Anime characters can sometimes feel a little distant, their preoccupations having very little in common with the viewers’ lives. But occasionally, that isn’t the case at all. Excellent examples come from popular shonen anime My Hero Academia. The massive cast of Kohei Horikoshi’s famous series is packed with incredibly relatable figures.
Viewers find it easy to see their own struggles within the experiences of My Hero Academia characters. This tendency isn’t limited to heroes, as even the villains have motivations that resonate with My Hero Academia fans. In fact, one of the best things about My Hero Academia is that its villains can be as relatable as its heroes. Overall, this makes the conflict more interesting and the storytelling more complex.
10 Shoto Todoroki’s Aloof Demeanor Hides A Social Awkwardness Born Of Trauma
One of the most popular characters in the My Hero Academia anime, Shoto Todoroki starts out as aloof and mysterious, even going out of his way to point out he isn’t at U.A. to make friends. He becomes immensely likable and relatable after the U.A. Sports Festival. During a confrontation with Izuku Midoriya, he reveals that he was practically raised as a weapon by his Pro Hero father, Endeavor, a tool to finally dethrone All Might from his position of Number One hero.
It is for this reason that Shoto chooses to not use the fire side of his quirk. Izuku gets through to him at great personal cost and the two become friends. Through Izuku, the viewers see Shoto’s true social awkwardness, as well as character traits that make him even more human, like his preference for cold soba and conspiracy theories.
9 Ochako Uraraka’s Financial Motivations Make Her Very Realistic & Relatable
The young heroes of Class 1-A have a plethora of different reasons for their chosen careers. Ochako Uraraka is unique in that her motivation is perhaps one of the most relatable ones of all. Her parents struggle financially due to their business no longer being successful.
Ochako wishes to become a successful hero so that her family can take it easy and no longer have money problems. Her materialistic view has earned her censure from some My Hero Academia fans, but others find her very realistic and relatable. After all, money makes the world go round and anyone who has ever experienced poverty can understand that.
8 Dabi’s Dispute With Endeavor Makes Sense For Anyone With Similar Experiences
It’s hard to think that My Hero Academia viewers could empathize with a sociopathic murderer, but Dabi’s motivations go a long way in making him a relatable character. He is in fact Touya Todoroki and his scars and mental state are a result of Endeavor’s unique brand of parenting.
Dabi’s desire for revenge does spill over to the rest of his family, which isn’t ideal. Even so, his dispute with Endeavor still makes sense, particularly for My Hero Academia viewers who have had similar experiences with toxic parents.
7 Shota Aizawa’s Perpetual Fatigue Echoes The Feelings Viewers Often Have About Life
The homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, Shota Aizawa (Pro Hero Eraserhead), is originally quite terrifying. He threatens to expel his students on their first day, a scary thought for Izuku who has fought so hard to be at U.A. It soon becomes obvious that there is more to Eraserhead than meets the eye. An underground hero, he is more aware than most of how difficult heroics truly is as a profession. He has experienced great personal loss, having seen his friend Shirakumo Oboro die.
This is why Shota wishes to protect his students, even if he has to push them harder to do so. He also seems perpetually tired because of the antics of his class and has no patience for things he perceives as trivial. His constant exasperation is perhaps one of the best things about him, as many parents have experienced similar emotions when faced with errant children.
6 Hawks’ Ideals Are Relatable To Those Burdened By Responsibilities
At the other end of the spectrum, Pro Hero Hawks is practically the epitome of a limelight hero. Friendly, approachable, and popular, he constantly has a smile ready for everyone. But Hawks has his own tragic background — his father is a villain and his mother sold him to the Hero Public Safety Commission. Now the Number Two hero, Hawks has to carry the weight of the darkest side of hero society. When asked to infiltrate the League of Villains, he is forced to act in ways he doesn’t perceive as ethical to limit the damage to the innocent.
Hawks is motivated by the desire to build a society where heroes have free time — in other words, by ideals of freedom. While regular anime viewers probably aren’t asked to kill people by their employers, many struggle with the weight of responsibilities they don’t want and familial expectations that crush them.
5 Magne’s Desire To Be Herself Resonates With The Transgender Community
League of Villains’ member Magne doesn’t get as much time to shine in the My Hero Academia anime as she probably should have. While she is acknowledged as a genuine threat and a danger to the heroes, it is only during her confrontation with Overhaul that her motivations come to light.
Magne’s journey toward villainy starts from an incredibly relatable desire — to be herself as a transgender woman. This leads to her attacking Overhaul when he suggests that they become his subordinates. Tragically, Overhaul kills her. Even so, the essence of the character resonates with the transgender community and My Hero Academia fans will most definitely remember Big Sis Magne fondly.
4 Izuku Midoriya Is Easy To Appreciate By People Who Have Been Bullied
The protagonist of My Hero Academia isn’t popular with every single viewer, but those who do like him do so precisely because he’s so relatable. Born quirkless, Izuku becomes the target of cruel bullying from a very early age.
Even Izuku’s so-called friend Katsuki Bakugou physically and verbally abuses him, to the point of giving him the insulting nickname Deku and even suicide-baiting him. Anyone who has ever been bullied can understand just how much he would have suffered. Despite that, Izuku doesn’t give up on the idea of being a hero and his optimism, while endearing, can come off somewhat exhausting and unrealistic.
3 Twice Just Wants To Be Accepted Despite His Mental Health Issues
Easily the most likable villain in My Hero Academia, Twice joins the League of Villains due to the most human reason of all: he craves acceptance and companionship. Following an incident with his Quirk Double, Twice struggles with severe mental health issues. He is practically rejected by society and has no one to turn to. The League gives him a real home, earning his complete loyalty in the process.
Twice becomes so close to Himiko Toga that he partially overcomes his trauma to save her from Meta Liberation Army member Skeptic. Later, when asked by Hawks to surrender, he refuses, his love for the League stronger than the fear for his life. His capacity for affection is admirable and makes him an incredibly relatable character.
2 Tamaki Amajiki’s Anxious Personality Is A Mirror Of Countless People
According to worldwide statistics, almost 4 percent of the overall population of the globe suffers from anxiety. That may not seem like a huge percentage, but considering the scale, it amounts to a lot of people. Tamaki Amajiki is illustrative of all the men and women who struggle with their emotions day in and day out.
Extremely introverted and shy, Tamaki lacks confidence and doesn’t really see his own accomplishments as worthy of praise. He has moments when he can’t help but succumb to anxiety, particularly when public speaking is involved. But despite this, he is a fierce fighter and protector.
1 Hitoshi Shinsou Is Fueled By Spite In His Journey To Become A Hero
Not every student with potential manages to make it past the biased U.A Entrance Exam. Hitoshi Shinsou has an extremely powerful quirk, but it is a mental one that is perceived as villainous. As a result, he is severely discriminated against, treated just slightly better than Izuku. Everyone claims he is best suited to becoming a criminal.
Hitoshi desperately wishes to prove them all differently, to prove that he can be a hero even with a quirk that is supposedly bad. His anger at society is incredibly understandable. In this sense, he is even more relatable than Izuku, as his upbringing and the constant prejudice he had to suffer from more than justifies his spite.
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