#BNHA CHAPTER 5

[delawaredetroit]

There’s a lot to say about this scoreboard. 

It’s no surprise that the top scorers with the least rescue points, Bakugou and Iida, are generally the least heroic of the hero students at this point in the story. (Bakugou spent the majority of his life beating down others for the sake of his own ego. Iida was too self-centered and by-the-book to the point of ignoring those in danger; and it didn’t take much for him to decide to try attempting murder.)

Also, the two characters with more rescue points than villain points, Izuku and Ochako, are the two that realized that there were also villains who were in need of saving. 

It’s interesting that this scoreboard implies that Kirishima and Shiozaki have the most balanced approach to heroism of the top scorers. And while it’s a running joke that Kirishima and Tetsutetsu are basically the same person, from their first “appearance” it’s clear that they have very different approaches to heroism, at least early on. 

[bnha-manga-scripts]

Chapter Five

Note: Mext means: Ministry of Eduction, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

[Flash Back to the exam room]

Unknown: The results of the practical skill entrance examination are here. 

Unknown: We’ve had entrants ace off against that thing in the past, but it’s been quite a while since someones sent it flying like that.

???(I think it’s Mic): I couldn’t help but should “Yeeeeah!” when I saw that!

Unknown: At the other end of the spectrum, we have the kid who ranked 7th even without any villain points.

[They say as they show Midoriya Izuku in the panel]

Unknown: Though he earned 0 rescue points, Bakugou still placed first! Wow!

Unknown: He targeted the 1p and 2p villain-bots, approaching them slowly and continuously intercepting them to lure them into a flashy explosion blast once they’d gotten weaker during the second half of the exam. That kid’s as tough as they come.

[They say as Bakugou shows in the panel]

Unknown: But the injuries he incurred from the black-back were intense… it was almost like watching a child manifest for the first time.

Unknown: Kid’s definitely an anomaly, apart from that oen blow he was the picture candidate for rejection. 

Unknown(Pretty sure it’s Mic): Whatever, dudes, who cares!? I’ve taken a liking to him. He made me throw my hands up and go “Yeah!”.

Aizawa(Thinking): Jeez, what an idiot.

Izuku[Narrorating]: The night after the opening the notification letter. 8PM. We agreed to meet at seaside park.

Izuku: All Might! 

Small Might: Who the hecks that?!

Extra: Did someone say All Might!? Where!?

Small Might(Whispering): Quick kid, tell em ou mistook me for someone else.

Izuku(Covering his face, embarrassed): I mistook him for someone else!

Small Might: Congrats on passing. Just so you know, I didn’t inform the academy about our point of contact. You’re the type who’d worry that you got accepted solely by connections.

Small Might(thinking): I wasn’t even one of the judges.

Izuku: Thank you for thinking of me!

Izuku: I was surprised to hear that you’ve been made a teacher at UA! That’s why we need to meet here… I get it. But isn’t you office locatied at Roppongi, Minato War, Tokoyo, 6-12-...”

Small Might: Stop right there.

Small Might: Anyways, I told the academy about my predicament, but haven’t breathed a word about it to anyone else. I Had UA notify tme on the chance they found me a suitable successor.

Izuku(Thinking): Thats right… he said he’d been searching for a successor for a long time. I see… he was planning to choose among the stupids. It’s a hotbed of capable people, overflowing with awesome quirks.

[Izuku looks at his hands]

Izuku: One for All… just one punch or kick is all it takes to wreck my body… oh really… I can’t handle it at all.

Small Might: That can’t be helped for now. If you tried to get a guy who suddenly sprouted a tail to do tricks with it, he wouldn’t know how to control it properly enough to do so. It’s the same story here. 

Izuku: Huh? So you mean to say you saw all of that coming!?

Small Might: Well… there’s just been no time,,, but everything worked out all right…! Or should I say, All Might!

[Small Might picks up cans]

Small Might: Right now, you’re still stuck at all or nothing… but you can learn to tone down and adjust the power level and save your body the strain of a full-strength power emission.

