My Hero Academia is Ditching Deku, and That's a Good Thing

Screen Rant

How My Hero Academia Ditching Deku Improved the Series

By Ben Sockol

Updated Sep 14, 2023

My Hero Academia's main character Deku is likely going to be off screen for the next couple chapters, which is a good thing for the rest of its cast.

Summary

Deku's absence from the final battle in My Hero Academia allowed the series to focus on other characters and their unresolved character arcs.
The strategic splitting up of the characters provided opportunities for growth and development, such as Endeavor and Hawks stepping into their roles as top pro heroes.
Various battles and conflicts were explored during this period, including ones that weren't initially set up, giving the supporting characters a chance to resolve their own feelings and stories.

While Deku is the main character of My Hero Academia, the series boasts a large cast of characters, many of whom still have unresolved character arcs. Chapter 348 set Deku off on a race to Shigaraki's location, effectively taking him out of the final battle for a good long while. This extended absence offered the series an opportunity for these arcs to be wrapped up.

My Hero Academia, a superhero manga by Kohei Horikoshi, is currently in its final arc, a war between the Hero Association and My Hero Academia's League of Villains. The fighting is occurring on several fronts in various locations, with both the heroes and the villains split up between them. The heroes tried to set up these battles in a way that they would have the maximum chance of victory, but Deku was taken away from his intended battlefield by Himiko Toga. This left the group of heroes fighting Shigaraki at a major disadvantage, despite the large number of heroes present.

My Hero Academia Secured Its Characters a Chance for Growth

At the end of chapter 348, Deku left the battle with Toga to head towards the fight with Shigaraki. Even though Deku can use his quirks to travel very quickly, Shigaraki is about 200 kilometers away from where they were fighting Toga, so it will still take a fair amount of time to get there. For several chapters, Deku is heading towards My Hero Academia's big battle with Shigaraki, which let the series focus on other characters and fights in the meantime. Horikoshi was able to resolve some character arcs without detracting from the battle that the whole series has been building up to.

The characters were split up in a very particular way, setting up fights in the heroes' favor as well as providing opportunities for character growth. Endeavor, Hawks, and All for One were all deposited in the Gunga Mountain Villa site, which offered a chance for Endeavor and Hawks to truly step into the role of the top pro heroes. Shoto Todoroki was left to face off with his own estranged brother, Dabi, at least until Dabi was teleported away to fight Endeavor. Dabi's battles against his own family gave them the opportunity to bring the long-running Todoroki family drama to a head. The battle between Ochaco and Toga gave the two girls a chance to resolve their own complicated feelings as well.

Other battles were also visited throughout this period, including ones that weren't so clearly set up beforehand. For example, there's also the conflict between Spinner and his heteromorph followers, trying to free Kurogiri, putting them up against Shoji and Koda, two of Class 1-A's own heteromorphs. The story also took the time to check in with Shinso, who was eventually able to use his speech modification gear to take control of Gigantomachia. Even characters who haven't been seen in many chapters, like Gentle Criminal and Lady Nagant, made reappearances for the final battle, although admittedly they showed up after Deku (temporarily) returned to the spotlight.

All of these fights and character arcs could have fallen by the wayside if the battle between Shigaraki and Deku had begun immediately. That fight between the successors of All for One and One for All is what the whole series has been building up to. By taking Deku out of the picture for a while, My Hero Academia expertly set the stage for its large cast of supporting characters to complete their character arcs before the true final battle begins.