My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi officially wrapped up the story in Japan on December 4, 2024, with the release of the final volume of the story. In the anime, the series reached its conclusion in 2025 and received extra releases, the last of which came on August 2, 2026, in the form of an OVA titled I Am a Hero Too, which is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
While My Hero Academia’s story has officially wrapped up with Izuku Midoriya receiving Hero Armor and becoming a Pro Hero once again, Kohei Horikoshi’s original ending for the story was actually quite different. It has been revealed by the author himself that he decided to change his ending for the series, which has come as a shock to many readers of the story. Kohei Horikoshi’s original ending would have been much worse for Izuku Midoriya and stripped away all hope from him, which is a darker touch that many fans would potentially have liked.
Kohei Horikoshi’s Original Ending Would’ve Left Deku Quirkless Forever
One of the most important plot points that came into play at the end of My Hero Academia was the loss of One For All for Izuku Midoriya. Right from the get-go, many fans had predicted that Izuku would go on to lose the One For All forever at the end of the story. This became especially apparent when it was confirmed that Izuku Midoriya, as the ninth user of the One For All, was going to be the last user of this power to ever live. At some point, the One For All had to cease to exist, and that happened in the battle against Shigaraki Tomura, as Izuku probed for an opening to not only beat him but also attempt to rescue him.
In the end, Izuku lost the power of One For All and was successful in defeating Shigaraki. When the Final War ended, and the epilogue continued, My Hero Academia confirmed to us that Izuku still had some embers of One For All, just like All Might did after the events of the Quirk transfer at the beginning of the series. However, by the time of My Hero Academia chapter 430, these embers had burned out, and he was once again quirkless.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it all. But as long as I can inspire others, then I’d say this is still the tale of how we became great Heroes. All of us, for all time…this is actually the tale of how we’ll keep reaching out to help at all times” — Izuku Midoriya becomes a teacher, My Hero Academia Chapter #430
Following an 8-year timeskip, it was confirmed to us that Izuku Midoriya was actually a teacher at UA instead of being a Pro Hero, while all the other friends that he had served as powerful pro heroes. This was disappointing for some fans, but the disappointment was short-lived when, at the end of the series, Izuku was granted a hero armor by All Might. It was revealed that this armor was paid for by Izuku’s friends, particularly Bakugo Katsuki, and that its powers would allow him to become a Pro Hero once again. This served as the true ending of the series. My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi confirms that his original ending would have left Izuku Quirkless as a teacher forever instead of allowing him to become a pro hero once again.
Question: Chapter 1 ended with “This is the story of how I became the greatest hero”, and in chapter 324 that changed to “This is the story of how we all became the greatest heroes”. Then in chapter 430, the story ends with “This is the story of how we all continue to reach a hand out to others together”. Was this the plan from the beginning of the series?
Horikoshi’s answer: No! It wasn’t! I originally planned for it to end with Deku becoming a teacher and saying “You can be a hero!”. Having used up his powers but looking fully confident… like that. The reason it changed is that this series was no longer a story just about Deku and One For All.
In this series I was exploring “What does it mean to be the greatest hero?” and the answer this manga came to is that it means “reaching a hand out to others”, so I thought I would put the answer in writing, and that’s how the final monologue of chapter 430 became what it is now.
— Kohei Horikoshi reveals his true ending for Deku, My Hero Academia Guidebook
Why Horikoshi Changed His Mind And Gave Deku A Hero Armor
Horikoshi’s decision to make Izuku Midoriya a pro hero once again was his own. When an author begins planning a story, they often have one idea concerning its ending, but as the story continues, ideas change and newer plotlines form. When All Might was given Hero Armor to face off against All For One in the Final War arc, Kohei Horikoshi was probably inspired to do something similar for Izuku Midoriya. That is precisely what he ended up doing.
“I wanted to give you a special gift. The data from my fight against All For One opened up room for crazy possibilities. Technology has continued to evolve alongside Quirks. Take this to heart, kid. This too is a power you’ve earned, fair and square.” — All Might gives Deku his Armor, My Hero Academia Chapter #430
Furthermore, leaving Izuku without a Quirk at the end of the series would have been cruel to a certain degree. At the end of the day, he is the protagonist of the series and worked incredibly hard, much more than anyone else, to be worthy of One For All. For him to give up this power was already unfair to a certain degree, but to be left Quirkless while all the others continued their duties as Pro Heroes would have been even worse. Perhaps a part of the author felt bad about Izuku Midoriya and decided to give him this Hero Armor instead, and with it, he can once again stand tall as a powerful pro hero of Japan.
Deku’s Story Continues With New Anticipated Releases Coming In 2027
On August 2, 2026, it was officially confirmed to us in the most recent Crunchyroll release of My Hero Academia that Izuku Midoriya stands as the Number 4 Hero of Japan right now, with Bakugo Katsuki right behind him in Number 5. The world of My Hero Academia continues to expand even though there is no anime or manga release, but that could potentially change in December when Jump Festa 2027 is going to be held on December 19, 2026.
My Hero Academia is going to get its own stage at the Super Stage Red event at Jump Festa, which is the biggest stage where major announcements are set to take place. As to what major announcement My Hero Academia will get, we do not know, but what we can say with absolute certainty is that there is a big surprise planned for the fans. Many fans hope for a revival of the series through a movie or any other form of continuation, and it is certainly a major possibility at this time, with Izuku’s journey still continuing. Kohei Horikoshi and Studio Bones could potentially collaborate once again to continue this journey forward, and that is something that we are eagerly waiting to see.
All chapters of My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.