My Hero Academia is gearing up to return to screens with the anime’s eighth and final season of the TV anime, but there’s some homework you’ll need to do before jumping into the anime’s grand finale. My Hero Academia will be hitting screens with its final season this October together with the rest of the upcoming Fall 2025 anime schedule, and it’s got some big plans. After setting up for the final fights between the heroes and villains in the previous season, the war is now down to its final couple of fights that need to be settled before the anime can come to its proper conclusion.
With My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON preparing for its new episodes this October, it’s now the perfect time to go back into the anime’s past and revisit some of the biggest episodes across its tenure thus far. There have been some big moments that have shaped the hero world now falling apart in the anime’s final season, so you’re going to need to be especially prepared before jumping into the final wave. Check out our choices for the best episodes of My Hero Academia to go back and rewatch to get ready for the finale.
7.) Izuku Midoriya: Origin (Season 1, Episode 1)
With an anime like this one, it’s best to go back to the very beginning. There’s no better reintroduction to what makes My Hero Academia so special than its very first episode. The premiere introduced fans to the powerless Izuku Midoriya, and with it launched an adventure he has been on for many more seasons later. It’s also going to make for the greatest visual difference between the Deku then and the Deku in the final season. When you also reflect on the fact that Deku’s really only been an active hero for about a year, it really puts it all in a much wilder perspective looking back on it now.
6.) Katsuki Bakugo: Origin (Season 2, Episode 25)
The second season had its fair share of notable episodes, especially during the Sports Festival (as the fight between Deku and Shoto is arguably when it all took off), but the biggest episode for the future of the series was this one. All Might had challenged Deku and Bakugo to see if they could pass their final test by somehow taking him down and getting to the goal. It was the first time that All Might used his power against the students, and the first time that Deku and Bakugo were forced to work together. And with it, also moved that rivalry forward as Deku was the reason both he and Bakugo passed that test. It’s a big one for their future.
5.) One For All (Season 3, Episode 11)
“One For All” was the key shift that set up the back half of My Hero Academia. Up to this point, All Might had been in the series as a powerful deus ex machina that could save the day. But with the full introduction of the series’ greatest villain, All For One, All Might had to use the final remnants of his power to take him down. It was All Might’s greatest victory, but also was the one that forced him into retirement. It meant that Deku and the other heroes would now have to take the world into their hands, and the aftermath of this moment is something that My Hero Academia has been reckoning with ever since. Even through to its final episodes.
4.) His Start (Season 4, Episode 25)
With All Might taken out of the picture, Endeavor was forced to take over as the new number one hero. He’s had to deal with all sorts of pressures as a result of it, but this all came to a head with “His Start.” Fighting off a new and advanced version of the Nomu first seen in My Hero Academia‘s debut season, this was Endeavor’s first real test as the pro hero that would need to lead the hero world in the future. Taking place in front of the public, it was the first real sign to the public at large that the hero world was going to go through a massive change that’s still being worked out in the final season’s episodes.
3.) Tenko Shimura: Origin (Season 5, Episode 23)
In the second half of the series, Tomura Shigaraki started to take a much more prominent place within the anime as we learned much more about him. Like Deku, he was started to take over for his own master, but All For One had much more nefarious plans in mind. As Shigaraki was starting to unlock his true nature, this episode revealed his true origin and explained that he had such a tragic past that he really never had a chance at a regular life since. It marked a shift for Shigaraki, and now he’s much more unleashed than ever before. It’s that intensity we’re seeing play out in the final battle.
2.) Deku vs. Class A (Season 6, Episode 23)
Deku went through a period of darkness himself as following the start of the war, Deku felt like he had to carry the weight of the fight against Shigaraki on his shoulders. Thanks to One For All bringing all of its history along with the newly unlocked powers, Deku had pushed himself to new lengths to take down as many villains as he possibly can. But he had fallen to such an extent that it took the rest of Class 1-A to really knock him back to his senses. Banding together to save Deku from himself, his classmates showed just how bonded they were as Deku realized all of them will be working together in order to defeat the villains in the war to come.
1.) A Chain of Events, Across the Ages (Season 7, Episode 13)
My Hero Academia Season 7 had a fair share of notable episodes you’ll want to rewatch in order to be ready for the final season, but the biggest moment of the war came when Deku made his arrival at the floating U.A. battlefield. Seeing the destruction that a fully unleashed Shigaraki had already caused, and the notable heroes that had fallen in battle to this point, Deku almost completely lost hope. But with the help of Mirio helping him snap out of it, Deku started the fight against Shigaraki and it’s where we’ll be seeing him once more when the final season premieres this October with Crunchyroll and Hulu.
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