One of My Hero Academia's main criticisms has been that its central protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, is a bit too emotional. While it is true that Midoriya never makes any attempt to hold back his tears, fans often fail to put themselves in his shoes. After living for most of his life as a Quirkless kid to suddenly being mentored by his idol, it's no surprise why he'd get so choked up at every corner.
Still, he's not the only character who's shed tears throughout the series. My Hero Academia is actually a pretty emotional series, meaning that many of its characters have cried as well, all for a myriad of different reasons.
10 Minoru Mineta
Perhaps second to Midoriya, Minoru Mineta is the show's second-biggest crybaby. Not only did he immediately start shedding tears during his first encounter with real villains during the U.S.J. Incident, but he also teared up when he was cornered by Midnight during his Final Exam.
His Quirk has some truly unique and useful applications, but it looks like he's been too busy working the waterworks to actually discover them.
9 Masegaki Primary School Class Leader
During the remedial Hero License course, the participants were thrown for a curveball when one of their most recent assignments was to connect with a band of rowdy, powerful children from Masegaki Primary School. While dealing with the kids, it didn't take the high schoolers long to deduce that a leader was somewhere amongst the primary schoolers' ranks.
Bakugo was the one to identify him, and although he resisted up until the very last second, it was Bakugo's advice straight from the heart that shattered the child's emotional walls. Not only did this change him for the better, but it drew forth some truly memorable, almost comical tears.
8 Fumikage Tokoyami
Despite being an aspiring hero, Tokoyami definitely has a dark personality. This is completely understandable, given that his quirk enables him to manipulate a monster of shadows that resides within him at all times. As shown during the Vanguard Action Squad Invasion, Dark Shadow not only feeds on his negative emotions, but becomes a lot stronger and wholly independent with the absence of light.
As Tokoyami lost control over his power, overcome with guilt after hurting his classmates, fans saw the young hero shedding a stream of tears in a moment that looked just as uncomfortable as it must have been heartbreaking.
7 Shoto Todoroki
When Todoroki was first introduced, it became immediately clear that he was someone who carried many emotional burdens on his shoulders, but in traditional Shonen fashion, he was that character who attempted to carry these burdens all on his own.
During his emotional fight with Midoriya during the U.A. Sports Festival, he finally used his fire after remembering the words of his mother, who encouraged him to use his powers to become the hero he always dreamed of.
6 Momo Yaoyorozu
Due to her privileged upbringing, it's clear that Yaoyorozu never had to face any significant amount of hardship or strife. In most situations, she remains calm and levelheaded, but when things don't go her way, she's quick to break down. Fans first caught a glimpse of this after her humiliating loss to Tokoyami during the U.A. Sports Festival.
She carried this loss around with her all the way to Final Exams, where she struggled to face Aizawa with confidence. After she and Todoroki managed to subdue him, she was brought to tears with the realization that in doubting her own abilities for so long, she'd only been holding herself back.
5 Tsuyu Asui
Tsuyu is known for her proficiency as a student as well as her levelheadedness in some truly harrowing situations, and while she normally isn't too expressive with her emotions, viewers were shocked when she confronted Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Iida, Kirishima, and Midoriya after Class 1-A moved into their dorms.
She expressed how hurt she was that this specific group ventured out to save Bakugo on their own despite her efforts to convince them not to. In dealing with feelings that she didn't know how to process, she couldn't hold back her tears at all, which led to one of the more melodramatic moments of the series.
4 Ochaco Uraraka
Uraraka has made a statement in the hero world, using her Zero Gravity Quirk alongside the martial arts she learned from Gunhead to become a reliable battle hero. And while she puts on many fronts (like pretending she's always chipper or that she doesn't have some kind of feelings for Midoriya), fans saw those emotional walls crumble after she lost to Bakugo during the U.A. Sports Festival.
Despite her loss, her parents expressed how proud they were, and she couldn't stop the tears that followed.
3 La Brava
La Brava has probably shed more tears throughout her life than any other character in the series. In school, she was constantly ridiculed by boys she had crushes on, so when she finally found Gentle, who accepted her for who she was, she vowed to always stick by his side.
She's been shown crying before she met him, when their bond became deeper than just an idol and his fan, and after Midoriya bested Gentle in battle. After seeing what she's been through, it's no surprise that she doesn't hesitate to stop the tears, though that won't get her any sympathy when it comes to the law.
2 All Might
As the former Number One hero in the world, All Might is a man who continues to shape society, even after his retirement. To most, he's an unrelenting symbol of justice who's never been shown not smiling, but as fans later saw, he's just a normal man who merely understands what it takes to be a true hero. In reality, he's a man with just as many emotions as anyone else.
During his fight with All For One, with the revelation that Shigaraki was actually his master's grandson, his soul was utterly crushed, and after he reunited with Midoriya the following day, he couldn't hold back his tears as he embraced his own disciple. Many fans were shocked to see All Might tearing up, especially after he constantly tells Midoriya to stop crying himself, but it's clear that he cares so much about Midoriya and worries about him like the son he never had.
1 Katsuki Bakugo
