Highlights
- Deku’s new Mid-Gauntlets help control his power output, but they can’t withstand a full 100% strike.
- These gauntlets are similar to the Full-Gauntlet from the movie, suggesting a connection and evolution.
- My Hero Academia films are influencing the main story, with small touches like the Mid-Gauntlet’s introduction.
Warning: This contains minor spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 6, Season 7, and My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
For all the power that Deku has acquired over seasons’ worth of training his body and mind alike, the poor guy can still utterly tear himself apart without the proper precautions. Thankfully, while his body isn’t fully compatible with One for All, the support items of My Hero Academia have helped bridge the gap somewhat, from his Air Force gloves to a more recent addition: the Mid-Gauntlets.
At the start of the Dark Hero arc in Season 6, during Episode 132, Izuku showed off a new piece of tech during his fight with Muscular; what looked like red bandages around his arm. In actuality, it was an advanced support item from overseas designed to help Deku control his power output after his Air Force gloves were destroyed during his battle with Shigaraki just one arc prior.
What Is the Mid-Gauntlet?
Designed to assist individuals whose quirks are incompatible with their bodies, the Mid-Gauntlets serve as a compression item that allows for the safe distribution of a user’s physical power. For Deku, this means drawing out more of One for All’s strength at a consistent output over time, though unfortunately, this doesn’t mean it can withstand a full 100% strike.
So, when Deku faced Lady Nagant and used “Faux 100%,” he ended up damaging the Gauntlets and rendering their suppressive abilities null. It wasn’t until the recently aired Episode 142 that Deku approached Mei Hatsume of the Support Department to see about replacing them. She created an identical imitation that came combined with a repaired version of the Air Force gloves, though she claims they are “inferior”, suggesting a tighter threshold for compression.
Where Did These Gauntlets Come From?
When they are introduced, Deku remarks how All Might ordered them from the U.S. “before travel and shipping limitations were imposed.” They’re referred to as experimental and no designer is mentioned by name, but unless it completely missed your attention the first time around – these gauntlets are awfully similar to something seen in the series before. In particular, they bring to mind the very first film.
The Mid-Gauntlet vs The Full-Gauntlet
In the 2018 film My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, Deku meets Melissa Shield, a young quirkless inventor and the daughter of All Might’s close friend, David Shield. She gives him a special gift: the “Full-Gauntlet,” an aptly named support item that can let him use One for All without worrying about the burden on his body. However, even this tool could only withstand three strikes at 100% throughout the film. Still, it was no doubt a major asset.
Naturally, the “Mid-Gauntlets” would then seem to be a weaker version of the same technology, which is implicitly downgraded once more by the time Mei creates her version. Given that she was an original character for the film, it was expected that she wouldn’t be named in the main adaptation, but given the similarities in design and utility, the connection to her seems obvious.
Is My Hero Academia: Two Heroes Definitively Canon?
Two Heroes‘ initial theatrical run was in August 2018 and the project was supervised by series author Kohei Horikoshi, much like every other MHA film made since. He typically devises the story concepts for each of these films, some of which incorporate ideas he had for the main story. Conversely, the Mid-Gauntlets were introduced in Chapter 309, nearly three years after the debut of Two Heroes, suggesting that Horikoshi liked the idea of the Full-Gauntlet.
At least, he enjoyed it to an extent, implementing a weaker but no less striking version into the main story. Even if the continued downgrades negate some of the intent behind the gauntlets’ conception, they serve as a distinct visual evolution of Deku’s attire. They add a nice splash of red to his color scheme while technically offering enough of an improvement in combat to keep the story moving effectively.
It’s one of a few small touches that have gone to lengths to canonize the films, even more so in the anime’s continuity. This isn’t even the first time that Season 7 has referenced the movies. For example, during Episode 140, Star and Stripe recalls her and her family being saved by a young All Might during the opening scene of Two Heroes.
What this demonstrates is how the success of My Hero Academia, and its expanded text via the films, has in turn influenced both the manga and the anime adaptation, however slightly. Rather than being dismissed as high-budget side stories, these theatrical films are somewhat legitimized as genuine extensions of the world through small touches like these. Even if the replacement isn’t as powerful, it’s cool to see an idea like the Mid-Gauntlet not be simply abandoned.