My Hero Academia is at its best when the heroes and villains are slugging it out, and when it comes to that, the Paranormal Liberation War arc is nearly unmatched. The arc itself is complicated, with a lot of moving parts that need to be accounted for, but somehow everything flows so perfectly that one can’t help but get caught up in the story.

The Paranormal Liberation War arc begins with the heroes setting up a raid on two locations known to be housing villains, dozens of miles apart, with both intended to take place simultaneously. While things start off going well, a series of misfortunes leads to Shigaraki, who should be dead, awakening suddenly, wielding the powers of All for One. He summons Gigantomachia to his side, who carves a swath of destruction between the two locations while transporting the League of Villains to Shigaraki.

This leaves the heroes on the defensive, and they only barely manage to beat back the villains thanks to the efforts of everyone.

The Paranormal Liberation War is a Slow Spiral into Disaster

Each Incident Leads Perfectly into the Next

One of the things that this arc executes incredibly well is the feeling that each event is directly caused by the event preceding it. It gives the sense of toppling dominoes, something impossible to stop once it’s begun. What begins as a simple raid spirals out of control, with Dr. Garaki unleashing Nomu, which leads to reviving Shigaraki, who wipes out the city and then calls upon Gigantomachia, who turns the tables at the other site and then destroys everything between the two locations.

Fortunately, this doesn’t just apply to things going wrong, and this idea of a chain of events leading to a major outcome is one of the themes of the arc, most notably seen with the efforts to stop Gigantomachia. Midnight attempts to get close to Machia, but is repelled, so she calls upon the students, who manage to drug him (but seemingly not enough), until he arrives at Shigaraki’s location, where he’s tied up by Best Jeanist and beaten by Endeavor, until finally those drugs kick in and sedate the titanic terror. Without anyone’s individual efforts, there would’ve been no hope of stopping Machia.

All of these events make up a series of truly incredible action scenes, and the entire war arc is thrilling to watch as a result. The action never feels forced; it’s all a direct and logical consequence of what’s happening in the story. Things are made even more exciting by having Deku unlock not just one, but two new Quirks stored within One for All, giving him some fun new abilities to put to work. If one didn’t know there were more chapters or episodes after this, they could easily be forgiven for thinking this was the climactic finale.

The Paranormal Liberation War Handles Its Characters Incredibly Well

Many Characters Get a Chance to Save the Day

The war arc is also a major moment for a great many characters. Hawks kills Twice, making a very difficult decision that’s ultimately for the greater good, no matter how slimy he might feel about it. Tokoyami gets to rescue Hawks, and has to contend with knowing his mentor did something so dark. Momo gets to lead the students of Class 1-A, showing how much she’s grown since freezing up in the Sports Festival. Uraraka gets her moment of confrontation with Toga, in what ends up being a major change for both of them.

Bakugo’s sacrifice and the Todoroki reveal are perhaps the biggest moments of them all; Bakugo saving Deku is something that would’ve been almost unimaginable even just fifty chapters ago, but it shows how much he’s grown, and how he’s starting to truly understand what it means to be a hero. Dabi’s reveal, while some managed to guess it, is still one of the greatest twists in the series, leaving Endeavor so stunned that he’s literally unable to move. Shoto proves his heroism by not letting this get into his head and staying focused on the mission at hand, since so much depends on their victory.

There are some characters who got the short end of the stick, however, and that’s particularly true when it comes to those heroes who died in the line of duty. Midnight’s death is so out of focus that many readers weren’t sure if she was dead until the students found her lifeless body. Most of the other deceased heroes were effectively extras, so their deaths don’t have much impact on the audience emotionally. Mina also gets robbed of what would’ve been a great character moment for her, which is instead given to Kirishima, who it’s far less significant for.

The Aftermath of the War is Essential

War Has Consequences, Both Mental and Physical

Also in this arc is some of the aftermath of the war, which includes characters dealing with what they’ve done and experienced in a way that shonen manga often doesn’t do. It’s clear that Hawks, for example, is really plagued by a guilty conscience over killing Twice, even if there was no choice. Endeavor is shown in the hospital crying over the Dabi/Toya situation, a moment of vulnerability and the true start of Endeavor’s redemption. While there’s plenty of physical recovery going on, the story doesn’t shy away from the emotional recovery that’s also needed.

Overall, the Paranormal Liberation War arc is undoubtedly the peak of My Hero Academia. Packed with amazing action scenes, unbelievable plot twists, and killer cliffhangers, the arc is sure to have fans on the edge of their seat for each and every episode. While the arc isn’t perfect, dropping the ball with characters like Midnight, the quality is so high in general that these moments can be forgiven. Many fans highly anticipated season 6 for adapting this arc, and the anime adaptation definitely manages to live up to the manga, reinforcing these moments with great music and stellar performances, both in Japanese and English.

If one could only read one My Hero Academia arc, the Paranormal Liberation War arc is the one to choose.