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My Hero Academia's final arc is continuing forward, given that Kohei Horikoshi has put the manga on break as of April 2023. However, this has drawn major concerns over the mangaka's health, the workload he's under, and other things.
Of particular note are the complaints that the final war is being dragged out far too much and is hurting the story as a result. The power-ups for the main villain, the switching between at least four different fights, and the four consecutive breaks have gotten some fans riled up. As such, this article will explore those complaints that the dragging out of My Hero Academia's final war is damaging the story.
Disclaimer: As this concerns elements not yet covered in the anime, the following article will contain My Hero Academia manga spoilers. The opinions therein only cover the author, fans, and the mangaka.
Examining how My Hero Academia's final arc being dragged out is hurting the story
Part 1: The continuing escalation of the villain fights
Most final battles in shonen anime and in superhero comics usually involve titanic clashes between super-powerful people. My Hero Academia is no exception, as nobody expected All for One, Dabi, Spinner, Tomura Shigaraki, or Toga to go down without a fight.
However, the problem some people are having is the constant escalation preventing a final conclusion to some of the fights, especially Dabi's. All for One and Shigaraki are understandable, they are the main villains of the series but will likewise be covered. Spinner got laid out by Shoji and Koda. Toga is still technically up but is already being worn down with the Sad Man Parade wearing off, thanks to the Shiketsu High students.
Thus, this leaves Dabi as the central point of contention. Most fans felt like Shoto triumphing over Dabi was a good conclusion, but it got extended via Dabi forcing a stalemate and getting teleported to All for One. Dabi is now considered one of the big threats that need to be taken out, as his flames are reaching nuclear bomb levels of heat and threatening to wipe out several cities.
The trouble people have with this, and with All for One for that matter, is that they should've gone down already, with some readers accusing the story of being ruined because of the constant out-of-nowhere escalation and not knowing how to end a fight. This is somewhat mitigated by All for One being forced on the defensive and All Might starting to take his last stand in chapter 386.
Part 2: A lot of "nothing" or random happenings
The Final Act Saga started way back in March 2021 with the Dark Hero Arc. That's about two years and two months. Several big crossover events from DC, like Crisis on Infinite Earths or Doomsday Clock, usually last about a year or two. The big difference is that those are multiple people working on an event, this is one person's work.
Even then, there's a not-so-insignificant portion of fans of My Hero Academia decrying the event due to dragging out with a whole lot of random events or "nothing". This particular complaint can probably be discarded, given just how much the status quo broke after the Paranormal Liberation War, and everything leading up to the final battle felt like emotional arcs that were built up.
However, they're not wrong in that My Hero Academia's final war is chaos. There's Dabi vs. the Todoroki family, including Endeavor and Rei teaming up in chapter 387. There's everyone teaming up to stall or otherwise stop All for One, including shattering his mask and brainwashing Gigantomachia. There's stopping U.A. from falling. There's Deku vs. Shigaraki, Ochacho and Tsu vs. Toga, Bakugo getting his heart fixed, Spinner's rebellion, and Kurogiri's role.
That's not counting the returns of the Shiketsu High students, Lady Nagant, La Brava, and Gentle, among others. The event feels like an Avengers-level emergency, where all hands are on deck to help against the threat All for One poses to Japan and the world at large. Some have argued that's far too much.
Point 3: It's taking too long
Time and patience are things most fans don't have to spare when it comes to a huge event like this. Something to remember about large events is that they're often pushed back or get bloated due to marketing departments, such as what happened with Marvel's Spider-Man: The Clone Saga.
Most events can take up to two years, with overall sagas lasting longer. My Hero Academia exemplifies this with the Rise of the Villains saga, from the Provisional Hero License Exam arc to the Paranormal Liberation War arc, which lasted roughly five years. For comparison, Dragon Ball Z's longest story arc only lasted three years with the Android Saga. Moreover, Naruto had its Shinobi World War arc last about four years.
As of now, My Hero Academia's final act saga has lasted for over two years now. By contrast, the so-far-longest running of the contemporary Big Three One Piece's sagas have lasted well over 12 years. However, it's worth noting One Piece is an outlier among some of the longest-running anime and manga.
The point about this one is that fans are starting to get impatient with all the breaks being taken and a lack of an ending in sight. Then again, other fans have rallied around Kohei Horikoshi to rest and recover his health and not end up like Berserk's creator. Crunch culture is real, and it does kill people.
Part 4: Too many people!
If there's one particularly complaint most people have had with long-running anime such as Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and even My Hero Academia, it's that their casts feel far too large for what's needed at the time and who gets the development.
It's not uncommon for My Hero Academia to be criticized for only truly focusing on Bakugo, Midoriya, and Shoto. This is despite having a cast that easily spans dozens. However, this complaint can be challenged by how many people considered one-offs or "unimportant" came back around in the final war, like 1-Bs Monoma, Manuel, plus La Brava and Gentle.
When a huge threat in mainstream superhero comics, such as Darkseid for DC or Thanos for Marvel, comes into play, there will be a major response from hero teams like the Justice League, the Avengers, and others. This event is that large scale for My Hero Academia. In other words, having characters join in on other fights isn't bad when the stakes are this high.
When even the movie characters get shout-outs and cameos in the final part, that's a good sign of a huge event. The returns of many beloved characters, the contributions of people normally considered nonessential, and the bulk of My Hero Academia is usually about teamwork rather than individual effort appear to be lost on people making this particular complaint.
Part five: It's undermining itself
This one has more validity, as the complaint combines everything above into one particularly devastating point. The problem with My Hero Academia's final arc dragging on for this long is the amount of undermining people, the constant out-of-nowhere escalations being contrived, and the time sink being too much.
That is, if one can call what happened in the Paranormal Liberation War arc a "victory." However, most fans were excited to see Dabi vs. Shoto. Then Dabi got loose from Shoto's final attack, and that excitement fizzled. Many readers wanted to see Toga go down and fear that it'll be settled off-screen, while some just want Izuku to wreck Tomura or fight him already.
For many, the discrimination against the heteromorphs plot line is far too much in the background to care about, particularly when audiences are supposed to care about Shoji, Koda, and Spinner. Furthermore, much of it feels like the author pulling things from out of nowhere: Dabi getting stronger, All for One having an unstable Rewind Quirk that makes him more powerful, Toga's Sad Man Parade, etc.
It would be one thing if any of this was explained or examined further, but topping it off are concerns about Horikoshi's health that leave fans wanting more. A lot of it is simple shonen logic: the villain has a final form (Frieza, Cell, and Buu in Dragon Ball Z), the antagonist gets stronger by the end and deals a lethal blow the hero comes back from (Madara to Naruto and Sasuke in Naruto), and there are previously unseen or unexplained trump cards the villain taps into.
It is a legit concern to have that My Hero Academia is dragging its feet with regard to the final arc. There are several valid concerns overall, as shown in this article, that dragging a final arc can ruin a story. Some are simple shonen anime logic, while others feel specific to this story.
Those that aren't used to events running long will inevitably have some complaints that otherwise seem foolish to those that have. My Hero Academia is just one example where running long runs the risk of damaging the story. If any complaints aren't in here, readers are encouraged to add them in the comments.
