**Reminder to everyone:** Anything that hasn't happened yet in the anime is a spoiler.
**To the OP:** If you want to discuss things in the manga, please flair the post as **"Manga Spoilers".**
How to spoiler tag comments:
> \>\!Put your text here!\<
**THIS COMMENT IS AUTOMATICALLY POSTED IN EVERY THREAD NOT MARKED FOR MANGA OR MANGA SPOILERS JUST AS A REMINDER**
-----
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BokuNoHeroAcademia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He's ok as an MC. Not the greatest but not all that bad either.
His character could've been better by challenging his ideals or something but it's pretty clear Horikoshi intended for him to be the ideal hero.
Yeah, but in the end, it turned out he was wrong to question his ideals. He had it right from the beginning. He wanted to be a hero who saves everybody, and that’s what he did, as best he could. He even tried to save the villains. And it sort of worked.
Yeah but I like the simplicity tho. Everything doesn't have to be so overly complicated dark and edgy. He started out as a good person and ended up still being a good person despite feeling a lot of pain and seeing the dark side of society etc.
The point is that it was too simple. He is unchallenged and that made him lack complexity.
Like what if Shigaraki *did* kill his loved ones, does he still want to save the guy?
Hori just dodged that question. That’s why we got shit writing decision that made no sense like Gran Torino being alive. So Deku’s ideals remain unchallenged.
yeah cuz its true, after getting his idea challenged and will, after all, you simply need to save everyone, that is the idea of the symbol of peace in MHA, someones who saves everyone. he wasn't wrong to question his ideals since that is what allowed him to understand better the world, every time his ideals were challenged, that allowed him to evolve and to become the new symbol of peace.
Oh man haven’t been on this sub in forever
I personally LOVE him, both on a surface level and on a deeper/self-projecting level. One of the best MCs of all time personally, and I’ve been an anime fan for about 20-odd years now.
**On the surface level:** I just think he’s a great kid. Really kind and selfless. This new generation of MCs have the common theme of empathy, being relentlessly compassionate, and prioritizes how weakness doesn’t have to be shameful. I loved watching Naruto and Luffy growing up, don’t get me wrong, but this generation of MCs just feel so much more human.
While static for the most part, I don’t think of this as a bad trait for him as a character. I love how hard he worked for his dreams, really enjoyed his growth overall (and may be why I find the last few arcs so disappointing, after years of slow and careful buildup). There’s so much hope in this character, I find him hard not to love. I know people hated how often he cried (and rewatching S1, holy cow lol) but it just made him all the more endearing to me.
On a deeper level, to the point where I’m self-projecting, I find aspects to his character really dynamic on a deeper level. I LOVED the contrast between the every day cinnamon-roll ‘this is our protagonist?’ vibes, to the switch where he goes apeshit and is reflective of Bakugo’s temper when he fights, as he stated. I love the foils that Deku and Bakugo are to each other so much, and I think they work perfectly against each other (the ‘save to win, win to save’ theme going the opposite direction too). As a writer myself, I have not enjoyed this series starting from S4, but Horikoshi truly left no stone unturned for Deku and Bakugo as foils.
Furthermore, I know people have issues with his self-sacrificial nature (it’s way too extreme, even for a protagonist), but I really loved him more when I thought about how he may be overcompensating for how powerless he was as a child, pre-UA.
This is probably way too long for a simple question on an anime subreddit lol but he’s been my favourite character over the last five or so years. His strength, determination, personalit(ies)(lol) and overall story is a testament to how I also wanted to work hard for my dreams as a kid, and I just think he’s such a warm dude. I’m really, really sad to see him go soon as it looks like we’re in the last volume for the manga.
Agreed but if you like him now you have to read a villain Deku fanfic and I mean a good one like Deku the quirkless villain on AO3 cause honestly it makes me love Deku even more, even though there’s like a fuck ton of typos if you look past that 👨🍳😘 Honestly.
A lot of potential but mostly ruined by stagnation
As a character he doesn’t develop for most of the series and he was at his most interesting during the vigilante arc which was very poorly handled
So my opinion is that he is a good character but he had a fuck Ton of wasted potential in regards to his views on the world on hero’s his relationships with everyone else and making morally great decisions
yeah, in the anime, but in the manga, handled pretty well, although the author did waste some potential things during the war arc, but after all, war arcs are the hardest to handle, by the mangaka, and there's always some wasted potential, so we cant blame him the most while even other good characters got it the same.
That's a bit rude. I'd say high mid. Maybe my nostalgia bias is making me see Deku through rose tinted glasses, but currently, that's what I stand by.
edit: nvm, changed my mind, I guess he's pretty mid
Could have been the greatest MC of the new generation if only Horikoshi didn't rush the fuck out of his true development arc. As he is, he's....just ok
Still love him though, and I love especially his development...which is why I'm absolutely hating the latest chapters
yeah, a better contendant for the best new gen MC is like yuji who is similar, but the whole around him and what he goes through and his development is just more interesting In both surface and deep lvl.
He's alright. Not my favorite but far from the hate and apathy side of the scale. He's around the middle. He could have been more engaging imo but it could have been worse ig.
I started the anime last Saturday, and now I caught up
That’s kinda relevant because before watching it, the sight of Deku was annoying to me. After watching though I like the little dude. He’s your usual Shonen MC sure, but like another commenter said, it’s incorporated well in the Bnha universe
100%%%% and he dragged the story down with it, especially when he got loads more attention than all the other well introduced characters (except maybe Ochaco and Todoroki)
Yeah the MC centrism absolutely dragged the whole series down.
The point of quirks is that everybody is unique. *Single overpowered hero is bad.* Broken pillar is bad. Teamwork is essential and everybody is relevant.
