manga, albeit in the form of embers.

Deku as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

While it can be argued that My Hero Academia's ending was somewhat predictable, it doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't good. In fact, the latest chapter of the manga was perhaps the most satisfying one yet, as it perfectly wrapped up the Final War arc and provided overall meaningful conclusions to several characters.

Although some fans on social media weren't exactly pleased about Shigaraki's fate and how little time he got for his sendoff, it wouldn't really make sense for him to get a whole chapter dedicated to his conclusion. One may argue that the final moments of Shigaraki's battle against Deku, along with his team-up with the latter to defeat All For One in chapter 423 was the perfect way to conclude his character.

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On the other hand, Deku has already etched his name in the world as the Greatest Hero and a worthy successor to All Might. He accomplished everything he set out to do like defeating All For One and saving Tenko Shimura's heart.

It can be argued that Deku doesn't really need One For All anymore, especially since he was being built up to be the last wielder of the Quirk anyways. Furthermore, with All For One's defeat, the purpose of the One For All Quirk has essentially been fulfilled. As such, it wouldn't make much sense narratively if it were still around unless there was another reason for its existence.

There aren't many directions that fans may have predicted the story of My Hero Academia to go, especially since it was essentially a story of how Deku and his friends became the greatest heroes in history. On that note, it can be concluded that Horikoshi certainly didn't fail to deliver a fulfilling ending to the story and its characters.