Ensemble Dark Horse / My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia

It would be hard to pinpoint any one member of Class 1-A as more popular than the rest. Overall, as they get more and more focus, everyone has gotten more than a little love. Then as Class 1-B and other students show up, it's becoming quite apparent that the whole school is filled with darkhorses. To make it even bigger, it's almost granted that any character introduced will gather their own fanbase.

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Class 1-A

• Denki Kaminari managed to place 10th in the first character popularity poll despite having little focus compared to the other nine characters found in the top 10. He continued to be placed 11th and 8th in the 2nd and 3rd popularity poll, respectively, despite his continued lack of focus.
• Despite his continued lack of focus throughout the series, Mashirao Ojiro has been slowly moving up in the popularity polls in Japan, going from 14th, to 12th, to 11th in the first three. Especially surprising considering his biggest role is still deciding to not take part in the Sports Festival tournament. He even has a subreddit dedicated to him.
• Sero is a background character through and through, but he is, nonetheless, constantly ranking in the top 20 on Japanese popularity pools, and Horikoshi has gone on to mention that he has a surprisingly large female fanbase in Japan.
• Though she's mostly been a Plucky Comic Relief thus far, Mina Ashido is very beloved by fans for her upbeat attitude, being one of the best physical fighters of the girls, and generally being a lot of fun whenever she shows up in focus. Many fans wish she'll have a major part to play in a later arc.
• Mezo Shoji has some fans in the West for being a respectful and stoic Nice Guy as well as being an example of Freaky Is Cool. Also, a surprising number of fangirls find him to be a bizarre version of sexy.
• Fumikage Tokoyami is very popular, for having both a cool and powerful Quirk and a valiant personality that's earned him the Fan Nickname "Birdbro"/"Chocobro". And some circles have found his kind of dorky affinity for dark and dramatic things rather endearing. He placed 7th in both of the first Japanese and American character polls.
• By far the biggest surprise in the second Japanese popularity poll is Kyoka Jiro's position as 7th, making her the most popular female character in Japan at the time, beating even main character Uraraka (10th) and Breakout Character Tsuyu (9th).

Class 1-B

• Honestly, Class 1-B as a whole is one. Despite being given barely any focus outside mostly Sports Festival, School Trip and Joint Training Arcs thus far, they all have dedicated fans and are generally well-liked.
• Despite her relatively minor role in the series so far, even in comparison to other students outside of the main class, Itsuka Kendo was popular enough to make 13th place in the first character popularity poll, maintaining a sizeable fanbase since then. Horikoshi himself remarked that before she even had any role or debut, his editors were fond of her. Her Running Gag with Monoma is probably a reason.
• In the same vein as Kendo, Tetsutetsu is also very popular despite his limited role in the series so far but his Bash Brothers relationship with fellow student Kirishima is a recurring theme in Fan Fiction and has made him a fan favourite as well.
• Shihai Kuroiro gained a small fanbase when he appeared in the Joint Training Arc, due to his Creepy Good tendencies, being a rival to Tokoyami, and having a rather adorable crush on Kinoko Komori.
• Although she hasn't done much, Pony Tsunotori is rather well-liked in the West and appears in a lot of fan art due to being a Funny Foreigner from America, having a rather cute design, and being a possible Shout-Out to My Little Pony.
• Setsuna Tokage is another beloved side character from 1-B. Many fans love her provocative personality, creative use of her quirk, and very attractive looks. The fact that she is a recommended student like Shoto, Momo and Honeuyuki, but had zero time to show off her skills during her fight against Bakugo at the Joint Trainning arc also led to her fitting the category.
• Yui Kodai gained popularity since her proper introduction at the Joint Training arc due to her stoic looks and how she seems to be a fan of Ultraman with her costume. The fact that Ochako was originally meant to have her design and Quirk has also led to her being among Midoriya's most popular pairings in fan fics.
• Reiko Yanagi. Fans love her Creepy Good and Goth looks and personality, and ever since her introduction, she became the most popular pairing to Tokoyami.

