Team Kosaki for Life

Before I go any further let me define two terms I use in my head:

Heisei rom-coms - where there are several romantic options and the male mc bounces between them chapter to chapter. The first/new girl wins, whether they meet in chapter 1 or had a previous connection that ties them together. Confessing marks the end of the series. Reiwa rom-coms - All about the main couple, there might be other girls around but the male mc is not weavering in the slightest. They start dating no later than halfway into the series or sometimes out of the gate in chapter 1. (Examples: Kaguya-sama Love is War, You and I are Polar Opposites). Largely where a Heisei rom-com ends, is where many Reiwa rom-coms begins. So first let me start by saying that Hima-ten is not some deep story about interpersonal struggles, or issues with romance because it's really not. It's a very chill, light hearted read all things considered. Now let me walk through the main beats of the story and discuss how it arrived at a surprise ending. 1) The New Girl at School

The story follows Tenichi Iemori. An upstanding young man who works outside of school. He is a house cleaner for several clients. In the first chapter we first meet childhood friend Kanai Honoka. She’s had a crush on our male protag since middle school.  Iemori likes her back, but due to various reasons they’ve been unable to connect feelings. (Haven’t we seen this before!) Then we meet the titular heroine herself, Himari Yoshino. She’s the CEO of a her own cosmetics company brand. Himari unknowingly hires Iemori to be her personal house cleaner. Due to the nature of her work and the embarrassment of a guy visiting her house, she asks Iemori to keep it a secret. And so begins the rom-com of a guy and girl in an unlikely work relationship while attending school and thrown into situations that will bring them together more often on a regular basis. It's the classic set-up of a Heisei era rom-com manga. In addition to the main trio, we are introduced to Aizawa Kanna, an upcoming star in the Gravure world. Lastly, Himenono Nonoka, an idol turned teacher. Unfortunately she was added too late in the story to get a character arc. Both of these characters exist mostly to add fan service appeal whenever they appear. Additionally Honoka works the register at Starbucks. What is the common thread linking all of our heroines? They work outside of school. That’s the gimmick of this series.

2) The Summer Festival (Chapter 37-38)

Jumping ahead to the first major story moment, Himari was unable to see the fireworks with the group because of a work conflict (she was also being shy about going). While at the festival Tenichi wins a prize. After seeing the fireworks the first thing he thinks of is going straight to Himari’s place, gives her a Kimono (the prize) and they watch a video recording of the fireworks together in the living room. This is the scene where Himari realizes she’s in love with her house cleaner. I couldn’t believe he ditched Honoka to be with Himari at that moment. It's like she’s always in the back of his mind at all times. He still says he likes Honoka, but their work relationship is turning into preferential treatment whether he realizes it or not. Himari can now begin to take advantage of those moments together to wow him more often.

3) Heroine on the Slopes - “To me Kanai is the heroine of this story. That’s what I thought in that moment” (Chapter 72-73)

Moving ahead to just before the final arc, we get a short Honoka arc where they relive an event from middle school. Back then Iemori missed going on a winter class trip due to taking care of his ill younger siblings. This time Honoka falls ill and he goes over to help her, causing both of them to miss the trip again in high school. Honoka recalls the event because she went over to Iemori’s house to give him a souvenir gift afterwards. So all these years later Iemori was able to return the favor. It's a cute moment where they can personally connect heart to heart. I honestly believed this line to be a false flag. Of course he thinks that right now, but we all know due to reasons beyond reason, he will change his mind later, right?. There would be no narrative tension in the final stretch if he stayed true to his thoughts in that moment. For example Raku loved Kosaki up until he didn’t (but that character arc is a whole other discussion). We’ve seen this time and time again, the male mc loves his childhood crush until he doesn’t.

4) Final Arc Begins: The Viral Photo (Chapter 78)

Now from this point onwards I thought we were on the Himari route. Himari and Iemori went out on a New Years shrine visit together and a Himari fan uploaded a photo to social media. This was clearly going to be the point when Iemori realizes he doesn’t simply enjoy being around Himari but rather the time they spend together means something more. 