[Buffs into All Might]

All Might: The more you build up the vessel. The more you can control the power within it!

[All Might crushes a can with one fist]

All Might: Like this!

All Might: Like unto the sacred fire of lore… the transferred flame is still small, but from now on, not even driving rain will check growth. 

Bystandards: Wait, isn’t that… it is! All Might!? When did he get here?!

All Might: Uh-oh. Let’s run.

[Midoriya and All Might began to sprint away]

All Might: And my flame will slowly fade away and eventually vanish and my duty will be done!

Bystander: He’s… so cool, huh?

[Time Skip to springtime and a new year]

Inko: Izuku!? Did you pack some tissues?

Izuku: Yes Mom.

Inko: What about your hanky? You can’t leave without a hanky, dear!

Izuku: Yes Mom.

[Izuku, tying his shoes in a hurry]

Izuku: I packed it! Ugh, look at the time… gotta hurry.

Inko: Izuku!

Izuku: What!?

Inko: You’re mega cool right now.

Izuku: See you soon, mom!

Izuku(Narrating): And that was how my high school days officially began!

[Izuku arrives at UA]

Izuku(Narrating): Every year, less than 1 in every 300 examinees make it in. Only 36 kids passed. So with 18 kids in a class, that makes for two classes.

Izuku: Where is 1-A… This place is too back.

[Izuku arriving at 1-A]

Izuku: Well… this door’s humongous… guess it’s for an inclusive design. I’ll be alongside the chosen few who passed the exam.

[Izuku thinking about Iida and Bakugou]

Izuku(thinking): If only those two end up in 1-B, I’ll be eternally grateful.

Tenya: Don’t put your feet on the desk! Don’t you think that’s disrespectful towards your classmates!?

Katsuki: No, as a matter of face, I don’t think so. Which middle school are you from anyway, you two-bit extra!?

Izuku(Thinking): Just my luck!

Tenya: A private sch— ahem. I’m from Soumei Junior High School. The name’s Iida Tenya.

Katsuki: Soumei!? Well aren’t you an elite. Seems I’ve got a reason to fucking end you after all!

Tenya(shocked and maybe disgusted): What nerve! You, want to be a hero!?

[Iida Tenya spots Izuku]

Tenya: Hello, I’m Iida Tenya from Soumei—

Izuku: Oh yeah, haha, I overheard. Uhh… I’m Midoriya, nice to meet you, Iida.

Tenya: Midoriya, I must hand it to you. You divined the actual nature of the practical skills exam, didn’t you? I… was blind to iy! And I completel misread you! I hate to admit it, but you were the better man!

Izuku(Thinking): But… I didn’t realize it either.

Katsuki: Deku…

[Uraraka Ochako walks through the classroom doors]

Ochako: Ah! It’s you! Curly-haired kid! Glad I found you!

Izuku(thinking): It’s her! The nice girl! She looks amazing in her school grab!

Ochako: You made it, just like Present Mic said! Yay, go you! By the way, that punch was outta this world!

Izuku: No, it’s not like that, uhh, that is to say, it was really all thanks to you speaking on my behalf… I… uh…”

Ochako: Eh!? How did you know about that!?

[Bakugou having a dramatic flashback]

Teacher: This means that two kids from our middle school go into UA. Two! And Midoriya’s acceptance in particular is a miracle upon miracles!

[Bakugou and Izuku behind the school]

[Bakugou is holding onto izuku's uniform]

Katsuki: What dirty goddamn tick did you use to pass the exam, shithead!? I was supposed to be the first to enter UA from here. Me alone! You ripped my future glory to pieces and pissed all over it! I told you to go someplace else, fuckmunch!

[Izuku putting his hand on Bakugou’s arm to stop him]

Izuku: Someone… finally acknowledges me. Tey told me I could become a hero! Kacchan, I’ve won the right! You can’t stop me! I’m headed to UA!

