My Hero Academia Final Season Episode 7 Recap: Will AFO Be Defeated Once And For All?

Deku’s desperate efforts to move Shigaraki’s heart and mind by entering his psyche reveal Tenko’s tragic past in the latest episode of the final season of “My Hero Academia,” which is bound to make viewers feel sympathetic for him irrespective of what kind of a monster he has become. Also, the episode also re-establishes precisely why All For One is undoubtedly the greatest supervillain in the world of “My Hero Academia,” as his most heinous act comes to light the moment his final remnants take over Shigaraki. Previously, Deku’s transfer of all the vestiges of One For All (except Nana Shimura’s) to Shigaraki resulted in his emotional blockage gradually shattering, leaving the prime of Shigaraki’s core memories to be confronted by Deku and Nana Shimura in the hopes of altering him from within. However, in doing so, they end up unleashing the final vestiges of the primal evil of All For One, and the upcoming conflict will take the last stage of the final battle to a new height. I can’t stress enough how amazing the final season has been so far, and from the way things are shaping up in the last lap, it seems the best is yet to come.

Spoilers Ahead

The last episode ended with Deku and Nana witnessing one of Shigaraki/Tenko’s painful childhood memories, as a young Tenko is slapped by his father, Kotaro, for aspiring to become a hero. After the demise of her husband at the hands of one of AFO’s lackeys, Nana Shimura had to distance herself from her son to keep him safe, and since a young age, Kotaro grew a sense of hatred towards heroes while trying to cope with his mother’s abandonment. He couldn’t bear the thought of his own son, Tenko, being inspired by his grandma’s heroics and getting motivated to become a hero. Kotaro’s hatred for his mother translated to his abusive actions towards his son, which did a number on the kid’s mind. Nana’s vestige is overwhelmed by regret and guilt upon realizing that she has failed her family, and she is finally able to break through Shigaraki’s emotional blockage to heal him from within while apologizing for her act of abandonment. With this, the entirety of One For All is transferred to Shigaraki, and the final piece of the puzzle, his most traumatic core memory, is unlocked.

Some wounds are too deep to heal, and young Shigaraki’s core memory, which altered the kid’s worldview and triggered extreme self-hatred and destroyed any semblance of positivity in him, is such a ghastly mental wound. The first time Shigaraki manifested his Decay quirk, he accidentally killed his family dog, Mon. Even before the terrified kid is able to make sense of what happened or grasp the harrowing nature of his quirk, he ends up accidentally causing the death of his entire family, which includes his sister Hana, their father Kotaro, their mother, and also Tenko’s paternal grandfather. Imagine the pain and crippling guilt a child has to go through upon realizing he himself caused the death of his entire family, and it is understandable why Shigaraki’s psyche broke and got twisted in the most terrible way possible. As Deku tries to help a young Tenko by encroaching in his most shameful, traumatic memory, the surge of Shigaraki’s negative emotions make him realize that from a young age poor Tenko had convinced himself that the death of his family members was not an unfortunate accident, it was a deliberate, conscious choice made by him to show what a monster he truly is – otherwise he could never make sense of why such a destructive quirk emerged within him. The world too saw a monster in a broken child who needed guidance and a helping hand, which now Deku is trying to provide, holding on to the belief that Shigaraki can still be reformed. Finally, Deku’s positivity and hope shine bright and take over Tenko’s negative emotions as he truly heals his most painful psychic wound. However, it takes a hefty toll, as Deku’s sacrificial action of holding on to Shigaraki’s hand despite knowing the nature of the Decay quirk costs him his hands, both in psychic space and in the real world. 

However, there is a remnant of negativity still lingering in Shigaraki’s mind—his childhood dream of becoming a hero has translated into his desire to become a hero for all the villainous figures, for all the hopeless, desperate people who have given up on the world and just want the world to end in one fell swoop. The broken, hurting people see Shigaraki as their twisted hero, who will bring salvation to a world that is beyond redemption. However, this emotion within him allows him to get rid of his burdens instead of holding on to them, and Shigaraki’s mental shackles are broken, which is conveyed in the way the hand constructs built around him as a shield disappear in the real world. 