So here’s how this plays out: First, Himari doesn’t want a work relationship overshadowing her potential romance with Iemori. So she cancels the contract. Himari wants to fight on an equal playing field. At the same time Honoka has vowed to confess her feelings in 1 month during the upcoming school trip. (uh oh, delaying is a common losing heroine trait). In order to repair Himari’s public image she chooses to embrace the idea that Iemori has always been around to support her this whole time. Himari decides to make a photobook to show off the time they spend together. Normally this is when the male mc connects the dots in their brain that love has bloomed between them and justifies everything he has done for her throughout the story, right? Side Note: For Kanna’s confession, while Iemori rejected her, they still hold mutual respect as two people committed to the work grind. He whole heartedly supports Kanna’s gravure work. Side Note 2: Himenono was introduced too late to be considered a love interest. Maybe if the story had lasted longer. She looks very similar to Honoka so I was scared about how that might have changed Iemori’s thinking. (My long standing theory was that Iemori would land on the idea that Honoka is cute, but cute isn't love.) 5) And the Winner is…. (Chapter 95)

Kanai Honoka! Genki Ono gave Kanai Honoka the victory. Not her own route, not her own special ending, but the actual canon ending. The series title is Hima-Ten, a ship name of Himari and Tenichi, and Honoka won. Throughout the whole story Iemori would frequently go out of his way to spend time with Himari whether that was making her feel better or helping her out. Iemori realized doing those things aren’t necessarily romantic in nature. He does them because he cares about her. It was following the classic plot trajectory we’ve seen time and time again. Yet in the end, Iemori never weavered. He reiterated over and over throughout the story that he liked Honoka, and that never changed. What a guy! A Heisei era style rom-com where the new girl love interest, who is the titular character, loses is a pleasant surprise.

1. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End When I make these yearly lists I consider anything that ended within the year to be eligible so of course the top anime of the year is without a doubt Frieren. I’ve been following the manga since it began and I knew right away that it would be a massive hit someday. Frieren is about the passage of time with an Elf who realizes how short the human lifespan is. She comes to realize that despite always being with Himmel and his party for 10 years, she barely knew a single thing about them nor treasured the time together. So with a new party and a renewed goal of reaching Heaven for one last conversation with Himmel, she sets forth on a quest that is part making new memories while retracing old events. I thought the anime was the most perfect adaptation I’ve seen in a long time. They nailed the atmospheric slow pacing, they went all out on the action scenes, and the seiyuu cast brought out the best of the characters. I would even argue it’s an overall improvement on the manga. The manga is good, but the paneling isn’t the most exciting and the art can be plain looking. I can’t possibly recommend this anime enough. I’m eagerly looking forward to season 2.

2. Hibike Euphonium Season 3 A running theme in 2024 was new seasons for anime that I highly enjoyed from several years ago, the strongest of which was without a doubt Hibike Euphonium. The new season gave me a good reason to watch the recap movies and then the 2023 special to get myself back up to speed, and let me just say WOW. Hibike Euphonium is just as good as I remember, maybe even better since I’m older now and appreciate some of the finer storytelling techniques. Liz is also worth watching. I’ve been on Tumblr for so long that I have my thoughts on record about season 1 (poorly written) from back in the day. Season 3 is all about Kumiko’s 3rd year of high school. She’s now club president and must deal with all the responsibilities that come with managing the underclassman. However, her Eupho position comes under threat from the transfer student Mayu whose skills on the Eupho are just as good as Kumiko, if not downright better. This stirs up tension throughout the season which continues to build and build to the climax. Kumiko and Mayu are presented as foils to each other in a few aspects. Mayu is good at the Eupho while not seeing herself as someone overly committed to the club. Kumiko in contrast feels inferior to Mayu yet feels earning the coveted position on the Soli is a given her seniority status in the club. Everything comes to a head when Kumiko and Mayu have to compete against each other for a spot in the nationals performance. The club had to vote for which was best, and it came down to Reina’s tie breaker. Even though she couldn’t deny Kumiko's music from sound,  Mayu was obviously the better player. We then had a super emotional scene on Mt. Daikichiyama that mirrored season 1 (I visited this location earlier this year). Easily one of the best anime moments this year. So with this season, Kumiko’s story has come to a close. I couldn’t believe KyoAni actually changed the ending of this arc. In the novels it was Kumiko who won the competition. The change to Mayu was so seamless and honestly always felt like that’s where the story momentum was going. Also Shuuichi was more or less banished from the story so season 3 had plenty more Yuri baiting. Anyhow, KyoAni anime only comes out 1-2 times a year and everytime I’m quickly reminded why they are the best. I can’t wait for City and the Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid movie in 2025.

