Summary
In the world ofMy Hero Academia,quirks are superhuman abilities that individuals are born with.These abilities often manifest from the age of fourand are known to affect more than 80% of the population. Since these abilities show up when an individual is in the early stages of development, it is not uncommon that they build their personalities around their quirks and make certainimportant decisions to accommodate their quirks.
Quirks are extremely important in this world, and being born without a quirk is devastating. Fans see how Izuku Midoriya and his mother were upset when the doctor told them that Midoriya would grow up without one. Whatquirk does for individualsis profound as it defines their self-perception, social interactions, and career paths. Without a quirk, Midoriya knew he was not going to fit in and could never be a hero, no matter how hard he dreamt of it. The presence or absence of quirks dictates much of a character’s life trajectory, often creating expectations that shape how they fit into society.
Quirks And Personal Identity
Self Perception
Personal identity is how a person defines and understands themselves. It includes aspects like personality, values, beliefs, and the roles they take on in life. It is how someone sees themselves as unique and what makes them feel like individuals, separate from others. Characters inMy Hero Academiaoften tie their sense of self-worth to their quirks. An example is Midoriya, who was born with signs indicating he might not display a quirk. Midoriya felt inadequate and worthless because he was part of the minority that was born without a quirk and thus could not be a hero.
Midoriya’s encounter with All Might andhis acquisition of One For Alltransform his outlook,granting him a sense of purpose and belonging. Blessed with a quirk, Midoriya’s self-worth increases as he now views himself as someone capable of being a hero.
Yuga Aoyama was also born without a quirk.This event caused him and his parents to seek unconventional ways of getting a quirk, like reaching out to All For One, the greatest villain in their world, who gave himthe navel quirkbut at a cost. Being born quirkless in a world where the majority are born with a quirk made his parents fear the type of discrimination he was going to face for something that was not his fault. Personally, Yuga struggles to fit in and sees himself as less and unworthy, just like Midoriya.Even with a quirk, he still struggles with insecuritybecause he knows the lengths he went through and the price he is paying for the quirk.
Self Acceptance
A quirk is something that individuals have minimal control over. Different people manifest different quirks, some more powerful, stronger, and versatile than others. This causes individuals to see less of themselves for not manifesting a cooler-looking or more powerful quirk.Eijiro Kirishimahad issues accepting his quirk because he felt it was inferior compared to others like Todoroki’s half-hot half-cold or Bakugo’s explosion quirk. Over time, Kirishima learns to embrace hishardening ability, learning that heroism is more than flashy powers; his teacher,Shota Aizawa, can also be thanked for this. He learns that it is really about an individual’s resilience and spirit. Learning this made him accept himself, giving him a sense of belonging among his peers.
Quirks And Societal Roles
How Quirk Holders Fit In
While some individuals use their quirk for good, others use it for bad. This is why there are villains and heroes in this world. Society expects individuals who use their quirks for good to protect their city and even the world from villains and also not oppress the minority that happens to be quirkless.
Heroes are celebrated for using their quirks to protect society, while those who misuse or reject societal norms, like Tomura Shigaraki,the League of Villians, Dabi, and others, are labeled villains. The difference between hero and villain often depends not just on the quirk itself but on how society perceives and reacts to the individual. For instance, society perceives Stain as a villain. Stain is no hero either, but his role might be considered heroic to some and villainous to others.Stain takes it upon himself to obliterate any hero who is not pure, has ulterior motives for being a hero, and is in it for fame and money. A true hero should not care about the benefits that come with the role but should only care about saving lives and pursuing justice.
According to Stain, only All Might can be considered a true hero, and the rest are just there for selfish reasons. Regardless of Stain’s motives and beliefs,society considers him a villainbecause he goes around killing people.
All Might is a perfect example of what society expects from quirk holders, heroes essentially. All Might served and protected Japan so well that he was honored as the symbol of peace and ranked as the number one hero in Japan. Rain, come sunshine; as long as villains are terrorizing citizens or citizens are in danger,All Might will show up. Even after sustaininggrave injuries,he did not want to step down from his position because of societal expectations.
Discrimination And Bias
In a world like this, discrimination and bias are inevitable.Enji showed bias toward Todoroki over his other children because of the equal distribution of quirks he had. His bias led his oldest son, Toya Todoroki, to the dark side as Toya became the villain Dabi that most fans are painfully familiar with.
Those born with destructive quirks or those considered “monstrous” by societal standards. For instance,Spinner from the League of Villainsfits society’s standards of a villain because of his mutant quirk, Gecko. Spinner has lizard-like features and faces discrimination for it. Spinner and others like him have been pushed by society to the fringes, facing prejudice or rejection. This reinforces a rigid societal structure where quirks act as the primary determinant of one’s place in the world, either empowering individuals to rise to prominence or limiting their potential roles.
Society Pressure And Expectation
What Is Expected From Quirk Holders
With great powers come great responsibilities, and even though these individuals did not seek the powers they were born with, they are burdened with the responsibilities of having such powers. Characters with powerful quirks often face immense societal pressure to become heroes and live up to expectations. All Might’s quirk, One For All, positions him as the Symbol of Peace, placing the weight of society’s safety on his shoulders.
Even with the massive hole in the chest, All Might did not want to retire as a hero because society expected protection from him, and he was essentially keeping villains in their place as most of them feared him. In the end, he had to retire because he lost all the embers of One For All,demoting him to a quirkless individual and a shadow of his former, muscular self.
Society is also the cause of the emergence of villains. Individuals have minimal control over the quirks they end up with, but there are some quirks that seem good and others that are bad. Bakugo’s explosion quirk is seen by society as a brilliant quirk, and they assume that Bakugo has the tendency to be a villain. There are other characters that have been judged like this, unlike Bakugo, who stayed true to his course of being a hero; these other characters, are not so much. Characters like Spinner, Dabi, Twice, and Himiko Toga becamevillains as a response to how their quirks alienated them from societal norms.
In the End
Living in a superpowered society puts a lot of pressure, expectations, and self-acceptance on an individual. Having quirk in this world means the individual has to either be a hero or a villain, no in between. Only quirkless individuals have a say in what they want to be, but they cannot be heroes for sure. Quirks are more than just superhuman abilities that these individuals are born with. It determines their fates, shapes their interaction with others, and most importantly, shapes how an individual perceives themselves.
My Hero Academiais now available to stream onCrunchyroll.
My Hero Academia
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