Now here is Deku, getting jacked up with multiple superpowers out of sheer luck (getting it at just basically the right time). Now he is better at everyone else at everything that matters.
It’s not good writing. It undermines the series’ own themes.
Hori’s strength is at writing morally struggling characters like Endeavor, Bakugo, Twice instead of these weird, barely disguised power fantasy tropes he keeps overdecorating Deku with.
For the first 3-4 seasons, I absolutely loved him. I heard nothing good about him before binging the series so his character came as a shock to me. Yes, he cries a lot, I don't care. And he's very generic too, which like duh, Shonen. But what stood out was his smarts and how he won despite being basically quirkless with a bone-shattering power. The way he comes with plans and deploy them, taking inspiration from everyone else, that was dope.
His "selflessness" was balanced out. He'd run to save random people and those he loves equally but never in a way that jeopardize his loved ones' lives. While destructive for his own chances and life, it was an acceptable flaw that was explored to be fixed in the end, by making him value winning as much as saving someone (the point of his arc with Bakugou) so he'd put his own life into the equation, not just those around him.
He was great, until all of this got snuffed out.
Instead of struggling to meet expectations VS his inability to use 100% OFA due to the short time he had, new quirks were dished out to him cuz he's "the chosen one" or some crap. He no longer had to overcompensate for his circumstances with quick thinking and strategy.
Instead of using his brain, a gaggle of ghosts replaced that. There were moments were he came up with cool ways to use his quirks but the most important strategies were made by the ghosts.
Then his character was assassinated in cold blood when this whole "saving villains" crap started. Being empathetic with how some villains came to be or trying to give them an ear to listen after they are put behind bars is one thing, making "saving them" as a priority is utter crap.
By then Deku was not a character, he's not a selfless person anymore. He's an idea of a selfless person. His "trait" that was treated as both a blessing and flaw before, now became a must for an "ideal hero", limiting his reactions, feelings, interactions, his everything to validate that one single "idea" of what a hero is. Therefore, he was not allowed to be human in a lot of ways. Just a representation of an idea.
The flaw of him being too selfless and self-destructive was over-romanticized. Basically all that build up about valuing his own life was thrown out the window. The image of "perfect victory" became "perfect victory for everyone except Deku".
By the end of the war, Deku is dead to me. To the point I don't care if he dropped dead next chapter or appeared in each one. Everything I loved about him was stolen, distorted, and made into something extremely unsympathetic but eye-rolling worthy.
I hope it stopped at that, but the story's ass-sucking of his "ideal" as a hero demeaned other characters. Forced them appear lesser than him when they are just as or even greater than he is.
A hero should take stakes and logic into account besides his own emotions, but no, Deku's right and we have to accept that even though he's not and his "ideal" realistically would kill plenty in his walk.
Point is, despite being generic, Deku had great potential to be something else, something better than your everyday Shonen MC, only for him to fall into the same formula- in the worst way possible and drag the story down with him.
If I had to put it in numbers, Deku was 9/10 MC to me early on, now I'm being super generous if I give him a 2/10.
Edit: The "Dark Hero" arc could be scrapped, literally. >!The reason why Deku abandoned everyone (so not to involve his loved ones) was empowering, only for it to matter nothing when his biggest fear came true; Shigaraki mangled and killed Bakugou for the exact reason Deku ran off for; his connection to him. Instead of having a big character-changing moment, it was basically ignored and Deku was once again denied being a human being, and only a walking, talking "ideal".!<
The story basically made a point of Deku understanding that if you're close to him, you'll get hurt since he's targeted by AFO and Shigaraki as the current holder for OFA. Then 1-A convinced him to let them back him up, support him as he fulfills his duty. They managed to make him believe this would work.
But,>! he failed to thwart Toga's attempt to kidnap him somewhere else, and stalled just enough to fail returning in time and save Bakugou from dying.!<
>!Shigaraki made a point that he tortured and killed Bakugou specifically because he was the closest to Deku among the group.!<
>!In other words, what made Deku leave school in the first place came true, his friend died because he was close to him.!<
So, >!the story made one of Deku's biggest fears happen before his eyes but didn't allow him a moment of introspect and reflection. He instantly went into rage mode then was brought back of it just as fast.!<
>!The Deku before facing his biggest fear (losing somebody because of him) and after he did, are the same. He didn't change his approach. He didn't change anything in what he was doing.!<
>!It makes you wonder, what was the point of Dark Hero arc? We now have a proof that, even if Deku didn't leave school and somebody got hurt because of that, he wouldn't have changed his plan to "save" the one who hurt them. Nothing in him would've changed at all.!<
Therefore, Dark Hero arc could be erased from the manga in relation to Deku.
Okay, thanks for the detailed reply.
>!However, I feel the arc could have succeeded if Bakugo had not survived. As you highlighted, Deku’s worst fear came true when his best friend apparently died, but this was nullified later on the story. Yet, if Bakugo was not revived, it could have been a more realistic approach of Deku character progression. Things don’t always go your way and, even if you trust your friends, it doesn’t mean they are right. !<
All in all, I still agree with your post, but I had this parallel drawn in my mind with AoT main character in S1.
Thing is, Deku abandoned his friends thinking not only that they'd get hurt, but that they couldn't keep up with the overwhelming powers of AfO and by proxy, OfA.
Once he realized what they were willing to do to prove that they'd stand by him, he relented and accepted that risk of them fighting alongside him. The series made a point during the current season to hammer in that EVERYONE is taking both the responsibility and the risks involved with fighting in this war, and Deku's big change from the Dark Hero Arc was allowing them to share his burden - even if it meant someone like Bakugo got mangled in the process.
I respect your take, but honestly I respectfully disagree that the Dark Hero arc was inconsequential.