Pro Heroes

• In the West, Gran Torino is actually pretty popular, placing 11th in the U.S. popularity poll.
• Mt. Lady has a relatively sizable fanbase, if mainly due to her looks and costume. The implication that she has more heroic ideals than she lets in on furthers this.
• Midnight gets this due to her appearance and her willingness to help her students. A few fans were quite torn up by her death.
• Present Mic despite his secondary role in the main story and being practically a minor character in Vigilantes, is clearly one of the favorites of the Japanese Fandom, reaching eighth place in the seventh popularity poll.
• Since fics like to avoid the There Are No Therapists mindset from canon, Hound Dog counts as one too, especially in the fics where Midoriya handles his psychological trauma from abuse, and the ones where Bakugo gets a treatment to improve his poor attitude. Given how both go through a case of Face of a Thug, some fics go further, and make Hound Dog a mentor of sorts to the explosive teen.
• As of Chapter 184 we have the Rabbit Hero Mirko, who's quickly garnered a fanbase due to her muscular build, as well as the fact that she's the highest-ranked female hero so far. Mirko also draws similarities with Midoriya, both in terms of their rabbit imagery and their kick-based style of combat, which has her fans wishing that he would intern under her in the future. She received a cameo in the second ending of the anime’s fourth season, and around the time of her official animated debut in said season's penultimate episode, the manga had her in a very important role during the opening part of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, cementing her popularity. A younger Mirko was also featured in a flashback arc of the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes spin-off. The My Hero Academia subreddit even briefly featured Mirko as their subreddit icon! And, like many of the characters listed here, she has a subreddit completely dedicated to her. AND Horikoshi's twitter art post for 2023 New Year's Day with her and few Class 1-A members in her costumes managed to get more than 600 thousand likes, while also becoming the most liked Horikoshi's tweet.
• The anime Canon Immigrant Selkie and his sidekick Sirius both gathered a large amount of fans. On one side, you have Selkie's Mr. Fanservice status, especially to Bara fans, his badassery and funny attempts at coming off as cute, while Sirius is a Cool Big Sis to the already popular Tsuyu, her useful Quirk and her comical routine with her boss. Many were happy when they returned in Season 5, even if it was for another Filler episode.
• By far, the biggest surprise in the fourth popularity poll was Best Jeanist, who placed 6th, losing only to Bakugo, Todoroki, Midoriya, Kirishima and Hawks. It certainly has to do with his Heroic Sacrifice against All For One and being voiced by a rather popular voice actor in Japan. Many were pleasantly surprised by him surviving his injuries and returning in the Paranormal Liberation War Arc where he pulled a massive Big Damn Heroes moment.
• Gunhead gets only few scenes but still managed to gain a few supporters due to how much of a Gentle Giant he is towards people, including Uraraka, also teaching her moves that she's going to use a lot later in the story.
• Ms. Joke gets this from a few fans, if mainly just due to her hilarious interactions with Aizawa. It can be common to find fans shipping her and Aizawa together, something that she seems to tease.
• Fat Gum has a fanbase due to being a goofy Nice Guy and Gentle Giant who has a neat Quirk and is very supportive and proud of his interns. His real form actually being pretty handsome probably adds to it. He even ranked 20th on the popularity polls.
• Ryukyu is relatively well-liked for being one of the few heroes who isn't out for fame and fortune, being a Cool Big Sis to her interns, and her awesome ability to turn into a Weredragon.
• Burnin managed to get a few fans when she appeared in the anime due to her humorous lines and generally being helpful to Endeavor and the interns. Her English voice actress may have something to do with it.

