Highlights
- Quirks in My Hero Academia range from simple to bizarre, requiring characters to find creative ways to use them in battle.
- Some characters, like Hitoshi Shinso and Bakugo, have discovered unique uses for their quirks, making them powerful support and combatants.
- With training and creativity, characters like Tamaki and Izuku have unlocked new levels of power, showcasing the versatility of their abilities.
The vast majority of characters in My Hero Academia wield superhuman abilities called quirks. While some characters have the kind of powers one might see in a normal superhero comic, there are also a lot of really strange quirks.
It’s these bizarre quirks that are the most fun. Rather than heroes simply smashing their way out of trouble in My Hero Academia, they’re forced to adapt and use their abilities in new and creative ways. It’s this creative approach to superhero battles that has made both the anime and manga so popular.
8 Hitoshi Shinso
Quirk: Brainwashing
Hitoshi Shinso’s quirk initially seems powerful, but it has one major weakness. He can brainwash anyone with his voice, but it only works if they respond to him, and he can’t use electronic devices to amplify his voice. So, the second someone realizes it’s him talking, his power becomes essentially useless.
Hitoshi has responded by finding new ways to use his quirk. For example, he began using the hero equipment the “Artificial Vocal Cords,” a non-electrical device that allows him to mimic others. His use of this to trick opponents has made him one of the anime’s best support characters. Realizing he was weak in combat, he trained with Eraser Head in the use of a scarf as a capturing weapon, which he also uses in creative ways.
7 Katsuki Bakugo – Dynamight
Quirk: Explosion
Of all the characters here, Bakugo arguably has one of the simplest quirks: Explosion. However, the creative ways he’s found to use it have made him one of the most powerful characters in the series. The sweat glands on Bakugo’s hands create a nitroglycerine-like sweat that he can make explode on command.
Initially, Bakugo used his quirk to make things go boom, but he has found new uses for it. He uses explosions to propel himself at high speed, almost achieving flight and can use them to evade powerful enemy attacks. He’s also been shown to use the shockwaves his explosions create as a shield. As Bakugo has grown in power, he has also taught himself different types of explosions, ranging from the very small to those big enough to hurt even the most powerful enemies. However, despite his creativity, there are only so many different ways he can use his explosions, giving him a lower ranking.
6 Shoto Todoroki
Quirk: Half-Cold Half-Hot
As the son of pro-hero Endeavor, it’s no surprise that Shoto is one of the strongest members of Class 1-A. His quirk, Half-Cold Half-Hot, allows him to either cool things down to below zero or superheat them. Much like Bakugo, he’s found many creative ways to use his seemingly simple quirk.
Shoto neglected his fire half for many years, meaning he has much greater mastery of his ice abilities. He’s adept at creating ice walls for defense as well as producing icicles behind his back to propel him. He’s also created ice waves to surf on and frozen surfaces he can slide on. He mostly uses his fire for offense, but he has been known to produce fire walls for protection. As he’s learned to embrace both halves of himself, he’s only gotten more creative and gained the ability to dual-wield both powers at the same time.
5 Tamaki Amajiki – Suneater
Quirk: Manifest
Tamaki’s quirk allows him to manifest the characteristics of whatever he eats but is enhanced. So, if he eats takoyaki (fried octopus balls), he can transform his appendages into tentacles, or if he eats crab, he can turn his hands into crab claws. Importantly, whatever characteristics he inherits are buffed compared to the original, making them much more useful in a fight.
It’s a cool quirk that Tamaki has enhanced by training himself to wield multiple manifestations at a time as well as being able to change their size. While fans haven’t seen him play around with that many combinations yet, his options are almost limitless, only limited by his creativity.
4 Mei Hatsume
Quirk: Zoom
Mei’s quirk, Zoom, is pretty underwhelming. One of the worst quirks in My Hero Academia, it simply means she can magnify her sight, allowing her to see things up to 5 kilometers away. Not that useful in a fight. It is useful, though, for doing delicate electronics in a workshop.
Mei used her quirk and keen intellect to become a brilliant inventor of hero equipment. When forced to fight, she uses her inventions in creative ways. Her hydraulic bracers detect enemy attacks and push the wearer out of the way, while her hover soles allow her to hover off the ground. For mobility, she also uses her wire arrow to quickly move around, and for offense, she has her capture gun, which fires nets. Her use of this equipment allows her to fight like she has several decent quirks instead of a terrible one.
3 Manga Fukidashi – Comicman
Quirk: Comic
Despite being a relatively minor character, Manga has one of My Hero Academia’s most impressive quirks. He can spawn floating onomatopoeia words that copy the effects of that word. So if he says “Boom” a large floating boom will appear overhead that causes explosions. It’s a great quirk that he used for both offense and support during the second round of the Joint Training Battle.
During that fight, he used his quirk in creative ways by amplifying Kinoko’s mushroom quirk, isolating Momo, and even blocking Yuga’s laser attacks. With so many onomatopoeia words available, Manga’s options in a fight are almost limitless, especially since his only weakness is getting a sore throat.
2 Momo Yaoyorozu – Creati
Quirk: Creation
Momo quite literally has one of the most creative quirks in My Hero Academia. It allows her to create any living material or object from her exposed skin using her fat cells. The only limitations are that she needs to understand the objects’ molecular structure, and the bigger the object, the more fat she needs.
Unsurprisingly, Momo can get pretty creative with what she makes. One of her most impressive creations was the Electromagnetic Rail Gun, which utilized Denki Kaminari’s electric quirk to fire a devastating projectile at high speeds. Her most creative move, however, is Yaoyorozu’s Lucky Bag. Momo creates a large cannon that fires bags full of useful items she’s created via her quirk.
1 Izuku Midoriya – Deku
Quirk: One For All
When it comes to being creative, Izuku has a bit of an unfair advantage. His quirk, One For All, is actually six quirks all packaged together. While early on, Izuku didn’t have access to all his quirks, as he unlocked them one by one, he became increasingly creative.
In the early days, Izuku mainly just resorted to hitting things hard in a fight. A move that often left him in worse shape than his opponents. Over time, he developed his percentage technique to limit his powers. As his arms became increasingly damaged, he developed Full Cowl, focusing his strength into his legs. After unlocking more powers, he became really creative, stringing his different quirks together in battle to overcome his opponents with a barrage of abilities. This creative use of all his abilities ultimately makes him one of the few characters to have surpassed All Might.