My Hero Academia has reached the official epilogue to its story, and one of the final chapters of the manga reveals a bit more about what transpired in the final moments between Tomura Shigaraki and Izuku Midoriya.
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My Hero Academia Chapter 423 saw Deku launching his final blow against the merged All For One/Shigaraki. Midoriya combined physical power with spiritual power, releasing the last vestiges of One For All for a spiritual attack against the villain overlord. All For One was wiped out, leaving behind Shigaraki’s consciousness. Shigaraki was grateful to have endured – even if his “freedom” came in the last moments of his life.
It seemed that Shigaraki’s final words were a socio-political mandate: “If Spinner survived this, tell him, that even to the bitter end, Tomura Shigaraki kept fighting to destroy.” Deku responded by grimly declaring that thanks to Shigaraki, All For One, and the League of Villains’ war, society has “already been destroyed.”
In My Hero Academia Chapter 424, Deku is talking with All Might, as they are both laid up in hospital beds trying to recover from war injuries. All Might wants to know what Tenko Shimura/Tomura Shigaraki looked like at the end; Izuku confirms that “Tenko” was actually “Shigaraki” to his core at the end, but that the villain leader actually had something hopeful to say.
How Shigaraki Inspired My Hero Academia’s Future
After Izuku Midoriya declared that everything was destroyed, Shigaraki contradicted that view, reminding his rival, Deku, that the future was in his hands: “That depends, on what you people decide to do tomorrow. Make sure you do your damn best.”
Izuku takes his foe’s words to heart. Even without the One For All power fueling him (and essentially being quirkless again), Izuku joins his fellow U.A. classmates in returning to his demolished high school, to prepare for the future:
“Our tale doesn’t end here. It can’t,” Deku says in a monologue. “The fight may be over, but until we lead the way to a bright future, we’ve got to go further beyond.”
It’s ironic that Izuku’s moment of re-inspiration comes from Shigaraki – and that Shigaraki is such a good motivational coach. Then again it does make sense: Shigaraki’s character was defined by a singular drive to change society – in this case, to destroy a society where pro heroes were celebrated and the “freedom” of quirk use restricted. His final words show respect to that same level of drive – even if it’s the drive to take society in the opposite direction, building it up into a happier and more stable future.
My Hero Academia’s Final Chapters are available to read online.