3. Monogatari Off & Monster Season Speaking of long awaited new seasons, this year also featured a new installment of the Monogatari series. This season covers 3 stories from Off Season and the first volume of Monster Season. Right away it was obvious that the direction style was changed to be a blend of the original Bake era and the style used in later installments. I can only describe it as a return to form of what made the anime so attractive in the first place. It's an approach that still perfectly compliments Nisio’s out of the box writing. The first major arc this season was a Nadeko retrospective story where she has to literally confront her past selves. It was the closure to her previous arcs that I didn’t realize I needed. From shy to outgoing to becoming a god, then reverting back to normal, Nadeko has been on a journey like no other. In Nadeko Draw she comes to accept every aspect of herself and how each moment played a role in bringing herself to where she is today. Ironically she’s become more in-tuned into the world of aberrations than ever before. The second major arc revolved around Shinobu and her backstory. We learned that her beauty brought death wherever she went until she encountered the vampire Deathtopia. It's a very Nisio concept to explore the interaction between someone who can kill all and someone who can’t die. It really put into perspective why she treasured Seishirou and Araragi so much later in life. This backstory was a prelude to Shinobu Mustard. A story about Araragi trying to figure out the vampire targeting Kanbaru’s basketball team. It was great seeing Araragi again after all these years. Between more Monogatari anime and Cipher Academy, I’ve been spoiled on experiencing more Nisio writing lately. The man is a non stop writing machine yet he still has the magic touch to make compelling stories.. Surely there will be another installment of Off Season and Monster Season since there’s still plenty more to cover.

4. Too Many Losing Heroines I am no stranger to the losing heroine archetype as someone with over 15 years of experience watching my heroines lose over and over. This Tumblr blog is themed around Kosaki Onodera, the losing heroine of Nisekoi. So when a series comes along that follows the pov of losing heroines from various archetypes then you know I’m in. Too Many Losing asks “What happens afterwards?” We follow Yanami Anna, the stereotypical blue hair losing heroine who took too long to confess and loses her standing to the new pink hair transfer student with large breasts. It’s a troupe as old as time which even Kosaki fell victim to. The story begins at what would be the climax of Yanami’s story.  She is pushing Sosuke, the male character of her story, to see the heroine one last time before she departs. It's the exact moment when so many losing heroines formally lose to the new heroine. We then meet Lemon (the athletic tomboy) and Chika (the shy bookworm type) along with the cast of characters for their respective stories. From here we basically get the aftermath to each one. Our losing heroines can’t simply let go of their feelings after seeing their guy hook with another girl. They all join the school’s literature club and take comfort in knowing each other. I’ll be the first to admit the writing could be stronger, but I think the series works with a solid base. Yanami is one of the funniest characters from this year. The author recently confirmed how they were inspired by Darling in the Franxx’s Ichigo who certainly had an attitude on her shoulders, just as Yanami. We can only imagine how the losing girls act when they’re off-screen and this series provides a glimpse into the characters. It’s written with earnest love for the genre. I’ve picked up the LNs so maybe I’ll have more thoughts to report in the future.

