My Hero Academia, Vol. 38 [Boku no Hero Academia 38]

僕のヒーローアカデミア [Boku no Hero Academia] #38

by Kohei Horikoshi

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

In the desperate battle with All For One and his minions, the U.A. students are pushing themselves to their absolute limits. Everywhere, the villains have the upper hand. While Ochaco and Asui fight Himiko Toga, and Midoriya squares off with Tomura, the floating U.A. island falls out of the sky. All For One’s new form appears all but unstoppable, and if he reaches Tomura, all is lost. But one hero stands in his way…

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Young Adult, Shonen, Comics, Action, Fiction

208 pages, Nook

First published June 2, 2023

About the author

HORIKOSHI Kouhei
Name (in native language): 堀越耕平
Associated Names:
Kouhei Horikoshi

Born 1986 in the prefecture Aichi, Horikoshi first attracted attention in the second half of 2006 when he entered Shueisha's 72th Tezuka Award for Newcomers with his one shot "Nukegara" and made it to the final six, where he gained himself an "Honorable Mention".
Various short stories in Shueisha's Akamaru JUMP followed over the years until he published his one shot "Oumagadoki Doubutsuen" in issue #2/2010 of Weekly Shounen JUMP.

Kouhei Horikoshi is a graduate of Nagoya University of Arts. He was previously an assistant to TANAKA Yasuki.

Zodiac: Scorpio

Pixiv: 堀越

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hori made this bisexual Toga cover for the pride month, actually. Just look at my girl be unhinged and queer 💕💜💙

[Demi · Rating 3 out of 5]

the todoroki storyline is always the best thing horikoshi does

[Vinicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu acho legal que em Boku no Hero, apesar da turma 1A ser grande, ao longo do mangá, eles dão protagonismo e desenvolvem bem os coadjuvantes. Por exemplo, nesse volume, a mina do ácido e o Dark Shadow trabalharam muito bem, e participaram crucialmente da história.

O mesmo vale para os vilões, que mesmo não sendo muitos, eles dividem o protagonismo, cada um tendo uma função, e não sendo apenas um escudo para o All for One e para o Shigaraki.

Só espero que a batalha final avance mais no próximo volume, porque nessa edição, apesar de vários embates, parece que a batalha ficou no mesmo lugar.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horikoshi keeps on COOKING with these insane panels

[Avery · Rating 2 out of 5]

NO BAKUGO. NO IZUKU. WAT THE HAY??!??

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone becomes a hero in Volume 38: Class 1-A, Class 1-B, the business students of U.A.; the pro-heroes, La Brava, Gentle, Shiketsu High students, Lady Nagant, Shinsō, Gigantomachia, Stain, and many more!!!

So much has happened in this chapter!

Actual Chapters of Volume 38 are Chapters 375 to 386

Note: The Character spread of Volume 38 does NOT have Katsuki Bakugo in it 😢 cause he died in Volume 37.

🔵Endeavor is “watching over” Dabi, but he’s on the brink of defeat!
🔵 Shōtō and Tenya are on their way to stop an exploding Dabi.
🔵 All for One is rewounding to his younger self while flying towards Tomura’s direction (Tomura is currently facing Deku).
🔵 Shiketsu High students jumped into the fray to stop All for One!
🔵Camie rides a severed finger of Tomura! 😂
🔵Heroes like Tokoyami (supported by Hawks), Lady Nagant, Inasa Yoarishi, and now, Gigantomachia are attempting to stop All for One to merge with Tomura.
🔵 Gigantomachia is angry at All for One as the latter abandoned him.
🔵 Shinsō cannot completely brainwash Gigantomachia.
🔵 Eijiro protected Shinsō so the latter can do his brainwashing job, and Mina subdued Gigantomachia for a moment.
🔵 The heroes (and Gigantomachia, too) are attacking the Demon Lord so All for One rewound into oblivion!
🔵Himiko disguising as Twice is terrible, but this is not the worst-case scenario according to Tsuyu.
🔵Ochaco found the real Himiko crying (she’s unable to 100% transform into Twice).
🔵All for One is now facing All Might (who might use a robotic shield since he’s Quirkless).

Read MHA Viz Media Chapter 386 (12th chapter out of possibly 12 chapters) Vol. 38 on April 23, 2023 - 🤩 Could this chapter get any better? Love the clean scans of Viz Media as it shows Dabi's ferocity as he bows down unashamed (again) to his audience while preparing to burn Gunga (and the blocked U.A. High School) to crisps! All Might shouting "I Am Here" to All for One is exciting as you can clearly see the briefcase unfolding a mechanical shield to protect All Might! 😄

[José · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toca ponserme al día con MHA después de varios meses sin leerlo. El último arco no me estaba gustando mucho, pero ahora parece que se viene la pelea definitiva contra AFO y quiero saber cómo terminará todo.

