10 Best Characters in My Hero Academia, Ranked

Kohei Horikoshi’s superhero saga, My Hero Academia, is renowned for having many well-known heroes and villain characters. Throughout the run of the MHA series, several heroes and villains have shone and left a lasting impression. All the credits go to the creator Kohei Horikoshi, who never stopped delivering some of the well-written characters we have ever seen. The My Hero Academia anime reached its end recently. Let’s take a look at the best My Hero Academia characters who will continue to linger in our minds forever.

Spoilers Warning: This article contains spoilers about My Hero Academia characters. Proceed with caution

10. Keigo Takami – Hawks

We have seen many characters who ultimately became villains due to their troubled childhoods, such as Dabi, Tomura, etc. However, Keigo Takami, aka Hawks, is an exception. Hawks suffered from a very young age due to his dysfunctional family. Imagine being brought up in a broken home without ever knowing what’s happening in the outer world. He was a victim of parental neglect and abuse, yet Hawks never spiralled into darkness.

Once he was free from the grasp of his abusive parents, Hawks was trained to become an undercover hero. His Fierce Wings was one of the coolest and most versatile quirks in the MHA series. Hawks was a key character in turning the tide of the final war, but he lost his quirk in the process. Despite being quirkless, Hawks serves as the president of the Hero Public Safety Commission, the very agency that made him a hero. Furthermore, when has a character been voiced by Yuichi Nakamura (Gojo’s VA) that missed the mark of being cool?

9. Mirio Togata – Lemillion

If it weren’t for Izuku Midoriya, Mirio Togata had everything to become the next user of One For All. More popularly known by his hero name, Lemillion, he fought against evil to make the world a place filled with smiles. He was introduced as the strongest student of U.A. High, being part of the Big Three. His quirk, Permeation, may sound simple on paper, but Lemillion honed the power over time to become the No.1 Pro Hero in the future.

Lemillion is an exemplary character in My Hero Academia who instilled hope and inspiration during his appearances in the series. His fight against Overhaul after becoming quirkless is still one of the best fights in MHA history. Therefore, Lemillion deserves a place whenever there is a debate about the best My Hero Academia characters.

8. Tenko Shimura – Tomura Shigaraki

Who would have believed that the grandson of Nana Shimura (the seventh user of One For All quirk) would go on to become the villain who would inherit AFO’s will? Tenko Shimura’s origin story was one of the most tragic tales we encountered in MHA. When we further learned that, it was all orchestrated by his master, All For One.

Nevertheless, Tomura was the epitome of destruction with his Decay quirk and could have obliterated the whole world if it weren’t for Deku. He was the hero in the eyes of the villainous army and determined to destroy until the very end. But when he learned the truth about his origin, Tomura teamed up with Deku to put an end to his master, AFO’s reign.

7. Toya Todoroki – Dabi

Not everyone who was born with a quirk becomes a hero in My Hero Academia. Toya Todoroki, infamously known as Dabi (see the meaning of Dabi‘s name here), was one of Endeavor’s sons who sided with the villains after being mentally tormented and neglected by his own family. Initially, he was assumed dead, but Toya was living and breathing fire to exact revenge against his father all this time. This moment still stands tall as one of the most shocking twists in the MHA series.

What makes Dabi so special is the complexity of his character. He was a victim of poor parental upbringing, and we were able to connect with his tale emotionally. Dabi, whose heart burned so bright with a relentless desire for revenge, almost achieved it, but fortunately, he was stopped by the combined efforts of his entire family. In the end, Dabi couldn’t forgive his father, but he tried to reconnect with his brother, Shoto, but it was already too late for him, as Dabi eventually died due to his injuries.

6. Ochaco Uraraka – Uravity

Ochaco Uraraka was like every other child who wanted to make their parents’ lives better with their work. She enrolled to become a hero, and soon she started to realize that there is more to this world than what she initially perceived. At first, Ochaco’s gravity powers gave her trouble, but she eventually got the hang of them and grew into a better hero.

But Ochaco’s real power was in extending her helping hand to those people who were suffering, just like Deku. As a hero, Ochaco could have just defeated her enemies and moved on to another. But as a kind-hearted character, she offered to reach out to them, as seen in Himiko Toga’s case. Ochaco didn’t stop after becoming a Pro Hero; she started a Quirk Counseling program to nurture the next generation of heroes and save their future from dangers.

