Not everyone in My Hero Academia is a hero or even a good person but even the unpleasant and unheroic can be right at times.
Katsuki Bakugo
Katsuki Bakugo is a hot-tempered and rude former bully, not to mention the biggest jerk in Class 1-A, but he's also one of the smartest students in class (once the Leeroy Jenkins gets beaten out of him), and as such, makes many harsh but accurate points.
- He points out to Kirishima that attacking Kurogiri isn't being a Leeroy Jenkins, it's good tactics - since Kurogiri is Shiragaki's personal Villain: Exit, Stage Left. Taking him out will cripple the League of Villains. Gran Torino manages to later succeed in hindering the League of Villains by capturing Kurogiri, although they regret letting Gigantomachia get away (although considering Gigantomachia's sheer power, capturing him wasn't a feasible option at the moment).
- He also complains that his internship at Best Jeanist's was an utter waste of his time, which does hold some merit considering Best Jeanist seemed more interested in lecturing him, combing his hair and making Bakugo wear jeans than teaching him anything practical he could use. Best Jeanist did have a point about Bakugo's attitude problems, but his approach to solving them left much to be desired, especially since he's clearly rather lacking in the humility department himself. That being said, it's subtly implied that Bakugo is reconsidering his opinion on Best Jeanist, since he remembers his promise to tell Best Jeanist his hero name.
- Bakugo's singleminded focus on defeating his opponents to become the strongest Hero makes him come off as an arrogant and unlikeable jerk, but the teachers and Midoriya alike acknowledge that his tenacity and determination is what's required to reach the top, at the expense of likeability. Aizawa even states that Bakugo and Midoriya alike are at the forefront of Class 1-A because they motivate Class 1-A to push themselves and their Quirks to become stronger.
- Somewhat related to the above, when some of the spectators in the Sports Festival boo Bakugo's aggressively fighting Uraraka, Aizawa, who can also be a bit of a jerk sometimes, says that one of the hecklers is unworthy to be a hero, before adding that Bakugo is merely taking his opponent seriously and doing what it takes to win. It's interesting to note that while Uraraka was disappointed to ultimately lose to Bakugou, she's happy that she can say she gave it her all and even thanks Bakugou in her internal monologue for not taking it easy on her. Contrast with Tokoyami and Momo's match, as Tokoyami overwhelmed Momo easily, yet his approach of not directly attacking her and instead shoving her out of the ring as soon as possible actually leaves Momo with her confidence thoroughly shaken that she was beaten so easily and without getting a chance to actually test her own capabilities.
- During the fight against All Might in the Final Exams Arc, he points out that Midoriya's plan of avoiding All Might and running for the exit gate won't work because All Might's too fast, so they're going to have to fight him anyway. This is zigzagged considering that while Bakugo ultimately has a point on that issue, the two pass the test by escaping, rather than handcuffing All Might.
- While Bakugo was rude to Shindo, a fellow Provisional License examinee he'd only just met and who hadn't done anything to warrant that hostility, he correctly realized that Shindo was merely faking his friendliness.
- While Bakugo's mouthing off to the 'disaster victims' during the second part of the provisional license exam is a jerkish move, not to mention one that causes him to fail the exam, those actors were playing lightly-injured, low-priority victims. Even as they deduct points for his attitude, they wonder if his yelling at them to 'save themselves' was because he noticed. That being said, he still failed because of his attitude, making this example a Deconstructed Trope. Just because you have a valid point to make doesn't mean you get to be jerk about it.
- Bakugo gets one during the School Festival arc. He notices the resentment the general students have toward the Hero class and he bluntly points out that they cannot just walk on eggshells for something that they (the hero class) have no control over, pointing out that the other students don't deserve Class 1-A's courtesy when they fail to appreciate how traumatic it was for the class to get attacked by villains.
