My Hero Academia: Final Season

It’s hard to believe that, nearly 10 years after its debut, My Hero Academia has finally come to a close. No one can ever accuse Bones Inc. of not being dedicated to this project, with the studio dropping a whole eight seasons in under a decade. Yes, for fans of the series, My Hero Academia has kept audiences fed, scratching that action itch, and it’s absence will certainly be felt in the years to come, even if My Hero Academia: Vigilantes does act as somewhat of a substitute.

Now, as the curtain closes on this incredibly influential anime, it’s time for us to review the final season of My Hero Academia. Spoilers are inevitable here, especially considering how much we’ll be discussing the actual final episode of the show, so make sure to watch the anime for yourself before continuing! With those formalities out of the way, let’s say goodbye to Deku and friends, with our review of My Hero Academia: Final Season.

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My Hero Academia: Final Season Review

Image by Bones Film

When it comes to the last decade of My Hero Academia’s presence in the anime industry, it would be an understatement to call the show’s legacy a bumpy ride. The show debuted to a fair amount of criticism, with subsequent seasons redeeming its reputation somewhat. My Hero Academia rode this high for a while, until Season 4 and Season 5’s dip in quality renewed some of the anime fanbase’s vitriol towards the series. This brings us to My Hero Academia‘s final stretch, and while these last couple of seasons have certainly seen a great deal of fan support, one has to wonder to what extent My Hero Academia’s final two seasons benefit from its viewership consisting of only the most dedicated fans, with any naysayers dropping the series back in the middle of its run. This lengthy spiel is all to say – I don’t think this season of My Hero Academia is particularly special, and to say I think that the incredibly high scores this season are somewhat inflated would be an understatement.

I’ve seen an overwhelmingly positive reception to My Hero Academia: Final Season, and while I love that the fans are having a great time with this finale, I can’t help but feel that these scores are going to work against the show in the long run, as they’re somewhat deceptive. To be clear, all of the core flaws that My Hero Academia has suffered from throughout its run are all still here. Sure, they’re paired with stunning visuals, and undeniably thrilling action sequences, but the show hasn’t magically mended the glaring issues that people have had with it since its debut. This is to say, My Hero Academia‘s last hurrah is not going to win the series any new fans at this point, and people who have disliked the show from the beginning are not going to be convinced they were wrong by this season.

So, let’s talk about those issues, before we get to the good stuff! My Hero Academia has weak character writing, whether fans would like to admit that or not. Characters are swamped in tropes, and considering how large the cast is, very few of them have any time to break out of these conventions. I’ve always liked Bakugo since the beginning, and he goes through a nice arc in this season, but beyond him, and maybe Tomura Shigaraki, the character writing here is paper thin. All For One doesn’t work at all for me as a main villain, and his defeat is as pathetic as his motivations. The plot of My Hero Academia is also fairly unoriginal, and though this final season is basically just a battle royale, killing-off the show’s remaining antagonists, one can’t help but notice how the show’s flimsy storylines haunt any emotional impact that these battles might have had. This final critique is a little mean-spirited, but for many of us, it is a core reason why My Hero Academia suffers – there’s an underlying layer of corniness behind everything that happens in this series. I couldn’t tell you why Deku’s endless optimism feels more corny than Naruto’s, Tanjiro’s, or even Luffy’s, but it just does, and that sappy vibe continues to weigh down My Hero Academia, even in its final hours.

Image by Bones Film

Now, that’s enough harping on the weakness of My Hero Academia – after all, for the most part, I had a good time with this final season. As far as seasons of this show go, this final season was one of the show’s strongest, and I think anyone can get at least some enjoyment out of all of the explosions, inspirational screams, and emotional character conclusions. I have to give My Hero Academia: Final Season props for having time to satisfactorily wrap-up almost every storyline the show has had since its inception, and I hope that other ongoing shonen series take the hint from this season that it’s perfectly fine to dedicate three or four episodes of a season to tying up loose ends.

This is to say that, in an 11 episode season, only about 8 of these episodes deal with the final battle between our remaining heroes and villains. The rest of the season acts as one big epilogue, and though some people may find themselves bored as the end draws near, dedicated fans will get a real kick out of seeing all of their characters aged-up, and living out their futures. The animation remains fairly consistent throughout the season, but is especially good during the action sequences, with many hailing the quality as movie-level for each of the first 8 or so episodes. Importantly, the fight scenes are also well-choreographed, and My Hero Academia knows just how to hype its viewers up, with the students at U.A. even getting an Avengers-style, ‘portals’ moment as the final battle neared its end. My Hero Academia: Final Season may not break any new ground as far as the series goes, but it knew exactly what its core fanbase wanted to see, and Bones Film delivered.

Clearly, Bones have remained dedicated to this story since the beginning, so it was great to see the final season of My Hero Academia be treated with care, especially in an age where other beloved franchises are being killed in real-time by sloppy animation work. Despite Season 7 and this final season being inextricably linked (the first episode of this season begins exactly where the last season left off), I’m glad that My Hero Academia was given another full season to let its story play out at its own pace, rather than trying to stuff all of this narrative wrap-up into the previous season, a move that would likely have saved Bones some time and money. My Hero Academia fans can sleep well at night, knowing that from start to finish, their series was handled with dignity, and sometimes, that’s all an anime fan can ask for.

Image by Bones Film

Unfortunately, I do have to call out the very last episode of My Hero Academia for directly highlighting one of the show’s biggest issues. Deku, as he writes his story, reflects on how people are ‘not born equal’, and that the reality of the world he lives in is that some people are lesser than. However, Deku’s rise in spite of his powerlessness is actually fairly non-inspirational, given that he was gifted a one-way ticket to the top of the hero world by All Might. He’s once again given a way-out in the final scene of the show, when he’s gifted a Marvel-style mecha-suit that restores his superpowers. In some ways, the ending of My Hero Academia is actually very depressing, as Deku never ends up relying on his own strength to thrive in a super-powered world that left him behind, but instead continues to rely on gifted crutches to make his way. Some people will see the inspirational side in Deku’s strength, but I just can’t – not when most other anime protagonists work for what they want from the ground up.

So, am I happy with My Hero Academia: Final Season? Ultimately, yes. I think that fans are really going to enjoy this season, with all of its great animation, beautifully-choreographed action and hype character moments, and viewers are likely to love seeing all of the cast define their own futures in the final episode. However, anyone who doesn’t click with this show is not suddenly going to respect the series in its final hours, as the show’s glaring issues shine on, with the ending actually highlighting one of the main reasons that Deku is disliked as a protagonist. My consensus is that My Hero Academia: Final Season is for the fans, but non-believers will continue to wonder how the show ever got as big as it did. It will certainly be missed, but not by all, and unfortunately, I think My Hero Academia fans will continue to have to defend their favourite series against non-believers, as this final season didn’t do much to fight back against the show’s lingering stereotypes.

What did you think of My Hero Academia: Final Season? Did you enjoy this show throughout the last decade, or better yet, did these last few seasons win you over? Be sure to let us know, and thanks for reading!

See also: Top 10 2025 Anime Openings, Ranked

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Where to Watch My Hero Academia: Final Season?

Image by Bones Film

You can stream all episodes of My Hero Academia: Final Season, as well as the first seven seasons of the show, right now on Crunchyroll.

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