>!Sharing his burden is not the same as doing his job and dying in the process because he allowed himself to be dragged and distracted by Toga.!<
>!The narrative made a clear connection between his Dark Hero dilemma and Bakugou's death via Shigaraki's speech. Yet nothing came out of it. So yeah, it was pretty inconsequential.!<
>!If Dark Hero didn't happen, then Deku would simply be the same War arc Deku who shares his burden with everyone and rely on them, then Bakugou would die, and it wouldn't matter as well.!<
> Sharing his burden is not the same as doing his job and dying in the process because he allowed himself to be dragged and distracted by Toga.
This doesn't have any bearing on anything though. Mistakes in war happen, and no one could have predicted that Toga could beat Danger Sense. Even the Fourth was shocked that it had happened, so none of that was Deku's fault at all.
> The narrative made a clear connection between his Dark Hero dilemma and Bakugou's death via Shigaraki's speech. Yet nothing came out of it. So yeah, it was pretty inconsequential.
Deku was about to go into a full rage like he did during the PLF war, but Mirio not only talked him down, he reminded him that no one has given up, to have faith in Edgeshot and that Deku promised to transform their ideals into reality. Never mind that Deku remembers what All Might said about how heroes put their life on the line.
Pre-Dark Hero Arc Deku literally showed what happens when he goes into a full rage during their last battle with Shigaraki and it very nearly got him killed and also almost got OFA into AFO's hands. Having gone through what he did during the Dark Hero story helped him control his fears and his anger, and helped him keep his faith that the other heroes would pull through and do what needed to be done.
Do I wish they expanded on the inner turmoil? Yeah, sure. Do I think the Dark Hero story was inconsequential? Naw. It showed very clearly how heavy that burden of OFA was and how damaging it was trying to be the Symbol of Peace personality that All Might sustained, and once he stopped trying to solve everything by himself and trusting his teammates to do their assigned missions, that's when he was able to show off the power of his faith in his friends and their faith in him.
Peaked in Stain arc imo
The image of him trembling with his fists up with a technique he only just barely got working but still managing to shatter Stain’s ankles and smash him into the fucking ground was all I wanted out of Deku.
Overall, a good protagonist. He's pretty much what your ideal hero is. The only issue I have is the lack of challenges to his personal ideals especially during the Dark Hero arc. Felt that this specific arc was the perfect moment for Deku to further explore the definition of being a hero and understand what makes the most dangerous villains who they are. Muscular and Nagant were great start. There was a lot more Hori could explore that would enhance certain moments in the final arc before reuniting with Class 1-A
I was down with him till he unlocked all the other powers. I like him as a character fine. I thought one for all was a culmination of different strength quirks. I don’t like Superman cuz he has multiple great powers. I don’t care for deku for the same reason.
Not that other people shouldn’t like those characters, this is just my opinion.
Classic lawful good MC. Not very interesting on its own, but well implemented into the bnha story.
From a more subjective perspective, he's very likeable and the type of friend everyone needs in their lives.
Okay Izuku Midoriya is a good MC to have seen develop during the series.
Born into a world where the abnormal is viewed as the new normal, but still strives for a dream in his society that is viewed as impossible. But even still he wants to help others with no reward involved honestly that is one of the great things about his character.
He has doubts about himself, but with the right encouragement he puts the work in to reach for his dream. At one point in our lives we may have had doubts about ourselves, so he is a character people can relate too.
As we see him progress into the story he realizes the responsibility that has been handed to him and the life of a hero. He has faced challenges and made connections that have not only affected his growth, but improved the lives of others as well.
There are many opportunities that could have been delved into more to help in his growth. That being the Stain arc where he mentioned there being fake heroes. We never hear that again or gave him think of that encounter in a different light. Seeing him question their heroes would have been interesting.
His style of always doing what is right and always wanting to be "the hero" is cringy sometimes. Even if the collateral damage is him and everyone around him.
Run of the mill good guy. Nothing special. If he had accepted that shiggy and most villains needed to be out down it would've been better.
Edit: because the story would've been different, a different approach and probably a different ending.
Really disliked him actually after he got all those other quirks especially. It was so so obvious how it didn't make sense to who he was before. Was pretty distasteful. Really like him in earlier seasons for sure, even tho he was super lucky to get OFA and there wasn't any point of introducing him as quirkless to be honest if this was gonna happen, but anyway, he still had struggles with the power and had to really work hard on it and stuff, it wasn't lucky or easy or whatever and his character really shined in these moments. But then he got all those power ups etc when let's be real, he didn't do anything at all to receive them nothing more than his peers etc. Just stupidly lucky (yes, he capitalised on it, but so would others as we have seen) and killed out the good, unique parts of his character. Many more characters in the story would have been more deserving of MC than him.
Decent character but a terrible MC. His character arc peaked in season 4 and arguably season 3. I think it was when Mirio was introduced that I realized Deku isn’t that special and he’s lucky that all might chose him since there’s plenty of other selfless characters in-universe. The only justification for Deku having OFA is the reveal in season 6 that only a quirkless person can fully utilize OFA.
He’s an inspiration. His first fight against muscular never ceases to pull me up from my darkest lows.
He def fell off when he got his other quirks. It became much less relatable and less of a self-insert when he can just do whatever he thinks of at will basically. Where’s the struggle?
I will make it simple Im glad that my little brothers have this kind of character to look up to while growing up. Kind, compassione, selfless, caring, just a Kid who is trying his best and helping out and motivating his friends. A hero that cries constantly but that doesn't make him any less powerful. Love the little brocoly guy.
