My Hero Academia: Does the Anime Need to Expand Dark Deku’s Arc?

My Hero Academia’s sixth season recently ended the Paranormal Liberation War, with Deku and his friends in Class 1-A barely managing to claim victory in the all-out brawl against Shigaraki, the League of Villains, and their army that was one hundred thousand members strong. Despite winning, things are not slated to get better for the Shonen crime fighters of Hero Society, and Izuku Midoriya will be the one hero who might be experiencing the biggest changes as fans are wondering if “Dark Deku” should receive more screen time in the anime adaptation.

Warning. If you don’t want to be spoiled on the upcoming events of the sixth season of My Hero Academia, turn back now as we’ll be diving into spoilers for the second cours.

While Deku doesn’t switch sides to become a villain following the defeat of Shigaraki, Hero Society is barely hanging on by a thread not just thanks to the crime fighters being unable to stop the destructive swath created by the villains, but also thanks to the revelations that were unleashed by Dabi. We were able to briefly witness some normal citizens reacting to the giant revelation that Dabi is the son of the number one hero, but this will be an event that will definitely be further explored as it shattered a great deal of trust that Japan’s citizens had in its protectors.

My Dark Deku Academia

One My Hero Academia fan debated whether the anime adaptation should expand on Deku’s stint as a dark hero patrolling the city streets at night, barely taking the opportunity to eat or rest as he left his classmates behind not only to hold Hero Society together, but attempt to dodge the advances of All For One:

Also, kind of a hot take but I don't want them to expand this arc at all. I don't really need 10 minutes of Deku fighting the random shark villain, I think Hori got the point across by showing exactly what we needed to understand what Deku was going through https://t.co/Hms9OMCBYN

— Rukasu (@RukasuMHA) January 4, 2023

Besides fully steeping himself in darkness, Deku isn’t just wearing a terrifying new outfit, but will also return with a much better understanding of One For All as a whole. While his mastery of his Quirk might be improving, he’s going to need his superpowers and more when it comes to putting Shigaraki down for the count. 

Are you ready to see “Dark Deku” finally hit the small screen? Where do you think season six will end? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of UA Academy.