My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi took the world by storm after its 2014 release, solidifying its place as one of shonen's new big three. In 2021, it was the fifth best-selling manga. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a teenager who dreams of becoming a pro-hero despite not having a Quirk.
Though it adheres to many tropes that have become synonymous with other shonen classics, My Hero Academia is pretty unique. However, given its popularity, the series has fallen victim to several misconceptions in the fandom. Most of these are minor misunderstandings, while others are fundamental falsehoods about the series.
9 Fumikage Tokoyami Doesn't Have A Mutant Quirk
Quirks can be pretty confusing. In a world where any Quirk is possible, complexities will inevitably occur. Fumikage Tokoyami has the Quirk Dark Shadow, a shadow entity connected to him. It serves as a protector, though it goes haywire in complete darkness.
While dark shadow certainly resembles Fumikage's physical body, that doesn't make it a mutant Quirk. Rather, his appearance is a mutation. Since children can inherit Quirks from their parents, someone in Fumikage's family likely has a Quirk mutation that gives them a bird's head.
8 One For All Doesn't Cause All Might's Muscle Mass
A common misconception in the fandom is that All Might's muscle mass comes from activating All For One. It's easy to think this, considering that when the Quirk isn't activated, All Might becomes a frail, skinny man with sunken eyes.
However, it's false. Before he received All For One, he trained intensely to build muscle so his body would be able to handle such immense power. When he activates it, he has to flex his muscles for a prolonged period of time until he's exhausted. The muscle form came naturally for All Might, so he could handle using All For One at 100% in a short period of time.
7 His Name Is Iida, Not Lida
Surprisingly, this is a frequent misunderstanding in the fandom. Especially for those who only watch the anime, the subtitles can make Tenya Iida's name appear to be spelled "Lida." It's a genuine mistake many newer fans can make because in the subtitles, the capital "I" looks like a lowercase "L."
Additionally, words that start with "Ii" are uncommon in English. Though it's a minor misunderstanding, it's significant enough to have become a meme in the fandom - especially when new chapters from the Stain arc were rolling out every week.
6 While They Both Have Emitter Quirks, Mina's Quirk Is Not The Same As Katsuki's
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While both Mina Ashido and Katsuki Bakugo have emitter Quirks involving bodily substances, they're quite different. People often mistake Mina's acid for being the product of her sweat, like the nitroglycerin produced by Katsuki's sweat. However, this is incorrect.
Mina's acid is a separate substance entirely. As a result, Mina's skin adapted to become resistant to the toxic, corrosive acid she produces - resulting in her pink skin. She can control the acid's solubility at will, unlike Katsuki who can't control how much sweat he produces at a given time, hence why he stores extra in his gauntlets.
4 Support Items Only Enhance Existing Quirks, They Cannot Grant New Ones
Surprisingly, this is a common misconception in the My Hero Academia fandom. While it should be a given, plenty of people believe that support items can grant brand-new Quirks. Fans have questioned why a person cannot become a hero using support items, even if they don't have a Quirk.
It's stated that these items only enhance one's Quirk or make it easier to use, such as Aoyama's laser belt. Someone without a Quirk wouldn't be able to use a support item because there's nothing for that item to enhance.
3 Quirks Don't Always Reflect Someone's Personality
It's easy to assume that a Quirk would reflect somebody's personality based on a few of the characters in the anime. For example, it just makes sense for someone fiery and short-tempered like Katsuki to have an explosive Quirk.
However, Quirks don't always influence a character's personality. While it's certainly an influence in some cases, it does not apply to every character. Twice, for example, is a great example of the psychological influence of a Quirk. Meanwhile, other Quirks do not influence someone's personality other than how it impacts them, such as in the cases of Shoji, Shinso, or Ojiro.
2 Shoto Wasn't Actually Scarred By Boiling Water
The general consensus among fans for how Shoto received the scar on his face is that it simply occurred when his mother poured boiling water on him. However, it's only partially true. The real reason why he got the scar is because of what she did after.
Shoto's mother immediately panicked after pouring the boiling water on her son's face. In her frenzy, she tried to fix the problem by applying her ice Quirk to the wound, causing frostbite. In the end, Shoto received a nasty scar as a result of the frostbite, not the hot water.
1 Class 1-B Is Not Weaker Than Class 1-A
Since Class 1-A is the focal point of My Hero Academia, it's easy to assume that they're stronger than Class 1-B. However, this is proven false in the story. While Class 1-A has real-life experience against villains under their belt, it was stated that Class 1-B is better in terms of academics and overall Quirk handling.
Both classes are full of impressive Quirks. However, Class 1-B became home to significantly more oddball Quirks, such as Manga Fukudashi's Onomatopoeia or Itsuka Kendo's Big Fist. Class 1-B proved their strengths during the Joint Training Arc, some proving even stronger than certain members of Class 1-A, yet this misconception remains prominent in the fandom.