5. Enji Todoroki – Endeavor

The word Endeavor means to strive for achieving something, and Kohei Horikoshi named the No. 2 hero Endeavor for a reason. Throughout his life, Endeavor chased after the number one position in the hero billboard and lost himself in the process. Endeavor’s ambitions even affected his own family, which had an echo effect in the story. So when it seemed like there was no hope for the redemption of this hot-headed, fiery hero, Endeavor did step up to become one of My Hero Academia’s best characters.

All Might’s retirement created a dire time, and Endeavor stepped in to become the beacon of hope the world needed at that time. He wasn’t perfect, but he decided to change and carve out his own path with his fiery heart. Despite having to fill the number 1 position, Endeavor did go on to show the world why he is also one later on in the series. More importantly, he was filled with remorse for what he had done to his family and continued to make amends to each family member.

4. Toshinori Yagi – All Might

Toshinori Yagi, better known by the world as All Might, is the former number 1 hero in MHA. When we met him for the first time, we knew there was something special about this larger-than-life character, the same feeling we had when we came across DC’s Superman. All Might was an invincible hero, a force to be reckoned with, but his turn came to an end soon. All Might was also a quirkless kid at one point in his life, and he aspired to become a symbol of peace that the world desperately needed.

He was the force that weakened and overthrew AFO’s rule, giving hope to the next generations. Even after his embers faded away, All Might guided the young minds to become great heroes and secure the peace even in his absence. It’s tough to imagine My Hero Academia without this character, and that’s a testament to All Might’s status as one of the best MHA characters.

3. Shoto Todoroki

Shoto Todoroki is the son of Endeavor, who was welcomed into this world for the sole purpose of surpassing All Might. As his father couldn’t achieve his dream of becoming the No. 1 Pro Hero, he wanted to let his child reach his goal for him. Shoto stole the show whenever he appeared with his Half-Cold Half-Hot quirk, but beneath his ultra-cool quirk was an emotionally disconnected character.

Things turned around for Shoto when he had his first confrontation with Deku in the Sports Festival arc. While Shoto initially rejected the hot side of his quirk, just as he had ignored his father, his path of self-acceptance began later on, and he ultimately became one of the best characters in MHA. In the end, Shoto overcame the past that held him back, reconnected with his family, and ascended to the top to become one of the greatest heroes of his era.

2. Katsuki Bakugo – Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight

If there was one character that we hated seeing for the first time when we began MHA, it was Katsuki Bakugo, due to his constant bullying of Izuku. He sure was a kid with strong potential, but his personality and actions portrayed him so differently that we couldn’t believe he was the deuteragonist of My Hero Academia. But things began to change when he entered U.A. High alongside Izuku Midoriya.

Bakugo’s hatred for Izuku began to fade the moment he started addressing his insecurities, which had shaped him into the person he is. When he put aside his hatred and recognized Deku as his rival, Bakugo went on to become not just a great hero but also one of the best characters in MHA. He redeemed himself, put his life on the line for Izuku, apologized from his heart, came back from the dead to haunt AFO with his quirk awakening, and is still running riot as one of the best Pro Heroes today.

1. Izuku Midoriya – Deku

Izuku Midoriya was born a quirkless kid in a world dominated by superheroes with special quirks. But that didn’t stop him from chasing his dream of becoming a superhero. He proudly wore his ambitions on his sleeve, and that resulted in becoming the ninth user of the ultimate quirk, One For All. At the beginning of the MHA series, Izuku was mocked for being a crybaby, but he did go on to become an icon of inspiration in the modern shonen era.

He touched everyone’s life around him and turned them into their best versions. Then, mastered his OFA quirk and defeated the ultimate evil in the end. Although he ended up quirkless in the end, Deku never stopped inspiring the next generations of heroes. With the help of his friends, he was able to continue his heroic work once again. Deku did become the successor of All Might, and the greatest hero restored peace when it mattered the most.

And that’s a wrap to our list of My Hero Academia characters whom we will never forget anytime soon. We know that many more MHA characters deserve a place here, as Horikoshi has never failed to amaze us. That said, who is your favorite character in My Hero Academia? Let us know in the comments below.