Anime characters can sometimes feel a bit distant, their concerns having very little in common with the lives of the viewers. But occasionally, that is not the case at all. Excellent examples come from the popular shonen anime. my hero academia. The massive cast of Kohei Horikoshi’s famous series is packed with incredibly relatable figures.
Viewers find it easy to see their own struggles within the experiences of my hero academia characters. This trend is not limited to heroes, as even villains have motivations that resonate with my hero academia fans. In fact, one of the best things about my hero academia is that its villains can be just as relatable as its heroes. Overall, this makes the conflict more interesting and the narrative more complex.
10 Shoto Todoroki’s aloof demeanor hides a social awkwardness born of trauma
One of the most popular characters my hero academia In the anime, Shoto Todoroki starts off as aloof and mysterious, even going out of his way to point out that he’s not in UA to make friends. He becomes immensely likeable and close after the UA Sports Festival. During a confrontation with Izuku Midoriya, he reveals that his Pro Hero’s father Endeavor practically raised him as a weapon, a tool to ultimately dethrone All Might from his number one hero position.
It is for this reason that Shoto chooses not to use the fire side of his quirk. Izuku communicates with him at great personal cost and the two become friends. Through Izuku, viewers see Shoto’s true social awkwardness, as well as character traits that make him even more human, such as his preference for cold soba and conspiracy theories.
9 Ochako Uraraka’s financial motivations make her very realistic and approachable
The young heroes of Class 1-A have a plethora of different reasons for choosing their careers. Ochako Uraraka is unique in that her motivation is perhaps one of the most relatable of them all. Her parents are struggling financially because her business is no longer successful.
Ochako wishes to become a successful heroine so that her family will take it easy and no longer have money problems. The materialistic vision of him has earned him the censorship of some my hero academia fans, but others find her very realistic and relatable. After all, money makes the world go around and anyone who has experienced poverty can understand that.
8 Dabi’s feud with Endeavor makes sense to anyone with similar experiences.
It’s hard to think that my hero academia viewers might empathize with a sociopathic killer, but Dabi’s motivations go a long way toward making him a relatable character. In fact, he is Touya Todoroki and his scars and state of mind are the result of Endeavor’s unique way of upbringing.
Dabi’s desire for revenge extends to the rest of his family, which is not ideal. Even so, his feud with Endeavor still makes sense, particularly to my hero academia viewers who have had similar experiences with toxic parents.
7 Shota Aizawa’s perpetual fatigue echoes the feelings viewers often have about life.
Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa (Pro Hero Eraserhead), is originally quite scary. He threatens to expel his students on their first day, a terrifying thought for Izuku, who has fought so hard to be at UA. It soon becomes obvious that there is more to Eraserhead than meets the eye. An underground hero, he is more aware than most of how difficult heroism as a profession really is. He has experienced a great personal loss seeing his friend Shirakumo Oboro die.
That is why Shota wishes to protect his students, even if he has to push them harder to do so. He also appears to be perpetually tired due to the antics of his class and has no patience for things he perceives as trivial. His constant exasperation is perhaps one of the best things about him, as many parents have experienced similar emotions when faced with wandering children.
6 Hawks ideals relate to those charged with responsibility
At the other end of the spectrum, Pro Hero Hawks is pretty much the epitome of a standout hero. Friendly, approachable and popular, he constantly has a smile ready for everyone. But Hawks has his own tragic background: his father is a villain and his mother sold him to the Public Safety Commission of Heroes. Now the number two hero, Hawks has to shoulder the brunt of the darker side of hero society. When asked to infiltrate the League of Villains, he is forced to act in ways he perceives as unethical in order to limit harm to the innocent.
Hawks is motivated by the desire to build a society where heroes have free time, in other words, by ideals of freedom. While regular anime viewers may not be asked by their employers to kill people, many struggle with the weight of responsibilities they don’t want and family expectations that crush them.
5 Magne’s desire to be herself resonates with the transgender community
League of Villains member Magne doesn’t have that much time to shine in the my hero academia anime like it probably should have. While she is recognized as a genuine threat and danger to the heroes, it is only during her confrontation with Overhaul that her motivations come to light.
Magne’s journey into villainy begins with an incredibly relatable desire: to be herself as a transgender woman. This leads her to attack Overhaul when he suggests that they become her subordinates. Tragically, Overhaul kills her. Still, the essence of the character resonates with the transgender community and my hero academia fans will definitely remember Big Sis Magne fondly.
4 Izuku Midoriya is easy to appreciate by people who have been bullied
the protagonist of my hero academia It’s not popular with all viewers, but those who like it do so precisely because it’s so relatable. Born without quirks, Izuku becomes the target of cruel bullying from a very young age.
Even Izuku’s so-called friend, Katsuki Bakugou, physically and verbally abuses him, to the point of giving him the insulting nickname of Deku and even committing suicide. Anyone who has ever been bullied can understand how much he would have suffered. Despite this, Izuku does not give up the idea of being a hero and his optimism, although endearing, can be somewhat exhausting and unrealistic.
3 Twice just wants to be accepted despite his mental health issues.
Easily the nicest villain of my hero academia, Twice joins the League of Villains for the most human reason of all: he longs for acceptance and companionship. After an incident with his Quirk Double, Twice struggles with serious mental health issues. He is practically rejected by society and has no one to turn to. The League gives him a true home, earning his complete loyalty in the process.
Twice becomes so close to Himiko Toga that he partially overcomes her trauma to save her from Liberation Army member Meta Skeptic. Later, when Hawks asks him to surrender, he refuses, his love for the League stronger than his fear for his life. His capacity for affection is admirable and makes him an incredibly relatable character.
two Tamaki Amajiki’s anxious personality is a mirror of countless people
According to global statistics, nearly 4 percent of the world’s total population suffers from anxiety. That may not seem like a large percentage, but considering the scale, it equates to a lot of people. Tamaki Amajiki illustrates all the men and women who struggle with their emotions day after day.
Extremely introverted and shy, Tamaki lacks confidence and doesn’t really see his own achievements as praiseworthy. He has times when he can’t help but succumb to anxiety, particularly when it comes to public speaking. But despite this, he is a fierce fighter and protector.
1 Hitoshi Shinsou is driven by spite on his journey to become a hero.
Not all students with potential manage to pass the UA’s biased entrance exam. Hitoshi Shinsou has an extremely powerful quirk, but it is mental and is perceived as a villain. As a result, he is severely discriminated against and treated slightly better than Izuku. Everyone claims that he is the most suitable to become a criminal.
Hitoshi desperately wants to prove that everyone is different, to prove that he can be a hero even with a supposedly bad quirk. His anger at society is incredibly understandable. In this sense, he is even more relatable than Izuku, since his upbringing and the constant prejudice he had to suffer more than justify his rancor.
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