My Hero Academia: Is The Timeskip Really Deku’s Final Story Arc?

While Shonen series such as One Piece and Naruto have transported their heroes months, or sometimes years, into the future, My Hero Academia is looking to get in on the time skip action with the latest chapter of its manga. With Deku leaving UA Academy and now having to face down one of the most terrifying villains from his past, fans are worried that Kohei Horikoshi might be looking at this story arc as the last in the popular series that put UA Academy on the map.

Is My Hero Academia really giving Izuku Midoriya’s final story arc?

The Story of Becoming The Greatest Hero

Since My Hero Academia began, the events of the series have been framed as a flashback. As My Hero Academia opens (and in each episode of the anime), we get the quote from Izuku Midoriya that “This is the story of how I became the greatest hero!”

That quote always made it pretty clear that the scope of My Hero Academia‘s premise went from Izuku being the quirkless boy with a heroic heart, to him inheriting and learning to master One For All, the greatest power in the hero world. As Midoriya mastered that power he would presumably also get the training needed to enter the pro hero world and use OFA to fight villains – with the end goal of finally ending the threat of the evil rival power of All For One. However, when you really boil it down, Deku’s fight against AFO is a story arc that can extend well past the other parameters of the series.

My Hero Career

Therein lies the potential rub in how Kohei Horikoshi has presented My Hero Academia. Fans have long predicted the story will not with Izuku and Class 1-A’s “graduation” – only the first volume will.

The truth is, we’ve come to the end of what the premise of “My Hero Academia” has to offer – or at the very least, Izuku Midoriya’s role in that story. Izuku has leveled up and unlocked the full power potential of One For All, and he’s left his school days behind. There are really only two ways to go from here – both pretty exciting for fans:

1. Izuku Midoriya’s story as Deku continues into his pro hero career, under a modified title (like “My Hero Career” – but better).
2. The My Hero Academia concept continues with a new generation of students, coming up in a very troubled time that lacks heroes.

Arguably both of these concepts could continue in one series; or, Horikoshi could take the shorter and much easier route of simply ending Deku’s story exactly where he always promised he would.

Fans may have to start accepting that this really could be the final chapter of Deku’s story…

My Hero Academia releases new manga chapters weekly online. The anime has begun streaming season 5 on Hulu and Funimation.