Just when it seems things are going to get better, it takes a much, much worse turn as Shigaraku witnesses certain memories in his mind’s eye that are not of his own. He sees his father, Kotaro, who doesn’t seem as angry, bitter, and hateful as he remembers him to be, meeting with an unknown person, who shows him kindness and tries to learn about his family details. This unknown presence is none other than All For One, who has been on the lookout to find a perfect vessel to fulfill his ultimate goal of taking One For All, the final aspect of his brother Yoichi. Through all his encounters with the former wielders of One For All, AFO realized that unless he is able to overcome the willpower of the users, he will never be able to take the quirk for himself. Even though AFO’s corporeal self ceased to exist after being beaten by Bakugo, his vestige still lived within Shigaraki, who finally got the chance to take over his vessel at the right moment when Deku was able to break through Shigaraki’s emotional blockage. AFO proudly reveals that he kept his so-called protégé, Shigaraki, under the illusion that he actually had free will in order to strengthen his own willpower, whereas AFO has been pulling the strings for a long, long time to alter the course of his life. He planted the idea of having a second child in Kotaro’s mind, which led to the birth of Tenko; stole newborn Tenko’s original repulsion quirk, which he inherited from his grandma Nana Shimura; and used his powers to aggravate Kotaro’s suppressed estranged emotions towards Nana to turn him into a toxic, abusive father. It was AFO who instilled the willingness to become a hero in young Tenko by manipulating events and gave the Decay quirk to him in the first place, which ruined his life forever. Shigaraki was a pawn in AFO’s game all along, whose id was suppressed by AFO even before he could realize it and turned into a conduit of all the negative emotions, which gravitated him further to AFO. The realization that none of his choices were his own to begin with shatters Shigaraki’s resolve, and AFO takes over his mind and body. There is a faint echo of whatever remains of Shigaraki within his body, which has been completely taken over by AFO. I hope I am not exaggerating when I say AFO straight up emanates Johan Liebert vibes at this moment; having so meticulously planned to break someone from the core, it just doesn’t get any more vile and villainous. However, AFO can no longer sense Shigaraki or Yoichi within himself despite the transfer of One For All being completed, which seemingly renders his long-time planning ineffective in the end as he decides to project his anger by resuming his quest for world domination. In front of him stands a battered and bruised Deku, who has lost both his hands and doesn’t seem to possess any strength to put up any form of challenge. 

Just as it seems AFO will decimate Deku and proceed with his world domination plan, help arrives in the most unexpected, miraculous way—and the scenario appears like a callback of the portal scene from “Avengers: Endgame.” Deku is surprised to see his friends/batchmates from 1A, Sero, Ojiro, and Sato, arrive at the scene seemingly out of nowhere and push AFO back. Deku is shocked further as he sees Aizawa arrive with the help of Kurogiri’s warp gate access, along with a number of UA Academy students to help Deku in his final battle against AFO. Aizawa and Yamada were able to use Kurogiri, who is an advanced form of Nomu created by AFO by using the corpse of their old friend, Shirakumo, to transport to different locations to gather all the available heroes of UA. As it turns out, an aspect of Shirakumo was still alive in AFO’s thrall, Kurogiri, which has come to life—either triggered by the emotional connection he used to share with his classmates or Kurogiri’s objective to protect Shigaraki—or thanks to a mix of both of these motives. As it turns out, Eri has broken her only remaining horn with Ectoplasm’s help, and despite the risk of her Rewind quirk malfunctioning, she has given it to Aizawa to help Deku in any way possible. Not only Eri, but also Deku’s heroics have inspired heroes and commoners alike to contribute in any way they can—conveying he is gradually becoming the symbol of peace and hope his idol All Might is. 

As the episode comes to a close, Deku’s hands are restored temporarily as Aizawa uses Eri’s horn. With his friends and teachers from UA by his side, Deku is not alone in this decisive battle. As if it couldn’t have been more epic, it is truly All For One versus One For All for the final fight.