My Hero Academia manga has always paid much attention to issues such as discrimination. This has come up in the story many times before and is the main reason that leads to the Paranormal Liberation Arc.
Their society has always differentiated between those with quirks and the quirkless, but it doesn’t stop there. Even among those with powers, there’s a disfavor of heteromorphs who don’t look human.
One of the most prominent mutant characters in MHA is class 1A’s, Mezo Shoji. Not much attention has been paid to Shoji’s character, but it’s not the same now.
My Hero Academia’s latest, chapter 371, dives into Shoji’s traumatic past and the reason behind his masked and mysterious appearance.
The chapter reveals how Shoji comes from a backwater village where people ostracized mutants, going as far as inflicting violence on them. Shoji, being a heteromorph, suffered years of abuse because of his appearance by the village folk.
All the violent treatment Shoji was subjected to led to a scarred face, resulting in him wearing a mask so people don’t get the wrong impression. Shoji also told 1A about how he embraced his quirk when he saved a drowning girl and decided to become a hero to help more people.
These instances and Shoji’s story is recalled by Koda, another heteromorph, who sees him fighting an enhanced Spinner. Koda sees Spinner’s heteromorph army ridiculing Shoji for joining the other side by calling him a traitor.
After the emotional and bone-chilling backstory, the chapter resumes with Shoji and Spinners fighting, where both are going all-out. Seeing Shoji give his all, Koda levels up and turns the tide in the heroes’ favor.
While the chapter had been abrupt without much build-up, it was still great. At least they did acknowledge the darker sides of the quirk society, even if it was a desperate last-minute try.
The manga has been going through rough times since the Final Act Saga began. The wholesome times when heroes always came out victorious are long gone, and it’s time for the young ones to step up and save the day.
About My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected in 37 tankōbon volumes as of February 2023.
It follows a quirkless boy Izuku Midoriya and how he backed the greatest Hero alive. Midoriya, a boy who has been admiring heroes and their ventures since the day he was born, came into this world without a quirk, where almost everybody is born with one.
On one fateful day, he meets All Might the greatest Hero of all time and discovers that he was quirkless as well. With his diligent attitude and unwavering spirit about being a hero, Midoriya manages to impress All Might. He is chosen to be the heir to the power of One for All.
Source: My Hero Academia Chapter 371
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