9 ways My Hero Academia's story could've been extended by Horikoshi

My Hero Academia is currently in its epilogue arc, and now that the final war arc has concluded, it is interesting to look back on the story and see the different ways author Kohei Horikoshi could have extended the series. While this might not be necessary to some fans, there are always people who would like to see more of their favorite series.

Furthermore, Horikoshi set up several different plot points or concepts in My Hero Academia that could have expanded and added more to the story. Elements such as the international heroes or the backstories of some characters probably deserved much more focus, although that is always in the eye of the beholder.

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

9 ways Kohei Horikoshi could have extended the My Hero Academia story in a natural manner

1. More flashbacks of the One For All users

The One For All users perhaps deserved more attention (Image via Bones)

The interesting part regarding the One For All users is that they are an important part of the story, but only three of them, Yoichi, Nana Shimura, and All Might, got a considerable amount of screen time and fleshing out. The remaining users were mostly sidelined and often just used when explaining their Quirks to Deku.

Understandably, Horikoshi didn't choose to give every single One For All user a fully developed backstory or explain a lot of their lives because it could have hurt the story's pacing. However, it would have been interesting to see more of how they got the Quirk and, ultimately, how they fell at the hands of All For One in a much more satisfying manner.

2. An All Might flashback arc

All Might's past could have been explored more in My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

There is no denying All Might is among the most popular characters in My Hero Academia, and his backstory is strongly connected to All For One, Nana Shimura, and, to some degree, Tomura Shigaraki. Therefore, Horikoshi could have played into that and written an All Might flashback arc to show the Number 1 Hero's rise to the top and perhaps even his legendary battle with All For One.

It is fair to say this arc would have been more fanservice than anything else, but it is also true that it would have been amazing to see. Very little is known about All Might's training in the United States or how he faced All For One's criminal empire when he returned to Japan, and this arc could have filled in the gaps in that regard.

3. More about the Hero Public Safety Commission

This concept, involving Lady Nagant and Hawks, was added way too late (Image via Bones)

Horikoshi has many strengths as a mangaka but has a weird habit of adding interesting concepts and not further developing them. The Hero Public Safety Commission might be the best example of that trend, especially considering it segways perfectly into the story's theme of hero society being extremely flawed.

Lady Nagant and Hawks were groomed by this organization to do gruesome jobs for them, and the story never truly explored the full length of its reach. Furthermore, considering how heroes like All Might and Endeavor are so important, it would have been interesting to see their stance on the matter and how that fits with their morals.

The truth is that My Hero Academia presented this concept during Deku's vigilante arc as he was facing Lady Nagant, and the story never gave it the focus it deserved. However, that would not be the only case.

4. More about the supporting cast

Several My Hero Academia characters deserved more focus (Image via Bones)

One point that many critics have mentioned throughout the years regarding Horikoshi's writing style is that he has created too many characters for the series, thus leading to many of them feeling underdeveloped or cast aside. A prominent example is Tenya Iida, who started as one of Deku's closest friends and was slowly pushed to the background after the Stain arc.

Another case is the likes of Eijiro Kirishima and Momo Yaoyorozu, who had their own small arcs for development but were then pushed aside, thus feeling out of place in the overarching narrative. Even someone like Ochako Uraraka, who perhaps was more prominent than the aforementioned characters, had her arc of becoming a hero to make money for her struggling parents pretty much ignored in favor of her rivalry with Himiko Toga and her romantic interest in Deku.

Understandably, not every character can get as much development as someone like Deku or Katsuki Bakugo, but these aforementioned examples already had their own arcs to build from. However, Horikoshi slowly diminished their contributions to the story and probably deserved more focus.

5. The prejudice about the appearance of some people with Quirks

Shoji and Spinner are prominent examples of this underdeveloped concept (Image via Bones)

This example is fairly similar to one of the Hero Public Safety Commission in the sense that it was brought up too late into the story and would have been fairly useful to the overarching narrative. However, Horikoshi added this into the final war arc when Spinner fought Shoji, thus feeling underdeveloped and even pulled out of nowhere.

My Hero Academia's society has an obsession with Quirks, and the fact they were judgemental toward Shoji and Spinner should have been introduced and developed earlier in the story. However, Shoji never had a moment until this fight where that was a part of his character. Spinner, a loner before joining the League of Villains, was never very vocal about people mistreating him for his looks.

This is an important topic when it comes to the series' world-building, and yet Horikoshi only shoehorned it during this fight in the final arc. It should have been a major plot point in My Hero Academia, but instead felt underdeveloped.

6. More Deku Vigilante

Deku's vigilante arc should have been longer (Image via Bones)

Deku's time away from UA is a peculiar era in My Hero Academia since it is one of the few times where he is mostly on his own and has to deal with several different threats. Many people have praised Horikoshi's art during this period of the manga and wanted to see more of Deku on his own, slowly learning to use the different Quirks he inherited from past One For All users.

However, Deku didn't spend much time as a vigilante in the My Hero Academia series before returning to UA. While that was the right way for his character, many people have mentioned that this arc felt rushed. So, it would have been interesting to see more of this.

7. How All For One took over the criminal underworld

All For One's past could have been explored more in My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

There is a strong argument that My Hero Academia showed enough of All For One's past, and there wasn't any need to go further with his character. However, there isn't much information surrounding how he reached the top of the criminal underworld and who was ruling at the time.

In many ways, All For One's rise to the top mirrors All Might's since there wasn't a Number 1 Hero before the latter's arrival. Regardless, it would have been interesting to see how All For One became the ruler of the criminal underworld. However, there is an argument that this would have removed the air of mystery surrounding his character in My Hero Academia.

8. More about the international heroes

Star and Stripe is the only international hero that matters in My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

This is another of those My Hero Academia concepts introduced too late into the story and has become a bit of a plothole in the sense of its relevance in the series. It was revealed that most countries have their own heroes and were poised to get involved in the battle with All For One, but their respective governments didn't allow it, with only Star and Stripe ignoring the rules to help All Might.

Considering how Star and Stripe were already one of the most powerful My Hero Academia characters in the entire series, the potential of the international heroes can be quite significant. The story probably should have added a few more, considering how the entire world was at stake, making it one of the most underdeveloped concepts in the entire franchise.

9. Deku training abroad, much like All Might did

Deku should have trained with other heroes abroad (Image via Bones)

This connects directly with the previous point in My Hero Academia and might be the most complicated to execute. However, the series hinted through All Might's training in the United States during his youth that there are other countries with powerful heroes that the Japanese could learn from, which would have been an interesting path for Deku to follow.

Many fans were disappointed by the way Star and Stripe was handled by Horikoshi and how she was never given a chance to interact with Deku and All Might. Therefore, this could have been a great opportunity for Deku's character to expand the series' world-building; this didn't happen.

Final thoughts

There are certainly other ways Horikoshi could have extended the My Hero Academia story, but these are some of the choices that seem the most organic and logical. However, it is understandable if most fans think that the series was long enough and didn't have any need to go further beyond.

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Edited by Ivanna Lalsangzuali