When the Final War arc began in the My Hero Academia series, we knew that not all our favorite characters would make it out alive. The inevitable has finally happened as author Horikoshi sensei has written off several characters in the final war of My Hero Academia. The final confrontation between the heroes and villains has concluded in the anime, and let’s go over the saddest deaths that left us in tears in the final war of MHA.
Spoilers Warning: This article contains spoilers about deaths in the My Hero Academia series. Proceed with caution.
5. Hero Killer Stain
The Hero Killer: Stain was one of the complex characters in MHA. While his intentions to correct the heroes who drift away from their roles may have been right, his cruel path to change the hero society was not at all acceptable. Thus, Stain has been one of the recurring antagonists in the series, but he decided to help the heroes by providing vital intel about the villains from Tartarus. He has made it clear that his idol was All Might in many instances. When his messiah’s life was in danger, Stain rushed in to help his hero, which eventually led to his death in the MHA series.
I never benefitted from higher education. It was you who taught me what a hero is. Live on, triumph, my everything, my All…!
Stain’s attempt to chain AFO with his Bloodcurdle quirk was a failure, as AFO kept a few backup quirks ready and countered his overpowered ability. Within minutes, AFO sent Stain flying and smashed him to death before the hero killer could complete his speech about All Might from the bottom of his heart. Thus, Stain left this world on a sad note, allowing fans to gain a deeper understanding of the character in his final moments.
4. Kurogiri
We never saw the twist coming related to Kurogiri at first. He was just a Nomu in our eyes until it was revealed that Kurogiri was made from the dead body of Oboro Shirakumo, the best friend of Aizawa and Mic. So our entire perspective on this character shifted in an instant, and we began to hope that there might be a chance of redemption for Kurogiri in MHA. Even though he is torn between his identities in the final war, Kurogiri did help the heroes by bringing them through his warp gates in the final battle against AFO.
I must protect Tomura Shigaraki. AFO, give back Tomura Shigaraki ah….
This act left him severely weakened, and on top of that, he ultimately decided to fulfill his duty of protecting Tomura. His warp gate to shield Tomura’s body miserably failed as Bakugo’s explosions reduced it to a crisp. Soon, Kurogiri began to vanish from existence. While his death may have come off all of a sudden, it is disheartening when you look at this character’s whole life.
3. Dabi
Dabi is a clear example of parenting gone wrong in a hero society. His parents’ relentless desire to make him the best hero in the world pushed him to become one of the most vengeful villains in My Hero Academia. Dabi should have died a long time ago, but his desire to exact revenge against his family kept him alive all these years.
Shoto, I’m Sorry…
He did get a chance to take everyone with him by transforming into a ticking bomb. But the Todoroki family came together to save their long-long kin this time. Though Dabi survived in the final war, he was barely alive at this point and had to live with the help of a life-support unit. Therefore, Dabi died several years later due to his injuries in the story. Dabi’s tale is another sad story that we could never erase from our minds.
2. Himiko Toga
Another tragic case of poor parenting in MHA was Himiko Toga. She was also seen struggling with a mental conflict throughout the series. In the final war, Ochaco Uraraka finally managed to have a conversation with Toga and changed her mind. But before that, Toga stabbed the hero, which pushed Ochaco to the brink of her death.
I’m Himiko Toga. I live and love how I please. That’s how I made my way in life. Just a normal girl with the cutest smile in the world!
Though she was a villain, Toga utilized her quirk to copy Ochaco’s appearance and transferred all of her blood to save her new friend in a heroic act. Thus, Toga’s final actions to save Uraraka led to her death. In the end, Toga came to accept herself, and her final words deeply moved the entire fandom.
1. Tomura Shigaraki
Tomura Shigaraki has been the embodiment of pure hatred and destruction in My Hero Academia. His hatred for the world burned so bright that he wanted to erase everything from existence with his quirk. However, Izuku found a crying kid deep inside him, and that was why he could never let go of the chance to rescue Tomura. AFO then revealed that he had been puppeteering Tomura’s life all along and made him his vessel.
Izuku Midoriya, if Spinner survived this tell him, that even to the bitter end, Tomura Shigaraki kept fighting to destroy.
Just as Tomura, we were heartbroken when we found out that he ended up this way after AFO orchestrated everything in his life. When Deku defeated AFO (who was in control of Tomura’s body) with the help of Tomura and his friends, his body turned into ashes. So, it was disheartening to see Tomura’s demise after everything that happened to him in the MHA series.
As you can see here, the villains were met with a cruel end more than the heroes in the Final War, yet their deaths will forever linger in our minds, especially Tomura and Toga. That said, what was the most heartbreaking death in My Hero Academia for you? Let us know in the comments below.