Little late but I like him I have not caught up with the show but have read the manga and I understand the flaws in his character and the wasted potential but man he’s one of my favorite characters I get he’s not perfect and he could be better I’m not gonna deny it but despite all that he’s still one of my favorite character’s
My favorite MC and one of my favorite chracters of all time. No one can make me hate him. Gonna miss reading his story now that the series is coming to an end.
He’s fine. Be more interesting if every other character was more corrupt and he was the only pure good one except All Might (but maybe Toshinori Yagi is more cynical or jaded?). But nope,he’s basically just another idealistic good hero face in the crowd. Except he’s the chosen one.
He okay. Finishing the manga, the final arc was so disappointing that it changed my overview of the anime just like Akami ga kill, Tokyo ghoul and Attack on Titan.
Deku is a boy who has seen terrible things that society's lack of empathy has caused. Since birth, he has learned that the world is not fair, but he has always given his best for his dream and for the people around him. After all, he is Deku, the one who always does his best.
You can’t help but have respect for him.
He has to go through a lot to get where he was with a quirk and being at the academia.
And now I’m hoping he has a good end.
J want to say one of my favorite protagonists out there.
He incorporates what I feel about other great heroes like Spiderman, a good person no matter the struggle, no matter how much things go wrong.
The later seasons and the manga now is the culmination of his character, of who he is, and I'm just overall happy with how the story went.
Until he got full cowling i did not like his character at all. He cried all the time and his note taking whilst mumbling thing got old. Im glad they made him more mature very early on
I like Deku. He feels genuine. The actor, Justin Briner, is just as nerdy and upbeat irl so I get a sense that there’s a little of his true personality that shines through in the vocal performance.
He's one of my favorite Shonen MCs! Really great kid with heart and empathy. Never understood the Deku hate for being soft. We don't always need tough, emotionless protagonists.
Someone else mentioned this in another comment, but I also appreciate how this generation of Shonen protagonists are of the more gentle and wholesome variety who can still kick ass when fighting.
Deku is my anime son, and it's been a pleasure watching him become the greatest hero!
I've empathized with him since episode one. Feeling like the outcast and like he's not good enough, but striving to be the best he can and be there for his friends regardless. Even if they don't want him there (ie: Bakugo). Honestly, I think this whole show is packed with beautiful messages. I need to start on season seven, but I recently caught up after not watching since like season 3. And I think season six Deku (and everyone else for that matter) is one of the best characters I've ever seen.
Call me sappy if you want, but I love our crybaby hero ❤️
I will make it simple Im glad that my little brothers have this kind of character to look up to while growing up. Kind, compassione, selfless, caring, just a Kid who is trying his best and helping out and motivating his friends. A hero that cries constantly but that doesn't make him any less powerful. Love the little brocoly guy.
Absolute banger of an MC. "I learned at a young age people are not born equal" that was it for me I was hooked. Laying in the dirt after getting the shit beaten out of him by his childhood friend and other kids, my first thought was this kid is smarter and tougher than me, and I'm in my 20's!
Even with all the complaints of him crying too much or being annoying I truly think people don't like Izuku because he reminds them that they accepted defeat at one point in their lives and this crying kid who brakes his bones for others did not.
I only really have two major criticism, and that is I feel like Horikoshi gave him his new abilities too fast, and he learned them a bit too quickly.
I also have a small suspicion that they just don't like his VA. If he sounded like (for example) Asta's or maybe Edward Elric's VA, there wouldn't be so much vitriol for him.
**Reminder to everyone:** Anything that hasn't happened yet in the anime is a spoiler. **To the OP:** If you want to discuss things in the manga, please flair the post as **"Manga Spoilers".** How to spoiler tag comments: > \>\!Put your text here!\< **THIS COMMENT IS AUTOMATICALLY POSTED IN EVERY THREAD NOT MARKED FOR MANGA OR MANGA SPOILERS JUST AS A REMINDER** ----- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BokuNoHeroAcademia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He's ok as an MC. Not the greatest but not all that bad either. His character could've been better by challenging his ideals or something but it's pretty clear Horikoshi intended for him to be the ideal hero.
Horikoshi wanted to be the perfect hero with his ideals being right all the time. But that’s exactly what made him a boring character.
the idea of him having his ideal challenged is literally one of the main themes of mha
Yeah, but in the end, it turned out he was wrong to question his ideals. He had it right from the beginning. He wanted to be a hero who saves everybody, and that’s what he did, as best he could. He even tried to save the villains. And it sort of worked.
Yeah but I like the simplicity tho. Everything doesn't have to be so overly complicated dark and edgy. He started out as a good person and ended up still being a good person despite feeling a lot of pain and seeing the dark side of society etc.
The point is that it was too simple. He is unchallenged and that made him lack complexity. Like what if Shigaraki *did* kill his loved ones, does he still want to save the guy? Hori just dodged that question. That’s why we got shit writing decision that made no sense like Gran Torino being alive. So Deku’s ideals remain unchallenged.
yeah cuz its true, after getting his idea challenged and will, after all, you simply need to save everyone, that is the idea of the symbol of peace in MHA, someones who saves everyone. he wasn't wrong to question his ideals since that is what allowed him to understand better the world, every time his ideals were challenged, that allowed him to evolve and to become the new symbol of peace.
