Highlights

• My Hero Academia Chapter 422 shows Deku's journey from a Quirkless boy to the world's greatest hero.
• Deku's allies from Class 1-A play a crucial role in helping him against All For One in MHA 422.
• All Might's emotional confession labels Deku as his greatest hero, capturing the essence of Deku's character.

My Hero Academia continues its phenomenal trajectory and, once again, the author of the story, Kohei Horikoshi, has delivered an incredible chapter with MHA 422. This chapter went pretty much as fans predicted, however, once again, Horikoshi was able to weave his magic and bring fans to tears as he highlighted the journey Deku has undertaken over the years and all the progress he has made alongside his many friends, who were there to help him in his final mission to defeat All For One.

My Hero Academia Chapter 422 was the story of Izuku Midoriya, from the beginning when he was a boy without a Quirk, to where he is now, the greatest hero in the entire world.

Deku aided by allies

The heroes of Class 1-A helped Deku a lot in My Hero Academia 422

My Hero Academia Chapter 422 was always going to see Deku return to action. This is something most fans predicted would happen because there's no time to spare, and Deku doesn't know how long his sparks will last. As such, he rushed to confront All For One immediately. However, alone, this wouldn't have been possible for him. All For One is at the peak of his powers, and it's incredibly difficult for anyone to stop him. This was proven once again by the fact that Endeavor and Shoto's attacks against him caused absolutely no damage because he was too tough for them. The only one who can truly harm him now is the one wielding the embers of One For All, and that's Deku, but the others still have a role to play, and that's where Horikoshi brilliantly tied the students in the chapter.

Deku, alone, would never have reached All For One. That said, he wasn't alone in this battle. Every friend he made along the way and every aspiring hero who wanted to see All For One fall helped Deku in this quest. They all did what they could to protect Deku from All For One's attacks and ensure the future number one reached him so he could end this battle forever.

From Tooru Hagakure refracting his light in a way that avoided Deku, to Kirishima and Ashid holding back his powerful appendages, each hero did incredibly well in holding him back. Fans even got to see people like Momo create a powerful electric weapon to counter any efforts All For One made to take Deku down, and overall, each aspiring hero was doing their best to help Deku in his quest to defeat the greatest evil of all, All For One.

All Might's Confession

All Might labels Deku as his greatest hero

Chapter 422 of My Hero Academia was Deku at his best, not in terms of strength, as he was clearly stronger, but as a character. This chapter was the perfect culmination of Deku, his ideals, and everything he believes in. Deku was able to carry on despite everything that happened and was deeply grateful to his comrades. Above all, Deku was still grateful to All Might, who placed his faith in him that day and blessed him with the power of One For All. All Might made a great sacrifice for him. However, in this chapter, fans discovered that the reverse was also true. All Might focused heavily on this chapter, and he went on to say that since the day Deku made him move his body on his own, he has been his greatest hero. This was a moving message from All Might himself and only showed how great a hero Deku truly is.

In the face of adversity, he never wavers, and his greatest concern at all times is simply rushing to the aid of those in need, a core ideal he will always maintain. It's because of this that all the students rally around him and help him in this final task, and that's the beauty of this character that fans have come to love so much over the years. My Hero Academia Chapter 422 saw every student and teacher put their faith in Deku and tell him to do his best.

This also ties directly into his hero name, Deku. Sure, Deku technically should mean something like 'the one who can't achieve anything,' but, just as Uraraka said long ago, it almost sounds like 'do your best.' That's exactly the message echoed throughout this chapter, and it was beautiful for fans to see. Carrying the hopes of so many people on his shoulders, Deku was able to run through the appendages and avoid all the attacks, eventually reaching All For One, delivering a powerful punch.

Izuku Midoriya Ascendant

Izuku's story reaches its peak here

My Hero Academia Chapter 422 was essentially Deku's story of how he rose to the top. Deku mentions at the beginning of the series that this is the story of how he became the world's greatest hero, and fans are now seeing it for themselves. Deku is unlike any other hero fans have ever seen in history.

He may no longer be the strongest, as he'll lose his Quirk, but that's okay. He'll still be the number one hero, and that's simply because he's everyone's hope. Being number one for him was never about strength to begin with. As All Might said, it was always about moving the people around him, just as he moved his body to rescue others in dire situations. All Might called Deku his greatest hero, and likewise, hundreds of people around the world still believe he is the greatest of all time. Deku will save Japan, and millions of people are praying for his success here and now.

In a way, you can even call My Hero Academia Chapter 422: A love letter from all the people of Japan to Deku. This was an absolutely brilliant chapter, full of raw emotion that must have brought every fan to tears. It's Deku's story culminating in a single chapter, and sees him rise to the next level. The next step from here is to defeat All For One, and that will likely happen in the next chapter. When that happens, Deku will usher in a new era of peace, and while that will be very difficult, it's something Deku will accomplish no matter what, because that's what he set out to do, and he will do it, no matter the cost.

My Hero Academia is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read officially and for free by fans in Shonen Jump and Manga Plus application. The release date for the next chapter of My Hero Academia, My Hero Academia Chapter 423, is set for May 19, 2024.