The My Hero Academia anime, which began in 2016, carried the torch high left by its predecessors, including Naruto, Bleach, and more titles. Over the years, the MHA anime received immense critical and fan acclaim and was crowned one of the best superhero anime in history. After a nearly decade-long run, the My Hero Academia anime is concluding this year after its eighth season. The source material, MHA manga by Kohei Horikoshi, ended in August 2024 and was met with mixed reactions from the fandom. However, I sincerely believe the My Hero Academia anime will work it out and provide a better experience for anime-only viewers than manga readers. Discover the reason why I’m certain about the MHA anime delivering a better ending here.
Spoilers Warning: This article contains spoilers for ending of My Hero Academia. Proceed with caution.
MHA’s Ending Didn’t Sit Right with a Lot of Manga Readers
With the defeat of All For One and Tomura Shigaraki once and for all in the MHA series, fans knew the inevitable end was so near. Earlier, the creator revealed that only five chapters of MHA remained at this point, and the final chapter was finally released on August 5, 2024. The day MHA fans feared finally arrived, and Horikoshi hung up his cape. After covering the aftermath of the final war, Kohei finally pressed the long-awaited ‘time-skip’ button and fast-forwarded to eight years later in the story.
Everyone has been waiting for this moment; however, the ending didn’t land well as everyone expected it to. Many agreed that while Horikoshi’s ideas were generally sound, he inadvertently crammed everything into the last 19 pages, resulting in poor execution when it mattered the most.
Without spoiling anything, Deku’s transition from a hero to a teacher to a hero again (with a suit) lacked proper pacing, and there were no satisfying hints or resolution to Deku’s romance with Ochaco. Moreover, the supporting character didn’t get enough time in the final chapter, which left a part of the fandom disappointed.
A few months after the original ending of MHA was published, a new additional epilogue chapter was included with the MHA final volume 42, released on December 4, 2024. To everyone’s surprise, this additional chapter successfully addressed some of the issues we ran into in the final chapter in August. Chapter 431, titled ‘More,’ finally showcased the lives of all our favorite superheroes post-final war.
This chapter also provided us with more insight into why Deku ultimately chose to be a teacher during the timeskip. A Class 1-A reunion, the current hero billboard chart, and finally, the Deku x Ochaco ship has sailed beautifully in the end. Fans who were disappointed with the ending previously appreciated the extended scenes we received in the additional chapter.
When Horikoshi finally gave us everything we wanted to see in the additional epilogue chapter, it ultimately softened the blow of the original ending we received earlier. Now, that brings us to how the anime can add more substance to the epilogue episodes to give a completely satisfying ending for the MHA anime fans.
My Hero Academia Anime’s Epilogue Episodes Will Set Things Right
As you can see here, the additional MHA epilogue chapter turned the tables when some of the manga fans felt let down by the original ending. The MHA anime has successfully covered all the thrilling battles of the final war, and only the epilogue chapters are left to adapt at the time of writing. With three more episodes to go, the MHA anime has ample time to adapt the final pages and flesh out the epilogue with anime-original scenes to enrich the ending.
In addition, MHA anime is heavily rumored to get a twelfth episode or a bonus OVA episode, which will adapt the most-anticipated additional epilogue chapter released with the final volume. If everything goes right, the additional epilogue adaptation will make Deku’s journey come full circle better than what was initially portrayed in the manga.
Bones Film has nailed the adaptation so far, with each episode scoring a rating of 9 or higher. We have no doubts that Bones Film will once again deliver with the epilogue episodes. With beautiful animation on cards, each voice actor will wrap up their MHA roles on a sweet note. Therefore, we are certain that the fans who have been sticking only with the anime will get a better experience witnessing the ending than the manga readers did back then.
In addition, the good news is that manga readers can also join this party and experience a satisfying conclusion in the upcoming weeks. That said, that’s our take on how the MHA ending adaptation will resonate better with the anime-only fans. Do you also agree that the ending will look much better in the anime? Let us know in the comments below.