Oh man haven’t been on this sub in forever I personally LOVE him, both on a surface level and on a deeper/self-projecting level. One of the best MCs of all time personally, and I’ve been an anime fan for about 20-odd years now. **On the surface level:** I just think he’s a great kid. Really kind and selfless. This new generation of MCs have the common theme of empathy, being relentlessly compassionate, and prioritizes how weakness doesn’t have to be shameful. I loved watching Naruto and Luffy growing up, don’t get me wrong, but this generation of MCs just feel so much more human. While static for the most part, I don’t think of this as a bad trait for him as a character. I love how hard he worked for his dreams, really enjoyed his growth overall (and may be why I find the last few arcs so disappointing, after years of slow and careful buildup). There’s so much hope in this character, I find him hard not to love. I know people hated how often he cried (and rewatching S1, holy cow lol) but it just made him all the more endearing to me. On a deeper level, to the point where I’m self-projecting, I find aspects to his character really dynamic on a deeper level. I LOVED the contrast between the every day cinnamon-roll ‘this is our protagonist?’ vibes, to the switch where he goes apeshit and is reflective of Bakugo’s temper when he fights, as he stated. I love the foils that Deku and Bakugo are to each other so much, and I think they work perfectly against each other (the ‘save to win, win to save’ theme going the opposite direction too). As a writer myself, I have not enjoyed this series starting from S4, but Horikoshi truly left no stone unturned for Deku and Bakugo as foils. Furthermore, I know people have issues with his self-sacrificial nature (it’s way too extreme, even for a protagonist), but I really loved him more when I thought about how he may be overcompensating for how powerless he was as a child, pre-UA. This is probably way too long for a simple question on an anime subreddit lol but he’s been my favourite character over the last five or so years. His strength, determination, personalit(ies)(lol) and overall story is a testament to how I also wanted to work hard for my dreams as a kid, and I just think he’s such a warm dude. I’m really, really sad to see him go soon as it looks like we’re in the last volume for the manga.
YESYESYES the only opinion ever.
You say dekus self sacrifice is too much for a protag but what are your thoughts on shirou emiya from fate
Agreed but if you like him now you have to read a villain Deku fanfic and I mean a good one like Deku the quirkless villain on AO3 cause honestly it makes me love Deku even more, even though there’s like a fuck ton of typos if you look past that 👨🍳😘 Honestly.
Your enthusiasm for fanfiction is fine but no fan should ever have to read someone else's headcanon to appreciate a character.
???
Stfu bitch I ain’t readin Allat 💀💀
**reading **all that
He's a hero.
Homeless piece of shit hope he dies
wtf lol
They hopped on their alt to shit talk an anime character 😭
real shit 😭😭😭
A lot of potential but mostly ruined by stagnation As a character he doesn’t develop for most of the series and he was at his most interesting during the vigilante arc which was very poorly handled So my opinion is that he is a good character but he had a fuck Ton of wasted potential in regards to his views on the world on hero’s his relationships with everyone else and making morally great decisions
yeah, in the anime, but in the manga, handled pretty well, although the author did waste some potential things during the war arc, but after all, war arcs are the hardest to handle, by the mangaka, and there's always some wasted potential, so we cant blame him the most while even other good characters got it the same.
As I always jokingly say, “you can’t spell ‘Midoriya’ without ‘Mid’”.
he aint mid.
Mid. Liked him better when he broke his bones though.
That's a bit rude. I'd say high mid. Maybe my nostalgia bias is making me see Deku through rose tinted glasses, but currently, that's what I stand by. edit: nvm, changed my mind, I guess he's pretty mid
Lol, what changed your mind?
Could have been the greatest MC of the new generation if only Horikoshi didn't rush the fuck out of his true development arc. As he is, he's....just ok Still love him though, and I love especially his development...which is why I'm absolutely hating the latest chapters
yeah, a better contendant for the best new gen MC is like yuji who is similar, but the whole around him and what he goes through and his development is just more interesting In both surface and deep lvl.
He's alright. Not my favorite but far from the hate and apathy side of the scale. He's around the middle. He could have been more engaging imo but it could have been worse ig.
Good character, iffy writing.
One of my favorites, but very iffy writing
I started the anime last Saturday, and now I caught up That’s kinda relevant because before watching it, the sight of Deku was annoying to me. After watching though I like the little dude. He’s your usual Shonen MC sure, but like another commenter said, it’s incorporated well in the Bnha universe
Do not care for
Started out good. Fell off when the multiquirks happened. Erased everything that made him a good character.
100%%%% and he dragged the story down with it, especially when he got loads more attention than all the other well introduced characters (except maybe Ochaco and Todoroki)
Yeah the MC centrism absolutely dragged the whole series down. The point of quirks is that everybody is unique. *Single overpowered hero is bad.* Broken pillar is bad. Teamwork is essential and everybody is relevant. Now here is Deku, getting jacked up with multiple superpowers out of sheer luck (getting it at just basically the right time). Now he is better at everyone else at everything that matters. It’s not good writing. It undermines the series’ own themes. Hori’s strength is at writing morally struggling characters like Endeavor, Bakugo, Twice instead of these weird, barely disguised power fantasy tropes he keeps overdecorating Deku with.
My little crybaby son 💚
I liked him at the start, then he kinda fell off as a person and became more of a macguffin for better or worse terms.