[Flashback ends]

Bakugou(thinking): That [athetic rat actually put up a fight! There can’t not be a flipside to this.

Ochako: I wonder if today’s the ceremony? Or is it the guidance counselor stuff today? Oh, that the teacher, what’ll they be like? I’m so anxious, like wow!

[Aizawa in his sleeping bag on the floor like a homeless man]

Shouta: If you’re gonna be hunting for buddies, do it elsewhere. This is…

[Aizawa proceeds to pull out a jelly pouch and suck the life from it]

Shouta: of heroics!

Class A(collectively): Who the hell… is this guy!?

[Aizawa getting out of his sleeping bag]

Shouta: Hmm, it took you lot 8 seconds to quiet down. Life is short, kids. You’re all lacking in common sense.

Class A(collectively): Sensei!?

Izuku(muttering): So he must he a pro hero, too, huh…?

Izuku(Thinking): But… I’ve never heard of him. He looks washed-up…

Shouta: I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Pleasure meeting you.

Class A(collectively): Our homeroom teacher!?

[Aizawa pulls out the UA gym uniform]

Shouta: Put these on, immediately and then shove off to the P.E. grounds. 

[Small Might appears on screen]

Small Might: UA’s system is aberrant… depending on the homeroom teacher, even today they might…

[class 1-A on the field]

Class 1-A: A quirk apprehension test!?

Ochako: But what about the ceremony!? And the guidance counselor meeting!?

Shouta: If you want to be heroes, we don’t have timefor frilly niceties. You all understand the school’s reputation for freedom on campus. Well, that “freedom” goes for us senseis, too.

Shouta: Softball pitch. Standing long jumps. 50 meter dash. Endurance running. Grip strength test. Sustain side ways jups. Upperbody excise. Seated toe touch. Those are all activities you know from middle school, naturally. Physical tests where you were barred from using your quirks.

Shouta: The country still hasn’t gotten around to standardizing those sorts of records or keeping track of average performance levels. Well, tht’s negligence on the part of mext.

Shouta: Bakugou, how far could you throw a softball in middle school?

Katsuki: 67 meters.

Shouta: Try using your quirk this time around. As long as you don’t exit the circle, anything you do is fine. Don’t hold back.

[Bakugou winding up.]

Katsuki: You got it.

[throws the ball]

Katsuki: Die!

[Everyone is shocked]

Shouta: Before anything else, one must know what they’re capable of. This is a rational metric that will form the basis of your “hero foundation”.

[Shouta shows the meter counter, it’s at 705.2]

Unknown: Awesome!That looks so fun!

Unknown: 705 meters!? Unreal!

Unknown: We can really use your quirks now!? That’s the department of heroics for you!

Izuku(thinking): Uh-ho this is bad… 8 trails? This is all so sudden!

Shouta: It looks fun… you say?

Shouta: So you were planning to spend your three years here having a good ol’ time? What happened to becoming heroes? 

Shouta: All tight then, in that case, new rule: the student who ranks last in total points will be judged “hopeless” an instantly expelled.

Izuku(thinking): Whaaaa!? Seriously!?What am I going to do!?

[Small Might appears again]

Small Might: So they’ve got Aizawa, huh…

Small Might(thinking): Oh brother, they’re really in for it with this guy.

[The panel shows Aizawa’s file. On it, it reads: “Aizawa Shouta” “Codename: The erasing hero” “Name: Eraserhead” “Total number of expulsions: 154.” “Homeroom teacher of: class 1-A”]

[Back to Izuku]

Izuku: I’m still at all-or-nothing mode! I can’t adjust yet!

Shouta: Our “freedom” means we dispense with students as we please! Welcome to… the department of heroics!

Izuku(Narrating): My first day turned into a huge ordeal! What do I do!?

[kiisaes]

redraw of a redraw of a redraw of a redraw...?! (2024 version)

[amaranthdahlia]

eyes tell all (heartbreak)

[bravano]

goddamn it, I come back to My Hero Academia for the first time in years and it’s ending???!? WHAT THE HELL?!?

what do you mean we’re currently in the middle of season 7?!?! Last I checked, season 3 had just come out!

