One of the most shocking twists in the My Hero Academia series happened when the flamin’ hot villain Dabi was revealed to be the long-lost son of Endeavor. Dabi was always seen burning with anger, and his uncontrollable rage is almost palpable on screen. Kohei Horikoshi, being the brilliant author he is, gave the name Dabi to Toya Todoroki for a reason in the My Hero Academia series. Let’s analyze both the names of Endeavor’s eldest son to discover the hidden meaning behind Dabi’s name in MHA.
Spoiler Warning:
This article contains spoilers about Dabi, aka Toya Todoroki, in My Hero Academia. Proceed with caution.
The Meaning of Dabi’s Real Name in My Hero Academia
Before Dabi adopted his villain name, he was named Toya Todoroki by his parents. Horikoshi sensei confirmed Toya’s birthday as January 18. If you split his birthday date, 10 is read as ‘To’ (十) and 8 is read as ‘Ya’ (八) in Japanese. When you combine them, it results in the name Toya. In line with author Eiichiro Oda, Kohei Horikoshi also likes to do wordplay with numbers in his characters’ names.
The literal definition of ‘To’ would be light, lamp, or flame, and ‘Ya’ would mean arrow. So, it can be read as an arrow of light or flame, which could mean a guiding flame or light. That’s sure an inspiring name bursting with positivity. As a young boy, Toya had the flame to follow his father’s footsteps and chase the dream his father was never able to achieve. But that flame was soon extinguished when Endeavor treated his kid as a failed experiment.
Why Did Toya Name Himself Dabi?
As you might know, Toya was born with the quirk “Blueflame,” which lets him produce fire way hotter than his father’s hellflame. However, Toya didn’t inherit his father’s heat resistance; instead, he acquired his mother’s cold resistance. Therefore, Toya always got injured by his own flames, which made his father consider him a failure.
Even when his father stopped training him, Dabi wouldn’t let go of his ambition and underwent rigorous training, albeit his own flames hurt him. He asked his father to come watch him one time, but Endeavor got mad that his eldest son trained all alone despite his warning. So when Endeavor abandoned his son’s request, a heartbroken Toya unleashed his blue flames and couldn’t control them.
It resulted in a wildfire, and right when Toya was getting burned to death by his flames, he jumped into a nearby lake, escaping death at the last minute. While Toya’s family thought Toya succumbed to his own flames, Toya was rescued by none other than All For One and his team.
Toya would only awaken from his coma after three long years. Imagine after waking up, he found out that his father had focused on his new child, Shoto, and it seemed as if his family had long forgotten him. AFO only added fuel to this fire by reminding him that he was a failure. That day, the bright Toya was buried, and rose from the ashes by renaming himself as Dabi. From now on, Dabi hid his true identity by dyeing his hair and let hell loose by truly becoming Dabi.
The Meaning of Dabi in My Hero Academia
So, why did Toya choose the name Dabi specifically? What does Dabi mean, you ask? Dabi translates to ‘Cremation’ in Japanese. Cremation involves burning a body in intense flames until it becomes ashes. Now, if you remember, Toya almost cremated himself with his blue flames when he tried to impress his father. In a way, his name Dabi could be a reminder of his own cremation, or could also signify that he cremated his own past that day to be reborn as a new vengeful character.
In addition, Dabi’s goal was to exact revenge against his father, and he tried to do so by burning himself to death once again, but alongside his father this time. Once again, the name Dabi always points towards cremation, often associated with death in the MHA series. In fact, Kyudai, the old man, remarked that Dabi should have died long ago after waking up from his coma. However, Dabi’s fierce desire to get his revenge kept him alive and kicking after all these years.
Ironically, Dabi in Hebrew means ‘to be dearly loved’, which Dabi clearly wasn’t by his father when he was growing up. That said, what’s your interpretation of Dabi’s name? Let us know in the comments below.
