#mha epilogu

[flyflutterby]

The leaks leave me so confused tbh

Ochako isn’t raising her pinkie to avoid floating Deku during that leaked reconnection moment and she wasn’t wearing the gloves that would make that unnecessary. (Also, people are saying it’s the last panel of the epilouge, yet it doesn’t have the usual ending box.)

Jirou has both her ear-jacks in some of the leaks and some characters are missing scarring. There’s one panel where Bakugou’s hand is drawn from an odd angle that lowkey does not look good posing wise (Horikoshi is usually a GOD of drawing and posing hands, so I legit thought that was a fan drawing, until someone said it was apparently a leak?) Also, Todoroki’s face looks like it changes in structure between some of the leaks, but maybe I’m just imagining that?

Then there’s Deku rejecting Bakugou’s offer to join his hero agency so he can keep teaching. It feels like yet again he’s copying All Might to his own detriment, because even if he likes teaching, his arc, focus and drive has always been heroism. All Might becoming a teacher was because his whole thematic purpose was to pass the torch on that would lead everyone into a brighter future. Deku’s motivation has always been to save people as a hero. Furthermore, even if you don’t ship BakuDeku, they have always been thematically tied as heroes.

“Win to save and save to win.”

Wasn’t the whole point of Deku’s narrative was that he was going to destroy himself if he kept going it alone? Yet, he’s pushing Bakugou away after everything is done (Kirishima apparently even jokes that Bakugou got rejected/dumped? Probably not an accurate translation but STILL-!) Izuku feels flanderised, borderline OOC. Bakugou looks so fucking sad and resigned too. I want better for him as a character I watched grow over the years as I read the manga.

To clear things up, I ship BakuDeku, but I wasn’t expecting canonicity.

My problem is that I love platonic IzuOcha. Maybe a part of my reason for liking them was projection, but that’s what media is about. Enjoyment, interpretation and discourse. I can only speak to personal experience.

I lost a friendship with a guy as a young gay girl because people kept joking/insisting I liked him romantically. I pulled away like Ochako did, doubted my sexuality and tried to convince myself the awkwardness was butterflies, before finally coming back to sense. I did not get my friend back after things broke down. I yearned so bad for subversion, for a platonic IzuOcha that overcame the silliness (implanted by a girl who shipped All Might and Midnight because they stood next to each other during the Sports Festival and All for One’s literal spy at the time) to become best goddamned friends and great heroes. It just felt like Ochako didn’t think of Deku like that until someone else said it to her (very much teenaged behaviour).

I initially loved the reconnection scene as their friendship being cemented, as them drunkenly coming together to realise they missed each other. I thought it was so sweet and I was so HAPPY. I read it as drunk but platonic.

Then people kept saying this confirmed IzuOcha canon romantically. I fell down a rabbit hole. I ran through a gambit of all sorts to shitty emotions before I regulated myself to write this.

I’m tired and confused, my dudes. I’m going to stick to my little corner once I got this out. I got exams to prepare for, life to live and a loving girlfriend to hug. Still kinda upset, but my weird, autistic, gay ass can heal.

Stay hydrated and healthy x

[dentarthurdent]

[taytei]

Spite is a powerful fuel

[spoksstuff]

obv katsuki made it his lock screen 💁🏻‍♂️

all credits to the original artist @Pencileyyyy on X

[bnhadekuu]

Mha [ Re ] they will always have each other, forever.

[puppyaulait]

Congrats to momojirou for being weirdly maybe canon ? Don’t know what’s happening in Horikoshi’s head these days

[ellewluvr]

I JUST HAD TO DRAW THIS

[anyosu]

I can't live love laugh in these conditions horikoshi

[onlyymir]

Katsuki let his inner demon side come out.

[blackdagger456]

MHA 431: I Wasn’t Going To Comment On The Epilogue Till The Official Translation Came up but…DAMN

Age has been EXTREMELY kind to one Rumi Usagiyama. I know my fellow Miruko/Mirko people are going wild rn.

