The My Hero Academia ending missed a major Shoto opportunity

Modified Oct 31, 2024 14:30 GMT

The My Hero Academia ending could have explored more of Shoto's character (Image via Studio Bones)

The ending of My Hero Academia has been divisive from the moment it was published and is very likely to continue that way, which is something that has recently been shown with the character of Shoto Todoroki. The eight-year time skip showed that Shoto became a very prominent hero and even moved away from his father's shadow, but there was a chance to explore the character a lot more.

Some fans, on platforms such as Reddit and X, have mentioned that Shoto could have become an activist against Quirk marriage in the My Hero Academia manga, which could have been an interesting direction for his character. On the other hand, there are also arguments to be made against this direction, thus justifying author Kohei Horikoshi's decision to avoid it.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the My Hero Academia series and reflects the author's opinion.

The My Hero Academia ending could have shown Shoto Todoroki as an activist against Quirk marriage

The Todoroki family as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Bones).

There is a section of the fandom that thinks the eight-year time skip during the ending should have shown Shoto Todoroki as an activist, working against the nature of Quirk marriage. As shown in the manga, his father Enji, known as the hero Endeavor, married his mother Rei because he wanted to conceive a son with fire and ice powers, to challenge All Might for the top position as heroes.

Therefore, while it has been shown in the series that Enji does care about his family and attempts to repent for his mistakes, the truth of the matter is that this arranged marriage caused a lot of harm to their children. Furthermore, considering that characters such as Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku "Deku" Midoriya were seen trying to change society through organizations or education, Shoto could have done likewise.

It could also show more details of what happened to his family after eight years and the death of his brother Toya Todoroki, most commonly known as the villain Dabi. However, this portion of the suggestion is a running problem of the final chapter, since it introduced an eight-year time skip with no clarity on the whereabouts of most characters in the series.

A counterargument for this suggestion

Shoto as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Bones).

The biggest issue in showing this suggested side of Shoto in the My Hero Academia ending is that Shoto Todoroki was never a character associated with activism. While Deku has always been willing to help others and Uraraka was known for her empathy, Shoto mostly focused on saving people as a regular hero and was never the most social of characters within the cast.

There isn't any major element or plot point that suggests that Shoto could have been an activist, which is why it could have been a weird direction for him. His family and his issues with Endeavor were certainly a major aspect of his arc throughout the series, but he never showed an interest in trying to help others going through similar issues because of Quirk marriages.

Final thoughts

There are many directions that author Kohei Horikoshi could have taken for Shoto Todoroki's character during the My Hero Academia eight-year time skip. While it is true that some people wanted him to take on the role of an activist, this also seems to suggest a general disappointment that there wasn't more shown regarding his life as a hero.

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Edited by Janhavi Chauhan