- In Chapter 257, Bakugo says that the previous users of One For All, besides All Might weren't all that impressive, since he's never heard of them. When Midoriya takes offense, Bakugo says that anyone would look impressive compared to a formerly Quirkless boy like Midoriya. All Might actually agrees with Bakugo to a certain extent, saying that All For One killed anyone who could be an impressive user, and most inheritors were chosen based on being in the general vicinity of the dying current wielder.
Other U.A. Characters
- Shota Aizawa, Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, is a rough Sink or Swim Mentor, who regularly criticizes his students, and has expelled entire classes for not meeting his high standards.note However, as heroes-in-training, his students will be facing danger on a regular basis, with not only their own lives but the lives of others on the line. It'd be irresponsible of Aizawa not to fail someone that lacks the potential when the alternative could lead to them, or someone else, getting killed down the line. Furthermore, he is willing to stick up for his students and offer advice while not afraid to show some pride in them. it takes on even deeper meaning when you learn that he was not much older than them when he saw one of his closest friends killed doing similar stuff to what they’re doing. He wants to do everything he can to prevent anyone else becoming like Oboro.
- He derides Midoriya during the aptitude test and threatens to expel him for this exact reason. While mean, he's completely right to question how he expects to become a hero when he can't control his quirk, and injures himself just using it, pointing out what a liability he would be to his team in battle. For his part, Deku does manage to find a way around this, by focusing on a finger to avoid breaking his arm.
- Minoru Mineta is an obnoxious, unashamed pervert who regularly harasses his female classmates, and is prone to developing an overinflated ego if he achieves anything, to the point where he’s among the most hated characters in the series. However, when it’s revealed that Midoriya didn’t receive any offers from Pro Heroes after the Sports Festival, he points out that it was because of the reckless, self-destructive way he fought against Todoroki, and makes the point shortly after Midoriya regains consciousness after said match. Say what you will about his other comments, but that particular observation is spot-on. In fact, while Tsuyu smacks him with her tongue and calls him out on his lack of tact, he smugly observes that she never said he was wrong.
- Hitoshi Shinso is grouchy and resentful of hero students and taunts his opponents relentlessly to get them to reply to him so that he can activate his Brainwashing quirk, but he isn't wrong that he was severely shafted by the system because of his quirk. Everyone in his childhood dismissed his dream of heroism because of his "villainous" quirk, and U.A.'s entrance exam was heavily weighted in favor of flashier and more combative quirks. Aizawa agrees that the exam's unfairnote and several heroes in the crowd point out that a quirk that can instantly and non-violently subdue people could be very useful for heroism. The Joint Training arc is partially about Shinso getting a chance to prove his chops in an actual combat situation, and he does well enough that he's admitted into the hero course.
Pro Heroes
- Endeavor is a terrible person who uses his family as a means to an end to make a hero who will surpass All Might, and his parenting methods resulted in his wife having an emotional breakdown and throwing boiling water in their son Shoto's face. However, he isn't wrong when he says that Shoto's desire to become the top hero without using the quirk he inherited from Endeavor is nothing more than a childish act of rebellion, even if he's the cause of Shoto's issues. Midoriya agrees, albeit for different reasons, pointing out that everyone else in their class is trying their hardest to become heroes. Shoto eventually lets go of his grudge enough to intern under his father, since for all his faults, incompetence is not one of them and he's actually a fairly good teacher.
- Endeavor's views on Shoto limiting and hampering himself by only using ice becomes much more prominent when it's revealed that Endeavor is forced to end his fights quickly lest he be overheated by his own Quirk and that the nature behind the Quirk marriage was the hope that Endeavor's children won't be screwed over like him, since Shoto's Quirk prevents both frostbite and overheating.
- The issue of Shoto's fire powers comes up again in Chapter 204 during the battle of Class 1-A vs. Class 1-B. Shoto ends up fighting against Tetsutetsu, who's able to counter both his ice and fire. As Tetsutetsu puts it, he trained and lived in a hearth to push his limits. In fact, those very words ends up reminding Shoto about what his dad said on Shoto holding back and not overcoming himself. Despite having a very powerful Quirk, he nearly lost and it was only when he began pushing himself he managed to scrape a draw for the team. He's clearly aware of this as he decides to ask his father about a technique called "Flashfire".
