Warning! Contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter #394!While My Hero Academia has been majorly influenced by Naruto, in its latest chapter it actually fixes one of the latter series' major flaws. This shows that despite some critics saying the series borrows too many elements from its predecessors, Kohei Horikoshi's superhero manga is able to surpass its influences and create something new. No moment shows this better than Himiko and Ochaco's heart-to-heart in the manga's latest chapter.

In chapter #394, translated by Caleb Cook, the villainous Himiko Toga continues her rampage using an army of Twice clones. In order to stop her, Ochaco tries to talk through the issues that Himiko has and fix her villainy at the root. While this may seem like a naive strategy, especially given the two My Hero Academia characters talk about lighthearted topics like romance as well, it actually works, as Himiko reveals how society has judged her through her life and Ochaco accepts her for who she is. This leads to an incredibly emotional moment where Ochaco compliments Himiko's fanged smile, turning the former enemies into new friends. It is a touching scene that greatly improves a major criticism many fans had of Naruto.

My Hero Academia Improves Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu"

Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu" is a term that fans use to describe the manga's tendency to have Naruto convert his enemies into allies by having a discussion with them. Arguably the most egregious instance of this was in the series' final battle with Obito, who over the course of a couple of chapters completely changed their worldview and gave his life for Naruto and his allies. Many fans complained that this sort of drastic change was unrealistic and that it was an unsatisfying way to conclude Obito's character arc. While other Shonen Jump series have put their own spin on "Talk no Jutsu", My Hero Academia actually goes even further, causing its version to fix the main issues that Naruto had in using it.

While Naruto's conversion of Obito felt incredibly sudden, Ochaco and Himiko's new friendship is the culmination of their many interactions before this point. Initially, Ochaco hated Himiko, viewing her as a villain despite Toga expressing her love for Uraraka. Then their roles slowly shifted as Himiko became more disillusioned with society after Twice died and as Ochaco realized that Toga wasn't as evil as she thought. This final heartfelt discussion between the two of them has been built up for hundreds of chapters and so Ochaco being able to stop Himiko's rampage through it feels earned instead of like a rushed plot device.

My Hero Academia Once Again Shows Naruto's Massive Influence

My Hero Academia is just the latest series to innovate on the groundwork that Naruto has laid. Even if Masashi Kishimoto's masterwork isn't perfect it is still a great story that has inspired many of the best Shonen series in recent years. My Hero Academia putting its own twist on Naruto's most hated trope is just more proof of that influence.

My Hero Academia Chapter #394 is available to read from Viz Media.