[m.・゜゜・・゜゜・． · Rating 4 out of 5]

tears in my fucking eyes. la goatva… all might

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve seen several reviews saying this final battle/arc is taking too long and I kindly but firmly disagree—how in the world does anyone expect all these characters, arcs, and events to be wrapped up satisfactorily in less time? I would have felt very dissatisfied and extremely cheated if that had been the case, so I applaud the mangaka for taking the time to wrap up these events and everyone’s arcs the way he has.

I love how no character or moment throughout this whole series is wasted and are all being brought back in these final volumes—I love it when series do this! I’m also loving how they’re being included to show the changes they’ve made since we last saw them, even if only briefly.

And the ending!!!! Shut up, no way!! I’m so excited to see how this part of the battle plays out yet I’m terrified as well!!!


‼️Content‼️

Language: bullcrap; crap; gah; dammit; hell; damn; screwups; darn; omigosh

Violence: injuries and blood (PG-PG-13/R); fighting with weapons, superpowers, and hand to hand (PG-PG-13/R); a decapitated head (no blood); hands are shot off

Sexual: a girl’s shirt opens in the front all the way down to her stomach; shirtless guys

Other: superheroes/supervillains/superpowers; a girl’s power has her “transform” into people by drinking their blood; monster like beings with “brains” outside their skulls; an explosion; millions of hands

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very conflicting volume in that a) a lot of things happened, and b) there wasn't much going on 8'D

All of the battles are still ongoing, but with the exception of a bunch of surprise cameos (some going all the way back to volume one), there hasn't really been any progress made in terms of the actual storyline. Given what has been happening up until now, I was expecting much more from this volume than what I received.

What I will say though, is that the final portion of that last chapter? Both stunning and extremely concerning, and I am both interested in seeing what happens next, and terrified to know what this means for the story...

Chapter notes below for personal reference: (potentially spoiler heavy)


Chapter 375. Okay, so Toga’s using Twice’s blood and mass cloning themself as Twice, and Uraraka and Tsuyu are going after her…

Chapter 376. Oh shit, Dabi’s there too? You guys are FUCKED.
–
How the HECK can Toga create so many clones?!
–
OH FUCK NO. Don’t let AFO get to Tomura!

Chapter 377. Oh shit. The PLF guy managed to take over. That’s not great ._.
–
Oh my gawd! It’s that kid that was with Gentle! She’s here too? :o

Chapter 378. I love her a lot XD
–
…who’s that?
–
…who are those guys?
–
GENTLE IS HERE TOO?!
–
Who is THAT? She has a big gun, is that Lady Nagant? :o

Chapter 379. It IS Lady Nagant! Heck yes!
–
Okay… not really sure what’s happening there, but Deku and Shigaraki are now outside of the cage thing. Not sure whether that’s a good thing…

Chapter 380. Gentle has an audience! Excellent!
–
Go Business/marketing students!
–
AIZAWA, NO.
–
…Is that CAMI?! From the provisional license exam?!
–
It ISSSSS. And apparently just all of Shiketsu in general! :o
–
AHAHA. It’s Yoarashi!

Chapter 381. Oh good. Nice to know they’re all still FUCKED.
–
Awwww… Yoarashi has changed his mind about Endeavour and Todoroki. Now THAT’S character growth.
–
He needs to dodge that attack at all costs? Whose attack is it that it could worry even AFO?
–
TOKOYAMI?! OH HECK YES.
–
Ohhhhh… That makes a lot of sense actually. AFO needs to touch the person that has the quirk - not the quirk itself - in order to steal it. So even if the quirk is still a physical manifestation (like Dark Shadow), he would need to be able to get to Tokoyami in order to steal it. That makes sense!

Chapter 382. I really love that Tokoyami is getting to be the ace fighter in this battle. He’s such a fantastic character and it’s great to see him take centre stage c:
(Also, this is going to be FANTASTIC when it’s animated!)
–
MACCHIA’S BACK?! FUCK.
–
WAIT. SHINSO HAS CONTROL OF MACCHIA? HECK YES.

Chapter 383. ...is that the fucking slime villain? From Chapter 1?
–
Go Ashido! Take him downnnnn!
–
And now Shinso has Macchia. Take THAT.

Chapter 384. And now AFO knows about Shinso and his quirk. That’s probably not a good thing… 8’D
–
Wait… Macchia’s not under Shinso’s control? He’s just mad at AFO naturally? That’s… honestly very helpful and I really hope it stays that way.
–
Wait… Are these guys broadcasting the battles worldwide to ensure that all the other nations know that Japan hasn’t been defeated, and are going to give it their all until the last person standing?
–
People from all over the world are watchinggggg.

