The role of quirks in personal identity

Key conclusions

  • Quirks shape personal identity and self-esteem, defining a character's life trajectory and sense of belonging.
  • How queerness is perceived by society determines whether an individual will be labeled a hero or a villain.
  • Living in a superpowered society means enormous societal pressures and expectations for quirk owners.



In the world My Hero Academyquirks are superhuman abilities that people are born with. These abilities often appear as early as age four and are known to affect more than 80% of the population. Because these abilities are revealed when a person is in the early stages of development, it is not uncommon for them to build their personality around their quirks and make certain important decisions to accommodate them.

Quirks are extremely important in this world and to be born without quirks is devastating. Fans can see how upset Izuku Midoriya and his mother were when the doctor told them that Midoriya would grow up without one. What queerness does to people is very important, as it defines their self-perception, social interaction and career path. Without the quirks, Midoriya knew he wouldn't fit in and would never be a hero, no matter how much he dreamed of becoming a hero. The presence or absence of quirks largely determines a character's life trajectory, often creating expectations that determine how they fit into society.


Relatives

My Heroic Academy: Explaining why Deku is obsessed with weirdness

Deku's obsession with Quirks helps them shine brighter as his deep understanding of them shows in how he uses them. But why is that?

Quirks and personal identity

Perception of self

Personal identity is how a person defines and understands themselves. It includes aspects such as personality, values, beliefs and the roles they play in life. It is how someone sees himself as unique and what makes him feel like an individual, separate from others. Characters in My Hero Academy often associate their sense of self-worth with their quirks. An example is Midoriya, who was born with signs that indicate he may not exhibit quirks. Midoriya felt inadequate and worthless because he was part of a minority that was born without quirks and therefore could not be a hero.


Midoriya's encounter with All Might and his acquisition of One For All transforms his outlook, giving him a sense of purpose and belonging. Endowed with quirks, Midoriya's self-esteem grows as he now believes himself to be a man capable of becoming a hero.

Yugo Aoyama was also born without quirks. This event caused him and his parents to look for unconventional ways to obtain quirks, such as turning to All For One, the greatest villain in their world, who gave him the navel quirk, but at a high price. Being born without a quirk into a world where most are born with quirks made his parents fear the discrimination he would face for something that was not his fault. Personally, Yuuga struggles to fit in and sees himself as less worthy, just like Midoriya. Even with the quirks, he still struggles with insecurities because he knows what he's been through and the price he's paying for the quirks.


Self acceptance

The oddity is that humans have minimal control. Different people exhibit different characteristics, some more powerful, stronger and versatile than others. This causes people to see themselves less because they don't show a steeper look or a stronger quirk. Eijiro Kirishima had trouble accepting his quirk because he thought it was worse compared to others like the half-hot-half-cold Todaroki or Bakugou's explosion. Over time, Kirishima has learned to embrace his ability to temper, learning that heroism is more than flashy strength; You can also thank his teacher Shota Aizawa for that. He learns that it's really about resilience and the human spirit. Learning this made him accept himself, giving him a sense of belonging to his peers.

Quirks and social roles

How the Quirk holders fit


While some people use their weirdness for good, others use it for evil. That's why there are villains and heroes in this world. Society expects people who use their quirks for good to protect their city and even the world from villains, and not oppress a minority who happen to be gifted.

Heroes are celebrated for using their quirks to protect society, while those who abuse or reject societal norms, such as Tomura Shigaraki, the League of Thieves, Dobby, and others, are labeled as villains. The difference between a hero and a villain often depends not only on the quirk itself, but also on how society perceives and reacts to a person. For example, society perceives Stein as a villain. Stein is also not a hero, but his role can be considered heroic by some and villainous by others. Stein takes it upon herself to destroy any hero who is not pure, has ulterior motives for being a hero and in it for fame and money. A true hero should not care about the benefits of a role, he should only care about saving lives and seeking justice.


According to Stein, only All Might can be considered a real hero, and the rest are just here for selfish reasons. Regardless of Stein's motives or beliefs, society sees him as a villain because he goes around killing people.

All Might is a great example of what society expects from quirk holders, essentially heroes. The Almighty served and protected Japan so well that he was honored as a symbol of peace and recognized as Japan's number one hero. Rain, come sunshine; as long as the villains are terrorizing the citizens or the citizens are in danger, All Might will appear. Even after being seriously injured, he did not want to resign from his position because of society's expectations.

Discrimination and prejudice

In such a world, discrimination and prejudice are inevitable. Angie showed a bias towards Todaroka more than his other children due to the equal distribution of quirks he had. His prejudice led his eldest son, Toya Todaroki, to the dark side as Toya became the Dobby villain most fans are painfully familiar with.


Those born with disruptive features, or those considered “terrible” by society's standards. For example, Spinner from League of Villains meets society's standards as a villain because of his mutant oddity, the Gecko. Spinner has lizard-like features and is discriminated against for it. Spinner and others like him were pushed to the fringes of society when they faced prejudice or rejection. This reinforces a rigid societal structure in which quirks act as the primary determinant of one's place in the world, either enabling individuals to rise to prominence or limiting their potential roles.

Public pressure and expectation

What is expected of Quirk owners

All Might as a symbol of peace


With great powers come great responsibilities, and even if these men did not aspire to the powers they were born with, they are burdened with the responsibilities that come with such powers. Characters with strong traits often face enormous societal pressure to become heroes and live up to expectations. The oddity of All Might, One For All, positions him as a symbol of peace, placing the burden of society's safety on his shoulders.

Even with a big hole in his chest, the Almighty didn't want to retire as a hero because society expected him to protect him, and he basically kept villains in their place because most of them feared him. In the end, he had to retire because he had lost all of his One for All embers, making him a talentless man and a shadow of his muscular former self.


Society is also the reason for the emergence of villains. Individuals have minimal control over the quirks they end up having, but there are some quirks that seem good and others that seem bad. Bakugou's explosion quirk is seen by society as a genius quirk, and they assume that Bakugou has villainous tendencies. There are other characters who have been judged this way, unlike Bakugou who stayed true to his course of being a hero; there aren't many of these other characters. Characters like Spinner, Dobby, Twice, and Himiko Togo became villains in response to how their quirks alienated them from societal norms.

In the end

Living in a superpower society creates a lot of pressure, expectations and self-acceptance of a person. Queerness in this world means that a person must be either a hero or a villain, not the middle ground. Only incompetent people can say what they want to be, but they cannot be heroes. Quirks are more than just superhuman abilities that these people are born with. It determines their destinies, shapes their interactions with others, and most importantly, shapes how a person perceives himself.


My Hero Academy is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.

My Hero Academy

In My Hero Academia, some people have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya aka Deku is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes such as the number one hero All Might, and since childhood he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of quirks has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My hero academy is centered around Deku and the class of heroes trained at UA. This school trains young quirk users into future heroes through mock rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-hardening tasks. With young Deku inheriting the One for All trait, he learns what it means to be a true hero as he faces off against dastardly supervillains.

Studio
Bones

Creator
Kohei Horikoshi

Number of series
159

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