5. Girls Band Cry Lastly, we have a show that came out of nowhere. Girls Band Cry might initially turn off viewers for its CG, but I assure you Toei is the one studio you can trust to give a CG model the personality it needs. Just see all the Precure EDs, some of the movies, and DB Super Hero as recent examples. I too was foolishly dismissive at first as well, but I should have known better. This quickly became one of those shows that defined the odds and grew rapidly in popularity during the season it aired through word of month alone. Girls Band Cry is about Nina moving to the big city in hopes of changing her life. She wants to get away from her strict family and rediscover herself through the escapism of music. There she meets Momoka, Subaru, and a couple other band members to fill out the group. Nina is quite a bundle of rage who always seems ready to blow at any moment. She gets easily misunderstood by everyone around her. Nina is the type who often times believes she is always right to a stubborn degree. A major point of her character arc is getting Momoka to be less dismissive of her own music as Nina struggles to convey how much it changed her own life. They argue, they fight, and in the end they become closer. This better get another season. The Nari character designs are charming. I want to see the group make it big plus Rupa had no episodes for herself. There’s plenty of room for the band to grow and many more challenges to overcome. The CG allowed the series to stand out in a way that I think surprised a lot of people. Between this, Bocchi, and Girl Meets Rock on Jump+, there’s been a strong streak of girls playing bands lately. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Best OP/EDs of the Year: 1. One Piece Opening 26 - Perfectly captures the energy going into Egghead and teases everything that will happen in this set of episodes. Also directed by Megumi Ishitani like the previous OP. 2. Tying the Tie with an Amagami Sister ED 1 - Sung by the main seiyuu with pretty visuals. Better than usual for a rom-com ED 3. Bleach TYBW Cour 3 ED - Rare case of ED being better than the OP. I love the stills of each character + there are 3 versions 4. Nadeko Draw OP - A visual adventures in Nadeko's imagination with Yotsugi is very cute. Felt like a continuation of her previous openings 5. Hibike Euphonium Season 3 OP - The Perfect kind of opening that got me in the mood for the episode each week. KyoAni visuals perfect as usual. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wonderful Precure: Precure is usually on my top 5 list, so what happened? Put simply, after 20 years its gone to the dogs. I know how some years of Precure are better than others and the 2024 series had especially big shoes to fill so I had to keep my expectations tampered. Initially I was not pleased with the animal theme or the lack of fighting and minimal plot. However I come out not completely disliking Wonderful Precure. In my All Stars F post I mentioned how one of Precure’s overarching themes is Bonds. This year we explored bonds between pets and their owners through Komugi/Iroha, Mayu/Yuki, and Satoru/Daifuku. On the opposite side we have the wolf Gaou-sama who completely detests humans after being betrayed and seeing his species nearly go extinct. Its got more depth than you might think from the start. The 2025 series will be idols so that’s already promising. While I wouldn’t list these in my top 5, this was a generally good year for Weekly Shonen Jump (and Jump+) anime adaptations. My Hero Academia came and went with another season. Same issue as usual but I’ll give them credit for improving the drawings. We got a shaft-like experience with Undead Unluck that made the anime stand out in ways I didn’t expect. Unfortunately there were pacing issues in the middle and the back half wavered compared to the start. There will be a 1 hour special in a year so we can only hope for another season after that. Dandadan from Science Saru came out swinging. It was always going to be impossible to adapt Yukinobu’s spread compositions to screen yet that made up for that with superb character animation and voice acting. Dandadan Episode 7 was one of the best this year. Bleach TYBW Cour 3 added several much needed scenes for Uryu. Each week I remember how much I enjoyed Bleach and how we didn’t appreciate Kubo while he was around. The Elusive Samurai is definitely one of the best looking Jump anime in a good while. I never would have expected that one to get such strong animation direction. Matsui was overdue to have one of his manga adapted with such style. It's only held back by there not being more right now.

Lastly, I wanted to mention the single best anime episode this year was One Piece Fan Letter, directed by Megumi Ishitani. She honestly might be too good for directing normal episodes at this point. The special was framed around the normal people within the world of One Piece. How do they see those with crazy powers? How is the shifting times affecting them? Do they engage in power scale conversations? It’s a side of the story focused on a point of view that we never experience. It was such a treat to revisit that turbulent time after Marineford within the world of One Piece. Toei please give Megumi Ishitani a full length movie to direct next. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manga Section: The Year of Long Runners Ending

As for manga this was a major transition year for Weekly Shonen Jump. My Hero Academia ended an impressive 10 year run in the magazine and Jujutsu Kaisen concluded just weeks later. As of the time of this writing Undead Unluck and Mission: Yozakura Family are looking to likely be ending in the first weeks of 2025. This will put Me & Roboco as the 2nd oldest series in the magazine and its only a 5 year old title.