[pikahlua]

Oh? Please, Madam

What Izuku rejects is the opportunity to be Katsuki's SIDEKICK. He doesn't reject being a hero or competing with Katsuki. He rejects working FOR/UNDER Katsuki. Which is hilarious because Katsuki accepts (apparently multiple times) showing up as a guest lecturer to help out Izuku's class. Katsuki tells Izuku that "If everyone is special, no one is special," which has the potential for SO MUCH DOUBLE MEANING. But what there is no ambiguity about to me is he's basically telling Izuku "Hey, notice this. I'm treating you special. You're special to me. NOTICE."

It's also implied that Izuku sees Katsuki more regularly than he sees most others from their class, which is emphasized by the previous chapter when Aizawa complains to him about Katsuki's behavior in public affecting his ranking. Katsuki basically tells Izuku he needs to start thinking about himself more, and he also ends their final interaction with a "See ya [later]." Katsuki is NOT talking about Ochako, but Izuku takes some of his advice as the impetus for going to talk to Ochako (specifically they just wanna talk more after the dinner since the dinner is now over and they didn't get to talk). So what was Katsuki thinking of? I personally read his "See ya later" as "You'll figure it out, just go handle what you gotta right now and you can catch up to me later."

Hilariously, Izuku calls Katsuki out for being the one to say "If you don't start thinking a little more highly of yourself, you won't notice the things you should." Izuku's response is basically, "Look who's talking." Again, the potential for double meaning here is painfully obvious. He could be referring to SO MANY THINGS and we're meant to infer what that is. WE GET TO GUESS. Izuku could be saying "You did stuff just as bad as what you're saying," or "You're STILL not noticing something, Kacchan."

And Izuku taking inspiration from Katsuki's words to go talk to Ochako is meaningful in another way--IT MEANS IZUKU LISTENED TO HIM. Katsuki is having an influence on Izuku in a way to improve who he is just like Izuku did for him in high school. Izuku takes Katsuki's advice seriously. NO ONE HAS EVER GOTTEN HIM TO UNDERSTAND THIS LESSON BEFORE NOW. It ends with Izuku and Ochako deciding to talk more, but what it shows us is the beginning of Izuku considering himself more. If Izuku follows Katsuki's advice long enough, he'll end up back in the competition with Katsuki just like Katsuki expects him to. That is just as easy of a conclusion to make from the theme of "inevitability" that Shouto gives us (and that Izuku also takes to heart).

This ending implies that inevitably Izuku's gonna catch up again, basically. Things will continue to change. So yeah, we get a beginning where he and Ochako meet up to talk, but it's just a beginning. It's one night of chatting. They're seeing if something's there now (which kind of implies that there wasn't much there before), but it's left open-ended. And I think it's left open-ended what happens with Ochako on purpose because anyone can read how that ends up however they like. You just have to decide as a reader what's "inevitable" for Izuku Midoriya from this point on. Me? I've decided Izuku is taking Katsuki's advice to treat people who mean more to him better. Ochako is just the beginning. Izuku has other people in his life he needs to show love to as well (because that's what this is, Izuku is learning to show people that they're important to him, that he loves them, because saving people doesn't do that--he saves EVERYONE). And then maybe he'll start to see how the people who love him treat him special too, like guest SPECIAL (same kanji) LECTURER KATSUKI BAKUGOU.

tl;dr there is a lot left open to interpretation and it's probably on purpose, read the chapter however you like, just like we did with the last chapter.

