My Hero Academia: 5 Biggest Fake Out Deaths, Ranked

Fake-out deaths can often be seen as pretty controversial, though there’s no doubt that they always do a great job at getting an emotional response out of the fans, as has been the case numerous times throughout the series of My Hero Academia. Considering this anime is based in a world where most people possess Quirk abilities that can work in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways, it means several people have been able to either resist being killed thanks to their powers or, in some very rare cases, even brought back to life.

As a result, author Kohei Horikoshi at least has a valid reason why a character can continue fighting for justice, even after being at death’s door, but many of these fake-out deaths are still pretty divisive. Now that the manga is finally wrapped up and the anime is nearing its end, it feels like a fitting point to look back on the fake-out deaths in My Hero Academia, which rocked fans to their core upon seeing them for the first time.

5

Shigaraki

The Heroes Came Very Close To Putting An End To Shigaraki’s Rampage During The Hospital Raid

The hospital raid is one of the most intense segments of the entire series. The primary goal of this operation was to intercept Dr. Garaki while he was still experimenting on Shigaraki in order to ensure the latter wouldn’t become strong enough to become All For One’s newest protégé. After they managed to destroy Garaki’s base of operations, it seems as though the plan was a success, as it’s confirmed by X-Less that Shigaraki’s heart had stopped beating as his corpse lay on the ground.

It’s therefore unfortunate that a random stray electric cable was enough to bring Shigaraki back to life, since he would then proceed to destroy the entire hospital in mere seconds with his Decay Quirk, killing hundreds of innocent civilians in the process. While this fake-out death isn’t quite as shocking as some of the others, considering Shigaraki was always propped up as being the main villain of the series and wouldn’t be killed off so early, it was still a surprising moment that suggested that maybe All For One’s plan had actually gone up in flames.

4

Best Jeanist

Jeanist Experienced All For One’s Overwhelming Power First-Hand

All For One certainly made a big impression when he first entered the story, using his arsenal of Quirks to take down an entire group of Pro Heroes in barely any time at all, but one hero who receives a particularly brutal beating is Jeanist. After being utterly humiliated by the malicious villain, Jeanist is pinned down to the ground as a look of fear spreads across his entire face, and with his pupils disappearing completely, it seemed as though the recently introduced Jeanist had met his untimely demise.

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The anime really plays up the idea that Jeanist was killed in this battle, especially with the camera shots which show his lifeless arm falling to the ground as All For One looms over his body. Luckily for him, Recovery Girl was able to patch up his wounds, though Jeanist did end up losing a lung in the process, which put him out of action for a very long time. Though he may only be a side character, it was definitely still a shock to see a hero seemingly being murdered by such a mysterious villain, considering All For One was barely even known about back then.

3

Bakugo (Paranormal Liberation War)

Bakugo Made A Heroic Sacrifice, Which Almost Cost Him His Life

During the Paranormal Liberation War, many of the heroes from UA banded together in a final attempt to stop Shigaraki’s rampage once and for all. Inevitably, this ended up going horribly wrong for them, considering Shigaraki was far too powerful for anyone to handle by this point in the story, and one character who came to experience this firsthand was Bakugo.

After Shigaraki attempts to skewer Deku with his Red Rivet Quirk, Bakugo uses his own Quirk to push his longtime rival out of the way, resulting in him being stabbed straight through the chest. Bakugo’s sacrifice puts Deku into an emotional frenzy, leading fans to believe that, for just a moment, Bakugo had genuinely been killed. Seeing someone as durable and persistent as Bakugo being taken down by Shigaraki helped to emphasize just how powerful the villain had truly become, and it’s a moment no long-time fan will ever be able to forget about because of its emotional impact at the time.

2

Gran Torino

How On Earth Did Gran Torino Survive Being Pummeled By An Awakened Shigaraki?

It’s made pretty clear very early on in the story that Gran Torino, the former mentor of All Might, is someone who can still hold his own in a fight despite being a little older than most. However, while he was successful in taking down numerous villains pretty much single-handedly, he was clearly no match for Shigaraki during the Paranormal Liberation War, who by that point had become absurdly powerful thanks to the experiments conducted by Dr Garaki.

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In the blink of an eye, Shigaraki fires himself over to Gran Torino only to crush him into the ground with extreme force, with the other heroes looking on in horror. For all intents and purposes, it seemed highly likely Torino had finally met his end here, though he miraculously managed to spring up a little later on despite the insane amount of damage he received not long before. It was definitely a surprising reveal, but since he’s a popular character, it does at least make some sense why Horikoshi decided to have Gran Torino stick around for a little longer.

1

Bakugo (Final War)

One Of The Most Shocking Moments In The Series Saw A Fan-Favoite Losing His Life

The final war is a story arc that is packed full of shocking reveals and surprises, but the moment that had every fan weeping was when Bakugo was brutally murdered by an overpowered Shigaraki. Despite Bakugo going all out to defeat the evil mastermind, even awakening his own Quirk, it wouldn’t be enough to stop Shigaraki in his tracks. While it seemed unlikely that Horikoshi would kill off such an immensely popular character, in the manga, it explicitly shows that Bakugo’s own heart is destroyed from the inside out, confirming that he was, in fact, killed for good.

Since the final war received some criticism early on for not having enough meaningful deaths, many people felt this was an attempt to raise the stakes sky-high, though, for better or worse, Bakugo didn’t stay dead for very long. After the Pro-Hero Edgeshot swoops in and reveals that he is able to use his Quirk to essentially stitch Bakugo’s organs back together, it allows him to return to the battle, where he plays a crucial role in defeating All For One. This moment continues to be one of the most polarizing in the entire series, as while many are thankful Bakugo was able to see it through to the end, others felt like it could have been the perfect way to end his character arc.

My Hero Academia

Release Date

April 2, 2016

Network

TBS, MBS, Nippon TV

Directors

Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano

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  Daiki Yamashita

  Izuku Midoriya (voice)

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  Kaito Ishikawa

  Manga Fukidashi (voice)