Quick thoughts rundown of numerous long runners that concluded this year: 1) Edens Zero - Basically FT in space, could have ended better but I liked the adventures 2) Call of the Night - The kind of romance story you could only get from Kotoyama, loved the atmosphere 3) Twin Star Exorcist - Finally one of the long running Jump SQ series ends after 10 years. Didn’t hate it, but still long past its prime 4) Orient - Got better as it went along. Shame the objective switched to finishing the serialization after it went monthly 5) Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable - Hokkaido Gals are indeed adorable. Very heartfelt harem series with a lot of color pages to enhance key scenes.(Best girl was Sayurin) 6) Jujutsu Kaisen - The battles were 10/10, the plot was confusing nor reached its peak for me. 7) Oshi no Ko - Great journey and I think the ending is misunderstood. Ruby has surpassed Ai by being more relatable to her fans. Everyone knows her mom and brother are dead, so they find her performing with a smile to be endearing and inspiring. 8) My Hero Academia - I wrote a long piece on this ending Looking at the Jump graveyard, as always we lost a couple of series that I thought had promising potential. Mamayuyu’s Yoshihiko Hayashi is a mangaka to remember for the future. Their design work and page compositions are already far beyond the skills of a rookie. He only needs to make his writing easier to understand. Green Green Greeens from Kento Terasaka was surprisingly endearing despite some writing faults. It was about discovering how a new passion can completely change your life. Martial Master Asumi from Kawada was just too cultured for normal readers to understand with character writing that was perhaps too nuanced for a shonen audience. And finally my favorite series to die early, Cipher Academy from Nisioisin and Yuji Iwasaki. It was another instance of “Nisio still has it”. Weaving character development and world building through puzzle solving is the most Nisio thing ever. Solving the puzzles on your own as a reader wasn’t important, the hook was how the characters approached each one. However, that did sort of defeat the purpose of having puzzles in the first place.. Overall it lasted just over 1 year and finished the story fairly conclusively. Iwasaki’s art was crazy good and I hope they find themselves drawing on a major hit someday.

Let's first flashback to the summer of 2014. I was in college preparing to spend my Junior year abroad in Japan. My Tumblr was very active and about to reach new highs with my presence in the Nisekoi fandom. In the Weekly Shonen Jump world, a generational shift was about to occur with the new debut of a new battle manga from a previously 2 time canceled author, Kohei Horikoshi.

Looking back on the issue when My Hero Academia started, we can clearly see how it was a completely different era of Jump. Naruto was still running at chapter 683. That is near the end of the 4th Great Ninja War arc. Naruto would later finish that fall in Issue 50, 2014. Additionally, Kuroko was just a couple of issues away from wrapping up and cementing itself as one of the best sport manga Jump had seen in a decade. One Piece was in the middle of Dressrosa, where little did we know that chapter 752 would only put us halfway through the arc. Gintama was just about to make a major pivot into full time battle manga mode. This issue also saw the conclusion of iShoujo at 20 chapters. (It would later get rebooted on Jump+ as a launch title and run for 14 volumes). It's very clear how My Hero Academia started in a complete era than where are now. So, how was My Hero Academia in the early days? Well, quite honestly I thought it was a very middle of the road title. I was already familiar with Horikoshi through Barrage (the very first simlpub in the digital Jump era that Viz started from chapter 1). He always had a good sense of perspective and the way he draws mouths with depth is a distinctive feature. The series also wore its Naruto inspirations quite openly, while taking advantage of the popularity in superhero movies to add some visibility in the eyes of readers. I thought it was riding the coattails of current trends. The early chapters were standard fare in modern day shonen. Speeding through character introductions and establishing the setting. Shigaraki made an early appearance with the mob baddies called Nomus but it was hard to get invested in the central conflict so soon. However Shigaraki’s eerie design of being covered in hands certainly stood out at the time. I was curious but not necessarily invested right away. (of course in retrospective its clear how Horikoshi used the early events as building blocks for what was to come later)

But you know what sways me the most: Tournament Arcs! This Sports Festival tournament was where I finally started feeling invested in the series. In part because tournament arcs provide an easy to use template for establishing character relationships, create unexpected match ups, ground character arc trajectories, and provide payoffs if used later in the story. The big plot point introduced in this arc was the #2 Hero Endeavor and the relationship with his son, Todoroki. If All Might is the honest public face hero, then Endeavor is the power obsessed guy. He destroyed his family and took extreme measures to produce a child that can beat All Might. Todoroki's story begins with him outright rejecting his father. However, this changed during a fight with Deku. Deku and Todoroki are both foils and yet mirrors of each other at the same time. They were both blessed with powers that were not obtained naturally. Deku was given a quirk on the spur of the moment from All Might. Todoroki was given his abilities in service of someone else’s goals. One accepts their reality and the other does not. Deku showed that Todoroki accepting the power is not the same as acting in father's wishes. He should use the powers gifted to him in whatever ways he sees fit. This moment comes with the first end of chapter title drop and the moment when Horikoshi’s writing clicked into place for me. The scene when Todoroki uses his flames for the first time is powerful because I loved how they were depicted coming out so naturally. These flames are a part of himself and always have been. Todoroki has at last accepted that side of himself going forward.