Chapter 385. Huh? What? What just happened there, and why is Mt. Lady suddenly down? Man, this would be so much easier to keep track of if it was in colour and animated XDD
–
…well fuck. The younger AFO gets the more powerful he becomes. That’s… not great.
–
TOKOYAMI NO
–
Oh hey! Now we can see what’s happening with the evacuation routes!
–
IS THAT STAIN?!

Chapter 386. ...Are you saying that Dabi has converted himself into a bomb? Or perhaps a nuke?
–
…I don’t get it, All Might. What can Todoroki and Iida do against Dabi when he is a LITERAL BOMB?!
–
…a powerful ally is waiting for AFO? Who TF is that, and why do you not appear to be concerned that AFO is almost to Shigaraki? I don’t understand, All Might :|
–
THE ALLY IS ALL MIGHT?! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE. YOU HAVE NO POWER ANYMORE. WHAT THE FUCK. I mean, sure. It explains the chapter title (“I AM HERE”) but are you just going to appear to fucking DIE?!
–
Throwback to Chapter 1? ;u; ;u; ;u;
–
“I AM HERE” INDEED. YOU ARE FUCKED, DUDE.

[Victor The Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heroes’ continuing battle with All for One and the other villains see them all using their powers to their absolute limit and it gets more and more serious as some of them face dangerous moments in the battlefield. The volume does conclude with an unexpected arrival. A (100%/Outstanding)

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of character work in this volume all while the insane battle rages on. I loved certain redemptive character arcs in this one and the heart that so many of these heroes (and villains?) show here. The ending of this one was beautiful and I cannot wait to see where this goes from here.

[Kaloyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lost interest at this point. These recent arcs have been so undercooked they've completely changed the structure of the story up until now. Different character appearances now feel shoe-horned in just to say "We haven't forgotten about them!", while before they would naturally appear and have their time in the limelight. After Vigilante Deku, everything just went downhill. Characters get introduced only to be killed off like 3 chapters later, important ones die only to be revived in the most bullshit way possible and everything feels so drawn-out yet rushed at the same time. I miss the old times.

[T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Noch nie so lange für einen Manga gebraucht. Ich denke es wird langsam Zeit für mich diese Reihe abzubrechen. Ich komme überhaupt nicht mehr mit, muss mich aufgrund des doch recht verwirrenden Zeichenstils ständig fragen wer überhaupt gerade spricht, wer diese ganzen Personen waren. Es passiert zu viel und gleichzeitig geht es einfach nicht voran. Ich zwinge mich da jetzt schon seit mehreren Bänden durch und habe wirklich langsam keine Lust mehr.

[AJ (the.booknerd.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Christ Tokoyami popped off

Shinso!!!!!!!

[♡Haphazardly-E♡ (Elm's Version)]

And now to wait till i get the rest of the series

(Side note: i love this cover)

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lady Nagant, esta guerra finalmente llegó al punto, en que dependemos de Izuko Midoriya"

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot to say last volume, but Spinner is the MVP of the villain side so far, for successfully rescuing Kurogiri.

Man... I knew La Brava comes back into the story already because of spoilers from when it happened back in serialization, but... Horikoshi could have padded it a bit better. She appears on an odd-numbered page, so you can see her in the big-ass full-page panel when Skeptic still thinks he's won. Kinda kills the surprise.

I actually don't think I knew Gentle and Lady Nagant come back shortly after, so their appearances definitely got me. I'm not crying, you are!

Also didn't expect Camie to return. Or the Shiketsu guys, but they're less interesting to me, personally. Because they don't have... uh... Camie has a more interesting design.

Shouts out to Tokoyami for having an insanely sick Hype Moment!

I knew All Might returns with an armor suit inspired by Iron Man, and I expected it had to happen soon, but I was still unable to hold back when Horikoshi started teasing All Might joining the fight. I would have been mad if the volume didn't end with confirmation, or at least would have felt "blue balls." But Horikoshi delivered. Kind of. I mean, we don't see the suit yet, but we know for sure All Might is challenging AfO directly, and anyone who has seen Iron Man 2 can tell what method All Might is using...! (Yeah, I cried again, fuck you.)

****

Mina tits, pits, and tummy in ripped costume on the back cover...!!!!!

Ochaco boobs and Tsuyu boobs and thighs on inside volume cover...!!!!!

Fucking Characters page has swimsuits. This is gonna be annoying. Okay, here goes: Kyouka flat chest and tight tummy...! Ocacho boobs...! Mina boobs and tummy...! Momo boobs, abs(!), hips, and thighs...! Tsuyu boobs, tummy, hips, butt, and thighs...! Toru boobs as well, I guess, since I've said the other girls in 1-A...!

