We have finally entered the final saga of My Hero Academia. Appropriately, Kohei Horikoshi has titled this time in My Hero Academia “The Final Act Saga.” As we are getting the final story arcs there are a lot of characters that have been established to have major parts in the future of My Hero Academia. So far, on the heroes side of things, the start of “The Final Act Saga” takes place in has focused on the status quo for Izuku Midoriya as Deku, All Might, Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist. One of the great things about My Hero Academia is that it is a world filled with compelling characters. Because of that let’s take a look at 10 hero characters who should get more spotlight in the post-timeskip world that the Paranormal Liberation War Arc created.
Before getting into all of the characters be warned that this article will contain spoilers for events that have taken place as of chapter 311 of My Hero Academia. That includes spoilers for the recent Paranormal Liberation War arc, which goes beyond where the current episodes of the anime that are airing. So if you do not want to be spoiled on events that happen far past what the My Hero Academia anime is currently adapting or caught up with recent chapters come back when you are caught up.
This list will also not include Izuku Midoriya, All Might, Endeavor, Hawks, or Best Jeanist. Each of these characters have been featured post-timeskip so we have a general idea of where they are all at right now. The focus will be on all the heroes we have yet to see in the first story arc of “The Final Act Saga” as of My Hero Academia Chapter 311.
HONERABLE MENTIONS
Before getting into the 10 must-watch characters I wanted to briefly shout out a couple of characters who have potential character arcs given the attention they’ve had throughout the series.
Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic) – Present Mic started getting greater character development during Paranormal Liberation War Arc based on his character history that we’ve seen explored at various points in the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes spinoff. Given his close friendship with Shota Aizawa and what they both learned during the big My Hero Academia arc we could see him focusing more on being a hero in the future.
Itsuka Kendo (Battle Fist) – Out of all the side characters that are not part of Class 1-A at U.A. High School Itsuka Kendo has always stood out with her appearances. Every time Kohei Horikoshi has the character appear she is given some form of character arc that has emphasized her leadership ability. Given the state of the world she is a character that could transition from being a guest character.
Nejire Hado – Nejire Hado surprisingly stepped up big during the final stages of the Paranormal Liberation War Arc. She was shown to hold her own as one of the last heroes standing to fight Tomura Shigaraki and Gigantomachia. In the post-timeskip world she has likely graduated from U.A. High School so we could see her as one of the Pro Heroes actively investigating the League of Villains.
Hitoshi Shinso – Shinso is a character that clearly Horikoshi has some plans for. The Joint Training arc, which is currently being adapted in the anime, set him up to be part of the Hero Course at U.A. High School starting in his second year. As we are in the month of April post-timeskip he could be part of the core cast at U.A. High School’s Class 2-A since April is normally the start of a new school year in Japan.
10) TSUYU ASUI (FROPPY)
Tsuyu Asui is part of the core cast of the series. While she hasn’t had the huge arcs that we’ve seen from others Asui has been used since the beginning of the series. Whether it is working with Izuku Midoriya and Minoru Mineta to defeat the villains at the training site or teaming with Ochaco Uraraka to save people during both the Shie Hassaikai and Paranormal Liberation War arcs, Asui growth has been a constant in this series. She also one of the Class 1-A students with the most Pro Hero work experience that we’ve seen thus far.
Throughout all of these character moments Horikoshi has made it a point to have characters call out how Asui’s natural levelheaded nature has been helps her classmates when fighting villains. That was showcased when she joined Urakara in fighting Himiko Toga during the rescue efforts in the middle of the Paranormal Liberation War arc. It would not be surprising if we see Asui have a rematch with that villain in the future. That or we could see her build her own rivalry with one of the new villains we are likely to be introduced to.
9) EIJIRO KIRISHIMA (RED RIOT)
Eijiro Kirishima only had one big chapter in the Paranormal Liberation War arc. But that is all that Kirishima needed to show how much he grew as he saved Mina Ashido when she froze during the fight with Gigantomachia. This was a major change from how he was the one the froze in middle school the first time he saw Gigantomachia.
