My Hero Academia Almost Had a Completely Different Ending

My Hero Academia is a beloved anime and manga, and it officially wrapped up its run with the final chapter on August 4, 2024. In the finale, a lot of important quests were completed and Deku was able to save those around him from the main antagonist, All For One.

However, from how My Hero Academia started back in 2014, it seems that the ending was originally supposed to be completely different from what actually occurred. The characters, especially Deku, had different futures that saw them in completely different occupations and making a huge impact on the world as a whole.

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Where Does Deku End Up in My Hero Academia?

Some Fans Are Sad To See Deku’s Future

In the My Hero Academia manga, most of Class 1-A become famous professional heroes, and are well-known to the majority of the world. In particular, Bakugo and Todoroki are the top heroes that appear on posters everywhere, noting that they are household names at this point. However, in a surprising turn of events, Deku completely loses his quirk, and goes on to work as a teacher at U.A.

Deku ended up losing his quirk in order to save Shigaraki while up against All for One. Although he is still able to graduate from U.A., his future role as a teacher rather than a professional hero is certainly not the vision that many fans were expecting. Deku was always set up to be the greatest hero of all time, so his future as a teacher gave the feeling that he wasn’t quite on the level of his friends. Though he is eventually gifted a suit that allows him to work as a hero again, it still isn’t quite the same as Deku receiving his quirk again.

What Were The Original Predictions?

Some Early Predictions From Fans

As Deku states early on in My Hero Academia, he says that he became the greatest hero of all time. From this statement, many fans assumed this would mean that Deku, along with his friends, would become a professional hero in his future while still being able to utilize his special quirk. However, as he loses his quirk but still saves Shigaraki from All for One, it could still be considered that he ended up being the greatest hero.

There were many other theories out there as well, including Deku completely sacrificing himself for the greater good, or even the Quirk Singularity Theory coming into play. Needless to say, a lot of fans found the real ending to be a bit underwhelming compared to what they originally expected. Though Izuku technically gets to return to his true life as Deku, it just isn’t quite the same from his original position while at U.A. Based on previous hints and chapters, many fans believe that the ending could have been completely different from what Horikoshi originally had planned.

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How The Story Could Have Ended

A Possible Tragic Ending Could Have Occurred

Based on a few different interviews with Horikoshi, as well as a few fan theories over the years, it is highly possible that My Hero Academia could have finished with a much more tragic ending. Horikoshi has stated in the past that he really likes stories with dark plots, and even enjoys those without happy endings. However, he also added this with the fact that he struggles to put these kinds of plots into his own writing. Often, when he has to write a more tragic story, he follows it up with something that gives him and the readers some comic relief.

Due to this bit of information, My Hero Academia could have seen a much more tragic ending for Deku, such as having to completely sacrifice himself when up against All for One. This is something that Horikoshi had included in his early drafts, which heavily focused on self-sacrifice and redemption. He takes a lot of inspiration from western superheroes, which frequently have these themes in their content, such as when Tony Stark sacrifices himself at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Though many fans are unhappy with the current ending of Deku losing his quirk, the ending could certainly have seen him with a much worse fate.

My Hero Academia is now available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.

In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.

Release Date

April 3, 2016

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

7

Creator

Kōhei Horikoshi

Number of Episodes

159

MyAnimeList Score

7.90 (Season 7)

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