For the first 3-4 seasons, I absolutely loved him. I heard nothing good about him before binging the series so his character came as a shock to me. Yes, he cries a lot, I don't care. And he's very generic too, which like duh, Shonen. But what stood out was his smarts and how he won despite being basically quirkless with a bone-shattering power. The way he comes with plans and deploy them, taking inspiration from everyone else, that was dope. His "selflessness" was balanced out. He'd run to save random people and those he loves equally but never in a way that jeopardize his loved ones' lives. While destructive for his own chances and life, it was an acceptable flaw that was explored to be fixed in the end, by making him value winning as much as saving someone (the point of his arc with Bakugou) so he'd put his own life into the equation, not just those around him. He was great, until all of this got snuffed out. Instead of struggling to meet expectations VS his inability to use 100% OFA due to the short time he had, new quirks were dished out to him cuz he's "the chosen one" or some crap. He no longer had to overcompensate for his circumstances with quick thinking and strategy. Instead of using his brain, a gaggle of ghosts replaced that. There were moments were he came up with cool ways to use his quirks but the most important strategies were made by the ghosts. Then his character was assassinated in cold blood when this whole "saving villains" crap started. Being empathetic with how some villains came to be or trying to give them an ear to listen after they are put behind bars is one thing, making "saving them" as a priority is utter crap. By then Deku was not a character, he's not a selfless person anymore. He's an idea of a selfless person. His "trait" that was treated as both a blessing and flaw before, now became a must for an "ideal hero", limiting his reactions, feelings, interactions, his everything to validate that one single "idea" of what a hero is. Therefore, he was not allowed to be human in a lot of ways. Just a representation of an idea. The flaw of him being too selfless and self-destructive was over-romanticized. Basically all that build up about valuing his own life was thrown out the window. The image of "perfect victory" became "perfect victory for everyone except Deku". By the end of the war, Deku is dead to me. To the point I don't care if he dropped dead next chapter or appeared in each one. Everything I loved about him was stolen, distorted, and made into something extremely unsympathetic but eye-rolling worthy. I hope it stopped at that, but the story's ass-sucking of his "ideal" as a hero demeaned other characters. Forced them appear lesser than him when they are just as or even greater than he is. A hero should take stakes and logic into account besides his own emotions, but no, Deku's right and we have to accept that even though he's not and his "ideal" realistically would kill plenty in his walk. Point is, despite being generic, Deku had great potential to be something else, something better than your everyday Shonen MC, only for him to fall into the same formula- in the worst way possible and drag the story down with him. If I had to put it in numbers, Deku was 9/10 MC to me early on, now I'm being super generous if I give him a 2/10. Edit: The "Dark Hero" arc could be scrapped, literally. >!The reason why Deku abandoned everyone (so not to involve his loved ones) was empowering, only for it to matter nothing when his biggest fear came true; Shigaraki mangled and killed Bakugou for the exact reason Deku ran off for; his connection to him. Instead of having a big character-changing moment, it was basically ignored and Deku was once again denied being a human being, and only a walking, talking "ideal".!<
Based and should be higher
I don´t really understand your "edit" paragraph. Could you elaborate on it, please?
The story basically made a point of Deku understanding that if you're close to him, you'll get hurt since he's targeted by AFO and Shigaraki as the current holder for OFA. Then 1-A convinced him to let them back him up, support him as he fulfills his duty. They managed to make him believe this would work. But,>! he failed to thwart Toga's attempt to kidnap him somewhere else, and stalled just enough to fail returning in time and save Bakugou from dying.!< >!Shigaraki made a point that he tortured and killed Bakugou specifically because he was the closest to Deku among the group.!< >!In other words, what made Deku leave school in the first place came true, his friend died because he was close to him.!< So, >!the story made one of Deku's biggest fears happen before his eyes but didn't allow him a moment of introspect and reflection. He instantly went into rage mode then was brought back of it just as fast.!< >!The Deku before facing his biggest fear (losing somebody because of him) and after he did, are the same. He didn't change his approach. He didn't change anything in what he was doing.!< >!It makes you wonder, what was the point of Dark Hero arc? We now have a proof that, even if Deku didn't leave school and somebody got hurt because of that, he wouldn't have changed his plan to "save" the one who hurt them. Nothing in him would've changed at all.!< Therefore, Dark Hero arc could be erased from the manga in relation to Deku.
Okay, thanks for the detailed reply. >!However, I feel the arc could have succeeded if Bakugo had not survived. As you highlighted, Deku’s worst fear came true when his best friend apparently died, but this was nullified later on the story. Yet, if Bakugo was not revived, it could have been a more realistic approach of Deku character progression. Things don’t always go your way and, even if you trust your friends, it doesn’t mean they are right. !< All in all, I still agree with your post, but I had this parallel drawn in my mind with AoT main character in S1.
Fair enough.
Thing is, Deku abandoned his friends thinking not only that they'd get hurt, but that they couldn't keep up with the overwhelming powers of AfO and by proxy, OfA. Once he realized what they were willing to do to prove that they'd stand by him, he relented and accepted that risk of them fighting alongside him. The series made a point during the current season to hammer in that EVERYONE is taking both the responsibility and the risks involved with fighting in this war, and Deku's big change from the Dark Hero Arc was allowing them to share his burden - even if it meant someone like Bakugo got mangled in the process. I respect your take, but honestly I respectfully disagree that the Dark Hero arc was inconsequential.
>!Sharing his burden is not the same as doing his job and dying in the process because he allowed himself to be dragged and distracted by Toga.!< >!The narrative made a clear connection between his Dark Hero dilemma and Bakugou's death via Shigaraki's speech. Yet nothing came out of it. So yeah, it was pretty inconsequential.!< >!If Dark Hero didn't happen, then Deku would simply be the same War arc Deku who shares his burden with everyone and rely on them, then Bakugou would die, and it wouldn't matter as well.!<
> Sharing his burden is not the same as doing his job and dying in the process because he allowed himself to be dragged and distracted by Toga. This doesn't have any bearing on anything though. Mistakes in war happen, and no one could have predicted that Toga could beat Danger Sense. Even the Fourth was shocked that it had happened, so none of that was Deku's fault at all. > The narrative made a clear connection between his Dark Hero dilemma and Bakugou's death via Shigaraki's speech. Yet nothing came out of it. So yeah, it was pretty inconsequential. Deku was about to go into a full rage like he did during the PLF war, but Mirio not only talked him down, he reminded him that no one has given up, to have faith in Edgeshot and that Deku promised to transform their ideals into reality. Never mind that Deku remembers what All Might said about how heroes put their life on the line. Pre-Dark Hero Arc Deku literally showed what happens when he goes into a full rage during their last battle with Shigaraki and it very nearly got him killed and also almost got OFA into AFO's hands. Having gone through what he did during the Dark Hero story helped him control his fears and his anger, and helped him keep his faith that the other heroes would pull through and do what needed to be done. Do I wish they expanded on the inner turmoil? Yeah, sure. Do I think the Dark Hero story was inconsequential? Naw. It showed very clearly how heavy that burden of OFA was and how damaging it was trying to be the Symbol of Peace personality that All Might sustained, and once he stopped trying to solve everything by himself and trusting his teammates to do their assigned missions, that's when he was able to show off the power of his faith in his friends and their faith in him.
