Oh Shit, We’re About to Lose a Major Character in the ‘My Hero Academia’ Manga, Aren’t We?

In my failed attempts to NOT write about My Hero Academia on a weekly basis, I’m back to write about My Hero Academia once again. In my defense, Endeavor’s fight against All For One (and himself) is heating up—literally. Just as Endeavor thinks he can rest, All For One reveals that, like heroes, villains are scary when they’re wounded. What he’s planning, we’re not sure yet, but when I finished this chapter, I was hit with the unshakable feeling of someone being killed off, and soon.

Spoilers for My Hero Academia chapter 357.

What happens in chapter 357

We have officially reached the point in the battle where the hero is so determined to defeat the villain that he shoots lasers from his eyes. All For One thinks he can get the jump on Endeavor, and Endeavor’s like, “Bitch, you THOUGHT!” I might be paraphrasing there. My point is that there’s no escaping Endeavor when he’s like this. If someone you’re fighting keeps throwing blows after losing an arm, you should probably run.

We’re also at the point where the villain’s mind games don’t work on the hero anymore. It doesn’t matter if All For One points out Endeavor’s mistakes because Endeavor fully acknowledges them. That’s why he’s fighting so hard right now. To Endeavor, it’s his duty to put an end to this fight. He has to do this so the heroes of the future can walk a path where his past isn’t blocking their way. This leads to an image of an older Shoto walking toward Deku, Bakugo, and the rest of his friends from Class 1A.

Even if All For One is the threat here, Endeavor is still very much fighting himself. He doesn’t want HIS past to stand in Shoto’s way. It’s a good declaration for Endeavor to make, but it’s also one that makes me suspect that this may be the last thing he does in this fight. I’m sorry. I just get paranoid when a series does a flashforward where someone’s child is an adult walking toward a bright future.

Who do I think is going to die?

With All For One revealing to Endeavor that he’s got a backup plan (after all, he’s been meaning to get rid of his current body), I get the feeling that we might be losing Endeavor soon. While My Hero Academia has had some impactful character deaths (Sir Nighteye, numerous characters like Twice and Midnight), there hasn’t really been a major “I’m on the cover of a lot of My Hero Academia content and have a lot of merch” death yet.

I’ve been saying for a while that someone big is going to die. Admittedly, I thought it would be All Might back when I first started the series. I suppose there’s a chance that could still happen, but I get the feeling his version of “death” was his retirement after he pushed his body, ahem, beyond. Later, I thought it would be Dabi, since revenge is what’s keeping him alive—though I wouldn’t be happy with that outcome since Endeavor needs to face what he’s done, and killing Dabi feels too easy.

I got my wish there, as Dabi is still alive, but it never occurred to me that there are so many signs pointing to Endeavor not making it out of this fight alive. Not only did Endeavor have an entire “facing myself head-on” moment, but he’s now envisioning a better world for Shoto to the point of us seeing what a future Shoto would look like. That is SUCH an “I’m going to die soon” move. There’s a chance it could be like All Might and Endeavor won’t be able to do hero work like this again, but something tells me it’s going to be bigger than that.

As much as I like the direction Endeavor’s story has taken, I get the feeling that we’re going to lose the number one hero in this fight. I don’t want Endeavor to die, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is how his story ends.

(featured image: © K. Horikoshi/Shueisha, My Hero Academia Project)

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