My Hero Academia has been on a role since its mini-timeskip that has placed Izuku Midoriya into the role of vigilante hero as Deku. The previous chapter of the series further nailed home the fact that Izuku Midoriya’s current status quo as a solo vigilante hero is here to stay. All For One made it clear to Izuku that he no longer cares about All Might. He then proceeded to claim that his full attention is on Izuku moving forward. Right after this revelation All For One set of explosions at the mansion where Izuku heard this message from My Hero Academia’s top villain. How will Izuku deal with what All For One told him? Let’s find out with My Hero Academia Chapter 317.
Writer & Artist: Kohei Horikoshi
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Sometime after the explosion at All For One’s mansion it is revealed that everyone was able to make it out of the blast. All the Pro Heroes then meet up at a warehouse near a pier.
Edgeshot questions Hawks about getting more information about All For One from Lady Nagant. Hawks says that isn’t possible as Lady Nagant is still being treated for her severe injuries that the doctors even state is a miracle she is still alive from.
Edgeshot then suggests to Endeavor that they unite all the remaining Pro Heroes and use the secret of One For All to create a comprehensive network for them. Mt. Lady agrees, mentioning that with the police having their hands full with the crackdown on villains they need to take a supporting position before all hope is lost.
Hearing all of this Endeavor brings up Death Arms (also known as Desutegoro, who was Kyoka Jiro’s mentor during her internship) recent retirement.
Mt. Lady then remembers the reason Death Arms gave for retiring as a Pro Hero had to due with struggling to deal with the criticism and doubt the public was throwing his way. Even though he still had people who looked at him in a positive light Death Arms could not handle the negativity because, as he puts it, “But nah. I’m no hero. Only human.”
Back in the present, Best Jeanist talks about how one by one heroes are retiring and they don’t know who may be next. Endeavor goes on to say that with Pro Heroes retiring this is giving the media more of an opportunity to learn more through leaks from these retired heroes. Endeavor then says that with the world being in case if everyone found out about One For All right now Deku would be caught in the middle of the vicious cycle of negativity.
Mt. Lady brings up the question as to why All For One hasn’t revealed the truth about Deku and One For All to the public. Endeavor theorizes that it is because All For One knows by doing so they would do everything in their power to hide Deku. He goes on to state that they are also in the stop that if Deku isn’t being active they’ll never find any clues about what All For One and the League of Villains are doing.
Endeavor suddenly gets several calls from Shoto Todoroki. Endeavor does not answer any of his son’s calls or messages, internally asking his son to wait a bit longer for an explanation.
Hawks then suddenly gets an alert from All Might that a second hired gun that All For One contracted came after Deku. In All Might’s message Hawks learns that Deku already took out the villain.
Over in an unknown city Deku is shown having knocked out the assassin and has him tide up using his Blackwhip Quirk.
All Might tries to talk to Izuku Midoriya and give him bento box. Izuku is not interest and tells All Might to move as the assassin could blow up like Lady Nagant did. Izuku then takes off without taking the bento box, telling All Might he does not need to follow him anymore since his current control of all the Quirks he wields allows him to mimic 100% of One For All similar to All Might’s peak.
All Might flashes back to all the words of encouragement that he has given to Izuku in the past and his face suddenly turns to dread. All Might tries to reach out Izuku but Izuku just takes off. All Might tries to say “It’s okay to take a break” but is unable to as Izuku is already gone.
Nearby Stain is shown watching all this while hiding in the shadows.
As time passes rumors around various cities in Japan start to spread of someone who is able to use multiple Quirks like All For One and Nomu. The people mention that this Quirk user does not look like a hero as they have been seen to be covered dirt, scars and blood.
In an unknown city Deku is shown walking with his battle torn costume and the Blackwhip Quirk leaking out his body that has him almost look like a monster. End of chapter.
The Good: As this first story arc in The Final Act Saga has gone on we’ve seen how Kohei Horikoshi is making sure to have fans believe this saga will live up to its name. This isn’t simply about referencing the Paranormal Liberation War arc that concluded earlier this year. The Final Act Saga is going to be about paying off everything Horikoshi has built in My Hero Academia up this point. And more so than any other chapter in this story arc Chapter 317 delivers on that messaging.
