i think it’s really beautiful how mha slowly makes you realize that “this is the story of how i became the greatest hero” won’t mean what you thought it would. you’re rooting for izuku, thinking he’ll be number one after all might, that’s so cool, that’s a dream come true, and then, oh, wait, maybe the chart does more harm than good. it affected the todoroki family, it’s part of the villains’ social critique and oh, maybe it’s also a bit fucked up, because it creates pressure when you’re at the top, leading you (toshi) to self sacrifice, and maybe it’s also a bit empty, because when endeavor was finally at the top he thought he had a role to play instead of working with sincerity and oh, maybe it’s a bit meaningless at this point because the number two is a kid who was brainwashed to become a weapon and killed a man in cold blood and there’s absolutely nothing heroic about that so is it even a good thing at all? is it even a list that we should or want to strive to be on? the whole system doesn’t work, the old generation wants to kill and sweep the core of the problem under the rug meanwhile the mc wants to actually listen, to give villains the time of day, to reach out his hand, to save them or at least to keep trying, which is the actual effort the hero makes. and so you slowly realize that greatest hero doesn’t mean number one hero at all – but something more true and much, much more meaningful.