Is a certain member of the cast of My Hero Academia not long for this world? After you have enjoyed enough Manga and Anime you are able to read between the lines and can see where things are going. From here a conclusion can be drawn for what is going to come in a certain series. This results in an abstract idea, a thought which doesn’t have a physical existence but can be speculated. Welcome to Anime Abstract.
SPOILERS For Naruto and My Hero Academia
In the case of My Hero Academia the series has a lot going for it but it still employs a lot of the standard Shonen tropes. A young boy with a new power is trying his best to be all he can be while at the same time making friends, finding his place in the world, and attempting to make his dream a reality. Standard setup but at the same time the overall entertainment thanks to the enjoyable characters and great action has already made the show one of the best around.
Unfortunately as it is still susceptible to tropes it leaves us with the ability to predict what will happen in the future. In the case of My Hero Academia this means a certain character will meet their end. Who is going to die you might ask? It is none other than the greatest hero in the world All Might.
Before the All Might fans start a comment war, let’s dive into this hypothesis. All Might’s main claim to fame this series (other than being the greatest hero in the world) is being a mentor to Midoriya Izuku, who goes by his nickname of Deku, All Might is training Deku to succeed him as the holder of the power One For All. Unfortunately, this makes him susceptible to a certain trope known as Mentor Occupational Hazard.
The idea behind this trope is a character is grooming a younger hero in an effort to succeed them. Unfortunately, to cut off the new hero from their mentor to help said character spread their wings more, the mentor usually ends up dead. The reason behind this is common logic. Why would anyone call upon a young novice to solve their problems when we they just go to the individual who has more experience and training? Everyone prefers the doctor who has had years of practice under his belt than the intern who is fresh out of their clinicals.
A few warning flags are already starting to go up for All Might. He comes into the series with a brutal injury which has resulted in him having to use his powers in a limited amount of time. In fact, he runs into Deku, his biggest fan while on his day off from his quest to find a successor to his power. All Might reveals to Deku he was injured in a previous fight and has no choice but to limit the amount of time he uses his power. Setting a character up with a time limit based power is recipe for pain in their future.
Things have only gotten worse for All Might since then. After the events of the first season of My Hero Academy, All Might fought against Noumu at the end of the first season he was gravely injured. Noumu was designed to be a creature who could kill All Might by matching him in strength. It caused him to push his limits and receive a severe debility in the process: The amount of time he can use his power is shortened. He is so eager to have Deku reveal to the world he is All Might’s successor, he inspires Deku to announce it in The Sports Festival, an event which is televised all around the world. This results in Deku pushing himself farther than he has ever gone before and getting hurt in the process. Though All Might feels bad for his actions and wants to rethink how to properly train Deku in the use of All For One, the truth of the matter remains. All Might has to teach Deku everything he knows before he finds himself dead because his power ran out at the wrong possible time. With the mention of All Might’s own mentor, who could serve as a new teacher for Deku, the writing is on the wall: All Might will not make it to the final chapter of this manga.
Think this is is just hogwash and there is no way a character as cool as All Might can kick the bucket? To further prove the point, let’s take a look at another long running shonen show and see how the trope played out there. In Naruto, Jiraiya took Naruto under his wing and trained him to become stronger knowing the young boy needed the proper guidance if he had any hope of reaching his full potential. Because of this guidance, the pair bonded and Naruto found the father figure he always wanted.
Unfortunately in an effort to find and uncover the enemy known as Pain and his plot, Jiraiya went on a solo mission to gather information. He ended up dead because of it. This left Naruto with having to shoulder the burden his long his loss Mentor left behind. Naruto was trained under the frogs, achieving a new mode which helped him to bring out his power, and was the one responsible for saving the village from Pain. All because his teacher wasn’t around and he had to move forward.
In summary, later in My Hero Academia, Deku will have no choice but to continue the work of his fallen Master and find a way to keep going on his path to becoming the greatest hero in the world. It will be a truly tragic and emotional moment to read but will help to cement My Hero Academia as the one of the best Manga series around.
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What do you think of this anime hypothesis? Leave us a comment below and let us know if you agree or disagree.