Peaked in Stain arc imo The image of him trembling with his fists up with a technique he only just barely got working but still managing to shatter Stain’s ankles and smash him into the fucking ground was all I wanted out of Deku.
Think it was a really strange choice to set up his character thinking he can't become a hero without a quirk, and then have him be completely right.
EXACTLYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Terrible crafting of plot.. going on to have multiple quirks XDD talk about rubbing salt into one's wounds.
Wasted potential, could have been so much more
Honestly, never wished for a MC to die so badly
Mental illness
I've always been a big fan of Deku. I love his overall character and I've enjoyed watching him grow as a hero.
An example of a real hero and a real friend.
Never thought I could relate to a character so much, at least in the early stages of the manga
Overall, a good protagonist. He's pretty much what your ideal hero is. The only issue I have is the lack of challenges to his personal ideals especially during the Dark Hero arc. Felt that this specific arc was the perfect moment for Deku to further explore the definition of being a hero and understand what makes the most dangerous villains who they are. Muscular and Nagant were great start. There was a lot more Hori could explore that would enhance certain moments in the final arc before reuniting with Class 1-A
Sweet cinnamon roll
I was down with him till he unlocked all the other powers. I like him as a character fine. I thought one for all was a culmination of different strength quirks. I don’t like Superman cuz he has multiple great powers. I don’t care for deku for the same reason. Not that other people shouldn’t like those characters, this is just my opinion.
Classic lawful good MC. Not very interesting on its own, but well implemented into the bnha story. From a more subjective perspective, he's very likeable and the type of friend everyone needs in their lives.
Lady Nagant should’ve died.
He ight when we are just talking about the manga or anime but anything else 😨🔫
He is a lettuce
Green main character.
Okay Izuku Midoriya is a good MC to have seen develop during the series. Born into a world where the abnormal is viewed as the new normal, but still strives for a dream in his society that is viewed as impossible. But even still he wants to help others with no reward involved honestly that is one of the great things about his character. He has doubts about himself, but with the right encouragement he puts the work in to reach for his dream. At one point in our lives we may have had doubts about ourselves, so he is a character people can relate too. As we see him progress into the story he realizes the responsibility that has been handed to him and the life of a hero. He has faced challenges and made connections that have not only affected his growth, but improved the lives of others as well. There are many opportunities that could have been delved into more to help in his growth. That being the Stain arc where he mentioned there being fake heroes. We never hear that again or gave him think of that encounter in a different light. Seeing him question their heroes would have been interesting.
His style of always doing what is right and always wanting to be "the hero" is cringy sometimes. Even if the collateral damage is him and everyone around him.
Run of the mill good guy. Nothing special. If he had accepted that shiggy and most villains needed to be out down it would've been better. Edit: because the story would've been different, a different approach and probably a different ending.
fuckin hate him
🗑
BC Fan. Canned
He’s a little bland, but not as bad as Tanjiro in that department.
Unbelievably lucky; at least he does capitalise on it mostly
Really disliked him actually after he got all those other quirks especially. It was so so obvious how it didn't make sense to who he was before. Was pretty distasteful. Really like him in earlier seasons for sure, even tho he was super lucky to get OFA and there wasn't any point of introducing him as quirkless to be honest if this was gonna happen, but anyway, he still had struggles with the power and had to really work hard on it and stuff, it wasn't lucky or easy or whatever and his character really shined in these moments. But then he got all those power ups etc when let's be real, he didn't do anything at all to receive them nothing more than his peers etc. Just stupidly lucky (yes, he capitalised on it, but so would others as we have seen) and killed out the good, unique parts of his character. Many more characters in the story would have been more deserving of MC than him.
Generic shounen protagonist. I don't think anything about him.
I loved him since the beginning 🥰
Mediocre
I like it more than hated, but I wouldn't say good at all.
I wish we could take all the suffering Yuji has endured, multiply it by itself, and then give it to this guy
XDDDDD i agree but i think it's going a bit too far by multiplying it more, no? XD
No. He deserves it
fair enough
Decent character but a terrible MC. His character arc peaked in season 4 and arguably season 3. I think it was when Mirio was introduced that I realized Deku isn’t that special and he’s lucky that all might chose him since there’s plenty of other selfless characters in-universe. The only justification for Deku having OFA is the reveal in season 6 that only a quirkless person can fully utilize OFA.
His progression from a hopeless, depressed crybaby to tough as nails and shouldering the heaviest burden in the world make me like the guy quite a lot
system qb
Pretty neat
good boy, ruined by trauma...
He’s the goat
Nerd extra
I strive to be more like him
Hate him!
He’s cute, 🥰
One of my goats. Both in My Hero and outside of anime/manga.
Broken
He’s an inspiration. His first fight against muscular never ceases to pull me up from my darkest lows. He def fell off when he got his other quirks. It became much less relatable and less of a self-insert when he can just do whatever he thinks of at will basically. Where’s the struggle?
Literal goat. Far more interesting than your average shonen protag.