While that was the only moment that Kirishima got during the most recent story arc he is still set-up strong to play a bigger role in the future. Afterall Kirishima has gained a lot of confidence and experience in his journey as the hero Red Riot. He has been consistently used in the biggest story arcs of My Hero Academia, showing that he is one of Horikoshi’s favorite characters.
8) MINA ASHIDO (PINKY)
Though Mina Ashido hasn’t been given a major character arc of her own like some of the rest of her classmates she is someone that is spotlighted at various points during My Hero Academia. Of the lesser used students in Class 1-A we’ve seen Mina positioned as a supportive friend to Eijiro Kirishima, Tsuyu Asui, and Ochaco Uraraka during their major moments. She has also provided the series with the lighter moments, that is certainly needed now more than ever.
Horikoshi also seemed to spotlight her a bit more during the big fight with the League of Villains and Gigantomachia. Specifically, we saw her react to the fact that Gigantomachia was the villain that attacked her and her friends during middle school. Remembering this she ended up losing control of her Acidman technique because she froze in fright. This along with being one of the students we saw completely devastated by Midnight’s passing sets her up to have a moment during “The Final Act Saga” to step up big, similar to Kirishima’s growth.
7) TENYA IIDA (INGENIUM)
When My Hero Academia started Tenya Iida was part of the Trinity of Class 1-A students that we followed along with Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka. But ever since the Hero Killer story arc concluded Ida has become no more than a supporting character in this series. Iida’s role diminishing is even more noticeable given how Izuku and Ochaco continue to grow and more of a focus has been placed on Bakugo, Shoto, Kirishima, and Asui when it comes to Class 1-A.
That said it is never too late to change things for Iida. He can quickly become a major character again by showcasing Iida’s leadership abilities even more as class representative when we see what is now Class 2-A. Which could be built from the guilt Ida will likely have over not being able to stop or talk to Izuku Midoriya about going off on his own.
6) SHOTA AIZAWA (ERASERHEAD)
From the moment he showed up Shota Aizawa has been a standout character. Even with his dark emo-vibe Aizawa is character that always steals every scene he is in. Whether it is as Class 1-A’s teacher or on the field as the hero Eraserhead. And with things incredibly chaotic with so many villains running around Aizawa is perfectly positioned to be a hero who steps up gain more control of the situation with his Erasure Quirk.
The Paranormal Liberation War arc left Aizawa without one of his legs during the battle with Tomura Shigaraki. How that changes the way Aizawa not only works as Eraser Head but teaches Class 2-A will be interesting to see. That is along with the fact that last we knew he was also watching over Eri. All of these factors make Aizawa someone with a high possibility to continue being a key character in My Hero Academia’s narrative.
5) MOMO YAOYOROZU (CREATI)
Like Ida, Momo Yaoyorozu has been positioned as a leader within Class 1-A as one of the class representatives. Its something we have something we are constantly reminded of. And of all the Class 1-A students Momo has been consistently given character arcs even if she hasn’t played a main role in the big storylines until the Paranormal Liberation War arc. Horikoshi clearly enjoys developing Momo’s character as she has had fair amount of character growth.
That is something we saw during the Gigantomachia fight in the middle of the Paranormal Liberation War arc. Of all the characters Momo as Creati was the one who took point in commanding all the U.A. High School students on the scene. It was a payoff of all the growth Momo has gone through that she stepped up in such a confident manner. This experience along with how hard she was shown taking Midnight’s death positions her to step up even more as a leader in the post-timeskip world.
4) MIRIO TOGATA (LEMILLION)
One of the biggest surprises of the Paranormal Liberation War arc was the return of Mirio Togata as Lemillion. Mirio sacrificing his Permeation Quirk to ensure Eri safety was one of the biggest moments of the entire Shie Hassaikai. Even without his Quirk we saw that Mirio was still able to continue fighting. That showing along with what Sir Nighteye told him about still becoming a great hero in the future kept the hope alive that we would see Mirio back as Lemillion at some point in My Hero Academia.
