Warning: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia!!

My Hero Academia’s Heroes Rising is considered by many to be the best film in the franchise so far. Kohei Horikoshi revealed in a statement translated by Caleb Cook (MHA’s translator for Viz Media) that the movie featured one element that he wanted to use in the final battle of the manga. Also, the director, Kenji Nagasaki, confirmed in an interview shared by Twitter user @aitaikimochi that they used the premeditated idea of the original final battle at the end of Heroes Rising. This reveals that the original ending of MHA was Deku transferring One For All to Bakugo so that they could fight together.

The original finale was probably going to be a bittersweet one with Deku remaining quirkless while Bakugo inherited the responsibility of continuing OFA, or it was going to be like the ending of the movie, just a momentary transfer with Deku keeping OFA, which would have been a lackluster ending to the story.

However, MHA’s chapter #423 featured the end of the battle between Deku and AFO, which proved that the real ending of My Hero Academia is a massive improvement compared to the original finale.

My Hero’s Final Battle Puts the Spotlight on the Fight Between OFA & AFO

Deku Defeated All-For-One Thanks to OFA’s Past Users – and Shigaraki

The original ending presented in Heroes Rising would have been a flat ending to the manga, since it follows the typical shōnen plot of the hero sharing his power with a friend or ally to beat the final enemy. My Hero Academia‘s final battle real climax stayed true to the series’ central conflict, which was the battle between OFA’s users and AFO. The final battle stands out because Deku didn’t transfer OFA to beat AFO; he did it out of his desire to save Shigaraki from himself, understand what made him a villain, and break him from AFO’s control.

The ending proved to be better than the original because it focused not only on Deku and Bakugo but on all OFA’s users and Shigaraki. The past OFA holders contributed to the battle in different ways: the quirk danger sense backfired on AFO by disorienting him in battle; Nana Shimura vestige helped maintain Shigaraki’s consciousness; and the combination of attacks from both Deku in the physical realm and the past OFA users in the vestige realm were the reason for AFO’s defeat. Furthermore, Shigaraki, all the vestiges, and Deku destroy AFO in a final attack.

Additionally, Deku’s transfer of OFA gave Shigaraki a satisfying outcome because Deku didn’t just defeat him with sheer strength or try to redeem him. Shigaraki accepted his defeat and acknowledged Deku’s effort to reach him. Shigaraki ultimately kept his conviction; by not apologizing or regretting his actions, he fought until the end to follow his ideal, destroying the origin of his pain—AFO and the hypocrisy in the world of heroes — and ultimately died remembering his friends. Also, the final panel of Shigaraki and Deku leaves the door open for Deku to keep OFA.

My Hero Academia’s Real Ending Truly Makes Deku the Greatest Hero

The Final Battle Highlights Deku as the Protagonist with the Support of All the Heroes

If the final battle had used the original ending, it would have taken Deku’s status as the story’s protagonist away. Instead of only a fight between Deku and Bakugo against the villain, it was a better execution to see Class 1-A students and the other heroes coming to help Deku reach AFO. Even AFO recognizes the force that the unity of heroes represents.

Also, Deku delivers the final blow to AFO with the support of the other heroes, which shows how he is a better symbol of peace than All Might because he pushes people forward. Overall, the real ending of the final battle proves to be better than the original finale because it’s the perfect culmination to the main conflict in the story and delivers My Hero Academia‘s main message of Deku’s becoming the greatest hero.

Source: Caleb Cook, Aitaikimochi.

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