WARNING: SPOILERS FOR MY HERO ACADEMIA’S FINAL WAR ARC

Now that season 7 of My Hero Academia‘s popular anime has begun adapting the final arcs of the series, and its final episode has the chance to have a cliffhanger so epic that it could fix one of the manga’s biggest issues. The Final War Arc will see beloved characters like Deku, Bakugo, Shigaraki, All For One, and much more battle it out in arguably the story’s best arc. It’s considered My Hero Academia‘s best for many reasons, including satisfying character arcs and shocking deaths.

Season 7 of My Hero Academia‘s best moments will be plentiful, but one of the most dramatic scenes, including Bakugo and Shigaraki, will likely shock the anime-only MHA fans. Chapter #362 of the manga featured incredible new peaks for Suneater, but Bakugo’s new power-up stole the show, especially with how his assault against Shigaraki ended.

Despite continuously regenerating, Shigaraki started to feel the pressure from Bakugo’s Awakened Explosion Quirk ability, which significantly improved his mobility and firepower. Still, the villain found his mark and landed a mighty blow against the injured Bakugo that saw his chest explode and his heart significantly damaged. It was a moment that shook manga readers, but the anime has the chance to do it even better.

The Manga Gave Too Little Time For Bakugo’s Big Moment

My Hero Academia written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi

Bakugo’s death was the punctuation that ended volume #36 of the manga, but weekly readers only had to wait a few weeks until chapter #364 teased the beloved character’s resurrection. At that time, fans ravenously debated whether author Kohei Horikoshi was really going to kill off Bakugo, a twist that some fans believed would have elevated the series.

Most popular Shōnen manga don’t often dive into depressing material, like dramatically killing off a character who won several popularity polls. Still, the thought that Bakugo would die and stay dead was an exciting prospect that some fans who wanted to see a Shōnen series like MHA evolve past expectations. Deku and the other heroes would have had to find a way to overcome the grief of losing Bakugo, which arguably would have developed the characters even more and helped the series stand out from other, often times predictable, series.

More mature Seinen series like Berserk and Attack on Titan are not often afraid to kill important characters to provide dramatic plot developments. The largest demographic for Shōnen Jump readers is teenage males, who’d probably be less interested in keeping up with a series if their favorite characters were killed. Many of those series prefer to see a happy ending with a shocking lack of casualties, a troupe that MHA‘s final arc, unfortunately, falls into, but the anime should take a tip from a television series that had a knack for keeping fans talking and speculating.

Bakugo’s Death Could Be A Game of Thrones Level Cliffhanger

Chapter #362 sees Bakugo’s heart explode, but he’s back up by chapter #403

Few shows captivated the world with their plot twists and character deaths, like HBO’s Game of Thrones series. While the My Hero Academia anime has minimal relation to the dark, fantasy drama series, it laid the groundwork for getting a fanbase talking and speculating between seasons. Without spoiling too much, one particular season ends with a dramatic character death that shocked the fanbase, and they had no choice but to wait till the next season to release to find out if the beloved character was really gone for good, something MHA season 7 should do with Bakugo.

Chapter #364 of My Hero Academia teases that Bakugo would be healed thanks to the efforts of the Pro Hero Edgeshot and his incredibly broken Foldabody Quirk. It takes some time before the young man is able to get on his feet and continue the fight against the villains. However, the anime would benefit greatly and create the opportunity for many spirited discussions for anime-only fans if the anime does not reveal Edgeshot’s intervention until Season 8 of MHA.

Streaming or reading through an entire series after it’s aired is an acceptable way to enjoy a series, but it robs fans of the fun discussions and theories that come from consuming it while it is released. After the previously discussed dramatic Game of Thrones death there were theories all over the place on how they could be brought back or whether they would return at all. It was a moment of excitement that viewers who binge through the GoT series can not appreciate.

For the couple weeks before Edgeshot revealed he’d sacrifice himself for Bakugo, My Hero Academia became a different series that might not have the happy ending everyone expected. No one felt safe in MHA in that short time because Horikoshi seemed willing to kill off Bakugo. It fell back into being a traditionally great Shōnen series after chapter #364, but by waiting longer than the manga did to reveal Edgeshot’s plan, that excitement and anticipation could last a lot longer for anime-only watchers as they wait for Season 8 to see if Bakugo was really dead and not coming back.

The Anime Has The Chance To Make Bakugo’s Great Moment Legendary

The final season of My Hero Academia Will Have More Than A Few Great Bakugo Moments

Bakugo’s death has the opportunity to be one of the most talked about moments in television of the year. The anime by Studio Bones has done a fantastic job of adapting Horikoshi’s manga and even added scenes that were not in the source material to heighten the emotions and story. However, the story of Season 7 of My Hero Academia could be better than the manga if it doesn’t show Edgeshot helping Bakugo and instead leaves viewers hanging on the fate of Deku’s rival.

If season 7 doesn’t end with Armored All Might’s epic stand against All For One, it will be an incredibly intense way to start season 8 of My Hero Academia, likely the anime’s final season. With the help of the world’s best support gear, All Might put up a shocking battle against the de-aging villain. It does not end well for All Might, but it helps provide arguably Bakugo’s best moment when he rises to rescue his personal hero. It was an astonishing moment in the Final War Arc that the anime could improve on in many ways.

The anime does not need to remove the scenes with Edgeshot using his Quirk to replace Bakugo’s damaged heart, but it should wait to show it as a flashback while Bakugo surpasses everyone’s expectations to save All Might. If the anime surprises viewers by not showing Bakugo’s healing process until the last moment, it will make the scene a bigger surprise than the manga and arguably make the My Hero Academia anime better than the source material.

Source: Crunchyroll/YouTube