My Hero Academia volume 42 still doesn't fix the ending, and it's obvious why

With the release of My Hero Academia volume 42, the manga dropped a new chapter that has now effectively become the true ending of Kohei Horikoshi's series. The events from the new chapter take place about a month after the original manga ended, giving fans a better idea about Deku and his friends as they make strides in their respective hero careers.

While the new chapter does answer some questions fans had about the manga's ending, it still doesn't fix it. This is because the new manga chapter introduces fans to several plot elements that either do not make sense or go against the story's themes that the series was building up to during its serialization.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the My Hero Academia manga.

How does My Hero Academia volume 42 fail to fix the ending?

Deku as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

While there are several issues with the ending depicted by My Hero Academia volume 42, the main issue lies with Deku. As fans must remember, Deku was a quirkless boy, who despite his condition, wished to become a hero. This is why even after he lost his quirk and became a teacher, he missed being a hero.

However, even after being presented with the opportunity to become a full-time hero, he chose to continue his career as a teacher and work as a part-time hero. This did not make sense as the main theme of his journey was that one did not need power to become a hero. But the moment, he was presented with such a career path, he backed away.

Deku as seen in My Hero Academia manga (Image via Shueisha)

While a character can have a change of heart over eight years, given fans had been following his journey for years, the manga owed the fans a more detailed explanation of why Deku chose the path he did. In addition, the protagonist also rejected Katsuki Bakugo's offer to join his agency. This did not sit well with fans as Bakugo had played a key role in commissioning Deku's gear.

Speaking of Bakugo, many fans did not like that their favorite character wasn't even a top 10 hero as per the Hero Billboard Chart JP. Instead, the hero was ranked 15th.

Bakugo as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Another concern fans have about My Hero Academia volume 42 is its final panel. My Hero Academia is a story about becoming the greatest hero. However, instead of ending the series with a "hero" theme featuring All Might, the manga ended with a dap between Deku and Ochako as they asked to keep talking to each other.

It would have been more fitting for the series to end with a scene depicting Deku working as a Hero. On top of that, the final manga chapter did not mention Tenko Shimura, someone who deeply impacted Deku's journey.

Lastly, many fans were left concerned by the relationship angles presented by My Hero Academia volume 42. They were angry that Deku and Ochako got confirmed but not Kaminari and Jiro. Meanwhile, other fans were disappointed that Deku and Ochako's relationship was not confirmed enough.

With several such plot elements in question, it can be said with certainty that My Hero Academia volume 42 still doesn't fix the ending.