All of the heroes surviving the trap All For One set up for them at the mansion was never in doubt. We knew it was to early in the story for these Deku and the Pro Heroes to be taken out. Even All For One knew that this explosion was just about sending a message rather than killing any of the heroes. So showing us the Pro Heroes already gathering to talk about what happened and their next move was the right call. Horikoshi left it up to our imagination as to how they got out and make the action at the end of My Hero Academia Chapter 316 about All For One sending a message to Deku and the top Pro Heroes.
Going this route gave Horikoshi more time to develop the standing of the current Pro Heroes. As we see with the conversation that Endeavor, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Mt. Lady, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods has things are becoming worse for Pro Heroes each passing day. It is not simply because more people have turned on Pro Heroes. Now they aren’t just simply celebrated because they are Pro Heroes.
As we see with Death Arms retirement there is a large number of the current Pro Heroes that can’t handle the growing negativity thrown their way. Even if there are still people who like Pro Heroes those criticizing voices are growing louder so those who became Pro Heroes for the fame rather just retire then deal with the pressures. This in turn shows that the definition of a Pro Hero has changed from being this world’s celebrity to being something that is similar to how heroes are perceived in the DC Universe and Marvel Universe.
Because of the growing number of heroes who are retiring Horikoshi gives greater weight to this status quo change by revealing that more secrets from the Pro Hero society are coming out. Endeavor bringing this up further shows that even if they want to grow their inner circle of heroes going after the League of Villains they are actually putting themselves at risk. The trust within the Pro Hero community has broken down because it is not clear who can handle the current status quo post-Paranormal Liberation War. This places even greater pressure on the current inner circle of Endeavor, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Mt. Lady, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods to be confident in their own actions and decisions moving forward.
At the same time, we do see how harden these six Pro Heroes are as they approach the All For One situation with clear minds. They know they can’t rush things as it would just lead them into another All For One trap. That includes talking out why All For One hasn’t gone public with Izuku Midoriya being the current wielder of One For All. This further points to why they are to be viewed as the top Pro Heroes through the way they analyze the current situation at hand.
But as this continues to go on it’ll be interesting if the isolation for Endeavor, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Mt. Lady, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods being such a small inner circle working together if this is part of All For One’s plan. Because as we saw during the Hideout Raid and Paranormal Liberation War story arcs a big reason for All For One’s plan not working out is because of the number of united Pro Heroes. Now those overwhelming numbers are no more and there is a lack of trust for those not in the current group made up of Endeavor, Hawks, Best Jeanist, Mt. Lady, Edgeshot, and Kamui Woods.
The Pro Heroes current situation plays into what we are seeing with how things are developing with Izuku Midoriya’s character now that he is acting as vigilante hero. The smile has just about disappeared after the experience with Lady Nagant and All For One. The words from All For One signaling that Deku is his sole target hit Izuku very hard. Now that is all Izuku can think about and has led him to isolate himself even further, to the point he is turning away from All Might. Which all goes to show that as of now Deku and all the heroes may be playing more into All For One’s plans to cause an isolated feeling in all those who could challenge him.
This all puts even greater questions on what direction we will see Izuku Midoriya’s character take moving forward. The final page of My Hero Academia Chapter 317 showed us a Deku like we’ve never seen. He looked like a total monster in that final page as his costume’s battle damage created more fear than hope. It is the complete opposite of the smiling, hopeful person that Izuku we have grown to know. Which all creates a sense of unknown when it comes to what plans Horikoshi has for Izuku.
How All Might will factor into the story is just as interesting. Because as we saw from his inner monologue, All Might wants to act as a proper mentor to Izuku. Unfortunately there is something blocking him from doing so as he acts too late in his attempt to tell Izuku to rest. How All Might responds to Izuku turning him away will either show us him stepping up as a mentor or do something else entirely.
The brief appearance of Stain in the final pages, showing that he was watching All Might creates even more questions. We know that Stain viewed All Might as the only true hero. How seeing All Might breakdown as Deku turned him away makes what role Stain will play in the series moving forward even more intriguing.
The Bad: Nothing.
Overall: My Hero Academia Chapter 317 was an excellent conclusion to the first story arc of The Final Act Saga that has started. Kohei Horikoshi knocks it out of the park with delivering a chapter that has multiple layers to it. From the characters involved to the environment of the current world of My Hero Academia, there is so much to be invested in as fans. The final image of Izuku Midoriya in a monstrous form as Deku drives home how My Hero Academia is a can’t miss reading experience.
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