My Hero Academia Teases Izuku's Rage Power Boost

My Hero Academia's "Paranormal Liberation War" arc is getting more and more drastic with every new chapter. The all-out battle between the Pro Heroes and League of Villains' army is raging on many fronts, but there's one battle that's definitely taking center stage: the fight with Tomura Shigaraki. Villain leader All For One's young disciple has been upgraded into a walking weapon of mass destruction, with boosted quirks, the full All For One quirk-stealing power, and a body enhanced to the power of level of an off-brand All Might. In My Hero Academia chapter 281, we get a first hint of what Izuku Midoriya's corresponding power boost will be!

Warning: My Hero Academia Chapter 281 SPOILERS follow!

In My Hero Academia chapter 281, Shigaraki recovers from the beating that Midoriya, Bakugo, and pro Heroes Endeavor, Eraserhead (and others) laid on him. However, while Shigaraki is down, he's definitely not out; the villain leader has nothing but contempt for Endeavor and seems to know the entire painful history of the Todoroki family and Endeavor's mistreatment of them. Shigaraki sees Endeavor as the embodiment of the hypocrisy of pro heroes, who 'hurt their own families, just to help complete strangers.'

Shigaraki's renewed fury gets taken out on one main target: Gran Torino. Shigraki uses his super-strength to decimate the elderly hero, and witnessing that death sets Deku off like never before!

While it's not touched on heavily, My Hero Academia's final pages show Izuku Midoriya almost effortlessly and unconsciously channeling more of the One For All power. Not only does Midoriya seem to instantly battle with a higher percentage of One For All's full power with no cost - but he also seems to control its Black Whip secondary power with much more control and less effort.

Like Dragon Ball Z's Goku (and so many other Shonen heroes) anger and/or emotional trauma seems to also be the key for Deku to make big leaps in mastering new phases of One For All. That's a crucial detail of the current war arc, as fans have been wondering and debating how Midoriya can possibly hope to match Shigaraki's new powers.

Now we're getting the idea - although it is, admittedly, something of a rehash. Midoriya had a temporary boost to his power (in the form of Eri) for his epic battle with Overhaul, before returning to the more handicapped version of his powers. Hopefully, this anger-inspired boost is one that actually progresses the One For All power, rather than providing a temporary excuse for the sake of battle spectacle.

My Hero Academia is in production on season 5 of the anime. Online chapters of the manga can be found HERE.