‘My Hero Academia’ Gives One Family a Bittersweet Ending Before Chapter 427
My Hero Academia is a story about the sacrifices society will be willing to make to maintain peace and order. In this paradigm where quirks exist and heroes are glorified, children are often the victims in the narrative.
Although the manga is coming to an end in just three more chapters, we’ve gotten the tearful closure we needed with the Todoroki family. Chapter 427 will be released on July 7, 2024, for international readers.
We’ve seen all sorts of abuse committed to children in the series. Children are encouraged to become heroes, which puts them in grave danger from villains. Hawks, formerly No. 2 Hero, was groomed to be a weapon by the Hero Public Safety Commission. But readers and viewers alike were left shocked after Enji Todoroki (Endeavor) was revealed to be abusive to his family.
Enji Todoroki’s children deserved so much better
Endeavor sought the perfect successor to his legacy as a hero. He ignored all his other children and focused all his efforts on Shoto, who both inherited his fire powers and Rei’s ice powers. Shoto was pushed to the brink, and he endured physical abuse from Enji as a child.
But Endeavor had another child, Touya, who wanted to be a hero.
In a parallel universe where Enji just listened to his son, Touya wouldn’t have burned himself to death for the villain Dabi to be born. In Chapter 426, the regret isn’t lost in Enji’s face when he tries to visit Touya, who is now badly burned more than ever. He’s still alive, but barely hanging on to life from his injuries.
The rest of the Todoroki family came to visit Touya, and despite his formerly villainous ways, it’s obvious that all he wanted was his family’s love and attention. This is the best possible outcome for the Todoroki family, albeit bittersweet.
Natsuo, Enji’s second son, still plans to sever contact with Touya and Enji. Touya was dying and regretted hurting his younger brother, Shoto. It’s not the happy ending we hoped for, but it’s a realistic one. The things Enji has done to his own family out of pride have caused irreversible damage. If there’s anything admirable about Enji, it’s that he isn’t forcing forgiveness upon his children. He’s plainly remorseful, and he plans to atone for all he’s done to his children for the rest of his life.
If there’s one thing to feel happy about in this chapter, it’s that we finally got Touya’s favorite food. He loves cold soba noodles, just like Shoto. Maybe they can get noodles together one day off-screen? We all hope so.
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
