My Hero Academia Chapter 353: Shoto’s victory over Dabi inspires everyone, new villains and locations unveiled

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 was the most anticipated chapter of the current arc in lieu of the cliff-hanger in the last chapter. The fight between Dabi and Shoto has been one of the most anticipated battles in the series, and this chapter finally provides a conclusion to that, although many believe it to be temporary.

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 flits across several battlefields, while keeping the focus on the aftermath of the battle between the brothers. Finally, readers get to see Endeavor’s reaction to the fight between his sons. Some new villains appear, and the locations of the rest of Class A are revealed as well.

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My Hero Academia Chapter 353 shows Shoto detaining Dabi, Mina and Kirishima fight Midnight’s killer

In the last chapter, Shoto recalled the concern and support that Class A has always shown him. He devised Phosphor solely to stop Dabi, and in doing so he managed to reclaim his purpose in life.

Despite Dabi’s claims that they could no longer walk the same path, Shoto attacked his brother with two new moves, one of which was his ultimate ice move, the “Great Glacial Aegir.” He implored his brother to stop, reassuring him that they could still move forward together.

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 is titled “Endeavor.”

[To keep it cohesive, this article will tackle the breakdown by location, not chronological order.]

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Kamino ward

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 begins in the Kamino Ward, where Shoto is seen holding Dabi up, with both brothers looking battered and wounded. Burnin announces to the entire ward that Dabi is down. The heroes deployed in the ward praise Shoto and encourage each other to follow the boy’s footsteps. They are seen battling the last of the nomus that arrived there alongside Dabi.

A few heroes discuss that nomus are easier to deal with when compared to the dangerous escapees from Tartarus, such as Gashly and Kuneida, two hitherto unmentioned villains. The heroes seem to be more in number than previously estimated, and Kamino Ward appears to be secured.

Iida supporting Shoto in My Hero Academia Chapter 353 (Image via Shueisha)

Shoto, severely wounded but still in a manageable shape, apologizes to Iida for overdoing his Ice and making it harder for Iida’s engines to function. Iida, overcome with emotions, hugs his friend and tells him that he has nothing to apologize for. Dabi is being carefully handled by a sidekick who wonders how he is still alive. While he looks unconscious, a silver light appears on Dabi’s chest.

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Command Center and Jaku Hospital

Next, My Hero Academia Chapter 353 moves to the Command Center, where they receive the news from Burnin. All Might is proud of Shoto, while Tsukauchi comments that despite a rough start, the heroes are making headway towards their goals. He encourages an emotional All Might to broadcast the news to every battleground.

In the ruins of Jaku Hospital where Gigantomachia is being kept, Mount Lady seems relieved that Shoto has prevailed as she fights off a horde of villains. The students deployed at this location are Ashido, Mineta, Kodai, Yanagi, and Honenuki. The villains seem shocked that so many heroes were waiting for them despite it being a sneak attack.

Their leader deduces that the heroes pretended to be scattered, while they sent a sizable force here because they knew that the PLF would try to reclaim Gigantomachia.

However, the leader says that they will crush the heroes like they crushed “That U.A. teacher,” indicating Midnight. This immediately draws Mina’s attention. Kirishima appears next to her, apologizing for the delay. He reports that the evacuation was completed successfully, so they can now fight without worries.

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Takoba Arena, U.A. High, and the parking lot

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 now cuts to the National Takoba Arena, where the Provisional Hero Licence Exam was previously hosted. Ojiro, Satou, and Sero are seen facing an unknown villain who has Sero worried. They also hear the news and cheer for their friend. At U.A. High, Bakugou is seen grinning and commenting that there was no doubt that Shoto would win.

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 then returns to the parking lot where everything began. A new individual seems to be controlling some tall, alien-looking flower-plants that have surrounded Aoyama and Fat Gum. The Individual introduces themselves as Kuneida, AFO’s newest assassin following Dictator’s failure.

Kuneida has realized that every villain was isolated alongside a hero who was compatible with them. Those who had no match were left in the parking lot for the remaining heroes to handle. They warn Aoyama that every villain left in the parking lot will be coming after him. Although Aoyama is visibly scared, he replies with a simple “Merci.”

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Central Hospital and Gunga Mountain

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 now moves to Musutafu Central Hospital, where Spinner has taken a gigantic form and is commandeering an army of Mutants to retrieve Kurogiri, who is being kept there. When Present Mic announces Shoto’s victory, Spinner refuses to believe it, thinking that it’s a ploy by the heroes.

Shoji and Spinner talk about their respective Todorokis (Image via Shueisha)

He remembers that Dabi refused any extra quirk from AFO, a temptation that Spinner himself was unable to resist. Dabi has always had a goal and the tenacity to see it through, therefore he is invincible in Spinner's mind. He and his army are matched against Shoji, who is proud of Shoto for seeing his difficult duty through.

Endeavor in My Hero Academia Chapter 353 (Image via Shueisha)

The last location where My Hero Academia Chapter 353 takes the readers is Gunga Mountain, where Endeavor hears about his sons with a rueful expression. AFO needles that he must be suffering from guilt over not fighting Toya himself, letting Shoto carry his burden.

AFO unfurls his hand, and several things appear from his fingers, including thorns, black smoke, flames, and even a face. He says that Enji will justify himself by saying that heroes must protect everyone, and that is why the No. 1 hero will lose.

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Final thoughts

The silvery glow on Dabi's chest (Image via Shueisha)

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 has given rise to the Phoenix theory, which stipulates that Toya’s Quirk was originally a regenerative Quirk which could repair him from the “ashes,” so to speak, like a Phoenix. The silver light seems to indicate that.

Additionally, Shoto’s victory is being lauded too much for it to be a simple end to the fight, and many readers believe that Dabi will return to fight once again.

While Gashly is yet to appear, it is unprecedented for Horikoshi to introduce two heavyweight villains at this stage. However, Kirishima and Mina fighting Midnight’s killer is both poetic and fair. Spinner’s new Quirk seems to have given him gigantic form, and it will be interesting to see how he matches up against Shoji.

My Hero Academia Chapter 353 did not show Yaoyorozu’s or Midoriya’s reactions to Shoto’s victory, despite being close to him. However, the next chapter will likely focus on Gunga Mountain, and AFO is sure to defeat Endeavor if no outside reinforcement comes. The new powers that AFO just unleashed will be better explored in the next chapter as well.