Season 4 of My Hero Academia ended on such an intriguing note! The finale left fans with countless unanswered questions about Midoriya’s Quirk and his future.
Season 5 finally came around, and Episode 2 revealed Midoriya’s entire dream teased in the finale.
The vision of the vestiges of the previous users of One For All seemed like a mere hallucination in Season 1 when Shinso brainwashed Midoriya. But it turns out that there’s much more to these visions than that!
The vestige realm is part of Midoriya’s subconscious, where the consciousness of the previous One For All users manifests. Deku saw the memories of the first user, Yoichi, in his dream about the origin of One For All.
Midoriya learns to access the 6 other quirks of the previous users later in the manga.
1. What Is the Vestige Realm?
The word vestige itself means ‘traces.’ The vestige realm is a part of One For All and, by extension, Midoriya’s subconscious mind.
As OFA was passed on, traces of the consciousness and quirks of each successor were imprinted onto the Quirk. As the core of the power grew, OFA absorbed these traces.
At first, Midoriya could only access the vestige realm when severely mentally shaken/injured or asleep.
The first time Midoriya encountered the vestiges was in Chapter 33. During his fight against Shinso at the Sports Festival, Midoriya saw eight eyes while brainwashed by Shinso.
Possibly, Midoriya broke free from the brainwashing through the intervention of one of the previous users.
The second time Midoriya entered the vestige realm in a dream in Chapter 192. This time he saw the faces of six of the previous users and the memories of Yoichi Shigaraki. However, Midoriya could not speak since he could use only 20% of OFA at the time.
The third time Midoriya was pulled into the vestige realm mid-battle by Tomura. After All For One and Tomura attempted to take One For All from Midoriya forcefully in Chapter 287, the vestige realm was solidified.
The consciousnesses of previous successors were able to interact with each other.
In Chapter 304, Midoriya once again interacted with the vestiges while hospitalized following the battle against Tomura.
As Midoriya’s body adapted to OFA and using higher percentages of power, he could access the different quirks and communicate better with the traces of consciousness of the previous users even during battles.
2. What Does Midoriya’s Dream Mean?
In Season 5, Episode 2, Midoriya entered the vestige realm in a dream. During this dream, he saw the previous users of One For All. The first user of OFA, Yoichi Shigaraki, showed Midoriya his memories of All For One and the origin of OFA.
At the time, quirks had just begun appearing, and chaos was everywhere. Some people wanted to eliminate their quirks to avoid persecution. In contrast, others wanted quirks to protect themselves against those who had these superpowers.
All For One took advantage of the chaos to gain followers by taking away and exchanging quirks. Yoichi opposed his brother and was locked away, and eventually, OFA was forced on him by All For One.
3. What Quirks Can Midoriya Use?
One For All is essentially a power-stockpiling quirk. Over time it absorbed the traces left of the quirks of the previous users allowing Midoriya to use them. Midoriya can have access to seven quirks (currently only six) quirks.
Let’s check out the previous users and their quirks.
- One For All is the Quirk that came into being when All For One’ power-stockpiling Quirk mixed with his brother’s original Quirk. Yoichi’s original Quirk held no power– all it could do was transfer itself to another. That’s how Yoichi Shigaraki became the first user of One For All.
- Fa Jin is the Quirk of the third unnamed user of OFA. This Quirk allows Midoriya to release built-up kinetic energy explosively. The explosive release of internal power is similar to a move in Chinese martial arts.
- Danger Sense belongs to Hikage Shinomori, the fourth user. This Quirk allows Midoriya to sense threats in the surrounding area. The detection causes a stabbing sensation in his head, and it takes a toll on his body until it’s mastered.
- Blackwhip, the Quirk of the fifth user, Daigoro Banjo, allows Midoriya to create and control tendrils of black energy from his body. Using it, Midoriya can increase his mobility, grab objects or restrain opponents.
- Smokescreen is the Quirk once held by the sixth user, En. It allows Izuku to create a thick cloud of smoke. This smoke can cover an extensive area and obscure his opponents’ vision.
- Float is the Quirk once possessed by the seventh user, Nana Shimura. This Quirk allows Izuku to suspend himself in mid-air.
The manga has only revealed six quirks so far. The Quirk of the second user who saved Yoichi from his jail cell is yet to be disclosed. Also, Midoriya and All Might were quirkless, so there will only be 7 quirks.
4. Will Deku Be The Last User Of One For All?
Izuku Midoriya is the last user of One For All because there are no quirkless individuals left. Yoichi Shigaraki explains in ch. 305 that One For All has amassed a huge power over eight generations.
Now, it can only be transferred to quirkless individuals, or the user’s body won’t survive.
Hikage Shinomori – the fourth user who kept the Quirk for 18 whole years, reveals in chapter 304 that he died of old age at 40. This proved that One For All can no longer be held by a regular person due to its lifespan-shortening effects.
All Might held One For All the longest (40 years) because he was quirkless as Midoriyawas.
The Quirk can be genuinely mastered only by the quirkless who are, as Yoichi explained, an empty vessel. Without another quirk taking up space, One For All can fill up the entire vessel without anything ‘spilling over.’
Since quirkless people are getting increasingly rare, Midoriya cannot risk passing on the Quirk anymore, making him the last OFA user.
In addition to this, the reason All Might never got additional quirks despite being quirkless was due to the Quirk Singularity Theory put forward by the evil doctor Garaki. OFA simply hadn’t matured enough when All Might (Yagi Toshinori) was using it.
Nevertheless, the My Hero Academia manga is in its final act (third act) now. It will be ending after a hundred or so chapters.
I’m very excited to see the growth of Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki. Let’s wait to see what Kohei sensei have in store for us.
5. 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.
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