My Hero Academia's Tsuyu Asui has long been a fan-favorite character, capable of taking down baddies in battle while being the voice of reason for her friends. A huge part of her appeal comes from her deceptively simple Quirk, Frog. Let's unpack what secrets our froggy friend's been hiding.
Its Amazing Tsuyu Can Still Talk with Her "Frog" Tongue
Of all the things to take for granted, often it's the small things the advent of superpowers reveals. Tsuyu's tongue is insanely strong, being able to lift rubble and people with ease. Couple this with the appendage's insane length, and it's amazing the girl hasn't knocked her own teeth out! Part of the reason for this could be the consistency of her tongue, being a mixture of frog and human. Frog tongues are notoriously soft, with the ability to turn their saliva incredibly sticky to better grip and hold onto prey. This softness may help prevent her from rattling her bones every time she tries to form a word.
Of course, Tsuyu's tongue isn't exactly like a frog's either, as unlike humans, frog tongues connect at the front of the jaw and flip outwards to catch prey. Clearly, the fact that she can form words means that her tongue is connected at the back, which also means that she has to fold it up inside her mouth to get it to a point where she can use the tip of it to manipulate the air coming from her throat to speak.
Tsuyu's Frog Quirk Lets Her Breath Underwater... But She Can Still Drown
Falling into the "can do anything X animal can do" category of superpower, it only makes sense that Tsuyu, just like real frogs, can breathe underwater. Also like real frogs, she can still drown. When she breathes underwater, she's not using her lungs. Instead, she absorbs oxygen directly through her skin, meaning that there are actually multiple ways she can drown.
The first is the usual way -- filling her lungs with water, just like any human. The second is a little more tricky and could spell disaster if she attempted a deep-water rescue without proper equipment or information. If there isn't enough oxygen in the water for her to absorb, she'll quickly find herself dying. Despite the fact that she's mostly been shown fighting on land, it would be well worth it for her to ensure her costume is completely water-breathable, as the extra oxygen could go a long way towards saving others.
Mucus is a Frog's -- And Tsuyu's -- Best Friend
As revealed in Volume 2, Chapter 15, "Vs." Tsuyu can secrete a "poisonous" mucus that irritates the skin. While she initially downplays this ability, it's a lot more versatile than it seems. The mucus she secretes has a strong smell that can confuse enemies who use scent to locate heroes, a fact she made great use of in the second movie. Furthermore, this mucus, if she creates enough of it, can also temporarily paralyze opponents. While the ability to lay down mucus traps may not be appealing, it is certainly a tactic that can come in handy in battle -- or after capturing a particularly aggressive villain who's not giving up. Being able to temporarily paralyze such a villain would allow the police to transport them to jail safely, without necessarily needing an escort.
Tsuyu Is An Expert At Hide and Seek, Thanks To Her Frog Quirk's Camouflage
Perhaps the most underrated of her abilities, Tsuyu can match the temperature and color around her, letting her blend in, even to those with heat-vision, or a heat camera. Not only does it allow her to pull off many power and successful sneak attacks, but it also means that she's extremely good at reconnaissance. She can sneak into enemy territory to lay down traps, listen in on plans and thwart or stall them covertly until the time comes to strike. Supplemented with the color-changing costume that camouflages her, she quickly can overtake her classmate, Toru Hagakure, for the role of Invisible Woman.
Tsuyu's Frog Quirk Lets Her Defy Gravity
The frog-like stance Tsuyu often assumes while wall-climbing isn't just for show. Real-life frogs use a low spread-out position to increase their surface area, allowing friction to aid the mucus they use to stick to the sheer surface. While it's not exactly certain how she does this through her gloves, being able to wall-and-ceiling climb is a huge boon to Tsuyu's strongest trait -- her mobility. Whether it's jumping gravity-defying heights in the sky, breaching water completely, or sneaking around the edge of a building, gravity's pull has nothing on this froggy hero.