My Hero Academia: Horikoshi Reveals Izuku Midoriya’s Biggest Failure

by

This article contains spoilers from the My Hero Academia series.

My Hero Academia has become a massive anime hit over the last ten years, largely thanks to its compelling story and fantastic characters created by Kohei Horikoshi. The main character, Izuku Midoriya, is a fan favorite, and for good reason. People admire his determination and, even more so, his kindness and desire to help anyone in need. Izuku truly embodies the ideal of a hero, and his place as a heroic figure is secure, especially after the events of the Final War.

Many fans see Izuku Midoriya as a successful hero, but he didn’t actually accomplish his initial dream. At the start of the series, he stated his goal was to become the greatest hero. However, by the end of My Hero Academia, that title still belongs to All Might, his mentor, meaning Izuku fell short of his original ambition.

Izuku Could Never Become The Greatest Hero

His Dream Was Never To Be The No. 1 Hero

  • Horikoshi switched Izuku’s words at the end
  • Class 1-A Became the Greatest Heroes

There’s a common misunderstanding about Izuku Midoriya’s dream, often caused by inaccurate translations of the manga. While he admired All Might and wanted to be a hero like him, he wasn’t actually striving to become the top-ranked hero. Rankings weren’t important to him.

This is the story of how I became the greatest Hero. — Izuku Midoriya, My Hero Academia Chapter 1

Izuku never actually aimed to be the strongest hero; he simply wanted to become the greatest. He stated he wanted the story to be about his journey to greatness, and ‘greatest’ is more open to interpretation than terms like ‘number one’ or ‘strongest’.

Throughout the series My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya initially believed he would become the greatest hero on his own. However, the ending shifted this idea. Instead, it showed that Izuku and his classmates achieved that status together. The author, Kohei Horikoshi, confirmed this change in meaning during an interview.

Wow, the evolution of that opening line really got me thinking! It started with me, the main character, declaring I’d become the greatest hero – that was Chapter 1. But then, around Chapter 324, it shifted to we all becoming the greatest heroes. And the final line in Chapter 430? It’s about us continuing to help each other. It makes you wonder, was that journey from ‘I’ to ‘we’ intentional from the very beginning? Was the whole point always about collective heroism and reaching out to others?

Horikoshi originally intended for the story to conclude with Deku becoming a teacher, confidently declaring, ‘You can be a hero!’ even after losing his powers. However, the series evolved beyond just Deku and One For All. He began to explore the question of what truly makes the ‘greatest hero,’ and ultimately decided it was about ‘reaching out to others.’ This realization led him to write the final monologue in chapter 430 as a direct expression of that answer.

This is where the story of how we all became heroes begins. — Izuku Midoriya, My Hero Academia, Chapter 430

Horikoshi Confirms All Might Is Still Considered The Greatest

The Final MHA Fanbook Confirms All Might As The Greatest

I’ve learned from Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, that while he initially envisioned Izuku Midoriya becoming the world’s greatest Hero, the story evolved. Ultimately, the entire Class 1-A became heroes of that caliber. He’s explained that, to him, being the ‘greatest’ isn’t about power, but about reaching out and saving others. That’s why All Might remains the greatest Hero, even after everything that happened in the Final War – it’s about the impact he had on people and his dedication to saving them.

The official final fanbook for My Hero Academia confirms what many fans already believed: All Might is the greatest hero ever. Considering his decades of service and the sheer number of people he rescued, this makes perfect sense. While Izuku ultimately helped save the world, All Might saved far more lives throughout his career. Interestingly, the book suggests that Izuku never fully achieved his initial goal of surpassing All Might.

The My Hero Academia manga finished its run with a total of 431 chapters, all available on Manga Plus. The anime adaptation is still ongoing and its final season is expected to premiere later this year. You can stream the series on Crunchyroll.

Read More

2025-10-24 00:35