There are a lot of popular anime that immediately resonate with audiences, but Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia has connected on a whole other level. The shonen series arrived at the perfect time where superhero culture is at an all-time high and it’s able to subvert the tropes of the genre with anime’s own stereotypes. My Hero Academia and the characters within it have gone through many changes since its humble start.
Izuku Midoriya and company have grown into competent heroes and the anime’s fifth season has just wrapped up, but not before teasing the biggest fight that these heroes have ever experienced. Fans will have to wait a while for Season 6, but there are at least some cues from the manga that indicate what to expect next year.
10 Deku Masters Float & More Of The Previous One For All Users’ Quirks
One of the more exciting developments in Deku’s progress as a hero over the past season is that he’s able to gain access to the Quirks that were possessed by the previous One For All users. Deku gains access to Blackwhip in Season 5, but the manga continues this trend and Midoriya gains control of quite the impressive roster of powers.
Deku can control Float, Danger Sense, Fa Jin, and Smokescreen, not to mention increasing his base level usage of One For All up to 45%. Deku is set to grow in substantial ways over the course of Season 6.
9 Shigaraki Becomes A Host & Conduit For All For One
Season 5 of My Hero Academia gives an unprecedented amount of focus on the villains, especially when it comes to Tomura Shigaraki’s tragic backstory. Shigaraki’s growth as the ultimate evil parallels Midoriya’s progress as the next Symbol of Peace.
Shigaraki’s dark development continues and All For One is able to gain access to Shigaraki’s body to further control him. Shigaraki loses what’s left of his human side and erases any lingering ties and memories to his past. He still needs to reach 100%, but his Decay Quirk has risen to astronomical proportions.
8 The Secret Of One For All Gets Revealed To The Public
One For All is such an important component of Deku’s development as a hero that it can often be easy to forget that it’s actually a secret that’s maintained between a very select group of individuals. The true nature of One For All is suppressed in order to protect its user, but it’s made public knowledge following the events of the Paranormal Liberation War.
Dabi and others leak this news to society, but Deku also comes clean to his friends and tells them the truth through a series of emotional letters. There’s no turning back once the information is out.
7 The Heroes Raid The Paranormal Liberation Front's Hospital Headquarters
The formation of the Paranormal Liberation Front gives the villains larger numbers than ever before and the resources to truly overwhelm the heroes. Part of the reason that the villains have become so resilient is that mad scientist, Kyudai, seems to have an endless supply of Nomu that he can dispense.
The heroes put an end to this after they discover the hospital headquarters that Kyudai has used to complete these experiments. The heroes successfully shut down the hospital and destroy its assets. The villains can’t be nearly as careless once they lose this extensive equipment.
6 Lemillion Regains His Quirk
Season 4 of My Hero Academia does incredible things for Mirio “Lemillion” Togata and proves that he’s a courageous hero who’s just as admirable as Deku. Lemillion’s tender, protective relationship over Eri following her rescue from Kai Chisaki remains a sweet highlight of the series.
Togata finds peace with losing his Quirk, courtesy of a Quirk-Erasing Bullet, but he gloriously returns to action with Eri’s help. Eri learns how to improve her Rewind Quirk’s abilities and she reaches a point where she can restore Togata’s body to when it still had his Permeation ability.
5 Midnight & Many Other Pro Heroes Die & Get Maimed
The events of the Paranormal Liberation War feature the highest body count out of anything that’s ever been experienced in My Hero Academia. The heroes dismantle some of the villains’ most vital organizations, but Shigaraki and company still hold the advantage.
The heroes get the opportunity to regroup and plan for their rematch, but it’s also emphasized how much the heroes have lost through all of this. 19 Pro Heroes meet their end during this conflict, including prominent figures like Midnight, as well as lesser known, but still valuable Pro Heroes like X-Less, Majestic, Crust, and Native.
4 Hawks' Undercover Role With The Villains Is Revealed
My Hero Academia pushes Hawks into some murky territory when the Pro Hero does double duty as he moonlights as a villain. This duplicitous performance allows Hawks to gain crucial intel, but it eventually catches up with him. Hawks is pushed into an impossibly difficult scenario where he takes Twice’s life and barely survives the following encounter with Dabi.
Dabi burns Hawks’ feathers, and if not for the help of Tsukuyomi, then he’d also become collateral damage. Hawks gets an extra big target on his back after the truth comes out.
3 A Series Of Assassins Is Sent After Deku
Like any decent shonen hero, Deku reaches a point where he closes himself off from those that he loves and people begin to question whether he’s headed down a dark path. Deku attempts to segregate himself in an attempt to minimize the fallout from Shigaraki and All For One’s attacks.
This also results in a series of assassins being sent after Deku to deliver him to the villains. Midoriya’s questionable morality in contrast to these endless opponents leads to some very fulfilling soul searching for the hero.
2 Dabi's True Identity Gets Revealed
One of the longest ongoing mysteries that’s been teased in My Hero Academia is the circumstances behind the missing Todoroki sibling, Toya. Many people have suspected that the villain Dabi and his fire-based Quirk is actually Toya, but Dabi confirms as much in one of the series’ most devastating scenes.
This villain doesn’t just confirm his connection to Shoto and Endeavor, but he shares the Todoroki family’s dirty laundry and Endeavor’s sins with the public. He leaves society disillusioned with not just Endeavor, but heroes in general, as a shift begins to occur with the public.
1 Midoriya & Shigaraki Clash In Their Biggest Fight Yet
My Hero Academia has effectively shown how at its core the fight between heroes and villains is really just the generational fallout of the original One For All and All For One users. Midoriya and Shigaraki are the current individuals who represent these extremes, but their fight is emblematic of society’s ongoing war against evil.
One of the most exciting moments to come in Season 6 is when Shigaraki and Midoriya finally come to blows. Shigaraki makes contact and it seems like he might successfully steal away One For All, but it only teases a greater showdown to come.