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My Hero Academia chapter 383 was released earlier this weekend, bringing with it what can sadly only be called a dissatisfying misstep from author and illustrator Kohei Horikoshi. Readers were unfortunately rewarded for their two-week patience with an underwhelming starring moment for Hitoshi Shinso at the cost of shoehorning in a Mina Ashido moment.
While this isn’t necessarily a bad choice by Horikoshi, it doesn’t seem like it was the best one for this issue, given the recent chapters. In fact, some fans are going as far as to claim that My Hero Academia chapter 383 was not only a missed opportunity, but even ruined the buildup of previous issues.
My Hero Academia chapter 383’s focus on Ashido not necessarily bad, but detracts from Shinso’s big moment
Brief spoiler recap
My Hero Academia chapter 383 begins with a flashback to shortly after Shoto Todoroki was thought to have taken down Dabi, also known as Toya Todoroki. Readers are then taken to the Jakku hospital ruins, where Gigantomachia’s detainment facility is under attack. The villains attacking claim to have a way of getting through to Machia with All For One’s voice, which will rouse him into action.
Mt. Lady and several other heroes try to stop them from doing so, but are unsuccessful as Machia breaks free from his prison, spurred on by his master’s words. The issue then shifts focus to Eijiro Kirishima, who will let Hitoshi Shinso know it’s time for action with Machia free. However, it is revealed that the sludge villain who once attacked Bakugo is now doing the same to Shinso.
My Hero Academia chapter 383 sees the sludge monster and other villains bragging about their imminent victory now that Machia is awake, when Mina Ashido suddenly strikes. She uses a concentrated acid solution on Machia to melt through his hide and various auditory restraints, before turning her attention to the sludge villain and using the same attack.
This frees Shinso as Kirishima and Ashido have a bonding moment, with the formermost immediately using his Persona Chords to bring Machia under his control. The flashback ends with Machia beating the villains present at that time, returning to the present where All For One is now being swarmed on all sides by Dark Shadow, Gigantomachia, and other Pro Heroes at the issue’s end.
How Shinso’s moment was messed up, explained
While My Hero Academia chapter 383 shows Shinso’s integral role in the plan to bring Machia under the Heroes’ control, the chapter’s overall structure lessened this moment’s impact. By shoehorning in a Mina Ashido moment, the overall focus of the moment becomes unclear, with fans questioning if it's meant to be her fifteen minutes of fame or Shinso’s.
This is especially jarring, considering that the previous issue ended with a focus on Shinso and Kirishima, with Ashido nowhere to be found. Had she been present with Machia alongside Kirishima and Shinso, her inclusion in chapter 383 would’ve been less jarring. It also would’ve helped readers view the moment as one for all three of them, rather than questioning who the spotlight is meant to be on.
There’s also the inherent downplaying of Shinso’s skills by having him caught by a chapter-one villain in My Hero Academia chapter 383. While the sludge villain is classified as a nightmare matchup for most heroes, it nevertheless downplays Shinso, who has many means of confusing and trapping his opponents with his own Quirk.
Combined with and considering that the raison d’etre for this scene is to shoehorn in the Mina Ashido moment, it simply chops Shinso down unnecessarily where he should’ve been built up. While one can argue that him being in the general course up to this point in the series is justification for Shinso getting trapped, his training directly under Aizawa somewhat negates this.
As a result, My Hero Academia chapter 383 is a largely disappointing misstep from Horikoshi. While this isn’t the first of the final arc thus far, it’s easily one of the most disappointing and infuriating.
Be sure to keep up with all My Hero Academia anime, manga, and live-action news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