- Endeavor dismisses Bakugo's complaints about how he takes longer to get ready in the winter by bluntly pointing out that slight delays can mean the difference between life and death. Bakugo doesn't argue with him, and eventually helps Midoriya and Shoto capture Ending before Endeavor.
- Similar to Bakugo above, Endeavor's obsession with surpassing All Might led to his mistreatment of his family, but at the same time, his dedication to his hero work is seen as a positive trait. Even Shoto, who has not forgiven Endeavor for what he's done, acknowledges this, since he chooses to work with Endeavor's agency after the Sports Festival, wanting to learn from the #2 hero.
- Sir Nighteye, All Might's former sidekick, looks down on Midoriya for being an inferior successor to All Might's power of One For All compared to Nighteye's protégé Mirio. Considering that Mirio, a mere third-year at U.A., is already better than most professional heroes, Nighteye has a point. It's acknowledged when, after Mirio loses his Quirk, Midoriya considers giving him One For All to let him continue being a hero, only for Mirio to refuse him. That said, it's later revealed that One For All causes the wielder to rapidly age and die prematurely unless said wielder is Quirkless, meaning Mirio would have shared the fate of the fourth wielder if he'd inherited One For All, but no one knew this when All Might chose Midoriya to succeed him.
Other Characters
- Despite how cruel and mean it was many of the people who mocked and made fun of Midoriya for wanting to be a hero despite lacking a Quirk were actually right to call his dream ridiculous. Even All Might agreed it would be impossible before realizing his worth and deciding to pass One For All on to him. After becoming a hero in training Midoriya faced situations in which he wouldn't have possibly been able to succeed without a Quirk.
- Also from the first chapter, the Pro Heroes scold Midoriya for trying to save Bakugo from the Sludge Villain despite not having a Quirk or a hero license. It's rather harsh but they're right about how Midoriya only endangered himself without doing anything to directly help the situation. If Midoriya hadn't inspired All Might to take action he'd likely have gotten himself killed. In fact, when you consider that Gentle accidentally hindering a Pro Hero's rescue attempt ended up getting him sued, expelled and kicked out of his parents' house Midoriya arguably got off easy.
- There’s also Hero Killer Stain, whose points are valid enough to earn him an In-Universe fandom despite being a few cans short of a six-pack. He got his name by killing pro heroes who failed to live up to his strict Ideal Hero standards and while he tends to attack heroes for comparatively minor reasons (i.e. Iida's brother Ingenium because he saw heroism as a family business and worked with a lot of sidekicks) he’s absolutely correct that the hero industry tends to reward glory-seeking over altruism. Mount Lady's Establishing Character Moment is her stealing another hero's thunder and the previous arc revealed the #2 hero Endeavor to be a complete bastard in his personal life. He also points out that Iida is being unheroic by fighting for revenge instead of helping the hero he'd just attacked. Iida actually agreeing completely throws Stain off his game.
- In the third movie World Mission, Flect Turn is the fanatical head of Humarise, a cult dedicated to removing Quirks entirely by blackmailing and strong-arming scientists into creating a Deadly Gas version of the Quirk amplifier Trigger/Ideo-Trigger that forcefully activates a Quirk at the cost of its user’s life, many members including their leader having subscribed to Garaki’s callously dismissed suggestions about powers eventually becoming uncontrollable. It turns out some members actually have Quirks of their own and a few of them are only onboard with Flect just to ride his coattails. Flect himself possesses a Quirk, albeit one he never even bothered learning to try and control. Despite all this he’s technically right that Quirks have been responsible for troubles ranging from inconveniences to mass destruction despite people’s best efforts to curb the inevitable negative results of superpowers existing.