Five Chapters left?? what?? AND WHAT HAPPENED TO DEKUS ARMS??? AND BAKUGOU DIED FOR LIKE A YEAR?!?

WHEN DID SHIGARAKI GET HOT!?!?

Oh yeah, what the hell is a blackwhip?

oof I remember when Dabi being a Todoroki was only a fan theory lol, I remember writing a few posts about it back when he first showed up lol.

Ain’t gonna lie tho, Deku’s new haircut is actually kind cool. Hm, what’s that? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S QUIRKLESS AGAIN??

ALSO LESBIANS?? TOGA?? URARAKA?? I NEVER SAW THAT COMING BUT HOLY SHIT THEIR CHAPTER IS BEAUTIFUL.

and don’t even get me started on bkdk. You mean to tell me I won’t get flamed anymore for liking it? That’s it’s considered one of the most popular ships now? Most people consider it practically canon? Phew. OG BAKUDEKU SHIPPER HERE THAT GOT DEATH THREATS FOR LIKING IT BACK IN 2017 ✨🙏☺️ nature is healing

Honestly tho, it was one of the first anime I ever watched, and to come back to it now with so much stuff having happened, it’s definitely shocking lol. But honestly, when I catch you Horikoshi-

[kakooshi]

My Hero Academia is ending in 5 chapters so that there will be a sequel where Bakudeku are married and they start a hero agency with Shouto as their sexy secretary. And they all fall in love while trying to navigate post-war society and make it a better one for both heroes and villains. It's true, HORI TOLD ME.

[fever-dreamer97]

Getting the news that the final chapter of BNHA is going to be released 6 days before my birthday is the usual amount of emotional distress that leads my life

[devivi12]

Finally in animated version <3

manga chapter 342

anime 7th season episode 5

[black-and-yellow]

there's good inside

[xlillyle]

Why in my humble opinion MHA's ending regarding Midoriya Izuku is good and fitting and completes his storyline beautifully 🧵

Or: On what it means to be a hero.

I'm having a slight déjà-vu... oh well. There are lots of opinions on MHA and its ending, now that it is here, so after seeing some I felt compelled to shove my own to the board.

While it's impossible to disregard all other aspects of the ending as MHA is a rich story with many factors and subplots additionally to the main story, I will do my best to focus on my main point, which is: Midoriya Izuku's story is a good one and has been brought to a beautiful and very fitting ending that I like a lot. Here's why:

I have three (four) main points I will go through that are related to Izuku's story that imo were ended well:

One For All & what the quirk did for Izuku & how it ended.

Izuku's on-going career, resulting in him as a teacher.

Izuku's future career with the hero suit.

2 and 3 also both pick up one of MHA's main themes: What it means to be a hero.

So, let me start with One For All (OFA).

OFA is the quirk that kicks off this series because it's the quirk given by the Symbol of Peace All Might to our protagonist Midoriya Izuku, who has been quirkless but dreamt of being a hero. There are a few important things to note about OFA:

OFA is very strong; so strong that All Might, even after agreeing to give Izuku the quirk, makes him train. A lot. And hard. Because a regular body would not be able to handle OFA due to its nature.

We learn later that not only does it cultivate the raw strength of all its previous users, but that it holds their quirks too. And that these quirks got stronger with each generation of OFA user as well.

In fact, the major reason why OFA is so insanely strong when Izuku receives it, is the fact that All Might had been quirkless himself and therefore is the longest holder of OFA as the other users could not handle having their own quirk and OFA as additional one, passing away rather early.

OFA is also the quirk of Yoichi who is All For One's (AFO) brother who, in very simplified terms, have a long history and complicated, but hostile relationship with each other. Yoichi wants to stop his brother.

And, to make a very, over 400 chapters long story short: Izuku defeats All For One and he does so after countless of training and battles where he learned to make the best use of OFA and in the end by transferring OFA to Shigaraki/AFO.

