When we left My Hero Academia at the end of season 7, I knew the upcoming Final Season would open with one of the most emotional fights in the series. But despite already reading it in the manga, I forgot just how powerful this fight would get. Episode 1 (or episode 160, if you follow the overall numbering), titled “Toshinori Yagi: Rising Origin,” drops us right in the middle of the battle between a now-Quirkless All Might and All for One, who has recovered his youth and his now heading to his “other half,” Shigaraki, to take over his body.
The first part of the episode is a recap of the final episode of season 7, which left me slightly disappointed, but as the minutes went on, I realized this was the right choice to tell the story of the final battle between these two archenemies in the best possible way. (If anything, I don’t understand why season 7 ended where it did, midway through this pivotal fight.) Like with every other important fight in the series, My Hero Academia‘s writers use this clash between paragon of superheroism All Might and the sadistic antagonist All for One as a vehicle to transmit the messages that support its narrative. In this case, however, one particular moment rocked me due to its relevance to real-world events.
All Might was once the strongest hero, but he has been grievously injured and lost his powers. His fragile body can only fight thanks to an advanced battle armor built by his friend Melissa Shield, but that’s nothing compared to the array of deadly Quirks that All for One can muster.
As All Might makes his last stand against All for One, the entire world is watching the fight through a mobile, high-tech camera. The scene then moves to a foreign country (the events of My Hero Academia take place in Japan), where a kid watching TV asks his grandma who that hero is (All Might’s appearance at the peak of his power was very different) and what will happen if he wins or loses. The grandma’s answer is chilling: “It’s happening in a far-off country anyhow. No matter which one wins, won’t mean a thing for us.”
One of the core messages of My Hero Academia is that we can all be heroes if only we can defeat the strongest enemy: indifference. Deku’s journey begins when, despite being Quirkless, he rushes to Bakugo’s help while an entire crowd stands by watching as the boy gets suffocated by a villain. This theme returns several times, including in this episode, with a weak All Might smiling as he takes on the strongest villain ever. This isn’t exactly a new trope in the medium, but My Hero Academia excels because it doesn’t rely on miraculous power-ups in these circumstances. The series teaches us that the most important fights are those that you’re not going to win. And yet, despite that, you must fight.
It’s hard to listen to the words of the unnamed grandma and not draw parallels to real-world events. For decades, we have grown progressively more detached and desensitized to the suffering of other human beings. We often won’t lift a finger even if it’s happening in front of us — let alone in a faraway country. “There’s nothing I can do anyway” has become the mantra of indifference, but My Hero Academia teaches us this is never true. Even when our actions seem powerless, taking that first step makes all the difference.
Toshinori Yagi says something similar in the flashback detailing his first encounter with his master, before he became All Might: “Everyone has their hands full with their immediate surroundings.” (In the original Japanese, “immedeate surroundings” becomes the much more specific “three meters.”) That’s why he has to become the Symbol of Peace, but the key is that when he says that he is also Quirkless — the quintessential form of powerlessness in the world of My Hero Academia. I don’t think an anime can really do much to change the world we live in, but My Hero Academia‘s message has never been more relevant. Enjoy this final season while it lasts.
