OPINION: My Hero Academia and the Truth About Chasing Ideals
This article contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 6 up to Episode 136: Deku vs. Class A.
There’s a moment in the My Hero Academia episode, “Deku vs. Class A,” that will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. Deku, desperate to protect everyone, is a tattered mess of the optimistic kid who gleefully watched heroes take on villains. His entire class works together to get him to stop, leading to Bakugo apologizing to him for the way he’s treated him their entire lives.
The character development alone is worth the price of admission, but it’s what Bakugo says after the apology that really hit me. In the subtitled episode, he says the following, “Everything you’ve done after inheriting One For All has been ideal. You’ve done nothing wrong. But right now, you’re unsteady. There’s a wall you can’t overcome with just ideals. We’ll take care of the things that you can’t take care of. In order to surpass the ideal, we need to save you, the refugees at U.A., and all the people in the city.”
RELATED: All You Need to Know About My Hero Academia’s Paranormal Liberation War
I realized two things at this point:
1. This summarizes what, I feel, is the entire point of My Hero Academia.
2. This is why Deku is the perfect protagonist for the series.
My Hero Academia is one of my favorite shonen anime, and as a weekly reader of the manga I’ve been anticipating Season 6 for a while. This is the season where a lot of overwhelming moments happen, from the brilliantly dramatic Dabi reveal to the literal collapse of hero society.
The Dabi reveal, in particular, was a jaw-dropping moment that added even more complex layers to the Todoroki family dynamic. At one point I remember saying to myself, “This is giving off main character energy.”
Think about it.
You’re Shoto Todoroki, son of the number one hero, expected to carry on the family name after dealing with a staggering amount of abuse at a young age. Just when you start to accept the powers inherited from your problematic father and even work with him to better develop them… you find out your dead older brother ain’t dead and, surprise, he unravels even more family secrets.
Main. Character. Energy.
RELATED: 6 My Hero Academia Anime Moments That Hinted at Dabi’s Dance
And yet My Hero Academia is about Izuku Midoriya, an underdog in every sense of the word. Deku’s been trying his hardest to stand out amongst the Todorokis, Kacchans, Mirios and a growing number of characters who he feels surpass him in every sense of the word. Heck, Todoroki even has the grander backstory where he had to fight his own family on the battlefield WHILE THEIR FATHER WATCHED.
To me, this is exactly why Deku’s the main character.
He starts out as an ordinary kid in an extraordinary, superpowered world. He’s got a dream that sounds astronomical, but in a world where becoming a hero has a school system, internships and career opportunities, it’s kinda like wanting to be a doctor or a lawyer. Yes, being the number one hero is a lofty goal with stiff competition, but the chance to be a hero is, presumably, open for anyone who wants to go for it.
But Deku doesn’t have the one thing heroes are expected to have: a Quirk. Having heart and determination is all well and good, but at the start of My Hero Academia, he’s immediately counted out because he wasn’t born with a Quirk. Being told, constantly, that you can’t have the thing that’s available to everyone because you weren’t born a certain way is awful, I say in tired Black woman.
But soon All Might sees Young Midoriya’s potential, tells him he can be a hero and offers him his Quirk.
Now despite having every reason to either be against hero society or all for changing it due to the way it’s treated him since childhood, Deku’s so invested in becoming a hero that he takes that Quirk — no questions asked. He’s eager to follow the status quo because he’s been told that he can’t, but his Quirk goes on to break him physically and lead him into some pretty devastating situations. Though he’s been constantly challenged about the ideals he holds onto as solid truths (save everyone with a smile, go beyond, etc.), he’s still determined to stick with them… even at the cost of his own stability and mental well-being.
RELATED: All My Hero Academia Arcs in Order
Ah yes, the starry-eyed look you get when you finally get a shot at achieving your dreams, I know it all too well, let’s call her “fresh out of college” me, the one who would never show any burnout or dissatisfaction because, “Finally, this is my chance!” As we know, that can only last for so long.
On top of everything I’ve pointed out, Deku’s also trying to develop way too fast. He’s trying to understand a concept (Quirks) that most are born with and have years to understand. In his case, he’s also trying to grasp a power that’s generations-old and full of secrets that not even All Might fully comprehends. Because of this, he’s gone from trying to catch up to his classmates to leaving them behind for their own safety. It’s what All Might, in his prime, would do — has done, as revealed by Sir Nighteye. This is why Deku walking away from All Might hits so hard, it’s because All Might knows that his successor is simply following in his footsteps.
In short, Deku presents a self-destructive combination of not feeling good enough, trying to catch up to everyone else who’s ahead of him, and sticking to the ideals he grew up with. Add the responsibility of being the final wielder of One For All and what that means in regard to taking on All For One, and you’ve got yourself one shattered protagonist.
Initially, I thought My Hero Academia was going to be a “work hard toward your dreams” narrative where the end goal would be Deku getting a handle on his Quirk. All of those notes are still there, but with them come a more provocative point: the ideals labeled as “good” can be detrimental to you, and other peoples’, well-being, so you have to improve upon them.
RELATED: All Might, the Most Relatable Hero for My 30-Something Self
We’re often told that the thing we need to achieve our dreams is hard work. Words like perseverance get used quite often along with being able to do anything if you put your mind to it. As a kid, Deku learned right away this wasn’t true for everyone, but years later he got the chance of a lifetime, the one thing he was, apparently, missing. So, naturally, you assume all that’s left to do is master the thing you were given and he, arguably, does. But much like any young person going out into the world, he finds out that it’s not that simple.
And, to be honest, it’s a frustrating realization to have.
This is why Bakugo’s wording is perfect. As Bakugo said, everything he’s done has been ideal — and there’s a collection of One For All wielders to prove it. But they have to surpass what they’ve both idolized their entire lives.
My Hero Academia isn’t just about beating the big bad, it’s about a new generation of heroes doing better than the ones who came before them. The only way they can do that is if they all work together and do away with the notion of being a singular symbol for everyone to rely on.
The world might not need another All Might, what it needs is a Class A.
Watch My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll now!
Briana Lawrence is the Senior EN Features Editor here at Crunchyroll. When she’s not writing she’s taking care of her three butthead cats and playing Hades for the 100th time. You can check out her writings and her book series over at her website and give her a shout over on Twitter.
