3 weirdly useful quirks in My Hero Academia

When you live in a world where 80% of the population has some sort of superpower, it takes a lot to stand out. If your quirk boils down to super strength or speed, it needs to be overwhelming if you’re going to make it as a professional hero. For those My Hero Academia characters that have more unusual quirks, you need to be creative in how you use it if you want your time in the spotlight.

My Hero Academia has some amazing character designs in it and has been home to some amazing fights, but many of the show’s powers boil down to the typical strength or speed boost or have obvious offensive potential. So let’s take a look at some of the characters who use their seemingly mundane abilities to their best potential.

Best Jeanist

Imagine the disappointment on a child’s face when they realise that, in the superpower lottery that is life in the My Hero Academia universe, they got dealt “able to control clothes fibres”. That’s what happened to Tsunagu Hakamada, who would later go on to become Best Jeanist. His quirk, usually called Fibre Master, allows him to manipulate the fibres in his clothes on an individual level, using them to inflict damage, scout areas, and to restrain villains.

The fact that Best Jeanist manages to be ranked in the top five of professional heroes in My Hero Academia’s Japan is a testament to how creative and versatile his power can be, even if it sounds ridiculous on paper. With his body mostly covered in denim, he has ready access to tough fibres and can send them out in all directions with a thought. It was enough to restrain several Nomus as well as slow down the series boogieman, All for One.

Tsuyu Asui

In the battle for Best Girl, Froppy is a top contender, but her quirk is a little bit lame on paper. She has all the powers of a frog, which shouldn’t make her that useful in a fight. Frogs are not known for their offensive or defensive abilities, generally relying on camouflage to stay out of trouble. But Tsuyu proves that creative use of a tongue can go a long way. (Oh aye – Ed.)

When the My Hero Academia series begins, Froppy is the weird one of Class 1-A. She’s got a weird speech pattern, a nervous tic of putting her finger in her mouth, and weirdly vacant expression as she talks, and that’s before she starts jumping around and whipping people with her tongue. But the agility given to her by her quirk and her ability to fight both at close and mid-range make her a standout among a class of standouts. She can use her long tongue to scale terrain, rescue bystanders, and as an offensive weapon, so it’s wise not to underestimate this Best Girl.

Minoru Mineta

If Froppy is one of the best of Class 1-A, Mineta is the worst. He fulfils the tired trope of class pervert and does it in an unusually aggressive way. He’s so easily distracted and such a poor student that how he made it onto the UA Hero Course is one of My Hero Academia’s greatest mysteries. His quirk involves ripping sticky purple balls off his scalp and throwing them, which sounds more like something that would get him kicked out of a party rather than make him a hero.

But, like a lot of the best superpowers, its all in how you use it. Mineta’s quirk allows him to throw balls that can stick to anything and are almost impossible for anyone but him to touch without getting stuck. He’s used this helpful characteristic to restrain a large number of villains, keeping them stuck to each other or their surroundings, but it can also be used to scale walls and as a defensive barrier. By littering the battlefield with his balls, Mineta creates an area where only he can move freely.

Season five of My Hero Academia starts in just a few days and you can catch all the episodes over on Funimation.

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Trent Cannon

Trent is a fan of anything that doesn't take itself too seriously. He is frequently hilarious and adorable. If 240 character takes on gaming, anime, or rat pictures are your thing, follow him on Twitter.

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