‘My Hero Academia’ Chapter 424 Doesn’t Make Izuku Any Less of a Hero

The long-winding struggle between heroes and villains in My Hero Academia has come to an end. But at what cost? For Izuku, it seems like he’s lost everything he held dear as a hero.

We all started this story rooting for Izuku, who wasn’t born with a quirk. He had an impossible dream of becoming a hero, despite having nothing else going for him but his determination and quick thinking. It all changed when Izuku met All Might and became the next bearer of One for All.

But with Chapter 423, it seemed that all of Izuku’s life-and-death battles against All for One have brought him back right to the start. Did Izuku lose One for All after his decisive battle with Tomura Shigaraki? Chapter 424 of My Hero Academia has been released for international readers as of June 2, 2024, at VIZ, so we now know the answers to all our questions.

The Price of Heroism

Izuku wasn’t the only one who lost his quirk in an attempt to save Japan. Katsuki also lost one of his arms while helping Izuku defeat Shigaraki. Let’s not forget that many heroes have sacrificed their lives to make the victory seen in Chapter 423 possible. But while we’re all crying over the loss of Izuku’s quirk, it seems his only regret was his inability to save Shigaraki from himself.

If Naruto were in the My Hero Academia universe, he’d probably be the best of friends with Izuku because of the latter’s self-sacrificing personality. But that’s also what makes Izuku a hero at the end of the day. It’s not about the quirk, but about how far he’s willing to push himself if it means helping others and saving lives.

Izuku becoming quirkless sounds like a bittersweet ending for My Hero Academia. But Izuku doesn’t have anything left to prove either way. He’s already defeated All for One and almost lost his life multiple times in those instances. Despite his status as a high school student, Izuku was able to inspire all the heroes to band together to defeat All for One and rebuild Japan. Horikoshi, the manga’s author, can take the quirk out of Izuku, but not his kindness.

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Vanessa Esguerra

Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.

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