My Hero Academia and Izuku’s story of becoming a true hero captivated fans because it's an anime show that's full of fun characters and enthralling action. However, one of the Class 1-A students, Minoru Mineta, was disliked because he was often a perv.
A large number of My Hero Academia fans didn’t understand why his character was necessary for the show. They quickly grew to hate this small, perverted character, who was only in MHA to create creepy comedic moments and make others appear in a better light.
However, Mineta also had his fans and his glory moments in the show. While his character never changed enough to become one of the MHA fan favorites he still had some loveable moments.
10 Hated Him: When He Groped Tsuyu During The U.S.J. Attack
Between episodes 9 and 13 students had to practice their rescue skills at the Unforeseen Simulation Unit. In the middle of their practice, they were attacked by the League of Villains.
Students acted very bravely throughout and did their best to save themselves. When Tsuyu and Mineta were attacked, the boy’s initial reaction was to hold his classmate tight and his hands landed on Tsuyu's chest.
Naturally, this disrespectful move upset most fans and made them hate Mineta even more.
9 Loved Him: When He Got Into The Heroes Course
Although many viewers criticized Mineta for not being hero material he did have plenty of surprises up his sleeve. Fans grew to love him and understand him a bit better when they learned how Mineta gained admission to the class.
During the entrance exam, his goal was to disable fake villain robots. Since he wouldn’t have been able to fight them, Mineta used his creativity and wits to take advantage of his Quirk.
He used the spheres to set traps and managed to pass the test. He proved that even though he's not the biggest or strongest hero, his intelligence can help him beat his enemies.
8 Hated Him: When He Was Creepy With Momo
Mineta was disturbingly immature and perverted. His attraction toward girls showed in a way no one could agree with. Over the years Mineta expressed his interest in both Momo and Tsuyu in a creepy manner.
Some Fans didn’t enjoy his tasteless behavior and often wished for him to be written out of My Hero Academia. One of his weirdest acts against Momo was when he used his grapes to piggyback ride her.
To fans delight, both Tsuyu and Momo are confident and not afraid to punish the boy right after his offensive moments. What also upset viewers was the fact that Mineta didn’t seem to learn from any of these situations.
7 Loved Him: During The Battle With Midnight
At the First Term Final exam, Mineta showcased extraordinary skills that helped fans like him a little more. He was paired with Sero and had to go against Midnight.
Everyone figured it would be a huge challenge for the two because Midnight’s quirk is powerful. When Sero passed out due to the gas Midnight released, everyone thought Mineta would fail.
To fans’ surprise, the boy was able to leverage Sero’s tape and his Super Move also appeared for the first time and he eventually was able to defeat Midnight.
6 Hated Him: During The Training Camp Arc
Mineta was crafty, especially when it came to girls. Whenever he had the chance he was lurking around a female character, because he just couldn’t restrain himself. During the Training Camp Arc, Mineta was especially pervy, which didn’t make anyone like him better.
When Mineta realized there was an overlap between the girls and the boys' bathing times, he grabbed the opportunity.
Naturally, he wanted to take a peak and started to climb the wall between the two bathing areas but Kota pulled him back.
5 Loved Him: When He Was A Team Player
Fans hated Mineta for many reasons, however, everyone loved him for being a great team player. He scored 4/5 on teamwork and everyone knew, if the situation demands, Mineta will be on their side.
There were several occasions when he shined, especially at the League of Villain’s ambush. He helped Midoriya and Tsuyu flee showing he doesn’t scare away from tough situations if his peers are in danger.
Even though Mineta was often annoying and even acted cowardly his loyalty made many fans like him better.
4 Hated Him: When He Qualified For The Provisional Hero License
This episode made fans feel much worse about Mineta. When he received the license, he realized that Todoroki did not pass.
Mineta felt so happy about it, he began to mock his classmate and exhibited a little too much satisfaction about Todoroki's failure.
Todoroki was generally a beloved character and every fan preferred him over Mineta, so these scenes definitely ruined his reputation further. Most fans were so disappointed about his character, they didn’t want to see any more of him.
3 Loved Him: When He Was There As A Friend For Tsuyu
Although Mineta often acted despicably around females, including Tsuyu, their friendship was a fan favorite. Because Mineta proved to be a good friend fans were able to forget about his pervy moments.
He cared deeply for Tsuyu and often protected her whenever it was necessary. In some cases, Mineta saved her life and looked after her in a tender and non-creepy way. That certainly helped fans like him somewhat more.
His Friendship with Tsuyu proved to fans that there is more to Mineta's character than simply being a perv.
2 Hated Him: When Mineta Was Creepy With Eri
Mineta became My Hero Academia's least favorite character with one sentence; "I'm Mineta, I can't wait to see how you look in ten years." While this may seem like an innocent introduction fans immediately knew the creepy meaning behind Mineta's words.
His distasteful comment is easily the worst thing he has ever done or said. Most fans were shocked and felt the writers went way too far. Eri was only a six-year-old at the time, therefore this sentence is extremely out of line.
People were often outraged and strongly hated Mineta, but this time fans were upset with the writers as well.
1 Loved Him: When Fans Learned About His Backstory
Mineta had done some pervy things and fans didn’t like him for those at all. However, when he revealed his motivation, some viewers felt a bit closer to him.
He was often picked on as a kid and he was also often bullied. As years passed Mineta pledged to become a Hero and do whatever it takes to become cool and popular.
"Stripping the Varnish" was one of My Hero Academia's most exciting episodes where fans could finally learn more about Mineta's background, and see him grow as a character as he finally stepped onto the road of becoming a true hero.