Well, that escalated fast: with the My Hero Academia finale finally out, IMDb users have already crowned a new champ. The last MHA episode is sitting at a 9.6/10, topping Attack on Titan's closing chapter at 8.9/10. Numbers are never the whole story, but in this case, they line up pretty neatly with how both endings play.
The scoreboard
Not to turn this into a horse race, but the gap is real. MHA's finale feels planned, polished, and locked in on what the series has always cared about. The AOT sendoff, meanwhile, takes big swings but leans on hurried pacing and chunky exposition where it used to trust images and mood. It's the classic case of a show that ran out of runway right as it needed the smoothest landing.
Personally I feel the ending is still a little disappointing and left me with a similar feeling to when I finished the manga.
That's from a Reddit reaction, and it matches a lot of the chatter: some character arcs feel clipped, some threads never quite tie off, and the whole thing moves like it has a train to catch. The finale also got dragged into an AI dust-up, which drew attention for the wrong reasons and definitely did not help the vibes.
Why MHA stuck the landing
On the flip side, MHA goes out the way it lived: big-hearted, visually clear, and fully committed to its themes. Studio Bones poured real resources into the finish and stayed true to Kohei Horikoshi's blueprint. Visually, it hits the notes you want from an endgame episode and actually earns the emotion it plays for. There was some early buzz about not adding a bonus manga chapter, but the final cut still feels complete and satisfying.
Strong ending to a long run. It stayed true to its core and left its mark. Respect to the whole journey.
After eight years with Deku and the crew, the show wraps on its own terms. If you're looking for the modern template for how to end a long-running shonen, this is pretty much it.
By the numbers and where to watch
- Finale ratings:
- My Hero Academia Season 8, Episode 11: 9.6/10 on IMDb
- Attack on Titan: The Final Chapters - Special 2: 8.9/10 on IMDb - Series/studios:
- My Hero Academia Final Season, Studio Bones
- Attack on Titan: The Final Chapters - Special 2, Studio MAPPA - Genres:
- MHA: Superhero, Adventure, Action
- AOT: Action, Dark Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic - Release windows:
- MHA Final Season: October 4, 2025 - December 13, 2025
- AOT The Final Chapters: Special 2: November 5, 2023 - Overall ratings:
- MHA: 8.2/10 on IMDb (overall anime), 8.88/10 on MyAnimeList
- AOT: 8.9/10 on IMDb, 8.78/10 on MyAnimeList (Final Season) - Where to watch:
- MHA Final Season: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
- AOT: The Final Chapters - Special 2 is listed on Amazon Prime Video; the first two seasons are also available on Prime Video
The takeaway
MHA's finale does the clean-up work and hits the emotional notes without wobbling, which is exactly what fans wanted. AOT remains a landmark series with a finale that sparked way more debate than consensus. Depending on what you value most in an ending, you might land on either side, but right now, the audience scorecard tilts toward Deku and friends.
So, where did you land: satisfied fist pump or stressed-out shrug?