Izuku has always understood OFA as a borrowed power and ultimately as one he'd be the last user of—OFA was a power used to defeat AFO and the fact that transferring it, ultimately what AFO had always desired, is part of what destroys him is very fitting.

OFA has given Izuku the chance to enter the world of heroes—and to help change it in the long run. He was able to open the people's eyes about society, he has shown that even after he gave OFA away, he would still fight and he has animated people to be heroic even if they aren't employed as heroes. He has added more meaning to the word "hero".

Izuku as teacher, part 1 of what it means to be a hero.

Now, I have seen a lot of criticism to Izuku ending up as a teacher and I am here to tell you—it's perfect for him! Izuku is someone who loves learning, he is genuinely enthusiastic about it, and especially about quirks—he loves geeking out about them, he spends his free time analyzing them and drawing out their potential, he is an amazing supporting character for children that need assistance in finding their footing in the world of heroes. Who can you learn better from than from someone who loves learning itself? He's got a contagious kind of excitement that sparks over to you.

And, he knows better than anyone how chasing after this dream of being a hero feels like, knows better than anyone how important people supporting you on the way is—because this is what he has received, back then, when he was in high school himself. Izuku has learned and experienced himself how important support from the people around you is, so he now wants to provide exactly that to the future generation of heroes. He wants to guide them on their path.

This career path also opens a new perspective that MHA has been trying to tell us for so long now: "Hero" isn't just who goes up and picks up this nice certificate and runs around the city with the "hero badge". "Hero" is more than that. Helping people, in any little way, is being heroic and makes you a hero. Teachers are heroes too. Izuku is being a hero, even now that he doesn't do "pro hero" work, because he is helping children—a teacher doesn't only educate, a teacher provides mental support to some extent too, and that goes even moreso for UA and other hero school teachers. Teachers protect their students as well. Izuku is, by all means, still a hero, just not a "pro" hero. He is a guidance to children and is dedicating his life to extend a helping hand to them and their dreams.

And he's happy with it.

Yes, it's also said that he misses the work of a pro hero—but that doesn't mean that what he is doing now is bad or "settling". He could have done SO many other things, but he CHOSE to pursue a career as a teacher—because this, too, is something he enjoys and finds happiness in. Both statements can be true. You can miss something you used to dream of all your life—it's very natural, even, but you can still be happy about where you ended in life right now.

Moreover, even if you don't agree with my take as "teachers" being heroes too, we see just a few panels later Izuku being a hero:

Which further emphasizes the point I and MHA have been trying to make: You can be a hero even if your job title isn't "hero". That's why civilians got statues too, that's why they are considered for the heroes ranking too. You can have a diverging opinion on how effective it is, but that is the point that is being made and the characters in-universe try to bring across too.

The hero suit and the conclusion on what it means to be a hero.

Truthfully, I don't know why people keep acting like MHA ended after Izuku's teacher career, because we have a conclusion that even traces back and argues back against anyone who doesn't agree with my points about him being a teacher and still a hero. And, more importantly, it brings the full manga into a perfect circle:

Because remember what the manga opened with: Can you be a quirkless hero?

And in so many ways across all these 430 chapters, but now even in the most literal sense of itself, MHA is telling you: YES. Yes you can! It shows us that you can be a hero without a quirk because anyone can lend someone freezing or wounded a t-shirt and anyone can reach out their hand to someone who is lost and anyone can sprint to catch a stumbling child.

But, also, our protagonist Midoriya Izuku, who is quirkless and had lived his dream at the age of 15-17 after borrowing a quirk, now is only starting his dream again at the age of 25: He can be a (pro) hero again and that although he doesn't have a quirk.

Yeah, it's expensive and not yet affordable for the average quirkless guy. But that's not the point of the story, because we started with asking "Is it possible at all?" and were first deluded into thinking the answer is "No.", but MHA is here to tell you: Yes, you can be a hero. There is most certainly an argument to made that now that the first one has done it, more might be able to follow in the long run.

