My Hero Academia chapter 423 all but confirms Deku will end the series Quirkless

Modified May 16, 2024 23:30 GMT

My Hero Academia chapter 423 all but confirms Deku will end the series Quirkless (Image via BONES)

Thursday, May 16, 2024 saw the spoilers and raw scans for My Hero Academia chapter 423 leaked, bringing with them an exciting early look at the upcoming issue. Likewise, as author and illustrator Kohei Horikoshi’s original manga series races towards its end, fans were wholly unsure of what to expect from this latest installment in the series.

Likewise, fans were shocked to see protagonist Izuku “Deku” Midoriya defeat All For One in My Hero Academia chapter 423, not from the act itself but the way in which Deku went about defeating him. Essentially, All For One’s death sees Tomura Shigaraki’s body crumble into nothing, seemingly killing Shigaraki also despite Deku’s wish to save him.

However, the apparent death of Shigaraki, his soul, and his physical body alongside All For One in My Hero Academia chapter 423 is all but confirmed to mean One For All is also gone. In other words, it seems certain that despite fans’ wishes, Horikoshi’s manga series will indeed end as it began; with its protagonist being fully and totally Quirkless.

My Hero Academia chapter 423 puts Horikoshi in a sticky situation with respect to Deku’s personal ending

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The significance of Deku ending the series Quirkless, as My Hero Academia chapter 423 seemingly sets up, plays into his own previously established ideals as a Pro Hero. Deku has always valued saving life above taking it, and likewise wanted to use his Quirk in order to save Tenko Shimura, Shigaraki’s true identity, from what he had become.

This is why he so willingly sacrificed his greatest treasure in the form of One For All; he thought it would help him save someone and become the Pro Hero he always wanted to be. However, with Shigaraki’s ultimate death both in a physical and spiritual sense, Deku has essentially sacrificed his Quirk for nothing in the context of his own ideals. Beyond that, his sacrifice obviously has effectively saved Japan, the lives of its citizens, and potentially the world as well.

Yet within the context of Deku’s own character arc, My Hero Academia chapter 423 all but neuters the significance of this previous sacrifice by giving Deku nothing in return for it. Having Deku end the series Quirkless but achieving his dream of saving Tomura Shigaraki would be fine. Equally acceptable would be an ending where Tenko couldn’t be saved, but Deku was able to hang onto his One For All Quirk, and continue saving others in Tenko’s stead.

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This is precisely why Deku potentially ending the series Quirkless, with the information fans currently have available, is so concerning. Essentially, the worst of both routes has been combined into an ending where Deku fails to live up to his own ideals (via Tenko’s death), and is also punished for chasing them (via the loss of his Quirk).

That being said, there is still some hope that Deku can gain his Quirk back. The final pages of the issue see Deku and Tomura’s spirits speak with each other, likely during the instant Deku’s deadly punch landed. Assuming physical contact was made at the same time as this conversation, it’s possible that Shigaraki transferred One For All back to Deku without telling him or him realizing.

That being said, as it currently stands, My Hero Academia chapter 423 strongly suggests that Deku will end the series Quirkless. While this is still speculative as of this article’s writing, it’s difficult to imagine why Horikoshi would do something of a “fakeout” with Deku being Quirkless considering the overall conclusion fans seem to be getting.