Throughout My Hero Academia’s existence, we’ve seen Deku, Bakugo, and the rest of Class 1-A get thrust into repeatedly dire situations that have strengthened their bonds and turned them into formidable heroes. Things have been relatively calmer for the 1-A kids in seasons four and five compared to the earlier ones, but after so much table setting, it’s finally time for them—and the rest of Japan’s hero community—to go to war with the villains of their country.
While Deku and the other kids have been going on internships, throwing concerts, and getting their hero licenses, the villains have been making moves to assemble an army. If you’ve read the manga, you know that the “Paranormal Liberation War” arc—aka, the final arc in the “Rise of Villains” saga—is where a lot of stuff goes down for several characters: some of the heroes get moments to shine, there’s going to be some heartbreak and character revelations in store, and so on. The most ominous tease comes at the very end as we see one of the show’s primary villains, Tomura Shigaraki, grin as his eyes glow. It’s a hero/villain clash for the ages, or at least it should be, given how much has led to this moment.
What’ll be interesting to see about the “Liberation War” arc is if it’ll run the entirety of the season. In the manga, it’s pretty long, running at 54 chapters from Chapters 253 to 306. The anime’s always covered multiple arcs with each season, but there’s a lot going on here, and it seems entirely reasonable that all of it will be covered here so nothing gets left out. However Studio Bones chooses to thread the needle, this is going to be a paradigm shift for Deku and company as a conclusion is in sight—the manga may still be ongoing, but following this arc, we’ll be in the endgame now.
My Hero Academia season six will hit Crunchyroll this fall.
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