Summary
Despite how beloved of a seriesMy Hero Academiahas become over the years, like every anime, it still features a few scenes and reveals that ended up being quite controversial among the fanbase. When an author decides to take a bold risk with their story, it’s always going to split opinions, and it’s fair to say Horikoshi has done this numerous times with his immensely popular manga and anime series.
Having divisive elements doesn’t mean a story needs to be bad, though. In fact, they can be good for creating a dialogue between viewers and readers concerning the story and its direction, but even today, many are still split in their opinions on these specific scenes listed below. It’s time to take a deeper look at the most controversial moments in all ofMy Hero Academia,but before jumping in, it should be prefaced that this list will contain spoilers for the entire series, including the end of the manga.
8Midoriya Uses Eri’s Quirk To Beat Overhaul
Midoriya Takes Overhaul Down Pretty Easily With Eri Helping Him
Usually, when Midoriya is facing off against a tough opponent, he is forced to push himself to his absolute limit to pull out the power he needs to take them down eventually. In his battle against Overhaul, though, things were a little different. Because Midoriya had Eri on his back using herRewind Quirk, Midoriya was able to remain at 100% power without his body tearing itself apart, allowing him to overcome Overhaul pretty easily, even after he had mutated into a giant monster.
It was an incredibly creative way to end the fight, but it also didn’t really push Midoriya’s power forward in any way and had barely any consequences for him physically, considering his body was continuously being restored. Depending on the person, this scene either acts as an epic climax or an unsatisfying end to an otherwise great story arc.
7Hawks Kills Twice
Hawks Is A Shady Hero Who Always Has Fans Guessing What He’s Going To Do Next
When Hawks is first introduced in the Pro Hero arc, it becomes clear pretty quickly that this is a guy who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty if it helps in maintaining the status quo. Despite this, nobody would have thought that Hawks would go through with murdering Twice in cold blood, especially since he was by far the friendliest and most pure-hearted out of theLeague of Villains.
Considering Twice’s Sad Man Parade ability had already been shown to be incredibly dangerous and capable of killing thousands of people in barely any time at all, Hawks decided to strike the villain down, ending his life for good. It may have been the necessary action to take, but not every fan agreed with the way Hawks decided to go about this, especially because it eventually came back on him later down the road with Dabi’s Dance.
6Nighteye’s Death
Some Felt Nighteye’s Quirk Was Far Too Useful For Him To Be Killed So Early On
All Might’s biggest fan and sidekick, Nighteye, possessed one of the most powerful Quirks in the entire series. Foresight allowed Nighteye to peek into the future, making him an incredibly useful asset for the heroes, but unfortunately, the serious and stoic hero meets his untimely end after being impaled during theOverhaul arc, only a few episodes after he’s first introduced to the series.
While Nighteye’s passing was definitely an emotional moment, especially when he started admitting his newfound confidence in Midoriya being One For All’s successor, it also felt like a bit of a waste, considering how important this guy would have been in future arcs. A common theory is that Horikoshi simply realized how absolutely overpowered Nighteye’s Quirk was and decided to remove him before things got too complicated, though it was a decision that resulted in a mixed reception from fans.
5Mirio Gets His Quirk Back
After Losing His Quirk To One Of Overhaul’s Bullets, Mirio Regains It Back Thanks To Eri
One of the saddest moments in the entire series is when Mirio, a top hero at U.A. academy who worked tirelessly to master his Permeation Quirk, has his abilityremoved in the blink of an eyeafter being shot by a Quirk-Destroying Bullet. Seeing Mirio try to hold himself together and continue smiling after such a horrifying scenario was truly saddening and added a lot to Mirio’s character.
During the final war, however, Mirio randomly shows up to announce that, thanks to Eri’s Rewind Quirk, he has been able to regain his own Quirk, allowing him to get involved in the final fight against Shigaraki. Seeing Mirio get to duke it out with the main villain of the series is a real feast for the eyes, considering how strong he is, but many still feel that it takes away slightly from the emotional impact of having his Quirk stolen in the Overhaul arc, which did a lot for his character development.
4Star And Stripe Is Killed In Action
Star And Stripe’s Lack Of Screentime Has Been A Matter Of Contention Ever Since She First Appeared
Star and Stripe is a rather odd character in the series. Despite being the number one hero in America with a Quirk that can literally change the rules and properties of anything she lays her hands on, Star and Stripe only appears in the series for a single fight before being killed by Shigaraki. The main point of conversation surrounding Star and Stripe since her debut has been her overall relevance to the story.
Considering she was able to slow Shigaraki down and even remove a few of the Quirks gifted to him byAll For One, alongside pushing back his recovery time, she seemed like a pretty important addition to some fans. However, since Shigaraki would end up still becoming immensely strong in the final arc regardless, others are still baffled as to why she was introduced in the first place, despite being such a cool hero in her own right.
3The Students Forgive The U.A. Traitor
Yuga Was Forgiven Surprisingly Quickly Despite Being A Traitor
While the reveal that Aoyama had actually been a mole working for All For One was already a huge shock, what really got people talking was how quickly Midoriya and the others decided to forgive him. When looking back, Aoyama would have been the one responsible for alerting the villains to the students' location at numerous points in the story, including in the Forest Training Camp, which is where Bakugo was kidnapped.
Despite him being blackmailed and essentially forced to work under All For One, getting off this easily didn’t feel all that realistic, especially since there didn’t really seem to be any kind of moral dilemma between the students. While it’s nice not to linger on the reveal for too long, considering the war was right around the corner, many agree it definitely could have been handled much better than it was.
2Miodirya Inherits Previous Users' Quirks
Though the idea of Midoriya inheritingthe Quirks of the previous One For All userswas first lightly hinted back in the School Sport Festival, the actual grand reveal of the Vestiges was a moment that sparked tons of online discussions and debates. While some people felt Midoriya was getting too much power handed down to him far too easily, which would end up making him overpowered, it didn’t help that the reveal also felt a little jarring considering how suddenly Blackwhip and Banjo pop up.
However, there were also fans who saw a lot of potential with the idea of Midoriya being able to use a bunch of Quirks at once since it would give him more abilities to learn and master over the course of the story. In the end, Horikoshi would do an excellent job at integrating these extra abilities into Midoriya’s battles, but it’s fair to say people were pretty worried when the whole system was first explained.
1Bakugo’s Sacrifice
Should Bakugo Have Lost His Life In His Epic Battle Against Shigaraki?
Sure, Bakugo may be considered one of the main characters of the series, consideringhow much screentime he gets, but it’s in the final war where he truly gets to put his immense underlying power on full display. While Shigaraki manages to hold his own against the dangerous Shigaraki, even unleashing his brand-new Strafe Panzer form during the battle, eventually, Bakugo’s heart would be literally ripped to shreds by the villain, leaving him a lifeless corpse on the floor.
Considering everything Bakugo had been through in his personal character arc, having him die here would have been such an emotionally fitting way to end off his story, by laying down his own life for the sake of protecting others as a true hero would. This is why the decision to have Edgeshot seemingly appear out of nowhere to revive Bakugo became such a divisive topic. Some fans were overjoyed to see this explosive aspiring hero be brought back into the action, while others felt this was the perfect opportunity to kill off an important character to raise the stakes of the story while also rounding out Bakugo’s personal arc in the process.
