5 of the best My Hero Academia quirks

My Hero Academia is back in full swing with its 5th season currently airing. The show is packed with all sorts of unique quirks — some more interesting and bizarre than others. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to go over some of the different characters and their powers and choose five of my favourites. 

As much as I want to include a character like Miruko, I would be lying to all of you if I said her quirk was all that interesting; her inclusion on the list would be due to my love for the character. I also want to refrain from celebrating Deku and All Might as they have very similar powers and it’s pretty much just super-strength — yes, I hear you, manga readers, but I’m thinking of the anime-only fans right now. 

On the subject of Miruko though, you can join me in adoring her here!

Yaoyorozu Momo – Creation

First up is Momo and her creation quirk. Momo’s Quirk gives her the ability to create any non-living material/object from her exposed skin by transforming the molecular structure of her fat cells or lipids. (Wish I could do that – your portly Ed.) In order to create something, she needs to understand the molecular structure of what the material/object is made of.

There are some downsides to her quirk, such as the fact that Momo has to eat a lot in order to keep herself stocked up on fat cells — otherwise she will essentially run out of the materials necessary to use her quirk. And larger objects require more of her skin to be exposed, but she can just force it through her clothing and then remake her clothes. 

Even with the few downsides of her quirk, the ability to create anything is absolutely insane. Her power allows her to be an incredibly versatile hero who can both support and attack. She can create weapons for her own use or for allies, she can create and set up traps, and even create armour or utility equipment such as gas masks. 

Her quirk offers so much in so many different areas, while also being a generally interesting and unique quirk amongst the characters of My Hero Academia. So yay for Wonder Momo.

Katsuki Bakugou – Explosion

Next up is the Marmite character of Hero Academia. Regardless of whether you love him or hate him, Bakugou’s power — or more specifically the way he uses it — is incredibly well done. Bakugou’s quirk allows him to secrete nitroglycerin-like sweat from the palms of his hands and ignite it on command, allowing him to create strong explosions.

What’s most interesting about Bakugou isn’t necessarily the quirk itself, but the character’s mastery and thorough understanding of his own powers and limitations. The ability to create explosions is powerful, but being able to use explosions as a form of movement through the air is such an underrated aspect of Bakugou’s ability. 

He isn’t flying so much as he is blasting himself through the air in a singular direction and then altering his direction through other consecutive explosions. It’s something that you see and think “oh that’s cool” but it would have required so much practice in order to master it — in addition to the balls it would require to commit to literally blasting yourself around!

Overhaul – Destruction/Reconstruction

The third is the leader of the Shie Hassaikai Yakuza group, Overhaul. His quirk grants him the ability to disassemble anything he touches, as well as reassemble it in any configuration he desires, effectively giving him full control over the matter. He can disassemble people to kill them or reassemble them to heal their wounds. He can also do this to himself and even merge his body with others — even allowing him to use their quirks.

If you’re like me, you read that ability and then you think “this sounds like the most overpowered ability in the series”. At a single touch, this man can destroy and reconstruct anything into whatever shape he sees fit. 

Overhaul could have been an interesting rival-type character for Shigaraki Tomura, the leader of the League of Villains, since their powers are similar. The potential for encounters between the two further along in the story could have been really interesting, rather than the conclusion Overhaul was met with. 

It’s a shame that his Overhauls character was written to be so short-sighted when it came to his power. It felt as though Overhaul’s entire character was something of a device to push other characters and develop them. His quirk is absolutely absurd when it comes to dangerous powers in Hero Academia; I just wish we could have seen more of it. 

Lemillion – Permeation 

Next is Lemillion, or as some may call him, Best Boy Mirio. Mirio’s Quirk allows him to become intangible, letting him pass through any tangible matter; he can phase through walls and/or the ground, as well as let enemy attacks pass through him harmlessly. If he returns to his solid-state while phasing through something, his body will be repelled outward. While intangible, he experiences a falling sensation because he still has mass, and everything passes through him, including light, sound, and air; this means while his Quirk is active, he can’t see, hear, or breathe.

Everything written there is why Mirio was considered as being the next vessel for One For All. His power is strong, but only because Mirio made it strong. In its raw form, it seems like a genuinely terrifying quirk for someone to have. Just imagine trying to use it for the first time and losing your calm partway through as you realise you can’t see, hear, or even breathe. 

It’s one of the more simple powers of My Hero Academia in concept, but its side-effects and downsides transform it into something awe-inspiring. My fascination with Mirio’s ability is similar to my reasoning behind Bakugou’s — it’s the way the characters have fully grasped the bad parts of their powers, overcome them, and turned them into something incredible.

Hitoshi Shinso – mind control

Last up is Shinso, a character everyone should be much more familiar with by now, considering where the anime currently is. Hitoshi’s Quirk allows him to put someone in a state where they are forced to obey whatever he commands. He can only activate this power when his target verbally responds to something he says. Brainwashing needs to be intentionally activated and will not take effect if Hitoshi doesn’t want it to.

Though he can have multiple people under his control at once, he can only activate his power on one person at a time. He is also unable to have his victims do things that require some kind of advanced brain function, like talking or writing a name from their memory.

A fairly simple quirk, but with the potential to be absolutely incredible once Shinso has left UA and is an active Hero out in the field. His power has applications and benefits similar to that of Eraserhead, in that Shinso can essentially shut his opponent down. 

Imagine a hostage situation; even without Shinso’s newly acquired Persona Chords which allow him to alter his voice, all he would need is for the unknowing villain to respond to him, and the entire hostage scenario is over. Characters would always respond to learning about Shinso’s powers saying that it’s a very “villain-like” quirk, but really he has the potential to be a truly incredible hero with his power.

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What are your favourite My Hero Academia quirks? Let us know in the comments or via the usual social channels!

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