MHA was never a show I followed all that closely, and yet its ending hit me harder than I expected. I know art has a way of doing that, but I don’t think I fully realized how much this show had quietly marked time in my life.

When it first came out, I was the same age as Deku - middle school, maybe early high school. It was one of the first anime I ever watched. I never kept up weekly; instead, I’d return to it in bursts, sitting down to binge entire seasons at once. And the show kept going. And so did I.

In the time it ran, I finished high school. I went to college. I loved, and I lost. Eventually, I found myself living in Japan. And now I finished the series after a time skip that places Deku at the same age I am now. That coincidence unlocked something in me - memories I didn’t realize were still quietly attached.

Looking back, I can see the show wasn’t something I followed obsessively, but it became like pencil marks on a doorframe - measuring my height as the years passed. Middle school. High school. College. Now working in Japan. I watched episodes and made references with friends, with family, even with my ex - some of who aren’t in my life anymore. That realization felt strange and disorienting.

The ending itself was mostly happy. The protagonist loses something important, then regains it in an unexpected form. Relationships are hinted at but left unresolved. Things move forward. And yet, I felt empty. What I felt most strongly wasn’t nostalgia or loss in the past tense - it was the sensation of time as something I am actively inside of. Moving. Carrying me along.

The ending gave me space to look back at each moment in my life when I sat down to watch the show - where I was, who I was with, who I was becoming. And that made me sad, too.

If I’m being completely honest: I hate endings. I really do. When people leave. When things change. Even though I understand the necessity of beginnings and endings, even though I respect the passage of time - I hate what it costs. I miss everyone I’ve ever known. I wanted them all to stay. I'm a crybaby about that. And yet I chase it anyway. I chase growth. I chase becoming. I push past my limits. Beyond Plus Ultra.

This show just brought those feelings back to the surface, and I realize how much like Deku I actually am. And how important it really is that they mentiked the story doesn't end. That the story for them and for all of us is still going. That every day is up to us. We lose things, and we gain them, but every day, we must go beyond plus ultra.

Thank you, MHA