This article contains spoilers up to the end of MHA season 7

The Final War in My Hero Academia is a conflict that sees all the remaining heroes and villains still standing going at it for one final time as part of a big chaotic battle. While there are a ton of exhilarating flights that take part throughout this story arc, by far the most important and exciting is the epic clash between Deku and Shigaraki. Considering these two are the protagonist and main villain of the story respectively, it makes sense that their ultimate battle would be one fans would be looking forward to, but Kohei Horikoshi, author of My Hero Academia, has also given his two cents as to why this fight is so special.

On the surface, the battle clearly stands out for its over-the-top action, especially considering both combatants are absurdly overpowered by this climactic point in the story. However, during an interview with Da Vinci Magazine, Horikoshi himself indicated that there's something much deeper to this fight that fans really ought to keep in mind when watching or reading, and it's something that harkens back to the heart and soul of the series in a pretty unique way.

The Final Fight Is About More Than Just Action

It Has A Lot More To Do With Pure And Selfless Heroism

Horikoshi wanted to tear off the "labels"
The final fight becomes a lot more personal and thematic

During the lengthy interview, Horikoshi was asked directly what he was trying to achieve with the final battle of the series. After all, this fight between hero and villain is ultimately what the entire story has been leading to, so there would have been a lot of pressure for Horikoshi to incorporate the central themes and messages that he wanted to convey one final time before bidding the story farewell for good.

The author responded by stating that this fight would remove the "labels" that are associated with both characters. Clearly, he isn't just talking about the costumes, which have been all but obliterated by this point in the war, as he is instead referring to the descriptions and remarks that have been attached to both Deku and Shigaraki throughout the story. For Deku, this would be the idea that he's little more than a shy, naive, and aloof hero, meanwhile Shigaraki is often known for being a merciless and violent villain who can never be redeemed.

"I think what we're doing in the final battle is peeling off all the labels and attributes that the characters have cultivated" - Kohei Horikoshi

By taking these labels away, the fight becomes a lot more personal, presenting it as more of a simple interaction where one person is desperately trying to help the other, despite the fact that they may be deemed a no-good villain by the rest of society. While these thematic undertones already elevate the fight quite a bit, it's also a clever way for Horikoshi to relate Deku's epic final battle to his development as a character.

Deku Has Always Tried To Look Past The Labels

So It Makes Sense He Would Do The Same For Shigaraki

This whole idea of tearing off the labels that are attached to a person's identity is something Deku has been practicing for quite a while now. During the School Festival, where Deku took on the deadly duo of Gentle and La Brava, it was clear that the hero's mentality when approaching this new enemy had changed a lot since the beginning of the series. In the first few story arcs, Deku was more than happy to take down a villain with his brute strength, but when facing Gentle, he made it a mission to try and uncover why exactly his latest opponent traveled down the path of villainy in the first place.

"I wanna be the guy to show them all a bright future" - Deku to Gentle Criminal

This is an extremely important lesson that Deku learns during his journey to becoming a hero, as while it's all well and good to prevent a villain from committing a crime, a real hero will be able to help them reform by learning how they ended up this way, and what can be done to save them. While this didn't work on Gentle initially, Deku's actions would eventually inspire the villain to become a hero during the Final War, where he saved countless lives.

It therefore makes total sense why Deku would try and incorporate the same approach to Shigaraki, especially considering the villain is clearly reaching an emotional breaking point by the time he faces off against Deku. Shigaraki had an extremely troubled childhood, and once his relationship with All For One starts to spiral out of control, it gives Deku the perfect opportunity to learn more about the man himself to possibly bring him back to the light.

Making Shigaraki A Sympathetic Villain

Horikoshi Feels This Final Clash Helps To Humanize Shigaraki

It can be hard to sympathize with Shigaraki without removing these tags
Horikoshi wanted to humanize him for the final clash

When Horikoshi was talking about why he considers the final battle to be so special, he also dropped in a pretty fascinating comment about Shigaraki. He mentions that by taking away the "diabolical" labels that Shigaraki has accumulated throughout the story, it allows him to see parts of the character he can actually empathize with. In other words, it makes Shigaraki much more humanized, even though he has committed some truly heinous acts within the series.

It is important to remember though that Shigaraki isn't causing all of this chaos just for the sake of it. In fact, he probably has the most heartbreaking and tragic backstory in the entire series, being abused as a child by his own father and eventually killing his entire family with a Quirk ability he didn't even know he had.

Therefore, it can be easy to paint him as nothing more than a maniacal villain who just wants to kill and cause carnage, but Horikoshi is trying to remind fans that it's better to see him as the young boy who never got to live a happy life for this final battle. This not only makes the final fight extremely emotional, it also presents a massive task for Deku in trying to save Shigaraki from falling even deeper into despair, though whether he'll be able to achieve this goal is something anime fans will have to wait and see in the final season.

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Release Date: 2016 - 2025-00-00
Network: TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
Directors: Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano