There are many different influences that have shaped the My Hero Academia universe. Here are the 20 most profound characters in My Hero Academia.

20 Best My hero academia Characters:

20. Suneater (Tamaki Amajiki)

Tamaki Amajiki goes by the hero name “Suneater” and is part of the “Big Three” at U. A. High School. He’s a shy and timid hero who has a strong moral compass but tends to not get involved in petty conflicts or anything that requires too much energy. This is because of how he grew up never being able to make friends from transferring schools constantly. Amajiki’s confidence kept getting chipped away until he met Mirio Togata, a bright, cheerful boy whose Permeation quirk never stopped him and he never lost confidence. To Amajiki, he was the Sun so in turn, Mirio told Amajiki to become someone great enough that they can even eat the Sun itself.

Tamaki Amajiki’s quirk “Manifest” allows him to use the specialized traits of the animals and plants that he eats in battle. Takoyaki can give him multiple octopus arms and fried chicken can give him razor-sharp claws and beak. With an imaginative quirk like Manifest and amazing confidence development, Tamaki is a good start to this list.

19. All for One

This series couldn’t even begin without All for One. His real name is unknown so he goes by the name of his quirk “All for One.” It is arguably the most powerful quirk in existence as this quirk gives the user the power to steal and use other people’s quirks, stockpiling powers until one could figuratively become a God. Such a dangerous existence is something to reckon with and this power being given to a man with only malicious and imperialistic goals is very bad. All for One will not hesitate to use anything and anyone to complete his goal of creating a world where he can control everyone’s quirk and use it to become a God of the world. Serving as the tru mastermind behind the show’s plot, All for One is a great character whose evil conviction makes our heroes’ goal that much better.

18. Deku (Izuku Midoriya)

The protagonist and future “No. 1 Hero,” Izuku Midoriya is a kind, righteous, and humble boy willing to go any lengths to protect civilians and the people closest to him. Izuku was born Quirkless which made up only 20% of the world’s population; a true minority. Due to this, he was bullied his whole life and longed to get a quirk and become a hero like his idol All Might. Giving up on his dream one day, he gets saved by All Might and through a series of events, All Might entrusts his power to Izuku because of his true spirit as a hero.

Izuku, or his hero name Deku, has struggled a lot in finding ways to adapt to the powers he got and keep his body stable due to the sheer overflowing energy that his new quirk, One for All, possesses. One for All is a combination of two quirks that has been passed down for almost a century: the ability to pass down quirks and the ability to stockpile power. Deku does make very reckless and danger-inducing decisions but he is a true hero at heart and never fails to step up and bring justice to the criminals that harm innocent people.

17. Sir Nighteye (Mirai Sasaki)

Sir Nighteye or Mirai Sasaki is a great example of the dawning of a new era. Nighteye was All Might’s former sidekick but believed that the hero pushed himself way too far for the civilians’ sake way too many times and felt frustrated that it felt like All Might didn’t care about how much he was worrying his fellow heroes. This created a massive rift between the two but through Deku’s help, Nighteye was able to reconcile with All Might slowly and both sides were able to come to terms with the past and move forward against a greater threat. Unfortunately, this became too late ultimately, as Nighteye was tragically killed in battle. His memory as Deku’s provisional licensing mentor will forever be etched into his memory as Deku takes on bigger threats.

Sir Nighteye’s quirk is “Foresight.” He is able to see someone’s future for up to one hour just by touching them. However, this quirk is more complicated than it seems. The future is shown from a third-person perspective, giving Nighteye a limited amount of spatial information to work with. To master this quirk at Nighteye’s level is not something one can scoff at.

16. Midnight (Nemuri Kayama)

Midnight or Nemuri Kayama was always known as the fan-service that My Hero Academia needed. She was mature, sexy, had an erotic costume, and even had a femme-fatale-type quirk. However, we soon learned that Midnight was much more than that. She’s brave and always puts her students first in any situation. Her humor and teasing bring a mellow atmosphere to her and make her approachable to students at U. A. Her quirk “Somnambulist” causes her to constantly release a sleep-inducing gas that incapacitates her opponents.

15. Overhaul (Kai Chisaki)

The word “great” might not fit for this man but his impact in how the Hero Association has changed its dealings and the League of Villains’ development is something that is crucial to the later events of the story. Kai Chisaki is a largely emotionless man who uses anything in his power to forward his goal of having a monopoly over quirks to erase them from existence. With that, his boss’s yakuza family would prosper and become all-powerful. The boss opposed this form of violence so Overhaul used his quirk to put him in a coma and take over the family in his stead, forcing the boss’s granddaughter to constantly use her quirk to meet his expectations.

Chisaki’s quirk is “Overhaul” which allows the user to disassemble and reassemble anything one touches. An arm that has an infection can be reassembled so that the injury was never there in the first place. Cancer, diseases, injuries, infrastructure, money; anything can be taken apart and remade into a completely different identity. Powers like these make it very difficult for anyone to oppose you as you have the power to kill in one touch. Overhaul’s cold demeanor and calculatingly murderous intent makes him a great villain and character.

14. Red Riot (Eijiro Kirishima)

Initially known as the hot-headed brat who charged headfirst into anything they thought was righteous, Kirishima is slowly learning the nuances behind being a hero. His connection with Bakugo and the rest of 1-A has made him more sensitive to others and the expectations placed on him as he always felt that he was powerless and couldn’t protect anyone. His idol hero, Crimson Riot, gave him to courage to apply as a hero and through his training and experience with Fat Gum, Kirishima has started to develop a new sense of courage: the courage to stand tall in the face of any danger. Throughout the show, e has slowly been realizing the true essence of a hero and continues to use his Hardening quirk to power through any obstacles in his path.

13. Eraserhead (Shota Aizawa)

Always the gloomy, depressed unshaven mug of a homeroom teacher in Class 1-A, Aizawa has proven himself time and time again to be one of the greatest teachers and unspoken legends among the Hero Association. A man who doesn’t care about recognition and fame and solely gives himself up for the sake of his students and civilians, Aizawa is a hilarious depiction of a realistic hero in modern time: too lazy to wake up for school in the morning but will definitely save the day no matter what. Along with being a great hero, he teaches his students the lessons that school won’t and support them to his last breath, never conceding their safety one inch.

Aizawa’s quirk is a very powerful one as well with a huge limitation: Erasure. Eraserhead is able to turn off people’s quirks for as long as he can stare at them. This becomes difficult due to his dry-eye condition and it only gets worse through subsequent villain attacks. Nonetheless, he proves himself to be an undeniable asset on the battlefield.

12. Gran Torino (Sorahiko Torino)

A veteran of a forgotten time, Gran Torino is a living relic of a previous age of heroes. He fought alongside Nana Shimura, All Might’s predecessor, and watched her die at the hands of All Might himself. Struck with the guilt and grief of not being strong enough to save his friend, he trains All Might with One For All in order to make sure the same thing never happens. Due to Gran Torino’s harsh training, All Might became the greatest hero and brought down All for One all those years ago. Gran Torino also taught Deku how to control One for All throughout his body and serves as an important mentor for the future holders of that power.

His quirk is “Jet” which takes the breath from the lungs and transfers it to the open holes at the soles of the user’s feet. This allows the user to shoot pressurized air blasts out of his feet and move at extremely fast speeds, possibly even fly. Each air pulse requires switching breaths and can become a strain on the user.

11. Kota Izumi

Kota is the son of the deceased husband-wife hero pair Water Hose that died at the hands of Muscular, a ruthless villain who has a similar quirk to Deku. This caused Kota to hate heroes because he believed that they all don’t care about their families and will gladly go and die for others, leaving their loved ones behind. Kota’s cousin, the pro hero mandalay, told him that one day he’ll understand why his parents died.

When Kota is cornered by Muscular during the League of Villains’ raid on the summer training camp, Deku sacrifices both his arms and almost gives his life to save Kota, causing him to burst into tears and realizing why his parents died as heroes. Kota becomes more open to heroes and now admires Deku. His presence as someone who looks up to Deku as a hero is something that is very profound in MHA as Deku always wanted someone to think of him like he thought All Might.

10. Recovery Girl (Chiyo Shuzenji)

The unsung hero of My Hero Academia deserves the Big 10 spot on this list from the sheer amount of times she saved Deku from certain death. At the examination center, from multiple villains, the sports festival, etc. Recovery Girl has always helped out U. A. in healing any injury possible for the students. Although she cannot regrow lost limbs, she can heal broken bones in seconds and even more extensive injuries in an hour. However, her quirk “Heal” only speeds up the body’s healing process and thus requires a large amount of stamina from the patients. Sometimes, she can heal too much that all the stamina is gone from the patient, causing their death. Of course this doesn’t usually happen because of how capable Recovery Girl is.

9. Dynamight (Katsuki Bakugo)

The popular deuteragonist of the series, Katsuki is a hotheaded, arrogant, crude, and brash boy who carries a lot of pride. Initially, he looked down and bullied people weaker than him, especially Deku, due to him being praised for his natural genius towards athletics, his quirk, and academics. However, his pride starts being chipped away as Deku proves himself to be stronger and stronger. Intensely hateful of Deku’s progress, it’s later revealed how jealous he always was of Deku in the way he could have that much courage despite having no courage which made Bakugo feel pathetic. Although their relationship is rough, they’ve acknowledged each other as rivals and are working together to become the greatest heroes.

Bakugo also has, arguable, one of the most powerful quirks in the series: Explosion. His sweat is actually a nitroglycerin-based substance that can be ignited at his palms. Depending on the strain he applies and the sweat produced, he can control the size and range of the explosions he creates as well as using explosions to change his airborne trajectory and many other applications. Bakugo is a villain-destroying machine who is seriously too powerful.

8. Dabi (Toya Todoroki)

Dabi has always persisted as a largely enigmatic character, supporting his comrades one time and then threatening to burn them alive the next. Although his alignment has been consistently solid, his tru intentions have never been revealed. That is, until the recent chapters. Dabi’s mischievous and sadistic attitude is a result of his upbringing as a child of Endeavor. He is the presumed-dead oldest son of Endeavor, Toya Todoroki. Dabi’s quirk “Cremation” is an extremely powerful version of Endeavor’s quirk which was the main reason behind his torment as a child. Being seen as nothing but a means to surpass All Might, Dabi’s survival of his accidental death caused him to have a burning rage against Endeavor. His character is a very well-written one that confuses family and duty.

7. Shoto Todoroki

On the other spectrum of the Todoroki family, we have the popular hero prodigy himself. Shoto Todoroki was a product of his father, Endeavor’s genetic selection to give his child the perfect combination of his mother’s Ice quirk and his father’s Hellflame quirk. Trained his whole life to uphold the Todoroki name and surpass All Might, Shoto also grew to hate his father but in turn, learned to deal with it and never turned evil as a result. LAter in the story, we realize how much Shoto serves as a foil to Toya as they exist wthin two sides of the same coin.

Shoto also has an extremely powerful quirk that came from the genetic selection of his mother and father. HIs quirk “Half-Cold, Half-Hot” allows him to use Endeavor’s flame on his left and his mother’s Ice quirk on his right. Overuse of either side causes burns or frostbite but the presence of the other can offset the one. This makes Shoto truly versatile in any battle. Shoto’s story in being able to accept his father’s flames on the left side makes him a great and complex character.

6. Twice

Not many times do we feel genuine sadness and anger when a villain dies to a hero’s hand and Twice is a perfect example of that. Twice is someone who became a victim of his own quirk. His quirk allowed himself to multiply himself but the personalities of each different clone caused him to have a split psyche, causing him great stress and anxiety. However, he gained friends at the League of Villains and his bond with Toga allowed him to see that he can become his own person and he doesn’t need to feel lost about his identity anymore. This caused him great peace of mind and the ability to properly protect his friends until his tragic death by the hands of Hawks.

5. Stain

Stain is an interesting character, to put it bluntly. His ideas are something that cannot be fully rebutted because of how true it is, at its root. Stain believes that the world is riddled with fake heroes, people who only save others to gain recognition and raise their own rank in the Hero Association. He believed that all heroes except All Might didn’t deserve to live pretending that they truly want to save heroes when they yearn for rank and money. In response, Stain started hunting and killing heroes he saw unfit. All Might, in his eyes, was the most powerful hero of all time and still gave his 100% to save everyone possible. In Stain’s eyes, All Might is the one hero that deserves to live. When fighting Deku, Shoto, and Iida, he mysteriously acknowledges Deku as one of the good ones.

Stain went far enough to even save Deku from a Nomu because he believed that heroes like him and All Might are the only ones that deserve to preserve the peace. His quirk is “Bloodthirsty” which allows him to paralyze someone by tasting their blood. The duration of their paralysis depends on their blood type.

4. Tomura Shigaraki

Tomura is one of the most tragic characters in My Hero Academia. He is the grandson of Nana Shimura who had to grow up in an abusive household due to his father’s influence. His father was neglected due to Nana’s job as a hero and when she died, Tomura’s father grew to hate her. Suffocated by the constant reminder by his father that heroes are worth nothing coupled with numerous beatings, Tomura’s quirk unexpectedly awakened and caused him to accidentally kill his own family. When his father calls him a monster, Tomura angrily kills his father and takes refuge in All for One, changing his name to Tomura Shigaraki. TOmura has served as the proxy villain this entire time for All For One, serving as his vessel and carrying out his will until he inherits All for One’s power.

His quirk is “Decay” which allows him to disintegrate anything he touches. Initially strong enough to only crumble away rocks, Shigaraki’s independent actions and careful planning/training has allowed him to become powerful enough to disintegrate hospitals and acres of land around him.

3. Hawks (Keigo Takami)

Hawks grew up in a tough, unloving environment as he was always blamed for being born for as long as he can remember. His father was a criminal who physically abused his mother and him daily as his mother resented him for causing her this pain as they never wanted to give birth to him. After his father was arrested, his mom had to work to feed him and even asked why he was even born with wings if they can’t bring food to the table. Eventually, Hawks used this as fuel to become a great hero that helped people not fall to the same despair that he felt as a result of having a criminal as a father. Endeavor was the one who captured his dad, causing him to admire him for that action and push him to become a hero.

Hawks was a double spy for the Hero Association, feeding them information while pretending to be on good terms with the villains. However, when he’s forced to kill Twice, he’s horrified and guilt-ridden as he realizes the nuances between villains and heroes and how sentiments are not polarized. As the No. 2 ranked hero, having this dualist mentality makes him a great ally and rational person on the field. His Quirk gives him massive scarlet wings on his back that he can freely manipulate into a weapon, transportation, and other uses.

2. Endeavor (Eiji Todoroki)

The current No. 1 hero, endeavor has gone through a lot, both good things and bad things. He’s been a terrible father and husband due to his mental and physical abuse towards his wife and family, even completely neglecting his “useless” children that never manifested a strong quirk. Ever since he was young, he developed his quirk and once he became aware of All Might’s strength, he stopped at nothing to surpass him. However, once he started using his own children and realized the horrors of what he did, he’s consistently trying to repent and become the man he should have been all those years ago. My Hero Academia brings in such a nuanced character because of how even the strongest can have bad traits and nothing is true at face value. His quirk is “Hellflame” which allows him to produce massive flames reaching temperature of the Sun’s surface.

1. All Might (Toshinori Yagi)

The former No. 1 hero and greatest savior of Earth, All Might rose to the ranks as the greatest hero of all time due to his unwavering sense of justice and courage to step into any danger. He was never this powerful and confident forever, though, as he was once Quirkless with an aim to become a pillar that everyone can rely on. Believing that crime persisted because there were multiple small heroes and no single pillar that was a symbol to all, he wished to become that person who people thought of to come and save the day. Hearing his conviction, Nana Shimura decided to give him One For All and from then, All Might became the world’s best hero. Even then, All Might was not invincible like he proclaimed. We learn that All Might is a weak person who is frightened to death whenever he has to face an opponent that has the power of wiping out hundreds of lives. However, he sucks it up and takes the responsibility as he made a promise to his predecessor to always be a hero with a smile on his face.