My Hero Academia Chapter 364 – Why We Wield Power

Kohei Horikoshi went into its break with one of the more jaw dropping moments in the history of My Hero Academia. The possible death of Katsuki Bakugo is a major game changer as he has become one of the leads of this entire series. If that wasn’t bad enough it appears as though All For One has made a shocking move that nullifies all of Endeavor and crews effort to bring him down. What is All For One planning to do? And how will the heroes respond? Let’s find out with My Hero Academia Chapter 364.

CREATIVE TEAM

Writer & Artist: Kohei Horikoshi

SYNOPSIS

Sometime after the Tartarus breakout All For One discovers a message left to him by Doctor Kyudai Garaki, which explains how he analyzed the Shie Hassaikai Quirk-Destroying Drug that Tomura Shigaraki stole to confirm the validity behind the Quirk Singularity theory. Dr. Garaki took his analysis and created something that All For One could use to achieve his dream.

In the present All For One has taken the drug Dr. Garaki created to reproduce Eri’s Rewind Quirk so he can regain his original form for a period until he completely disappears due to the drug’s effect.

All For One immediately steals the Quirk of one of the heroes.

Hawks confronts All For One to question him on his goals. After talking about how he was inspired by comic book villains All For One reveals his dream is to thwart the world’s future that turns their noses in disgust to things they deem “Bad Stuff.” It is a dream that he has passed on to Tomura Shigaraki.

In Washington, D.C., the President wants to strike against Shigaraki but fears they do not have that ability after Star And Stripe fell. Timothy Agpar argues that if they don’t act the world, them included, won’t have a future.

When the President is displeased with the comments Agpar speaks up again that as Star And Stripe showed that children observe the adults growing up, the adults support them and they pass this on to the next generation. Agpar ends his speech saying it is why the heroes wield their power, in the name of this cause.

Back over at the floating UA High School, a severely injured Edgeshot inspires Mirko and the others to continue fighting. Edgeshot then uses the last of his powers to unleash his Ninpo: Thousand Sheet Pierce – Zenith move to become the new heart for Katsuki Bakugo. End of chapter.

REVIEW

With each passing chapter Kohei Horikoshi has continued to show that he is not holding back when it comes to delivering big moments and payoffs. As much as that has delivered many hype moments in during The Final Act Saga it has its drawbacks. We see those drawbacks highlighted in My Hero Academia Chapter 364.

At some point we knew that Horikoshi would circle back to the fact that Tomura Shigaraki stole the last remaining viles of the Quirk-Destroying Drug. This was to big of a plot thread to just forget about. Addressing it by it becoming All For One’s final trump card to temporarily regain his original body, before All Might just about destroy it, was admittedly a great moment. All For One understood that he took his current body way beyond its limits, with his defeat at Endeavor’s hands being final proof of that.

With that in mind it is completely in All For One’s wheelhouse that he would do this, especially since he knows he still has control of Tomura Shigaraki thanks to the All For One Vestige World. By doing this All For One is making sure he takes out as many powerful heroes off the board. Whether that is by killing them or stealing their Quirks, All For One is in a power position after Endeavor, Hawks, and the other heroes who have been fighting him are severely injured. It all creates a concern for how things will go at this battlefield.

But while that certainly is the interesting angle Horikoshi can’t avoid how rushed this part of the plot comes across. There is a big deus ex machina feel to keep All For One a physical presence for a little while longer. This all comes down to how Horikoshi brings the Quirk-Destroying Drug back into play. Its treated more like Horikoshi remembered he had this card to play rather than a natural progression to the story. Especially with how we continue to shift between the two major battlefields of UA High School and the mountains it feels like the story is being rushed because there is a set amount of chapters left.

Speaking of which, Horikoshi can’t escape the fact that he turned Edgeshot into a big deus ex machina so Katsuki Bakugo isn’t killed off. Horikoshi does his best to make Edgeshot sacrifice be meaningful with his speech motivating Mirko and the others but it just doesn’t hit. It would’ve actually been a brave decision by Horikoshi if he went through with Bakugo’s big death to make this unexpected development a major challenge that keeps readers guessing.

This also brings attention to how characters are just standing around for both All For One and Edgeshot to use their respective deus ex machina plot devices. After how intense recent chapters have been you notice how very little actually is being done by the heroes and villains in this chapter. We just get slight movements after the major events in the previous two chapters.

That said, I will give Horikoshi credit for making these moments as dramatic as possible through the artwork. All For One regaining his form before the injuries he suffered from All Might created a whole different evil presence from the form we are so used to seeing him in. Similarly, Edgeshot starting the process of becoming Bakugo’s heart is designed to be visually impactful.

And while I am largely not as excited about the developments for the battlefields in Japan it was a good surprise that we are seeing other countries response to what is going on. Focusing on the United States government response was especially appropriate since the loss of their greatest hero in Star And Stripe made things more dangerous for them. That fear comes across with how the President hesitates in acting against Shigaraki and All For One.

This made Timothy Agpar stepping up to not only take responsibilities for Star And Stripe death but also continue her legacy a great way to make a minor character important. Agpar’s speech about Star And Stripe being inspired by All Might and how it is representative of how heroes inspire the next generation a great moment. This opens the door for Horikoshi to bring in elements from My Hero Academia: Vigilantes with certain characters we know are in play even after that series ended.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My Hero Academia Chapter 364 is hurt by the several deus ex machina plot devices that Kohei Horikoshi implements in this chapter. The way the scenes with All For One and Edgeshot are written felt forced and did not get the attention needed to be natural progressions of The Final Act Saga. The developments with how the United States could play a role in the story, with possible elements from My Hero Academia: Vigilantes being brought into play, keeps this chapter from being a dud.

Story Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10