My Hero Academia Ending Sneaks in Shirakumo Anime Easter Egg

My Hero Academia’s latest season has had an uncommon relationship with Kohei Horikoshi’s original manga. Following the lead of My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising adapting some later events in the manga, Season 4 has been a lot less strict about what it has included in the anime thus far. Although the anime is adapting the events of the Shie Hassaikai, Remedial Course, and Culture Festival arcs, the newest ending theme of the series features the debut of characters who wouldn’t usually make their official anime debut until much, much later in the series.

One such character is Shirakumo whose actual role in the story is still being explored with the most recent chapters in the manga. So the new ending theme completely surprises when it features a few photos of younger versions of the pro heroes during their time at U.A. Academy, and includes a small cameo from this young hero.

In a quick blink and you’ll miss it cameo, this Easter Egg features the back of Shirakumo’s cloudy blue head alongside a younger Aizawa and Present Mic. The My Hero Academia: Vigilantes spin-off actually explores this origin story, so it makes some sense adaptation wise. It’s still a major shock to the system though.

Shirakumo was briefly mentioned by Aizawa and Present Mic before it was revealed that Aizawa doesn’t really like to talk about their former friend. It’s not quite explained in the series just yet, but was explored to its fullest in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. These are all developments much later down the line, so seeing them in the new ending theme for the anime certainly is eye opening for many reasons!

Did you catch Shirakumo’s anime debut? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he’s eventually scouted by the world’s best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes.