In My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) there are about 10% of the population (mostly elderly) who are still quirkless. And yet, despite Midoriya Izuku starting out as a quirkless nerd, he quickly gets rid of that status once he inherits All Might’s superpower, so... What was the point of making Izuku initially quirkless? Why not just have a quirked main character from the start?
The story has at least five candidates that would’ve made for a better MC:
Ochako Uraraka
As an inherently heroic and nice person with a terrifying power, Uraraka used to be a major character in the series, during Season 1. Then, she’s got a crush on the Green Bean, and it instantly evaporated most of her traits and relevance to the story for a LONG time, turning her into a side character with an occasional grappling takedown.
Her performance in the Sports Festival had shown us just how great of a shounen protagonist Uraraka could’ve been. But, as we all know, Horikoshi doesn’t think women are interesting — unless they’re undressed, that is.
Kyoka Jiro
This punk rocker girl has many things going for her as a potential main character. She’s deadpan, her hobbies make for a great side activity (just look at the performance during School Festival) — ah, and her quirk would’ve been amazing for a shounen MC.
Just think about it — not only does she have a close quarters weapon in her ear jacks and ranged attacks with her sound waves — she’s also privy to more information than most people around her, making her an amazing PoV character!
Hitoshi Shinso
This boy with troll hair and premium Gucci brand eyebags first appeared during the Sports Festival arc. He’s physically weak, but possesses a very powerful, “villainous” body controlling quirk. Later in the series he is personally trained by Aizawa, giving him the physicality needed for the hero work.
So why not just… Make him the focus of the series? Just shift the boy being “adopted” by Aizawa to “prior to Entrance Exams”. Shinso has many parallels with Izuku, and would’ve made for a far more grounded and fascinating protagonist.
Mirio Togata
Known as Lemillion, he possesses an ability to phase through solid matter which, combined with fantasy physics and his physical and mental abilities (as well as his friendly demeanor) makes him one of the strongest heroes period. So, just… Drop his younger version at the start of his training into 1-A instead of Izuku?
The big oaf is another parallel to Izuku, and unlike Shinso, he possesses an absolutely broken quirk — though a quirk that is hard to control. Which is, you know, something that matters a lot to Horikoshi.
Himiko Toga
Okay, here’s a curveball — what if MHA was less about kids learning to punch the evil away, and more of a superpowered drama? Story about a prejudiced and flawed society utterly failing those who don’t neatly fit into it?
Now, making such a story would’ve required a much better and nuanced writer than Horikoshi. Though with a total rewrite of the League of Villains, and Himiko herself (drop the “craaaazy”, for one), such a perspective shift could’ve made for something much more dramatic, deep and compelling that what we are currently getting.
Ew, no. Not Bakugo.
In My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) there are about 10% of the population (mostly elderly) who are still quirkless. And yet, despite Midoriya Izuku starting out as a quirkless nerd, he quickly gets rid of that status once he inherits All Might’s superpower, so... What was the point of making Izuku initially quirkless? Why not just have a quirked main character from the start?
The story has at least five candidates that would’ve made for a better MC:
Ochako Uraraka
As an inherently heroic and nice person with a terrifying power, Uraraka used to be a major character in the series, during Season 1. Then, she’s got a crush on the Green Bean, and it instantly evaporated most of her traits and relevance to the story for a LONG time, turning her into a side character with an occasional grappling takedown.
Her performance in the Sports Festival had shown us just how great of a shounen protagonist Uraraka could’ve been. But, as we all know, Horikoshi doesn’t think women are interesting — unless they’re undressed, that is.
Kyoka Jiro
This punk rocker girl has many things going for her as a potential main character. She’s deadpan, her hobbies make for a great side activity (just look at the performance during School Festival) — ah, and her quirk would’ve been amazing for a shounen MC.
Just think about it — not only does she have a close quarters weapon in her ear jacks and ranged attacks with her sound waves — she’s also privy to more information than most people around her, making her an amazing PoV character!
Hitoshi Shinso
This boy with troll hair and premium Gucci brand eyebags first appeared during the Sports Festival arc. He’s physically weak, but possesses a very powerful, “villainous” body controlling quirk. Later in the series he is personally trained by Aizawa, giving him the physicality needed for the hero work.
So why not just… Make him the focus of the series? Just shift the boy being “adopted” by Aizawa to “prior to Entrance Exams”. Shinso has many parallels with Izuku, and would’ve made for a far more grounded and fascinating protagonist.
Mirio Togata
Known as Lemillion, he possesses an ability to phase through solid matter which, combined with fantasy physics and his physical and mental abilities (as well as his friendly demeanor) makes him one of the strongest heroes period. So, just… Drop his younger version at the start of his training into 1-A instead of Izuku?
The big oaf is another parallel to Izuku, and unlike Shinso, he possesses an absolutely broken quirk — though a quirk that is hard to control. Which is, you know, something that matters a lot to Horikoshi.
Himiko Toga
Okay, here’s a curveball — what if MHA was less about kids learning to punch the evil away, and more of a superpowered drama? Story about a prejudiced and flawed society utterly failing those who don’t neatly fit into it?
Now, making such a story would’ve required a much better and nuanced writer than Horikoshi. Though with a total rewrite of the League of Villains, and Himiko herself (drop the “craaaazy”, for one), such a perspective shift could’ve made for something much more dramatic, deep and compelling that what we are currently getting.
