The End of My Hero Academia: A Retrospective on the Series
After an almost ten year run, My Hero Academia has officially concluded as of December 13th, 2025. This is following the manga’s official conclusion on August 5th of last year. While the anime is scheduled for an OVA (Original Video Animation) and the manga received an additional chapter, these are meant as extra content. The main conclusions serve as the story’s final epilogue.
The series has been immensely popular having sold over 100 million manga copies worldwide making it one of the most sold mangas in history. The anime itself has taken home many awards such as IGN’s Best Anime Series & Episode in 2018, and various Crunchyroll awards.
But what made My Hero Academia so popular? In many ways it was because of Izuku Midoriya and his supporting cast. For young children, it’s natural to look up to heroes. But, as you grow older and notice your own flaws, it becomes harder to see yourself in them. However, the cast in My Hero Academia were all flawed in one way or another.
Izuku, despite being a heroic ideal in terms of personality, was timid, awkward, and sensitive. Characters like Bakugo Katuski were brash, loud, and unapologetically rude. And then there were characters like Shoto Todoroki who experienced familial tragedy and abuse. Both heroes and villains in the story had their fair share of tragedy and flaws that audiences could attach to one way or another.
Additionally, it thrived on being an anime with a community where young people could find friends and talk about a show they liked. Having initially released in 2016, many teenagers now who watch anime grew up watching this show.
“I feel like it really made such a crucial part of my childhood. That’s really how I got all my friends and I’d say that was definitely one of my first real anime. I remember how happy it was being in 5th grade as episodes were coming out and getting to talk about it so ecstatically with everyone pretending we ourselves were in the show.
Seeing the characters’ journeys just felt so personal like I really could sympathize with everyone and experience everything with them in a way and seeing them all grown up and finished feels symbolic because I was in 5th grade and now I’m now a senior and they too have finished. It’s like wow life moves fast and from that show you’ll learn it moves fast but that you shouldn’t live it alone,” said senior Bella-Mia Saborio.
However, with such a popular show it’s bound to attract a crowd of people that the internet makes fun of with cringe TikToks, concerning behaviors and comments, and just weird behaviors. Because of the prevalence it was common for people to make fun of the show for its fanbase.
“It wasn’t so long ago that everyone would love to hate My Hero for being an anime with weird fans, and trust me some of them were weird. But I honestly blame the pandemic for all those weird behaviors which honestly felt like they happened more than in any other fandom. After the pandemic finished all the weirdness from the fandom pretty much disappeared I think. At least I don’t remember anything crazy after,” said Senior Huzaifa Khan.
As the show has officially wrapped up it’s been met with much praise. Its last season has been the highest ranked in the show’s history with no episode falling under a 9/10 on IMDB and other sites. This is even considering the complaints with the ending itself with (spoilers ahead) Izuku losing One For All and a general fast paced ending that made certain story elements like the mutant discrimination feel resolved too easily.
Nevertheless, it’s important to consider that no ending can be completely perfect or satisfactory to everyone. What My Hero Academia managed to achieve, however, was a conclusion that stayed true to its core message: that being a hero is not about power alone, but about perseverance, compassion, and the willingness to stand up for others. The show said it best, “Meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero.”
Izuku Midoriya’s journey ending without One For All was, for many fans, bittersweet. Yet it reinforced the idea that heroism was never defined by his Quirk, but by his choices. In the same way, the supporting cast’s futures—whether fully explored or not—served as reminders that growth does not end when the story does. Life continues beyond the final battle, just as it does for the audience watching.
As the final episode aired, it marked not just the end of a long-running anime, but the closing of a chapter for an entire generation of viewers. For those who grew up alongside the series, My Hero Academia will remain more than just an anime. It will be a shared memory, a point of connection, and a story that taught them it’s okay to be flawed, to struggle, and to rely on others just as much as Izuku did.
At no point in the story was he able to solve the current issue easily. He was weak, but that weakness allowed the people around him to rise up just like he did. They saw him continue fighting despite that and it inspired them to act.
In the end, My Hero Academia didn’t just ask what it means to be the greatest hero. It showed that anyone, no matter how ordinary they may feel, can make a difference. And as its story comes to a close, its impact will continue to live on through the fans who found comfort, friendship, and inspiration within its world.
