My Hero Academia is the world where superheroes and villains clash in epic battles! But not every hero is all about optimism, and not every villain is pure evil. Some characters show us a different side of the coin—they question the world they live in, often expecting the worst. These are the cynics whose skeptical outlook offers a different flavor to the action-packed series.
Today, we will talk about the five most cynical characters in My Hero Academia. You'll learn what makes them tick, how they interact with other characters, and why their cynical views matter in a world filled with heroes. So, sit back and get ready to meet these complex characters who make you rethink what it means to be a hero or a villain.
1. All For One
All For One has a big desire to control the world. But he must take One For All from someone else to feel complete. He's the main bad guy in My Hero Academia, and he's really selfish. He doesn't care about people's lives at all.
All For One is famous for making people do bad things for him. And when they're not useful anymore, he gets rid of them without feeling sorry.
His newest follower is Tomura Shigaraki. All For One completely takes over Shigaraki to do his evil plans. He uses Shigaraki to try and find and kill All Might. But now, All For One is interested in Izuku Midoriya. Izuku has One For All, the power All For One wants to take for himself.
2. Kai Chikasi
Overhaul has a single, strong desire: he wants the world to return to how it was before quirks existed. It might sound innocent, but Overhaul does some really extreme things to make this happen, like hurting a six-year-old girl. Quirks changed the world a lot by bringing in heroes and villains.
Chisaki relies a lot on his quirk to reach his goals. Without it, he might not have been able to cause so much harm. Chisaki is famous for making bullets that can take away a person's quirk when they get hit. He sells these bullets to other bad guys who use them for more harm.
Chisaki is very selfish, and he uses Eri and her rewind quirk to make these bullets. This puts her through a lot of pain, both physically and emotionally.
3. Toya Todoroki
For a long time, Dabi was just another bad guy who really didn't like heroes and wanted to get rid of them. He's part of the League of Villains and has a powerful quirk that lets him create blue flames.
But during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, Dabi shocks everyone in Japan and My Hero Academia fans. He reveals he's the oldest son of Japan's top hero, Endeavour. He talks about his tough childhood with his dad, Endeavour, who focused on making him stronger than All Might. But when he saw some flaws in Dabi, his dad gave up on him.
His dad's obsession made him keep training, hoping to get his dad's attention, which he wanted. He's mad at his dad for putting him through tough and unnecessary training. This anger makes his blue flames super strong and dangerous. He wants to see his dad fail, and he won't stop until it happens.
4. Tomura Shigaraki
Tomura is another really messed-up and negative character in My Hero Academia. He had a tough childhood, but that's no excuse for how he turned out. Not only does Shigaraki despise the hero society, but he also wants to get rid of all humans and destroy the world.
When Tomura was a kid, he had dreams of becoming a hero. But his dad hated that idea and hurt him because of it. After he got his dangerous Decay quirk, Tomura's family became his first victims. He ended up alone and, strangely enough, happy about it. That's when he met All For One and got involved in All For One's messed-up plan to hurt Izuku Midoriya. Tomura became like a pawn in All For One's sick game.
5. Chizome Akaguro
Stain strongly believes that some heroes only do hero stuff for themselves. At the same time, All Might is a true hero because he genuinely cares about people's safety. He thinks that the hero society lets anyone become a hero, and it's his job to separate the good heroes from the bad ones. According to him, the bad heroes are the ones who are only in it for the money and praise.
But Stain is so obsessed with his beliefs that he doesn't think it's wrong to kill innocent heroes who don't meet his standards. This is a big problem because, even though he's right about some things, he can't just go around acting like he's the judge and jury, taking out heroes who are just trying to do their job.
He wants all heroes to be as dedicated as All Might and Deku. He's willing to go after anyone who doesn't fit into his idea of a hero, even if they're young, like when he tried to kill Tenya Ida.
6. Enji Todoroki
Enji Todorki, a father and a hero, isn't the most selfless person. He had this long-lasting obsession with trying to surpass All Might. He really wanted to be stronger than him, but when he saw it wasn't possible, he didn't give up. Instead, he decided to marry a woman with a powerful quirk, just like his, hoping they'd have a child strong enough to beat All Might.
Enji tried to train his first son, Toya, to become powerful, but when Toya didn't show the progress he wanted, he gave up on him. He tried twice with two more children until he finally got the perfect child on the third try, one with an equally balanced quirk. But this obsession caused Toya to hate him, and eventually, he became the villain known as Dabi.
7. Katsuki Bakugo
Since he was a little kid, Bakugo has always been focused on himself and being the best. It's okay to want to excel, but Bakugo takes it to the extreme and doesn't care about how he treats others and their feelings. He bullies Izuku Midoriya, who doesn't have a quirk because he feels threatened by Midoriya's heroic nature and constantly tries to make him feel weak and worthless.
Bakugo became really good with his quirk at a young age, and the constant praise from others made him even more cynical, driving him to want to be the best and win at any cost.
During the U.A. Sports Festival, many people saw Bakugo as a potential villain because he used his powers without concern for the people around him. The League of Villains noticed his anger and desire to win at any cost and tried to recruit him, but Bakugo wasn't interested. He wants to be a hero, but he needs to learn that being a hero means putting others first and not always trying to win. Thankfully, fans can see that he's slowly starting to change and grow out of this phase.