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My Hero Academia's final arc is still ongoing, even while the Todoroki conflict, in particular, appears to be reaching a literally explosive climax. There are those who say it should've reached this climax sometime ago and those who are fine with how things are going considering everything going on with the creator.
To elaborate on the former position, most people were expecting the Todoroki conflict to continue into the final arc but to end with some big showdown between Shoto Todoroki and Dabi. Long story short, those fans think that it's being dragged out far too much. This article will interrogate that perspective, showing how My Hero Academia has handled the subject and where it's going with this family feud.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers up to and including chapter 389 of My Hero Academia. It features mainly fan and the author's opinions and is subjective to those opinions.
My Hero Academia's final Todoroki conflict arc complaints explored and explained
Part 1: An overextended fight
Quite a few fans in the My Hero Academia fandom have followed the Todoroki family conflict since it was first introduced during the U.A. Sports Festival Arc. The entirety of the conflict between Shoto and Endeavor would be revealed over time: the abuse, Endeavor driving Rei into practical madness, the neglect of the other kids, and Toya turning into Dabi were all praised.
Each piece of the puzzle led to another until the whole backstory was told. During the final war arc, many anticipated the final showdown between the various matched pairs, with Shoto vs. Dabi among them. Things seemed to move to a conclusion where Shoto had Dabi on the ropes.
Then Dabi countered, per Shonen and video game final battle rules, and the fight between them moved into phase 2 when Dabi was yanked away by All for One. Some people thought that was kind of ridiculous and dragged the fight out too much when they could've ended it all at once by having Shoto just beat Dabi right then and there.
Part 2: A massive ticking time bomb
Several My Hero Academia fans have expressed profound displeasure at how slow things are going with the final arc. They say things are bouncing around too much with no real natural conclusions, it's too chaotic, and the Todoroki Family conflict could've been solved long ago.
My Hero Academia's final arc is a large emergency with the world at stake that has to satisfactorily end multiple character arcs developed over the entire series. As some people have chosen to put it, the complaints feel akin to being angry at the "Avengers Assemble" scene in Avengers Endgame or how Naruto chose to focus on Sasuke for a bit.
The point with those comparisons is that the ticking time bomb of Dabi's nuclear explosion threatening a massive area is a way to keep him in the fray, and the entire Todoroki Family being there is what Dabi wanted in the first place: his family's validation and love. It's a lot to unpack, in other words.
Part 3: The culmination of many story arcs
As stated above, this is a family-wide issue with the Todoroki's. Rei herself even said it wasn't just Endeavor that pushed Toya aside, and they all bear responsibility. She, Natusuo, and Fuyumi even race to aid Endeavor when Dabi is starting to explode to try to cool the explosion down and are acknowledged by Dabi.
All the while, Shoto and Tenya are racing at top speed toward the explosion's epicenter to help however they can. This is the culmination of several arcs throughout My Hero Academia, from Endeavor trying to atone to his family to Dabi's Dance in the Paranormal Liberation War and Rei coming back.
Trying to say that The Todoroki Family has been stealing the spotlight ignores how Shoto has been the tritagonist alongside Deku and Bakugo. While there is some validity to the idea of a fight or story arc taking too long, it feels justified as a consequence of being the final story arc of the manga. It would feel cheap if it ended too fast.
Part 4: The My Hero Academia fandom patience problem
This leads to a severe problem with the My Hero Academia fandom: a lack of patience. Some people are either so burned by Dragon Ball Z dragging its fights out or by what they may consider "filler" moments that they don't appreciate everything happening on the page or on screen.
The fact is that My Hero Academia tends to end things far quicker than most Shonen anime or manga do. The problems with the final arc feeling like a drag are because of the constant delays due to Horikoshi's health, the shorter chapters, and a lot of additions that serve as perfect callbacks to the series as a whole.
Right now, multiple fans just want to see how this tragic family arc concludes. Many have been praising how Rei and Natsuo haven't been on the sidelines and are helping to cool down Dabi so the explosion will either be contained or much less fierce, which even has Dabi stunned. Shoto and Tenya continue to race as time runs short.
Part 5: Concerns about Horikoshi's well being
Given a lot of the problems of overwork and burnout that plague Japanese work culture, multiple people have wanted Kohei Horikoshi to either take a long break or at least end one of the subplots in the final arc. This, at least, has some validity to it, given all the breaks Horikoshi has had to take during 2023 alone.
The Todoroki family conflict has been going on for a long time, since at least 2015, when it first manifested in Shoto vs. Endeavor. At the time, there didn't seem to be any concerns. But as the years have gone on, as COVID ravaged the world, workers' rights have become more of an issue, and Berserk's creator passed away, many fans have stopped thinking about the toll this takes on creators.
It does stand to reason, then, that closing off at least one plot thread would give Horikoshi less to worry about regarding the final arc. A lot is going on already in the manga, and more when the anime finally catches up. Whatever conclusion it reaches will be reached in time, but some are worried it's too much and are valid in their worry.
To conclude this storm of complaints, a word of advice to My Hero Academia fans that are feeling burned out. If a manga or an anime is taking too long or gets delayed due to the creator's health issues, take a break from it. Come back in a few weeks, read another manga, or watch another anime, whatever helps get the mind distracted.
Binge-reading the manga has revealed how quickly this arc of My Hero Academia has gone, and it will probably be the same with the anime. If readers have any complaints, problems, or otherwise have a comment, please put them in the comments section.