Villains

• While Mr. Compress was generally liked for his Team Dad tendencies, Chapter 294 saw him gain a sharp spike in popularity thanks in no small part to how good-looking he was revealed to be.
• Despite being a Hate Sink, Muscular has a small fanbase thanks to his cool power, being an Ax-Crazy Blood Knight, and his fight with Midoriya being considered one of the best fights in the entire series. Fans were pleasantly surprised when he returned in the Tartarus Escapees Arc to fight Midoriya once again…even if he's on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle this time.
• Mustard has become one as well. Since nothing, not even his real name, is known about him, that actually makes him a clean slate fan fic writers to expand his character in many directions, most of them he is represented as a Tragic Villain, shunned because of his "villainous quirk".
• Out of all the Shie Hassaikai members, Kendo Rappa seems to be the most well-liked due to being an Affably Evil Blood Knight who has no real loyalty to the monstrous Overhaul and is only in it for a good fight. He also respects worthy opponents and is a Graceful Loser when defeated. He even manages to appear in an arc of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, fighting alongside Mirko.
• The Meta Liberation Army as a whole has become this ever since their introduction, specially since their diminished role during and after the Paranormal Liberation War. Many fans accuse Horikoshi of using them as means to power-up the League for the War Arc.
• Lady Nagant, formerly known by fans only by her prison identification of Inmate No. 656698, is a female prisoner with striped hair originally locked away in Tartarus, who made her debut in Chapter 297 by freeing Overhaul during the prison break was quickly gobbled up by many admirers in the fandom due to her voluptuous figure and her cute face. She became even more popular after showing off her skills as a Cold Sniper against Midoriya. The reveal of her sympathetic backstory and the fact that Midoriya was able to sway her upped her popularity even more.

Other Characters

• Inko Midoriya has her fans because of her loving nature towards Izuku and her realistic depiction. For some, it's also because of her Big Beautiful Woman appeal.
• Mei Hatsume has her share of fans due to her otaku-level love for technology and throwing her fight against Iida just to show off her inventions. Not to mention, a few fans find her quite "attractive".
• Despite his diminished role in the series following his fight with Midoriya, Hitoshi Shinso made quite the impression in the fandom as he ranked 12th in the first popularity poll. Even when the second popularity poll came around, Shinso only dropped down to 14th despite being non-existent in the story apart from a brief cameo. He eventually jumps to 10th in the third poll, even without doing anything yet. Additionally, an entire zine dedicated to Shinso, made by fans, was announced. There's also how many fanworks tend to get rid of Mineta and put Shinso as a Class 1-A character, as many think that he deserves the spotlight much more than the Rat Bitch. Suffice it to say when Shinso came back for the Joint Training Arc and it was confirmed he would transfer to the hero course, the fandom was pleased.
• Yo Shindo seems to be one in Japan, particularly with the ladies since he's an Ikemen stereotype. Despite playing a rather minor role in the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, he came in 20th in the second popularity poll. Following that, he scored 14th in the fourth poll, and 15th in the fifth. It then came as a shock to a lot of people by the time of the sixth popularity poll where despite still having not reappeared since the previously mentioned Exam arc, Shindo has actually risen up to the Top-10; getting enough votes to score 9th place. His popularity may have even been the reason for his brief appearance in the Villain Hunt Arc.
• Camie Utsushimi became a fan favorite due to her Ditzy Genius personality, creative Quirk and very attractive looks. She also became a popular pairing for Bakugo, leading to hilarious Odd Couple dynamics.
• Taneo Tokuda, the freelance journalist from the anime-original Recap Episode, is well-liked by the fandom for being an Awesome by Analysis Sheep in Sheep's Clothing who came to U.A. only to privately and personally ensure there's Hope Spot for the world. The fact he's preparing a book about Deku only raises the intrigue, with many fans wishing for him to come back.
• The unnamed giant fox woman (nicknamed as "Ippan Josei"/"Ordinary Girl") whom Midoriya saved from being attacked by panicked civilians quickly earned a following for being a Gentle Giant and for her furry appeal. That she would later offer her support for Midoriya staying at U.A. and give him a Cooldown Hug only made her more popular.