During the Jump Festa, which was held this weekend, the author of My Hero Academia assured that he has every intention of finishing his story this year.
The weekend that passed was quite interesting for Shonen Jump fans. We get new sneak peeks from anime like Chainsaw Man and Spy x Family, project news in the manga magazine and even some updates from the creators themselves within the magazine. One that many could overlook was a statement from Kohei Horikoshi creator of My Hero Academia (Boku Hero no Academia) in which he assured that it was his intention to end the series in 2022.
The update occurred during the aforementioned Jump Festa, and was reported by different media such as Kotaku. In it Horikoshi assures that “If things progress smoothly, the original My Hero Academia manga will reach its goal, for example, in about a year. If things don’t go well, I think at next year’s Jump Festa, I’ll have Mr. Yamashita (Deku’s voice actor) read the same statement.
Of course, fans will know how to read these statements with the necessary context. Usually the plans to finish whole bows or sleeves do not usually follow the schedules of the mangaka themselves. Stories like My Hero Academia release a new chapter every week (Horikoshi is one of the ones that takes the least break in the magazine), which means 52 new episodes. Although on paper it sounds like a lot, the final arcs usually involve large-scale confrontations that take up a significant part of this number on their own, along with chapters dedicated to developing or exploring themes of My Hero Academia.
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That said, Horikoshi’s intention to finish MY Hero Academia is clear. The last few chapters have been preparing the ground for the final showdown between Deku and company against All For One and his army of villains. Of course, the challenge of all good manga is not only in presenting these confrontations, but in making the final arc feel with the impact that is expected for those who have invested so much time in the story.
You can read the last chapters of the My Hero Academia manga in the Shonen Jump application, Manga Plus.
Images: Shonen Jump