The rivalry between the heroes and villains in this franchise has been old as time. To make a strong impression, we're thrown back between the struggle on both sides: All Might and All For One. Their battle has much more impact than just than saving the world. From All Might's point of view, he's trying to save the next generation of heroes. In a plot scripted way, he's also destined to clash with the villian boss. It's a cliche of good vs evil yet My Hero Academia has embraced on its idea. Similarly, My Hero Academia does rely on some common superhero cliches in the final season. One of the recurring themes is character redemption as seen with Aoyoma and even lesser extent, the hero killer Stain. All For One's past is also revealed including his hatred for a certain character and his quest for revenge against All Might. Sound similar? I'm sure you've seen a superhero movie or two about a villain's crusade to exact revenge.
In the present, Bakugo also manages to follow his own path, not one with redemption but his own character. His fight with All For One represents selflessness and growth beyond his usual arrogance. It contrasts against All For One's one-sided blindness to achieve power and domination. Rather, Bakugo's endurance and to prove himself establishes him as a true hero this season. And finally, we cannot forget Deku's archrival in the show: Shigaraki. They're polar opposites of one another. Deku walks the path to create peace and hope, while Shigaraki seeks destruction and chaos, while trying to make things right in his vision. From his perspective, Shigaraki sees the hero system as flawed and tries to correct it in the most extreme ways possible. In one of the most profound moments in the season, we also see how Shiagraki reacts to his feelings and reponses. Even his final words show that he followed his path from the start, to destroy, than to create. However, this season finally allowed Shiagraki to find peace and end of his own suffering. For Deku, he managed to win a battle of ideals. His character is the foil compared to Shiagraki and like in any hero/villain story, one had to win and one had to lose.
My Hero Academia's path to get to the final season was never an easy one or without flaws. It suffered from some pacing issues and perhaps introduced more characters than we bargained for. Among the cast, some got lost in the fold while others were oversaturated. Deku, Bakugo, Shiagraki, and All Might are those who recognize the most throughout this franchise. And indeed, the final season put the spotlight on them to finish all their character stories. The final season also resolved the main storyline of the Final War Arc, a conflict that manifested from the first season. It took 10 years for the anime to reach such a conclusion but no doubt one worth waiting for.
My Hero Academia: Final Season is the amalgamation of Kōhei Horikoshi's hard work and colorful ideas written into a story for his fans to enjoy. While the series has its ups and downs, the final season didn't hold back to give a final conclusion, one that made the most sense from a plot perspective. There are times when I felt like the series tried to milk itself or stayed longer than its welcome. But for this season, 11 episodes felt just enough to sent this season into the sunset. The 10-year saga of the mainline MHA anime is now finally over.