...and my interpretation which is the correct one is that Katsuki tells Izuku, "Here let me show you how to love people, damnit!" to give him the character development everyone has been begging for him to have for years, to realize that saving people doesn't mean they're special to him if he's known for saving everyone ever, so like, maybe go show them you care in OTHER ways, Izuku, and also I'll be waiting right here for you to come show you love me you jackass (and he does, he does come show him that)

[dolche-tejada]

You know, I think this ending would have been slightly less of a fucking disappointment if the heroes hadn't been so unfairly favored by Horikoshi compared to the villains. I mean, seriously

Deku destroys every bone in his body multiple times throughout the story and is warned that if he continues, he'll permanently lose the use of his limbs ? Everything's fine, his body's just got used to being reduced to a bloody pulp somehow so there's no consequences for him. In fact even when he literally loses his arms to Shigaraki, he gets them back two minutes later thanks to Eri because guess what ? Her horn still works even when cut off from her body. How convenient.

Gran Torino gets his ribcage obliterated by Shigaraki ? Don't worry guys, he'll survive that despite his old age and injuries, and this to have no particular role in the plot afterwards.

Bakugo dies heroically trying to buy time before Deku arrives ? Lmao, did you really believe it ?? No of course not, Edgeshot just uses his last-minute Deus Ex Machina to save his life at the cost of his own and- Oops nope he's fine too, my bad !

Hawks murders a criminal fleeing for his life in cold-blood ? The best Hori has to offer is him completely free and in charge of the HSPC.

And no, losing his quirk isn't a real consequence for him because not only it literally played a major part in saving the world with Vestige!Hawks raising an insurrection among AFO's quirks, but also because his quirk has always been the element through which people exploited him.

Endeavor abused his family for years and completely destroyed his eldest son ? No jail time and no media backlash for that, the only blame he received was due to the heroes' failure to stop the League during the Raid Arc.

And don't even get me started on this bs about facing hell or whatever for what he's done : He's literally free and wealthy ; he has Rei, Fuyumi, Shoto, his sidekicks and Hawks on his side ; and all the difficulties he's apparently going to suffer are off-screened.

Deku had to sacrifice OFA and his future hero career to save the world ? Guess what, Bakugo invested all his time and money to make him an Iron-Man suit and now he can still be a hero with everyone else.

There are plenty more examples of this but I think you get the idea. Now let's take a look at the villains' ending :

Toya is now a piece of charcoal kept artificially alive for the few years he has left, unable to move a finger, and whose few minutes a day during which he can stay awake will be spent talking to his father who abused him as a child.

Toga, a literal teenager, killed herself to save Ochako and because she knew it's still better than rotting at Tartarus her whole life.

And not only did she die but she did by bleding to death. Let me repeat for those who have trouble grasping what I've just said : In a manga where the heroes can survive having their heart blown to bits, being impaled Kakyoin-style or smashed against buildings like a fly on a windshield, one of the main antagonists died of a fucking hemorrhage…

As for Shigaraki, after learning that his very birth and all the tragedies of his life have been orchestrated by AFO, after all this development and narrative promises about him being saved in the end... Deku just kills him.

Because despite all his speeches about saving him, it seems like the best our MC could do was beating him both physically and mentally until he crumbles to dust…

Compress on his side is apparently locked up for life and kept alive by machines too.

A begging Kurogiri tried in a desperate attempt to save Shigaraki, only to be unceremoniously blown up by Bakugo and dying off-screen without anyone giving a shit, including Aizawa and Mic.

And Spinner will now spend the rest of his life struggling with the extra quirks inside him that affect his body and mind, while having to cope with the thought that his boyfriend best friend and companions have either died alone or are locked away for life in horrifying circumstances.

Clearly not the same as with the heroes...

Now don't get me wrong, even if they suffered just as much from the consequences of their actions or the plot as the League, this ending would still be a disaster in terms of writing but AT LEAST it wouldn't reek that much of hypocrisy.

[gemgdynamight0]

Idc what anyone says but Katsuki had the BEST and most interesting mentor-student relationships in the entire series. The set up and the developments are just perfect.

[moth--blood]

• All that... For what? •

[pestpoomp]

Severe coping. They got married horikoshi told me he was j joshing around

[bnhadekuu]

MHA Epilogue | Izuku and Katsuki's feelings