Summary
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the whole of My Hero Academia, now streaming onCrunchyroll.
It’s funny to think that whenMy Hero Academiastarted, the central hook behindits premise was a protagonist with no superpowersin a world where practically everyone else had one. It didn’t take long for that to change, but Izuku “Deku” Midoriya has undergone quite a dramatic evolution - one charted by an appreciably methodical journey that made him earn his power.
Kohei Horikoshi’ssuperhero shōnen manga ended this yearafter 10 years and 42 volumes, and the anime is catching up quickly, with its seventh season from Studio Bones airing this season. The story is set in a world where 80% of the population possesses some form of superpower, called “quirks,” and sadly for Deku, he begins the story as one of the unlucky 20%.
Seasons 1-2: The Booksmart Glass Cannon
The first season and a half ofMy Hero Academiawaswhere Deku was at his most vulnerable, which lent itself to some very creative storytelling to compensate for his glaring weaknesses. Having acquired the quirk “One for All” from his icon, All Might, he lacked the strength to fully harness the power, even after months of physical training to prepare his body for it.
This resulted in a hallmark of the early seasons; an almost absurd amount of bodily injury inflicted upon the protagonist. Without the finer control to channel One for All’s strength, he could deal devastating damage, but at the cost of breaking an arm. At most, he could minimize the damage to a finger or just his hand, but it was far from an ideal way to start his education.
A Focus on Brains Before Brawn
Deku’s coolest moments inSeason 1 and especially the former half of Season 2involved using tactics and an understanding of his opponent to get the advantage. From as early as the premiere, Deku was characterized by his encyclopedic knowledge of heroes and villains which gave him a keen eye for analysis befitting a strategist. Hence why in a team setting like the Cavalry Battle of the UA Sports Festival, he flourished.
By his lonesome, on the other hand, he had to work extra hard to keep up with his peers, especially Bakugo and Todoroki, who in time he would meet on an even playing field. Until then, he had to be crafty, and his 1st place finish in the Obstacle Race ahead of those two was hard-won. By using a piece of metal as a makeshift shield, Deku threw himself into the minefield everyone else was trying to avoid, and let the explosion carry him to the finish line.
This was Deku at his most pure. Even with incredible power at his fingertips and plenty of work put in to harness it, what little he could access couldn’t even be called a crutch. If anything, it was a last resort, which brought out his best attributes as he labored not only to prove himself but to connect to others whose incredible powers came at the cost of burying themselves. People like Todoroki, for whom Deku’s compassion helped immensely.
Seasons 2-4: The Versatile Heavy-Hitter
The latter half of Season 2 was a big turning point, as audiences could finally catch a glimpse of what Deku was capable of when each punch wasn’t destroying him. “Full-Cowling” was a game-changer that by Season 7’s standards might seem like child’s play, but that understandably blew minds back in 2017.With Gran Torino’s tutelage, Deku learnedto circulate One for All’s power through his whole body, allowing him to dispense it in healthy bursts.
With this well-earned boost, Deku started employing a lot more of All Might’s special attacks, albeit with the power reigned in. Sadly, when push came to shove, he wasn’t able to avoid injuring himself still when he exceeded the limits of what his body could handle. The training camp arc from the beginning of Season 3 left him particularly wrecked, but that just meant Deku needed to get smarter to compensate.
New Kicks, New Gloves, and Drip Aplenty
Deku’s outfit has gone through enough iterations that it warrants analysis in itself, but the most pertinent upgrades came during a time when he had to consider his limits. Additionally, Deku didn’t want to simply mimic All Might, opting instead to develop a fighting style all his own to take pressure off his consistently battered arms.Enter Mei Hatsune, UA Support Class member.
With the help of Mei’s armored “Iron Soles,” Deku developed the Shoot Style, a leg-based fighting style that emphasized speed and maneuverability. For a while, it became the meta in place of the normal Full-Cowling, and Deku would continue to rely on Mei for other such enhancements. In Season 4, he received the “Air Force Gloves,” which turned Deku’s finger flick attacks into stronger, more precise air canons, without the risk of breaking fingers.
Even the “Full Gauntlet” introduced in the 2018 filmTwo Heroes, developed by then-original character Melissa Shield, ended up being canonizedin later seasons as the “Mid-Gauntlet.”With this, Deku could unleash stronger blasts from One for All with less strain on the body. By this point inMy Hero Academia, Deku wasn’t merely becoming All Might, but crafting a unique identity all his own.
Seasons 5-7: The Kid Who Earned One for All
Deku’s evolution from zero to hero culminated in him tapping into the powers of the past wielders of One for All. It’s from this point until the eventual conclusion that Deku reaches his peak. More crucially, it’s the moment that his foundations are tested the most, as his mastery of them coincides with the most grueling challenges yet. It does help, then, that One for All’s complete suite of abilities is as versatile as Deku.
Each taken on their own, they are an eclectic and often situational bunch, but employed together,Deku uses them to their full potential. Blackwhip functionally turned his already dextrous fighting style into something akin to Spider-Man. The similarities only became more blatant upon the introduction of Danger Sense, which was essentially Spider-Sense.
Float was a pretty standard ability, but combined with something like Air Force, Deku could fire himself like a rocket. Fa Jin offers a similar benefit with its capacity to build up, store, and release kinetic energy from repeated motions. Finally, Gearshift - revealed duringthe recent rematch between Deku and Shigaraki- allows him to alter acceleration while ignoring inertia.
The Lesson of One for All
By Episode 153 as of the time of writing, Deku has unlocked every power within One for All and demonstrated near mastery of all of them, with room still yet to surprise viewers. Whereas he started with no quirks, now he has a whole arsenal. Disparate as they all seem, they work in beautiful tandem, and only so effectively because of the mind wielding them. Deku’s “final form” is entirely his own making rather than a shadow of someone like All Might.
The most practical lesson going into the Final War arc, then, despite all of Deku’s powers, is that not even he can carry the burden of saving the day alone.My Hero Academiaisa story about how anyone can be a hero, after all. For Deku, that’s his entire thesis, but it’s only articulated so well because of those who became inspired by him along the way and lent him a hand in return.
