When Will My Hero Academia Actually Make Izuku the Number One Hero?

When will My Hero Academia finally make Izuku Midoriya its Number One Hero? It's a fair question to be asking right now; many fans expected that My Hero Academia's War Arc would be the event that propelled Izuku to the top of the Pro Hero ranks - or at least got him in the ring. Instead, My Hero Academia's big war ended on a murky note, and the series has now shifted away from Izuku's story to put supporting characters in the spotlight. It's getting hard to still make sense of My Hero Academia's opening narration, where Izuku Midoriya claims to be recounting the story of how he became the No. 1 Hero...

Warning: My Hero Academia Manga SPOILERS Follow!

My Hero Academia's War Arc took a massive toll. The top pro heroes have seen their ranks shattered, and all the villains that were taken into custody both during the war and leading up to it have been freed in All For One's massive jailbreak. Meanwhile, society is turning against Pro Heroes thanks to Dabi's psychological war against his father Endeavor. Pro Heroes are quitting on the job and leaving Japan, and the jailbreak villains have never felt more entitled to wreak havoc.

And yet, as My Hero Academia crosses its 300 chapters milestone and is exploring the massive status quo shift after the war, Izuku Midoriya has been completely sidelined. My Hero Academia has gone with the familiar anime trope of putting its protagonist in a comatose state, as Izuku's body tries to reconcile with the strange new bond and power boost he's formed with his One For All quirk. Meanwhile, in the physical world, the current arc seems to be all about Shoto Todoroki, Endeavor, and the Todoroki family coming to terms with the evil of Dabi/Toya Todoroki. In fact, My Hero Academia ends with Shoto's mother Rei declaring that he is the big heroic hope for the Todoroki family - while Shoto and Endeavor finally bury the dark history of abuse between them in order to unite in a pledge to bring Dabi down.

So how long will Izuku Midoriya be absent, while My Hero Academia dedicates time and space to its vilains and supporting characters like Shoto? It's true that My Hero Academia's ensemble of characters has seen several big fan-favorites become icons in their own rights; however, that doesn't change the fact that framework for the series is Izuku Midoriya telling us the story of his journey from powerless kid to the No. 1 hero. So witnessing events occurring when Izuku is passed out is weird enough; getting arcs about Shoto's heoric rise seems to fall well outside the pervue of the story My Hero Academia claims to be telling.

MyHero Academia releases new manga chapters FREE ONLINE weekly. Season 5 of the anime will premiere this year.