After the tournament, it shifts into a short arc with the Killer Hero Stain. He brings up the idea that Heroes should be more than symbols for people to worship, and instead Heroes should practice what they preach. He sees All Might as the only authentic hero to follow. This is the first time we see a villain figure making a valid point that pins down one of the faults to hero society. Stains describes how everyone is doing it for fun, out of obligation, or for making money. All Might is someone whose confidence is so strong that his hero persona and outward personality are one in the same. Sadly this arc was too short to fully explore the idea, but it would come up again later. Jumping ahead, the series quickly reached its first major story climax: All Might vs. One For All. I went into this fight thinking All Might was going to die and was very surprised when he didn't. The master passing the torch to his student through a death scene is such a common trope (which yes, it made me even more surprised how All Might survived the entire story). I was on the edge of my seat when reading this weekly and consider it a high point of the series. This fight ended up marking the beginning of the end to the Hero Society. All Might's retirement shakes the very foundation of the Hero world. Who can possibly replace someone who inspires people from all walks of life? From this point on, Deku and Shigaraki are now  walking similar paths as the heirs to this conflict. The following arcs saw the league of villains poking at the cracks and expanding the seeds of distrust.

When manga serializations are constantly one-upping itself on story climaxes, it can be hard to return to any semblance of a daily life in the aftermath of major moments. This middle section of the manga from about volume 12 to 24 is a boring stretch of the series. First getting the provisional licenses felt unnecessary in the grand scheme since there's really nothing stopping them from fighting the bad guys other than technical loopholes in the writing. Then the Shie Hassaikai arc was almost like canon filler to me.  It amounted to very little at the time and came off like a side quest. (This arc also marks the beginning of frequent breaks). Afterwards the U.A. school festival was a refreshing turn back into school life but still, Gentle isn't the fodder we need to see. Lastly, the worst offender of this stretch by far was the class A vs. B matches. A tournament style arc just for show. No stakes. Nothing of consequence.  It basically paused the story for about 2 volumes. Thankfully Horikoshi would resume the plot right afterwards with a bang.

My Villain Academia is exactly what the story needed to get itself back together. The League of Villains seemed like they were supposed to be foils for class A-1 and yet any comparable character development just wasn’t happening. This was finally going to change. This arc focused exclusively on the villains and each member would get a quirk power up, while Shigaraki received the rampaging ally Gigantomachia. We also have the Tenko: Origin chapter to put his past into perspective. While I still have issues with the villain writing, it felt like the villains could finally stand on their own in the story.

The momentum continued into the Paranormal Liberation War. An all-out fight between the heroes and villains at their peak across multiple areas of Japan. The countdown to Mirko stopping Shigaraki from reaching his true form was thrilling. Then came the first real clash between Deku and Shigaraki. However, the star of the show for this arc was undoubtedly Dabi who effectively canceled Endeavor’s entire career. Dabi exposed the past of Endeavor by explaining his own story. He showed that Heroes put up a public positive face to hide their power hungry desires motivating them behind the scenes. This makes Heroes no different from villains in many regards. These words brought an end to Hero society as we knew it. The public was already feeling uneasy after the retirement of All Might, and signaling out Endeavors’s past showed how the system was built on an image, not human understanding. Japan was left in ruins, numerous convicted villains were released back into the wild, and the people have nobody they can trust.

I consider the spread page above to be my favorite from the entire series. Horikoshi’s art reached new highs throughout the Paranormal Liberation War arc. His ability to depict Shigaraki as a real force of nature against the Heroes was crazy good. You could really feel the impact behind every attack on each individual and the surrounding environment. Shigaraki ability is something that alters landscapes wherever he goes.

