Professional heroes are the backbone of society in the animated series My Hero Academia, and they vary greatly in their powers and personality. All Might is the classic image of a hero: brave, kind, and seemingly invincible. But then he had to retire after fighting All For One, and in his place as #1 came Endeavor, the flame hero.

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Endeavor had been All Might's rival for some time, the Vegeta to All Might's Goku, and Endeavor certainly stands out, with or without All Might around. Endeavor is tough, stern, gritty and obsessed with becoming the strongest, and he has a fierce Quirk to match his white-hot ambitions and personality. He may remind watchers of similar anime characters, within the My Hero Academia universe and beyond.

10 Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)

Katsuki attacks deku for having a quirk

Katsuki Bakugo is startlingly similar to Endeavor in many ways (though not quite all). To begin with, Bakugo's Quirk, Explosion, is intense and hot, creating detonations at will to blow away Bakugo's enemies. It's not too diffrent from Endeavor's flame Quirk.

And like Endeavor, Bakugo is fiercely determined to reach the top, and he'll do it all by himself, not with a circle of friend to cheer him on. He views Izuku Midoriya the same way Endeavor once viewed All Might, reinforcing the comparison between them.

9 Nnoitora Gilga (Bleach)

nnoitora gilga bleach

The 5th Espada is the fearsome Nnoitora (sometimes spelled Nnoitra) Gilga, a self-obsessed warrior who thinks that strength is all that matters in the world. And in the dog-eat-dog realm of Hueco Mundo, he might just be right.

Nnoitora ranked 5th among the Espadas, but he longed to be #1, and he once boasted to his minion Tesla that he was the best among the Espadas. He is also cruel and willing to step right on other people en route to the #1 slot among the Espadas.

8 Colonel Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

roy mustang fullmetal alchemist

Colonel Roy Mustang isn't quite identical to Endeavor; after all, he is patient and methodical, and he relies heavily on his trusted allies, such as Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. But the general idea is the same: a flame-wielding hero who aspires to reach the top.

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Roy Mustang's raw firepower doesn't quite match Endeavor's, but he's more precise, and he has military discipline and training on his side. In particular, Roy aims to become the new president of Amestris, and guide the nation in a positive direction with his benign but firm hand. He won't settle for less, and that's something Endeavor can relate to.

7 Eren Yeager (Attack On Titan)

Eren Yeager looking intense in Attack on Titan.

Eren Yeager's overlap with Endeavor is most obvious during the earlier arcs of the story, when he was driven mostly by rage and retribution. Eren witnessed his mother's death at a Titan's hands, and now, he's aggressively determined to become stronger and take down all the Titans.

Unlike Endeavor, Eren has friends like Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert, but still, his heart burns with ambition and the obsession with becoming stronger, and he's got a hot temper to match. He almost saw Captain Levi as a rival of sorts, too.

6 Admiral Zhao (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Zhao smile in Avatar

Admiral Zhao is a high-ranking fleet officer of the Fire Nation navy, and he has one thing on his mind: power. He is eager to climb the ranks, and he'll do it by any means necessary. The minute he gets his hands on some power, he'll throw it around for all it's worth.

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Like Endeavor, Admiral Zhao wields the power of flames, but he uses that power for villainy instead of good. Endeavor wouldn't like that, but he would see himself in Zhao's fierce determination to become the strongest and prove himself to the world.

5 Jotaro Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

jotaro kujo jojo

It's true that Jotaro Kujo doesn't use fire the way Endeavor does (that's Avdol's arena), but in other regards, Jotaro is rather like Endeavor, especially with his personality. Endeavor and Jotaro are both tense and serious, and they have little patience for nonsense or distractions.

Jotaro is a gruff hero who wins over allies with his shows of strength, rather than charisma, and that's roughly how Endeavor operates, too. And like Endeavor, Jotaro has a strained relationship with his child: his daughter Jolyne, who appears later in the manga (not so far in the anime).

4 Naofumi Iwatani (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)

Naofumi Iwatani

Naofumi Iwatani, the shield hero, is an isekai protagonist who has no interest in harems or goofing off. Instead, he's got a mission: to help defend the kingdom of Melromarc from the Waves of invading monsters, and he's got nothing but combat shields and his own wits to rely upon.

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Naofumi, like Endeavor and Jotaro, is tough, stern and no-nonsense, making a gruff but reliable ally during an adventure. He can used fire when wielding his demonic shield, and Naofumi is also a father figure, watching over his party members Raphtalia the demihuman and Filo the bird girl.

3 Neji Hyuga (Naruto)

neji hyuga naruto

Neji Hyuga of the Hyuga clan is rather similar to Endeavor earlier in his story arc, when he was a bitter prodigy. He was born fatalistic, due to his position within the Hyuga branch family, and he was fiercely determined to prove himself as an equal to the prestigious main branch.

That's not too different from Endeavor's own rivalry with All Might, and like Endeavor, Neji is pragmatic, self-absorbed and borderline ruthless, not allowing anyone or anything to get in his way. Fortunately, he later relaxed a bit and forged a stronger relationship with his cousin, Hinata Hyuga.

2 Laxus Dreyar (Fairy Tail)

laxus dreyar in the fairy tail anime

One of the strongest wizards of the Fairy Tail guild is Laxus Dreyar, the Lightning Dragon Slayer. He uses a variety of devastating electrical techniques in battle, and he commands his own team, the Thunder God Tribe. He's gruff and abrasive, but deep down, he's got the heart of a hero.

That's just like Endeavor, who was a tyrant to his family and has a sour personality. Still, Laxus and Endeavor both want to save the world and prove their worth at the same time, and they are both slowly mending ties with the family members whom they've wronged (Shoto in Endeavor's case, Makarov in Laxus' case).

1 Genos (One-Punch Man)

Genos is talking in the rain in One-Punch Man.

A few key differences set Genos the cyborg apart from Endeavor, such as his metal body and his more moderate personality. In other ways, though, they're quite similar. Genos, like Endeavor, rapidly moved near the top of the superhero world, but is struggling to reach the #1 spot.

Genos, like Endeavor, is fixated on getting more power to reach the top at last, and both characters have a punch-oriented rival to compare themselves to (All Might for Endeavor, Saitama for Genos). The energy blasts and explosions from Genos' weapons are also reminiscent of Endeavor's flaming Quirk.

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