Later Hater! [My Hero Academia 423]

Is he dead dead? For real this time?

I’ll admit, this chapter was a shock to my system. I was like “Is this it? THIS is how it ends?” But at the same time, the battle overall has lasted a long time and it was overdue to end. I felt unsatisfied after reading it the first time.

Then, I waited and read it again.

And, you know what? I like it. I think I really like it.

I liked that the One For All Successors damaging All For Shiggy’s core was the beginning of the end. AFO desired OFA so much, it’s great that when he finally got it, it spelled his doom. The guy got pulverized from the inside and outside. Yikes! Monkey’s Paw rules in full effect!

I liked that this chapter is the climax of all the team work Team Deku did to get to this point from the beginning of this arc, to the last chapter with every available hero contributing to the final fight, to the ghosts of One For All (and Shigaraki) striking the final blow against AFO along with Deku. Team work really did make the dream work. Kudos, heroes!

I liked seeing AFO’s raw emotions when talking to Yoichi. His sadness. His loneliness. That’s the realist we’ve ever seen AFO. That was indeed his core self. Deku was right. AFO was a sad, lonely man who only thought of himself. I think Horikoshi showed us this so we can not only hate, but pity AFO. The man was pitiful. Truly pitiful. And he died a pitiful death.

So glad he’s gone!

Shigaraki. His return was short and sweet. Not too sweet, mind you. I’m glad he’s gone too. Yes, he was totally manipulated by AFO but he’s responsible for a LOT of deaths. Even if his body survived, Shiggy would’ve taken a ride on the death row express for all he’s done. You can’t come back from almost destroying an entire country. No matter how many apology videos you post on YouTube.

Did Bakugo kill Shirakumo/Kurogiri? That part seemed a bit wonky to me. It’s almost like Horikoshi knew he had to put Bakugo in the final battle so he created this scene just for that purpose, to give him something to do. Was Shirakumo already on the verge of death (again)? He was looking weird last chapter? I don’t know. I feel Horikoshi had to bring in Dynamight and give Shirakumo the boot, so he killed two birds with one explosive stone. Meh.

Let’s talk about the possible aftermath.

First, how many chapters are left? Hmm… Well, there’s the immediate aftermath. Then, there’s the status updates of all the characters like Uravity and Mirio. There’s the clean up, world reactions, America’s heroes, the promise we’d see Deku’s father, and a possible time skip final chapter. Not to mention, what becomes of Deku now that One For All is gone? THAT’s gonna be the big one. Will Deku “retire” or become a quirkless hero? I’m betting on the quirkless hero angle. Oh! Maybe Deku’s dad is an engineer living in America and he’s gonna tag along to Japan with the U.S. heroes! Heck, maybe Deku’s dad is a hero living in the U.S.? Why is he living there? Guess we’ll find out, if it’s true.

Where was I? Yes, how many chapters are left? I’ll just say five. Can’t be more than ten and I doubt the next chapter is the last so let’s go with that.

This was a… Well… I mean… It took a lot of processing but… I love this chapter! It’s was quick but satisfying. The art was good, I love seeing AFO’s vulnerable side, and Shigaraki got a nice send off despite not being the final villain like I wanted. Maybe I’m grading on a Shonen Jump curve. Maybe I shouldn’t rate the chapter because I’m still processing it to some degree. Maybe once I truly pick this chapter apart piece-by-piece with tweezers and a magnifying glass I won’t like it as much. But, my current feeling is I’m satisfied. Sometimes you gotta get over yourself and just have fun. And I had fun reading this chapter. Eventually.

No, I haven’t forgotten. Koichi Watch 2024 is still going strong! My insanity anticipation is growing. I ᑕᗩᑎ’T ᗯᗩIT TO ᔕEE ᕼIᗰ. ᕼEE! ᕼEE! ᕼEE! ᗷEᑕᗩᑌᔕE Iᖴ I ᗪOᑎ’T… I’ᗰ GOᑎᑎᗩ GO ᖴᑌᑕ—

Whoops! I’m foaming at the mouth again. Sorry, Y’all! Heh. Heh. Heh.

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