The final stretch of the story begins with Deku acting like a vigilante. Hero Society at-large has hit its lowest point where the institution of Heroes who maintain public safety is no more. The public is scared for their life. Heroes have largely abandoned their post. One for All and the strongest villains are on the loose, and Deku has been completely worn down by the burden of his role. His mind has entered the idea that only he alone can fix this. The Lady Nagant storyline was awesome. She is someone who had to adapt to survive in these precilous times. A hero and a villian is only matter of perspective after all. Sometimes people will do what they need to in order to survive. If even our main character can be swayed then where is the line hero and villain?

The Dark Deku arc is when Deku is stripped down to his core convictions: the desire to protect his friends and defeat One for All. However it's the very friends that he was trying to push away, who ultimately reached out the hand to save him. Deku has touched each of their lives in ways he can't even begin to imagine. Now it was time for them to return the favor. This brings the story to a touching scene where Uraraka yells to an audience of scared citizens to remind them how Heroes are people too and Deku is one of them. This section is my favorite part of the entire story. It felt like everything had changed. We didn't know where the story was going next nor where to begin tackling the awful state of the world. Everything was so raw. It was an exciting time to be reading weekly.

After reaching a new series high, we drop down to one of its lowest points in my opinion. Star & Stripe vs. Shigaraki was an absolute shame. There should have been a study abroad arc so Deku could meet and experience heroes around the world. So when the Number One American hero is introduced, with death flags, I was skeptical about why. I don't like when characters are introduced just to die immediately. The whole point was to artificially weaken Shigaraki so the heroes would stand a chance in the upcoming final battle. Similarly, I would have liked the traitor reveal if it had been more important throughout the story. Barely came up after the training camp arc in volume 9. It came off like Hoirkoshi just needed to check off that box to appease readers before entering the final battle. But, finally seeing Hagakure’s face was a very nice reward. Despite the stumbles to set up the final battle, I thought it was incredible. One of the best in recent memory from Jump. A fight with the future of Japan on the line across numerous locations. In shonen manga style, it pulled in every single character from throughout the series, used all the mobs to their fullest, and pitted villains vs. their foil villain character. Iit definitely checked off all the boxes of what you need for a grand finale to a long running battle shonen. I think Dabi and Todoroki got the thematic ending it needed. Spinner could have used a little more focus. Himeko and Uraraka reached an understanding at the very end that was probably the safe end for their storyline. I loved seeing the floating stage slowly descend to the surface as the climax approached, while the fighting began to center around Deku and Bakugo. Horikoshi once again reached new artistic highs I couldn’t even imagine throughout the final battle. I like to think the frequent breaks allowed him to pace it better than you typically find in Jump manga final arcs.

As the series comes to close, I am left very pleased with where character arcs ended up. Deku is someone who had to grow up almost overnight. From a quirkless boy to saving all of Japan in the span of a year. He has something that All Might lacked. The spirit to never give up on leading a hand to someone in need. If All Might presented himself with confident bravado, then Deku was the honest human type. Shigaraki is someone who was beyond saving, and yet even if for a moment, Deku wanted to give the respect he deserved as a person. Deku losing his powers cements the story as being about a moment in his life. That he never took the powers he was blessed with for granted, and used them to the fullest throughout the story. I appreciated that Horikoshi made no effort to justify the villain's actions (besides partly Himeko). They are a product of unfortunate circumstances and deliberate choices which brought them to this point. Their actions speak for themselves. This applies to the heroes as well. Endeavor is a complex man with a storyline that reads more mature than you'd expect at first glance. He is a man who drove his family to ruin for the sake of strength, and those choices came back to haunt him in the form of Dabi and Todoroki. He's effectively lost everything. I think Horikoshi stuck the landing by giving readers the final judgment if he should be redeemed or not. The family members were left mixed, and Endeavor is prepared to rebuild from nothing. Shigaraki’s death is best for the sake of tying a bow on the story. Deku indirectly caused it, but he doesn’t beat himself over it that much. The world is the same as it was before the conflict. Heroes will remain in people’s lives. The systemic issues of a Hero society that sells certain images of people and casts aside those who don’t fit will persist. Another person or organization like the league of villains could easily rise up again in the future. However, Horikoshi presents a simple solution. Leading a hand to each other is a good starting point towards making the world a better place. Happiness can spread from person to another, and lead to a better understanding of those we don't know. It takes collective action to make the world a better place for everyone and that can begin with a single person.