So, what does it mean to be a hero?

I think MHA's message on that is: A hero is someone who steps up because they can, who helps people achieve a part of happiness because they have the chance to. You don't have to have a quirk or do grand gestures, you don't have to rely on the "professionals" to take care of it, at least not if you can make a difference already. There is no shame in a little heroic act because it doesn't make the act less heroic. There even is beauty in everyone being a little hero to each other every day.

Some last words about my feelings on MHA's ending.

This isn't really part of the thread anymore, but I still wanted to say this. This is purely personal, but, to me, what was really beautiful was: Midoriya Izuku didn't "peak" in high school, he had one peak in high school, but life is made of multiple "peaks".

Izuku is 25 and hasn't even seen all of the world yet and now he gets to live his dream again. Because you never know where life takes you and even if you may feel hopeless or lost and like you already experienced all the highs of lives, Horikoshi and MHA are here to tell you: There's always another peak yet to come.

MHA has this really beautiful ending that tries to reassure you that even though your teen years feel so intense and like the world is about to end and even though so many others your age may be so much "higher" on the "life achievements" scale, it doesn't mean that you are a failure or should lose hope because you can always catch up later, in your own pace, with your own wishes. Life isn't over at 17. Life isn't even over at 25. Your new dream might only just become true later than you expected.

[delawaredetroit]

It’s clear that Horikoshi is making sure to emphasize that Izuku isn’t a nepo baby, and it’s important that All Might didn’t put his thumb on the scale by being a judge. But realistically, there’s no way Nedzu didn’t figure out their relationship already. And there’s no way he would want to keep out a One for All successor as long as he had any way to justify it. 

But regardless of whatever Nedzu might have done aside, the practical exam wasn’t really the best indicator of who would make a good hero anyway. The issue with noncombat oriented quirks like Shinsou’s have been widely discussed in text and in the fandom. 

But it wasn’t the best exam to measure judgment as well. The robots erase the human element of heroism too much. The top scorer never helped a single person. Izuku and Mina were the only students that already proved they could make the correct decisions in real life villain situations. Mina didn’t even rank as a top scorer in the practical and Izuku received all of his points at the last second.  

On a completely different note, the dadmight high five is immensely cute. 

[embers-of-the-league]

Crying real fucking tears because of this He was reaching out because he needed help He was 5-years-old, scared out his mind and he needed help And instead, he gets hurt once again. His mother ran towards him to try and comfort him, even though it cost her her life His father treated him like a villain

[1am-s0-veryt1red]

love seeing his little jumpsuit under his civilian clothes tho

[sakubabypowa734]

🚨BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA ALERT INFO!!!🚨

5 chapters left before the end of my hero academia!!! The last chapter will appeared in the Weekly Shonen Jump 36-37, in August.

Hori-sensei drawing Bakugou finally stop the war against Sun-Deku

[buttercupshands]

I did not sketch this one in the park nor is it canon

but I've been thinking about this one for a long time

oh, and here's Dabi yelling stuff because I was thinking about spoilers for this chapter again

[dekubreaksbones]

Post-canon Shigaraki Tomura fic recs

Japan v. Shigaraki (2237) SCOJ No. 4401 by anubisisms

Shigaraki's trial, through social media, newspapers, and texting applications.

The More Things Change by LandofWordsandNonsense (Lieutenant_Nonsense)

Second in a series, and not focused on Shigaraki. Check out the first fic first.

Natshig [Natsuo X Shigaraki]

The Todoroki In-Laws by aphrodaisyacs

Natsuo and Shigaraki match on a dating app, 10 years after Jakku and 7 months after Shigaraki was let out of prison on parole.

Househusband Simulator by aphrodaisyacs

A regular day in the life of Shimura Tenko, Natsuo's househusband.

i'm not tryna be with you, now (but i could be your crush) by constellore

Natsuo flirts with barista Shigaraki to piss off his brother, but manages to get himself a real date.