Because of all that easily one of the most hype moments of the Paranormal Liberation War arc was Mirio’s big return as Lemillion to turn the tide of the fight against the League of Villains. As mentioned before, Horikoshi did seem to purposely pick April as the time of the year to have My Hero Academia’s timeskip to take place. This means that Mirio is likely a full-time Pro Hero working with Centipeder and Bubble Girl at the Nighteye Agency. With the post-timeskip chapters showing how bad things have gotten for heroes both in public perception and being overwhelmed by the number of villains running around Lemillion could positioned as the Pro Hero who others look to like All Might was viewed before. The hero community certainly need a hero like Lemillion with the negative response we’ve recently seen Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist receive.
3) OCHACO URARAKA (URAVITY)
The growth Ochaco Uraraka has gone through from first having her goal to be a Pro Hero being to help her family financially to realizing the weight that comes with being a hero has been well developed over time. We’ve seen her be much more than just Izuku Midoriya’s love interest as her hero journey has been one of the character arcs we’ve most followed outside of Deku.
Things only got more intense for her during the Paranormal Liberation War arc as we got another chapter in her growing rivalry with Himiko Toga. It’s clear that Horikoshi is has positioned Ochaco and Himiko as one of the big rivalries in My Hero Academia with how often they’ve cross paths. And we never have gotten a full resolution to either of their fights, which may mean that their fights up to this point will have one big blow off battle before all is said and done in “The Final Act Saga.”
Along the way we should see Ochaco grow even more as she will be a second year along with the rest of her class. Out of her classmates it does look like she was the one who took Izuku revealing the truth about One For All in a letter to all of Class 1-A the hardest. Knowing Ochaco and the growth her character has gone through this will add greater motivation to be a greater hero. That along with the anticipation that will grow with the My Hero Academia community who want to see Ochaco reunite with Izuku post-timeskip certainly makes her a character that we highly anticipate
2) KATSUKI BAKUGO (DYNAMIGHT)
It goes without saying that Katsuki Bakugo is one of the most, if not the most, popular characters in My Hero Academia. Even though he isn’t always at the forefront of every story arc Bakugo has always stood out of the pact from Class 1-A as he is Izuku Midoriya’s main rival.
And we saw in the Paranormal Liberation War arc that Bakugo took a major step forward in his hero career by finally giving himself a hero name. The hero name of Dynamight, Great Explosion Murder God, is certainly fitting for Bakugo as it works in both his Quirk power and his greatest inspiration to become a Pro Hero being All Might. It was certainly step fans have been waiting for Bakugo to take since his internship at Best Jeanist hero agency.
It also does seem that Horikoshi has purposely avoided having Bakugo not appear in recent chapters. And even in the chapters right before the timeskip we only saw him stomping around angry at a hospital. This along with the fact we didn’t see his reaction to Izuku leaving U.A. High School or the press conference Endeavor led those appear to be on purpose. The longer we go without seeing Bakugo the greater the anticipation builds for how much hype will be around in his reappearance post-timeskip.
1) SHOTO TODOROKI
As much as Bakugo has been positioned as the secondary protagonist in promotional material the Paranormal Liberation War arc firmly placed Shoto Todoroki as the one to claim that spot from a story standpoint. There is a strong competition as to who went through more during the Paranormal Liberation War arc between Izuku and Shoto.
The confirmation that Dabi is in fact Toya Todoroki, Endeavor and Rei Todoroki’s eldest son and Shot’s older brother who has been missing, was massive. It was something that fans have theorized for a long time but to get the revelation in the way we did was completely unexpected. Dabi did more damage to the hero community than Tomura Shigaraki by revealing to the world the abusive past that his father, Endeavor, hid from the world.
This reveal certainly shook the hero society and the world to its core. It also brought Shoto to the forefront of My Hero Academia as his family made it clear that he is the Todoroki Family hero. Even though Endeavor is still active it is Shoto who is set up to be the one to have the big clash with Dabi and possibly bring back his older brother to the Todoroki family. While a lot to place on Shoto but something we’ve watch him develop to be able to handle. The Todoroki family arc is certainly one of the most intriguing stories to follow in My Hero Academia and will no doubt continue in “The Final Act Saga.”
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