This scene right here, in my opinion, is the most important scene of the entire series.
An old woman who is no hero and had "no obligation" to help that kid decided to do so anyway, and with that single action, changed his future entirely.
"If only someone, anyone helped me that day..."
- Shimura Tenko
This proves that anyone can be a hero. Anyone has the power to do things with much greater impact than we can even imagine. Like a butterfly effect.
Deku and Uraraka reacting to that scene is also super important... they're the ones who tried saving the villains that were neglected when younger (Tenko and Himiko) but sadly they were too late. For them, seeing people being there, finally extending a helping hand just in time is the proof that society is learning and healing.
This one scene is the whole essence of what My Hero Academia wants to teach us viewers.
You can be a hero.
ppl are always saying “deku is a cry baby” “why is he always crying”
i don’t think he cried enough. i don’t think he crashed out enough. even the one time he NEEDED to when he saw his best friends dead body, he couldn’t, bc he was mid-war. so many instances i believe izuku could have had a mental breakdown like some other characters did but he didn’t have the chance. even in the 8 years of being a teacher after losing his quirk, i can’t help but think of what went through his mind. he probably tried to comfort himself thinking that he saved the world with the quirk he was lucky enough to even have in the first place and it should be enough, but mind you his childhood dream was to still be a hero. and not for one year.
everything happened so fast for him. he met his hero, he received a quirk from his hero, trying to perfect the quirk that physically broke his body, he went to war, his friend died, he came back to life, he tried to save shigaraki and failed, he learned of shigarakis past, and then he lost his quirk.
he’s still thinking of tenko to this day. he’s still reminiscing on OFA days. and yes, he’s lucky to have 1A build him a hero suit, but what about the 8 years he was convinced he’d never be a hero again? what about the traumatic incidences that are never talked about again? he didn’t cry enough
"The Story of How We All Became Heroes" in my opinion, this is the core and quintessential theme of My Hero Academia. And the lens in which we should view the story going forward.