Highlights
- Emotional chapter keeps up the standard set by the previous one, with Deku transferring almost all vestiges to Shigaraki.
- Deku witnesses Shigaraki’s painful past of abuse by his father, setting the stage for a deeper understanding of Shigaraki.
- Nana Shimura plays a big role, feeling guilt for neglecting her child Tenko, who grew to become the monster Shigaraki.
My Hero Academia chapter 417 dropped earlier today, and it is safe to say that this week’s chapter maintained the standard set by the previous one. Just like the last chapter, this week’s My Hero Academia was charged with emotion, and Horikoshi certainly nailed that aspect of this chapter.
The vast majority of the chapter was centered around the Shimura household, where Shigaraki was abused by his father, simply for wanting to be like a Hero. All that was explored by Deku in this week’s chapter, and this establishes itself to be the perfect setup for what is to come in the future of the story.
Deku Witnesses Shigaraki’s Past
My Hero Academia chapter 417 opened with an incredible punch that Deku landed on Shigaraki. This punch was seen being charged towards the end of the previous one, and it finally connected in the very first page of this chapter. Deku, utilizing a powerful punch, tore through Shigaraki’s hand-like appendages, and managed to make contact. With a single punch, almost all of the vestiges were transferred from Deku to Shigaraki. This is something that we had previously predicted, given that a transfer based on one vestige per blow would have been way too slow and ruined the pacing of the fight. It was imperative for Horikoshi to draw multiple vestiges being transferred at the same time, and he certainly did that.
Now, almost all the vestiges have been transferred, with Nana Shimura, the seventh user of the One For All, being the last one to stay by Deku’s side. Under normal circumstances, Nana Shimura would have been transferred inside Shigaraki’s body as well, however, Shigaraki actively rejected her, likely due to having a relationship with her, and bearing immense hatred for her. In many ways, Shigaraki also blames Nana for what happened to him, largely due to her being a Hero and neglecting her child, which trickled down and resulted in Shigaraki being abused himself.
My Hero Academia chapter 417 showcased Deku trying to push through Shigaraki’s resistance and attempt to enter his memories. Curiously enough, Deku, being a user of One For All, can actually interact with physical things in the memory world. This is rather strange, however, the proof of this was given to the fans immediately after they entered this world. Fans got to see Shigaraki create a projection of Deku based on his perception of him. This version of Deku was clearly evil, and wanted him to give up on Shigaraki. Of course, Deku powered through, and decided to enter the house to see what was inside.
Sadly for Deku, what he saw inside was only pain and misery. A young Shigaraki was abused by his father for wanting to play Heroes with his little sister. This was a very sad incident that fans already saw in full detail towards the end of the Meta Liberation arc of My Hero Academia.
Deku swore to not end the battle with Shigaraki before he witnessed all his memories, and this is a mammoth task that he took upon, given that Shigaraki was actively resisting intrusion, and trying to push him away. Thankfully, Deku was able to power through and witness all the memories of Shigaraki Tomura for the very first time. This also gave Deku a better understanding of Shigaraki, and made him see why he turned out the way he did.
Nana Shimura’s Pain
Most importantly, My Hero Academia chapter 417 gave Nana Shimura a very big role. While Deku has had many interesting interactions with different users of the One For All, fans have always craved to see more of Nana Shimura with him. Finally, Nana was the last vestige left with him, which meant more incredible moments between the 7th and the ninth user of the One For All. That is precisely what fans saw in this week’s chapter, and just like Deku, Nana herself witnessed the horrors that her son committed inside the Shimura house.
Tenko was abused by his father, and beaten not once but twice. For Nana, this was a heartbreaking moment, because she finally realized that while she was a Hero all set on stopping All For One, her own children were neglected. Because of that, his son held this grudge and never forgave her, and this grudge eventually transferred to Shigaraki, which started every problem in My Hero Academia. In many ways, Nana Shimura started blaming herself, however, all this isn’t her fault at all.
She was simply doing what was her duty at the time, and even if she thought herself to be too weak to beat All For One, it is a fact that she did her best and successfully passed down the One For All as well. Of course, the price to pay for this was huge, and that is what ended up creating Shigaraki, which is unfortunate, but also unavoidable.
While Nana could not help Tenko back when he was actually abused, in this world, Nana could actually interfere, as was established earlier in the chapter. Somehow, she was able to stop her son from hitting Shigaraki, which was the least she could do in the moment. Meanwhile, Deku tried to reach out to a young Shigaraki, who was full of pain at this point in the story.
The Origin Of Decay
My Hero Academia chapter 417 ended on a very horrific note, as Tenko prepared to awaken his decay Quirk. This is something that fans have seen already in the past, as everyone in the Shimura household started to decompose due to the power of Decay. Perhaps, Deku can stop this, since he has the ability to interact with things in this memory world. Regardless, now, he is seeing what Shigaraki went through, and how much he was traumatized as a child, which eventually resulted in him being groomed by All For One, and turned into the monster that he is today.
Clearly, Deku is seeing that his past is full of tragedy and unfortunate incidents. He wanted to be a Hero, or to be saved by one, however, none of these things ended up happening for him. For Deku, this will only strengthen his resolve even further from here, and hopefully, he will manage to save Shigaraki this time.
Of course, actually managing to pull it off is very difficult, and then, the burden falls on the author to nail the ending in a way where Shigaraki isn’t simply forgiven for everything that he did, but is also not reprimanded for things that are beyond his control. My Hero Academia is only going to get more interesting from here onwards, and fans are truly excited to see what happens next.
My Hero Academia is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of My Hero Academia, My Hero Academia chapter 418, is set to be March 31, 2024.
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