How Close Is My Hero Academia's Anime To Catching Up With The Manga?

Despite relying heavily on manga, the anime industry has its ups and downs when it comes to adapting the source material for the small screen. Sometimes, shows never catch up with the manga, like "One Piece," which still releases new episodes and chapters decades later. Other times, as seen with "Boruto," the anime suffers from the manga's pacing, forcing the show into a hiatus. Thankfully, "My Hero Academia" took after the former, using its seasonal schedule to prevent the anime from catching up to the manga, but some may wonder how far off from the manga it is.

Fans can breathe a sigh of relief because "My Hero" has a comfortable cushion between its anime and manga. Depending on which version fans watch, the show has either already wrapped up Season 6 or is just a few short weeks from its finale, putting it at the end of the "Dark Hero" arc. 

That means the "My Hero" anime is around "Chapter 328," as the show teases the arrival of a few international heroes next season. The manga's most recent release was "Chapter 384," meaning there's a 56-chapter gap between the subbed anime's most recent episode and the manga. The dubbed version is slightly behind, so it has about a 62-chapter cushion between the most recent episode and the manga.

Whether fans watch the anime or read the manga, it's clear that "My Hero Academia" is heading toward its end. With the heroes and villains preparing for a final fight that will decide the fate of the world, fans understand that it's not a question of if "My Hero" will end but when. 

"I feel like I can finally see the goal in sight," manga creator Kohei Horikoshi said around the time of "My Hero" Vol. 34's release. "It's a rather strange feeling getting to this point. In the past, I would just be drawing without a single care [of the future], but now I wonder just how many more times can I draw these characters?" 

Although the volume has yet to hit shelves outside of Japan, the comment sent the fanbase into a frenzy as it seems like the end is near for the beloved manga. Horikoshi wrote that in May 2022, but in October, he walked back on it and told Shonen Jump he planned to end "My Hero" at some point in 2023, yet he is reconsidering it.

It seems that "My Hero" will continue throughout 2023, despite Horikoshi's previous plans, but fans shouldn't expect it to stay around forever. His comments about having "the goal in sight" are valid as the anime is in the final saga of the story. With that in mind, the last war between heroes and villains may end up longer than anyone expected.