To give you the short answer, it does get darker and more serious. There are still some light-hearted moments but they become less frequent over time. The final arc in the manga right now is becoming increasingly grimmer.
It's pretty much the calm before the storm in regards to where you are at currently. Five seasons in, My Hero Academia has a number of surprisingly grim moments and there are likely even more on the way. 10 Eri's Childhood Of Torture & Brainwashing Season four of My Hero Academia is when things start to really actively get dark for the first time and Eri's entire backstory is easily the anime's most depressing material.
Less than halfway through season six cour 2, My Hero Academia officially entered its final saga. And the darker tone looks here to stay. The Dark Hero Arc (黒いヒーロー編, Kuroi Hīrōhen?) is the nineteenth story arc in My Hero Academia, and the first story arc in the Final Act Saga.
Hero society has faced a significant decline ever since the Paranormal Liberation War. Many of Japan's top villains, including All For One, have escaped from prison, courtesy of Tomura Shigaraki. With the fate of the country in his hands.
My Hero Academia is a series that runs the gamut of emotions, sometimes silly and hilarious, while other times highly dramatic, with scenes that are so dark seem absolutely hopeless in the moment. This wide range is often emblematic of anime in general, but few series balance the extremes better than My Hero Academia does, and that balance is essential to having the darker moments land. When My Hero Academia first started, not many would have predicted or even expected for the story to have taken such a dark turn in the recent season.
It gets darker thanks to deku's burden being reflected in a stronger way. Wecare also getting far more world building which adds even more to the manga becoming darker. My Hero might get darker than it already is.
️ PATREON: / zhoniin ️ TWITCH: / zhoniin ️ TWITTER: / zboyshonen ️ INSTAGRAM: / zboyshonen 💲 EKSTER WALLET DISCOUNT: https://ekster.com. Some scenes in My Hero Academia appear darker than usual, a choice that can be traced back to an infamous Pokémon episode that aired in 1997. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes drops April 7, 2025, offering fans a fresh experience with darker themes and a break from traditional shonen tropes.