You are magical, lírical, beautifulll
I love it
Sunshine
Naruto with black hair 🤔🤷♂️
I will make it simple Im glad that my little brothers have this kind of character to look up to while growing up. Kind, compassione, selfless, caring, just a Kid who is trying his best and helping out and motivating his friends. A hero that cries constantly but that doesn't make him any less powerful. Love the little brocoly guy.
I love him
Gearshift makes him the GOAT
I think hé is little bit gay
“that annoying brat gets in my way..”
The raped one. shipped with a thousand of adults. fuck, the guy that put all might out commission, they shipped him with him too!
He needs to learn how to hit duplexes, like All Might
I started to dislike his writing when "Dark Deku" wasn't The Punisher.
Nice guy just not really my type of MC
His thought process hasn't really evolved and he strikes me as weak minded but possessing more than enough power to make up for it.
He's rad
DEKU TE AMO, ERES MI HEROE X DIOSSS 😭😭
Cute and heroic but kinda boring icl
Little late but I like him I have not caught up with the show but have read the manga and I understand the flaws in his character and the wasted potential but man he’s one of my favorite characters I get he’s not perfect and he could be better I’m not gonna deny it but despite all that he’s still one of my favorite character’s
My favorite MC and one of my favorite chracters of all time. No one can make me hate him. Gonna miss reading his story now that the series is coming to an end.
He’s fine. Be more interesting if every other character was more corrupt and he was the only pure good one except All Might (but maybe Toshinori Yagi is more cynical or jaded?). But nope,he’s basically just another idealistic good hero face in the crowd. Except he’s the chosen one.
I like him
He okay. Finishing the manga, the final arc was so disappointing that it changed my overview of the anime just like Akami ga kill, Tokyo ghoul and Attack on Titan.
Relatable.
Deku is a boy who has seen terrible things that society's lack of empathy has caused. Since birth, he has learned that the world is not fair, but he has always given his best for his dream and for the people around him. After all, he is Deku, the one who always does his best.
he's a pussy
Best character of the show
That's objectively just not true. Nobody got to Endeavor's level in terms of writing. Hori was biased asf with the Todoroki drama.
Endeavor, Bakugo, Twice, Hawks, etc are better written than Deku. The MC ain’t even in top 5 tbh.
He had great build up though, it just never got anywhere.
Exactly. A wasted potential.
You can’t help but have respect for him. He has to go through a lot to get where he was with a quirk and being at the academia. And now I’m hoping he has a good end.
GORGEOUS 💚🐢🌳🍀🍃🍏🔋🧪🔫
The greatest 💚💚💚💚
J want to say one of my favorite protagonists out there. He incorporates what I feel about other great heroes like Spiderman, a good person no matter the struggle, no matter how much things go wrong. The later seasons and the manga now is the culmination of his character, of who he is, and I'm just overall happy with how the story went.
The all out mc
I don’t know he’s the main fucking character
Until he got full cowling i did not like his character at all. He cried all the time and his note taking whilst mumbling thing got old. Im glad they made him more mature very early on
Good person but his idealism can be kinda frustrating to see in a world where reality usually wins out.
I like Deku. He feels genuine. The actor, Justin Briner, is just as nerdy and upbeat irl so I get a sense that there’s a little of his true personality that shines through in the vocal performance.
He's one of my favorite Shonen MCs! Really great kid with heart and empathy. Never understood the Deku hate for being soft. We don't always need tough, emotionless protagonists. Someone else mentioned this in another comment, but I also appreciate how this generation of Shonen protagonists are of the more gentle and wholesome variety who can still kick ass when fighting. Deku is my anime son, and it's been a pleasure watching him become the greatest hero!
I've empathized with him since episode one. Feeling like the outcast and like he's not good enough, but striving to be the best he can and be there for his friends regardless. Even if they don't want him there (ie: Bakugo). Honestly, I think this whole show is packed with beautiful messages. I need to start on season seven, but I recently caught up after not watching since like season 3. And I think season six Deku (and everyone else for that matter) is one of the best characters I've ever seen. Call me sappy if you want, but I love our crybaby hero ❤️
I adore him. No other comment. He's the sweetest bbg broccoli BOI ever.
Best boy imo
I will make it simple Im glad that my little brothers have this kind of character to look up to while growing up. Kind, compassione, selfless, caring, just a Kid who is trying his best and helping out and motivating his friends. A hero that cries constantly but that doesn't make him any less powerful. Love the little brocoly guy.
Absolute banger of an MC. "I learned at a young age people are not born equal" that was it for me I was hooked. Laying in the dirt after getting the shit beaten out of him by his childhood friend and other kids, my first thought was this kid is smarter and tougher than me, and I'm in my 20's! Even with all the complaints of him crying too much or being annoying I truly think people don't like Izuku because he reminds them that they accepted defeat at one point in their lives and this crying kid who brakes his bones for others did not. I only really have two major criticism, and that is I feel like Horikoshi gave him his new abilities too fast, and he learned them a bit too quickly. I also have a small suspicion that they just don't like his VA. If he sounded like (for example) Asta's or maybe Edward Elric's VA, there wouldn't be so much vitriol for him.
Loser can't even talk to a girl
One of my favorite characters in fiction and my number one favorite in the series. Bar none. Don’t try to change my mind. I don’t change my mind.
Homeless piece of shit hope he dies
In the beginning he was annoying af but in the end i found him alright
I think the fan base ruined him
Deku’s biggest struggle in the story is caused by his own selflessness. That tells you a lot about him.
He’s needs to man tf and stop crying that’s my only issue with this dude he cry’s to dam much.
Sometimes you just gotta let that shit out your body tbh 💯
Yeah you bottle that up and you hurt more.
Men cry