Why My Hero Academia Needs to Let All Might Live

It seems almost cliche at this point, really. From film to literature and beyond, fiction has become too comfortable killing characters off. Manga is renowned for killing its heroes and bringing them back to life on occasion, so you cannot blame fans of My Hero Academia for being on edge. It feels like the clock has been ticking down to All Might’s death for years, and there is only so much time to knock him out now that the manga is in its final phase. But if you are still certain the series needs to kill All Might before ending, we’re here to tell you this death is one the manga absolutely needs to avoid.

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Death may become the final arc of My Hero Academia, but it doesn’t need to come for the Symbol of Peace. All Might, or rather Yagi Toshinori, doesn’t need to die any time soon. Such a death would spit in the face of My Hero Academia’s message should it pass.

As morbid as it may sound, fans have been on edge waiting for the former Number One hero to die, and users like AsarathaHS on Twitter have the fandom thinking. All Might has survived every odd to come out alive in the manga’s final arc. My Hero Academia once had the chance to kill off All Might during his battle in Kamino Ward. However, All For One said it best afterward when he noted All Might “missed” his chance to die. The self-sacrificial move was taken off the table thanks to Izuku, and the boy has since given All Might a lesson that fans believe will keep him alive.

To understand this lesson, you have to look over All Might’s history. Long before the Symbol of Peace was around, Yagi had a dream to push back against the oppressive reign All For One held. A symbol was the best bet for taking down the villain, and One For All feel to him as if it were a miracle. He learned to harness the quirk with help from Nana Shimura, but All Might also inherited the worst part of her character. Seeing her abandon her family to fight All For One, Yagi did the same as he became a hero, and his desire to stay isolated helped set up hero society’s downfall.

All Might became a symbol as planned and deterred crime by simply existing, but heroism suffered. The whole world grew complacent under his watch, so All Might’s forced retirement came back to bite Yagi and the world with vengeance. Rather than address the issues that led to high crime, All Might scared villains into the shadows, but their absence was only going to last as long as Yagi did. Hero society only had one pro seriously gunning to be All Might’s equal, but Endeavor just wanted to be number one… not a symbol.

Stripped of his powers, All Might fell back into a narrow-minded trap and decided to live if not just to help Izuku. The absence of his quirk forced All Might to work with others and push himself out of isolation after spending decades comfortably numb at the top. So when he saw Izuku push everyone way during the manga’s vigilante arc, well – All Might realized how destructive he had been all these years.

In the last few months, All Might has made huge progress as a character who is ready to right the wrongs they made. While no longer fit for battle, All Might’s influence is undeniable, and his new desire to work as a team could change society for good once this war with All For One ends. All Might can stay buried, but the world still needs Yagi to move forward now that he’s finding himself without a cape to cover him. His hard-earned wins and experience make him the perfect person to reshape the world once his nemesis is gone. So before you go writing a eulogy for the guy, maybe think about the disservice death would be for Yagi given his growth.

Do you believe All Might should survive My Hero Academia’s finale? Or do you think the hero will die before the series ends? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.