The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 390, "Shoto Todoroki: Rising," by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook available in English from Viz Media.
My Hero Academia chapter 390 was finally released after quite a long break which was unexpected and rather sudden. Despite that, this week's chapter was incredibly emotional and moved the fans to tears as the curtain finally dropped on the conflict among the members of the Todoroki Family. Over the past few weeks, Horikoshi has been building up this family arc towards its conclusion and this week, the infighting finally reached its end.
As evident just by the name of the chapter, Shoto Todoroki was at the center of things and played a great role in extinguishing the raging flames of vengeance of his brother, Toya. My Hero Academia chapter 390 was certainly worth the wait as one of the most interesting plotlines in the story finally came to its conclusion.
Iida's Contribution
Towards the end of the last few chapters, fans got to see quite a lot of interesting things building up when it comes to Shoto as well as Iida. Both of them were far away from Toya, who they intended to stop. Thanks to the latter, Shoto was finally able to make it to his brother. The two had been traveling at a very high speed over the course of the last few chapters and fans didn't really get to see much of them, however, this week's chapter finally saw them reach unprecedented heights in terms of power and their progression as Heroes. Iida used the maximum power that he had in his legs and was able to go as fast as he possibly could. At the same time, Shoto used the powers of Phosphor, which he has newly awakened, to both freeze as well as heat the air.
Their combination was so incredible that they were able to break through the sound barrier and move faster than a fighter jet itself. The intensity of their speed was such that Ingenium was completely damaged and Shoto was left bruised and battered as well. However, it was certainly all worth it as they made it just in time before Dabi finally exploded. Before Shoto left, however, Iida exclaimed that he helped him become the person that he is today and if he is a great Hero aspirant at this moment, much of it is down to Shoto and the friendship that they fostered. From here onwards, much of the focus was on the Todoroki Family, and fans were certainly glad to see that.
Shoto's Letter
Shoto writing letters to his mother is something that fans have seen since very early in the series. On this one occasion, as Shoto ran towards his family in My Hero Academia 390, Shoto went through one of his letters and explained to his mother what he did and his day-to-day life. Simply put, Shoto poured his heart out to his mother and explained how he has been holding up ever since she was made to leave. He explained his usual days at school and how he's growing as a person. He wrote to his mother that he is learning to speak with everyone better and socialize, making friends at the same time. He told her how he likes talking to his friends and, at the same time, arguing with them at some points. Not all arguments that he gets into are bad, however, as some certainly help him grow even more as a human being.
At some points, they cry and at others, they shed tears for those in need. Shoto certainly wants to grow into a great human being and be just like his friends. And this, right here, was his moment to shine. Shoto believes that his own brother is in need of saving and this was the biggest test for him. As All Might put it before, it was time for him to become the person that he was meant to be and end this cursed conflict once and for all. Thankfully, Shoto made it just in time and reunited with his family. As fans had expected, My Hero Academia chapter 390 saw him reach Toya and help save his life, as well as protect the countless citizens around him, just as a true hero would.
The Todoroki Family Conflict Ends
The Todoroki Family conflict has been brewing for quite a long time in My Hero Academia. In fact, it is one of the plotlines that was introduced very early into the series and has slowly been taking shape over the course of time. Needless to say, this plotline is, undoubtedly, one of the very best in My Hero Academia and the way it has shaped even in the final arc has been nothing short of incredible. Finally, My Hero Academia chapter 390 dropped the curtains on this incredible storyline and even though the fans have not seen the resolution just yet, the conflict is finally over. Moments before Toya was going to finally explode and take out not just his family, but also a big chunk of the city with him, Shoto arrived on the battlefield and used an incredibly powerful ability known as Great Glacial Aegir.
As expected, this technique is the pinnacle of Shoto's ice powers and it saw him generate an incredibly massive amount of ice that even froze the core within Toya's body. In fact, he started freezing from the inside out. Nonetheless, Shoto mentioned that his brother's flames still burned hotter than his own and that he wasn't a failure after all. At the same time, fans also got a glimpse of Toya who started crying and talked about how he hated his family and that he wanted everyone to die, along with himself. At this point, Toya just wanted to be done with life, however, Endeavor reached out to him and told him to vent and finally let out all his feelings towards them.
Finally, the Todoroki Family will turn a new page and things will, hopefully, get better for them. For now, Shoto has risen as a hero and saved everyone, including his brother, who will now likely have a change of heart, and smile, as his family finally accepted him for who he is and repented for what they did to him.
Toga Steps In
My Hero Academia chapter 390 also gave the fans a glimpse of Toga. It has been quite a while since she has appeared in any of the chapters and, the last that fans knew of her, she was trying to escape from the reach of Uraraka and Tsuyu, as she kept the Sad Man's Parade going. In My Hero Academia chapter 390, fans saw her look at the defeat of Toya and figure out that he was finally stopped. A small flashback was given to the fans between these two characters and Toya mentioned that at the end of the day, it is all about smiling and being happy.
Toga wondered if Dabi was finally happy and, with that, she now starts her own fight. My Hero Academia chapter 390 also made it very clear that the focus of the story will turn towards Toga from here onwards. Fans have not seen much of her over the course of the last few weeks, however, now is the time for her to shine. At the same time, Uraraka will also get her opportunity to shine and become the hero that she always wanted to be.
As fans know already, My Hero Academia is edging closer to its end now and Toga's arc will now be under the spotlight. From there onwards, the series will likely turn its head towards All For One and finally, Izuku Midoriya.