Okay, the whole volume is probably gonna have the girls, so this might be more annoying than all the Mirko and Nejire last volume. Well, anyway, Himiko legs and Tsuyu boobs, hips, and thighs...!!!!!

Tsuyu butt...!

Himiko utility pouch strap cutting into her chubby thigh-meat...!!!

Tsuyu and Himiko-as-Tsuyu butts...!!!!!

Tsuyu hip as Himiko warps away...!

Mushroom girl boobs...!

Red Mage(?) Ochaco thighs in tights on cover of Chapter 376...! Also, her boobs...!

Ochaco butt when she's falling at the start of Chapter 376...!

Pixie-Bob thighs...!

Ochaco butt and thighs and Tsuyu hips and thighs as they both continue flying...!!!

Ochaco boobs and thighs when Kyouka comes in...!!!

Tsuyu butt shortly after...!!!

La Brava titties...!!!!!

La Brava boobs and chubby legs on the omake page after Chapter 377...!!!

Joke's boobs...!

Nagant boobs and milf-body hips on the omake page after Chapter 378...!

Lady Nagant's boobs smooshed together in her hero costume from her early days...!!!

La Brava pressing her fat shortstack boobs together when talking through the phones...!!!!!

Camie tits, hips, and thighs...!!!!!!!!!! Didn't expect to see her here. Riding a... finger...?!

Camie boobs in subsequent appearances...!

Kinoko boobs as she flies away from AfO's blast...!

Tsuyu boobs as she's running on all fours...!!!

Himiko's naked boobs and hips/butt/thighs in her mind...!!!

Ochaco boobs when she's fighting the Twices...!

Mina pits and tits on the cover of Chapter 383...!!!!!

Rule boobs...! Mt. Lady boobs, abs, and thighs...!!!

Mina boobs and thighs when she attacks the slime guy...!!!

Mt. Lady boobs, tummy, thighs, crotch, and ass-fangs when she kicks the villains as Shinso commands Machia...!!!

Mina boobs on the omake page after Chapter 383...!

Mt. Lady tits and pits as she continues attacking AfO...!!!!!

Kendo boobs...!

[R.J. Sorrento · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to wait until October for Vol 39?!?! *cries again*

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still love this series very much, but it feel to make like that massive «ending» fight it stretching a bit too much. How many issues have we been in it? The is also a lot of action but on so many front that it became a bit confusing at time (I also notice a slight change in the artwork which add to the confusion in my opinion). That being said, it ends up on a massive cliff-hanger, which of course, has me looking forward the next issue!

[Leila ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yo todo lo que sé es que pasó casi un año y todavía no tenemos noticias de Baku... let that sink in.

2 de 5 estrellas.

[Sabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surely there’s got to be only like 2 volumes left?

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume makes me hopeful the story will be back on track, especially since I found myself being genuinely surprised again—something I had not been for at least three volumes. I am not a stickler for Aristotelian story structure, but when a battle takes over a year to depict in narrative form, the overarching story loses too much momentum. Future generations of readers may not have that problem hopefully though since they will be able to read it all back-to-back.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest story arc continues to stretch out the epic fight, one where the heroes seem to be on the verge of defeat every single time. There are multiple character arcs explored here, but there's nothing more exciting than the final chapter, the final panel, promising something absolutely extraordinary to come.

[María Ferre · Rating 5 out of 5]

La lucha entre el optimismo y la desesperación alcanza su punto más álgido en cuanto Spinner alcanza el corazón de Kurogiri y alguien, ya sea él o el durmiente Oboro Shirakumo, despierta. A partir todo empieza a ir muy mal y lo demás empieza a ir muy bien.
Todas las peleas empiezan a agruparse en un solo escenario para representar el acto final de esta guerra y del manga en sí.
La Brava MVP.

[Mathilde Paulsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3,5 stars.

My goodness, Himiko Toga really turned the tide!! Also La Brava and Gentle made an appearence??? Lmao did not see that one coming. However, I'm still kinda confused and I feel like the story is all over the place? I think this whole arc might turn out better when it's animated tbh, it might be easier to follow along.

[Tianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the words “unalived,” “no cap,” and “that certified hottie I’m simping for” in a MHA book was not on my bingo card.

There is way too much going on in this story right now, my brain can’t handle it. I know it’s nearing the finale, but it’s a lot. I’m still enjoying the story though.

Rating: 3/5

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many fist pump moments and a couple of triumphant returns. The stakes just keep getting higher and everyone keeps showing up with their best and worst selves. The ending of this one made me want to throw the book - what happens now?!

[Shadyside Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see things slowly coming to a close, but these past few volumes have just felt like a jumbled mess! Too much going on in too many different places. Hoping all of our characters finally reunite in the coming volumes

[Hélèna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rendez-vous le 6 juin..