The villains showcased within the world of My Hero Academia range anywhere from harmless yet entertaining to posing a serious threat to even seasoned Pro Heroes, such as when Stain is seen taking out Ingenium. Some start out too immature to truly make use of the full extent of their powers, but end up growing over time and becoming a true terror, shown in Shigaraki's case.
One villain who ends up becoming a fan-favorite is Himiko Toga, for a mixture of her design, personality and unique Quirk. She originally appears no different from the average anime schoolgirl, with her unkempt hair and dark undereye circles helping her to appear slightly more unhinged. These features are also noted by Horikoshi to cause her to become incredibly hard to draw compared to other characters, but it pays off in the form of one of the series' fan-favorite villains.
10 The Nature Of Her Quirk Shows That She's Actually A Highly Intelligent Character
Himiko's Quirk is Transform, which allows her to take the aesthetic appearance of someone else, provided that she has some of their blood to work with. It can even alter her voice to match - and can later mimic their own Quirk if she knows enough about them - but other details have to be obtained by Himiko herself through information-gathering.
This helps her to show off her intelligent side which can oftentimes feel lost under her unhinged demeanor and actions. She's able to understand and duplicate Camie's personality well enough to avoid garnering suspicion, and she has a deep enough understanding of Uraraka's powers to be able to use her Quirk.
9 She's Cheerful To The Point Of Smiling In The Face Of Danger Or After Having Killed Someone
Himiko is shown to have an incredibly cheerful personality, which extends to acts of violence such as when she's taking someone's life, making her appear quite sadistic. She's also shown to be smiling when her own life is threatened as well, such as when Shigaraki threatens to attack her, which helps add to her creepiness factor. The only time she stops smiling is when something bores or annoys her, in which case she exudes even more murderous energy than usual.
8 Her View Of Love Is Skewed, Seeing Loving Someone As Wanting To Kill And Become Them
Himiko's perception of love and friendship are incredibly skewed, but it only adds to making her such an entertaining villain to watch on-screen. She'll charge at Tsuyu and Ochaco with a knife in hand, aiming to hurt them and take their blood, while at the same time referring to them as "lovely" and trying to befriend them.
She shows genuine interest in getting to know the people she "loves" before attempting to kill and become them. This is best seen when she questions Uraraka about Izuku's beliefs, showing that she truly does want to get to know and be like those she admires rather than it simply being empty talk.
7 She's Confident Enough To Impersonate An Aspiring Hero And Infiltrate An Exam Packed With Both Aspiring And Pro Heroes
It's true that Himiko is a rather unhinged and at times impulsive character who can let her bloodlust override her better judgment. However, one of the most brilliant aspects about her is that she's still able to control herself enough to avoid drawing suspicion while disguised as Camie.
She pretends to be the part of the up-and-coming heroes without drawing suspicion from those around her, which is quite the impressive feat. It also displays a great deal of confidence in herself and her abilities, as the exam she infiltrates is full of both aspiring and Pro Heroes who could likely easily detain her if she blew her cover.
6 She Still Has The Capacity To Care Deeply About And Comfort Her Comrades
A villain simply isn't as good of an antagonist if they display a complete lack of capacity to care for their fellow villains. Luckily, for as warped of a view as she has regarding friendship, Himiko is still able to make genuine bonds with some of her fellow League of Villains members.
The best example of this would be with Twice, where she shows a surprising compassionate side as she helps comfort him when he's distraught. She also covers a part of his ripped mask to prevent him from splitting, understanding the mental anguish he would undergo from doing so and wanting to help stop it.
5 She Was Never "Normal" By Society's Standards And Simply Decided To Drop Her Mask Over Time
A common trope for characters like Himiko is that they're often regarded to be sweet, normal children with nothing suspicious or evil about them before finally "snapping" one day. There's typically no solid explanation for why they do so, but in Himiko's case, she's had her own warped version of normal for as long as she can remember.
The sweet, well-mannered and cheerful girl that her friends and family had come to know was never anything besides an act on her part to appear normal by society's standards. She eventually realizes how much happier and free she is without having to pretend and drops this mask, fully embracing her own version of normal.
4 After Twice's Death, She Begins To Think Deeply About Heroes And How Villains Are Perceived In Society
Despite her unhinged personality and her more violent habits, Himiko is still shown to have some semblance of standards. This is best seen after Twice is killed, about which Himiko is shocked and driven to great anger, unlike her usual cheerful aloofness regarding killing.
She takes off on a murderous rampage to attempt to avenge her friend, and she ends up being shown to have a deep personal dilemma regarding how villains are viewed by heroes. She begins to question whether or not the heroes viewed Twice as a person at all, having been okay with killing him, despite heroes supposedly existing to help and save others.
3 She Genuinely Begins To Fear What Might Happen To Her If She's Captured By The Heroes
Himiko generally seems unconcerned about her own safety when threatened by one of her fellow villains or when trying to obtain the blood of others. However, after Twice's death, she's shown to become curious about and even somewhat fearful towards what might become of her if the heroes were to capture her.
She's actually shown going to Uraraka to inquire about this, one of the two girls from Class 1-A that she tries to befriend, having previously told Uraraka that the two of them are the same for their admiration of Izuku. Uraraka replies that she would be apprehended but doesn't elaborate on anything beyond this, showing that Himiko still has unanswered questions regarding the supposed "just" nature of those who call themselves heroes.
2 She Has Incredible Reflexes And Agility To Make Up For Her Lack Of A Combat-Enhancing Quirk
While Himiko's Quirk is incredibly powerful and can gift her the powers of others once she's studied them enough, she not only has to spend her time researching them, but has to be able to safely obtain their blood to begin with. Her Quirk doesn't exactly help her do so, only being able to be of use after she enters close-quarters combat with an enemy. To make up for this, she has incredible reflexes and is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, only being stopped by Uraraka due to her ultra-intensive training under Gunhead.
1 There's An Air Of Mystery Surrounding The Nature Of Her Quirk For Nearly Fifty Chapters After Her Debut
When Himiko is first introduced to viewers, the nature of her Quirk is completely unknown and shrouded in mystery. She does drop a hint by saying that she wants to "kill Mr. Stainy and be Mr. Stainy," but she appears and acts so unhinged that this isn't taken as official confirmation for anything regarding her powers.
Due to her appearance as a slightly-unkempt but still bright and cheerful schoolgirl, Himiko's introduction and initial attitude raise more questions than they answer. This continues to be the case until nearly fifty chapters after her debut, when the actual nature of her Quirk is finally revealed, and even then there's still a lot kept hidden about her.