Warning! Spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 373!
The latest and final arc of My Hero Academia has felt incredibly rushed, which has led to many major plot points and conflicts not landing with the impact that they should. Nowhere is this more evident in the manga’s latest chapter which wrapped up a complex analog of real-world discrimination much too quickly to be satisfying. It is a worrying sign for the manga's other major unresolved plotlines.
My Hero Academia is currently in its final arc featuring the final showdown between All for One's army of villains and the collected might of Japan's heroes. The series has been building up to this conflict since it started, so fan expectations are quite high. But the arc has been plagued with some controversial moments and a pace that feels rushed. The manga's author Kohei Horikoshi has stated that he planned to end the series by the end of 2022, so this fast pacing makes sense. But it can also negatively impact the series, as the latest chapter shows.
In the past couple of chapters, the series has focused on Spinner marshaling people who have been oppressed because of their mutant class quirks to try and rescue Kurogiri. Shoji and Koda, two UA students who also have mutant quirks try to stop Spinner's mob and get them to see reason. Convincing a rioting mob of anything is a monumental task made even more difficult when they are rightly upset over the way they've been treated. But in chapter 373, less than 5 chapters after the conflict is introduced, Koda and Shoji convinces the mob to stop fighting, with one nameless character serving as a representative of the entire group realizing that attacking a hospital is not the way to avert their suffering.
My Hero Academia's Rapid Pace Is Diminishing Important Moments
Given the complexity of the situation and the parallels to real-world discrimination, this facet of hero society deserved to be explored in more depth. The speed with which the conflict was resolved made it feel both rushed and under-explored. It also undercut the character arcs of Shoji and Koda who were finally getting development after hundreds of chapters of being relegated to the background. This is a shame given how great these conflicts and character arcs can be when My Hero Academia gives them the time they deserve.
Hopefully this trend won't continue in some of the more important conflicts like the fight between Deku and Shigaraki. But even if it doesn't the damage to this arc has already been done, tarnishing a meaningful exploration of real issues. Given this, My Hero Academia fans should keep their expectations in check for the rest of the series and not get too excited to see the fights featuring other side characters that Horikoshi has teased.
My Hero Academia Chapter 373 is available to read from Viz Media.