There are still a couple of unanswered questions about how Bones will end this adaptation. Mainly, which “final” chapter will it close with. But that it’s ending next week is a certainty. After seven seasons and 170 episodes, (mostly) highs and a few lows. Boku no Hero Academia is the most-reviewed series in LiA’s 14-year history, and all of its seasons have been in their respective year-end Top 10 lists (spoiler – this one won’t break the streak). I’ll deal with that emotionally when the time comes, but I was already starting to feel the pangs here.
As we know, Horikoshi scores major points for giving HeroAca the time for a proper reflective ending. And he’s not afraid to let a coda be a coda, which sometimes happens with action series. If I can fault him in that respect, it’s for trying too hard to touch every base he’s laid out in 430 chapters. But there are a lot of important characters in BnHA, and it’s not wrong that he should give us an idea of where their stories will end.
Spinner’s inclusion here is obviously beyond reproach. He was specifically called out by Shigaraki in his final moments – the only one who was. There was never any question of Deku not honoring Tenko’s request – that’s not who he is. Spinner was always among the more sympathetic of the League of Villains, a guy for whom personal loyalty trumped everything else and being heard meant everything. One thing that’s clear is that what existed between Shigaraki and his fellow Leaguers was not a sham – the loyalty was real, and a two-way street. All For One had loyal henchmen, but he could never have had comrades in the sense that Shigaraki did.
Back at school, the incoming first-years are hero-worshipping the veterans of the great battle. This is pretty uncomfortable for most of them, not least Bakugo. Edge Shot is still in reduced mode, but he assures Kacchan that he intends to return to his full form, which would no doubt ease the guilt Kacchan is feeling over his sacrifice. That guilt is nothing next to Ochaco however. For her, the knowledge that Toga-chan paid the ultimate price so that she could live is a weight that she’s going to have to learn to live with. Toga was a villain who did a lot of really bad things, but Ochaco is who she is – she leads with empathy and leaves herself wide open for the counter-punch.
Horikoshi makes no apologies for how earnestly good Izuku and Uraraka are. That’s their identity, and it became essential to their character arcs. Of course an elephant in the room (though not the biggest, in my view) with this series is whether those arcs would ultimately bring them together. That’s decidedly indeterminate for now – obviously a strong bond exists there, as evidenced by Deku tracking down Ochaco after she retreated to be alone and self-reproach for what happened to Himiko. But if Izuku has it in him to see her – or anyone – as something more than a friend, we still get no direct evidence of it.
However the adaptation chooses to end, there are still quite a few unanswered questions going into the finale. Aside from the question of personal relationships there’s the matter of Deku’s future. Just how much flame is in that ember of One For All that still resided within him? He may have played his part in One For All’s story, but his own story has most of its chapters still to be written. Spinner may be writing a book in the literal sense, but Deku has to decide how to tell the story of his future life.
The post Boku no Hero Academia: Final Season – 10 appeared first on Lost in Anime.
