My Hero Academy is a series of films that are full of emotions, sometimes silly and fun, while other times very dramatic, with dark scenes that seem completely hopeless at the moment. This wide range is often emblematic of anime in general, but few films balance the extremes better than My Hero Academia, and that balance is essential to having the right dark moments.
With anime ending its darkest season, the time is ripe to experience some of the darkest, darkest moments in the series, but not just to revel in the hopelessness. These dark moments can also be some of the most inspiring, as a true hero shines the brightest in the dark. The biggest determining factor in ranking these moments is the size of the matter, but that doesn’t mean these smaller, more personal dark moments aren’t completely devastating. For those who haven’t kept up, be warned: these dark moments contain disclosure.
10 Iida vs stains
The arrival of Stain, My Hero Academia’s Hero Killer, in the series is definitely one of the turning points that marks MHA will one day become. One of Stain’s earliest targets turned out to be a little too close to home for a UA student—Tenya Iida’s brother, the hero known as Ingenium, having ended his heroic career forever, though he survived the encounter. Ida sets out for revenge alone, but soon finds herself overtaken by Stain. Had it not been for the timely arrival of Midoriya and Todoroki, Stain would have almost certainly killed Iida. However, a few moments before they arrive, utterly heartbroken, Iida begins to realize how wrong she’d been. After surviving the incident, Iida was able to draw some strength from this and decided that the best way to honor her brother was not to take revenge but to bear his name. Iida announced his new hero’s name will be Ingenium, and he’s starting to deserve the title he inherited.
9 Death at midnight
One of the most devastating moments of the Occult War of Liberation, which featured a lot in season 6, was the death of one of the students’ teachers, Midnight. During the operation, Midnight attempted to put Gigantomachia to sleep with her Quirk, but to his surprise, Mr. Compress, who was riding on the giant villain’s back, released a pile of debris from his Quirk, sending her down dozens of meters and being swept away. serious damage. The badly injured Midnight can deliver one last order to the kids, which sets off a chain of events that will ultimately save the day. The UA students later discovered Midnight’s body, and the sight was truly heartbreaking, as they couldn’t believe it. It’s a good reminder that these heroic students are still kids, unaccustomed to the true horrors of combat.
8. Bakugo Attack
Another (later) moment from the Mystic Liberation War is when Deku is busy fighting Shigaraki. It seems the deadly villain must surely be defeated, as his body has been turned to black coal by Endeavor’s powerful attack. However, All for One gained control and activated his Quirk Rivet Stab, sending the blade to Deku. Bakugo jumped in the way and got hit. Although Bakugo is eventually able to recover, the blow can easily be fatal and for a moment it looks like it could. However, this moment is the ultimate proof that despite all his actions, Bakugo really cares about Deku in My Hero Academia, to the point of risking his own life.
7 Deku vs Muscle
Back in the Jungle Training Camp, Deku comes to the rescue of the boy Kota, who ran away and was in the forest when the villains attacked. Unfortunately for Deku, a villain named Muscular, who happened to kill the boy’s heroic parents, found him. Muscular was an extremely powerful opponent and Deku hadn’t really mastered the use of One for All at the time, meaning he was not only defeated by Muscular but also took damage from his own attacks. . Muscles could have easily killed Midoriya in My Hero Academia, but the boy’s heroic resolve paid off. Having someone there to protect was what led Deku to fight, but it could also be what led him to victory.
6 Bakugo kidnapped
Another moment from the Forest Training Camp arc sees Bakugo being kidnapped by villains. Mr. Compress used some clever tricks and was able to get the orb containing the shrunken Bakugo through Kurogiri’s Warp Gate, protecting him from the villains. Their plan is to turn the hot-tempered boy into the bad guy, but Bakugo is too stubborn to do that. However, this was a time of great failure for UA students; they tried to protect Bakugo, but it wasn’t enough. After all the villains had done that night, especially seeing the likes of Muscular, the so-called hero assassins, it was terrifying to watch Bakugo being dragged over. portal to an unknown location.
Lord Nighteye’s Death
All Might’s former companion, Sir Nighteye, has the ability to see the future, but that doesn’t help when it comes to avoiding his own death. Thanks to this ability, Sir Nighteye saw a future where both he and Deku were killed by Overhaul, but the pro hero continued to fight even in the face of utter hopelessness. Sure enough, Sir Nighteye had been stabbed through by a rock, and by the time he finally made it to the hospital, he was still dying from his wounds. However, even on his deathbed, Mr. Nighteye was deeply moved to learn that the future he predicted had not come true; Deku managed to save Eri and survive, and Sir Nighteye can rest easy knowing that the fate he sees for All Might is not inevitable.
4 USJ Incident
The USJ Incident is the first major conflict in My Hero Academia, and the result is also one of the darkest. The students had only been at UA for a few weeks and were completely unprepared to face a flood of criminals. This incident also saw the first appearance of a Nomu, who nearly killed several pro heroes, including Eraserhead and Thirteen. The plot’s darkest moment has to be when Shigaraki is just inches away from the disintegrating Tsuyu, who is saved at the last second by Eraserhead’s Quirk. However, this dark incident gave the students a chance to prove their heroism and essentially created a buzz for their entire school year.
3 Deku vs Class 1-A
One of the last major moments of season 6 sees Deku, who has fought himself to avoid being a target of his school or friends, go head-to-head with his classmates. They realize that trying to do all this alone is not good for him and just want to bring him back home. What follows are several emotional appeals from each student as Deku battles them in an attempt to escape, because he knows he can’t resist if he listens to their pleas. Deku truly believes that fighting against Class 1-A is for the best for them, and no matter how much he wants it, he can’t justify reverting to himself. However, their friendship eventually allowed them to bring Deku back from the brink.
2 Shigaraki Awakens
The war of occult liberation begins with a very simple goal: raid two hideouts of criminals and capture as many of them as possible. What they didn’t expect was to find Shigaraki floating in a crate, which Mirko destroyed, seemingly ending Shigaraki for good. In one tragic stroke of bad luck, a lost electrical cable brought Shigaraki back to life, and he was able to unleash a wave of destruction that killed dozens of heroes and thousands of innocent civilians. The heroes were so close to absolute victory, yet Shigaraki was able to rise again, turning the simple raid into an all-out war.
1 Dabi .’s dance
However, one of the darkest, most devastating moments in the entire series is Dabi’s confession video to the world, where he speaks out about his connection to Endeavor and the heroes’ flaws. , irreparably damaging the public’s trust in them. The worst part is, Dabi doesn’t even need to lie; everything he says, except for the death of Best Jeanist, is absolutely true, if presented in a misleading way. Obviously this won’t be easily fixed and it comes at a time when the heroes are ready. Endeavor was so stunned that he couldn’t even move. Without the timely arrival of Best Jeanist and Lemillion, the heroes might have been wiped out by then.
Part of what makes My Hero Academia so appealing is the way it incorporates multiple tones. The series can be funny one moment and heartbreaking the next. In the end, it’s the series’ dark moments that make the lighter moments stand out so much more. One thing is clear My Hero Academydark moments almost always have a spark for them; After all, a true hero can only truly shine in the darkest of times.
