The hit shonen series My Hero Academia stars Izuku Midoriya, the boy who inherited One For All, and his quest to become the new symbol of peace after All Might. But he's not the only kid aspiring to become a great hero. Izuku is just one of twenty students in U.A.'s Class 1-A, and some of his peers are rather peculiar, even in this Quirk-filled world.
There's always the raven-headed Fumikage Tokoyami or the gentle giant Koji Koda, but what about Mezo Shoji, the boy with six arms? Many aspects of his character are downright bizarre or haven't yet been explained, and while these oddities are minor in the grand scheme of things, viewers who look closely may realize that there are many unanswered questions about Mezo Shoji.
10 Why Does Mezo Pay Tribute To A Famed Teacher, Kakashi Hatake?
It's no secret that many My Hero Academia characters pay tribute to shonen heroes of previous generations and American comic book heroes, such as Hanta Sero swinging around like Spider-Man or Tetsutetsu being like Colossus of the X-Men. But what about Mezo Shoji?
Visually, Mezo Shoji resembles Kakashi Hatake of Naruto fame, from his blue face mask to his gray hair. It's odd, though, since Kakashi is a teacher and a mentor while Mezo is a student, and Mezo isn't much of a mentor-type at all.
9 Don't His Shoulders Get Sore?
On a more amusing note, fans might wonder if having a set of six arms comes at a price. A few other anime characters or monsters have six arms too, such as Kidomaru of the Sound Four in Naruto to Machamp from Pokémon. This is bound to literally weigh heavily on those characters.
This is a minor issue at best, but still, what if Mezo suffers from serious shoulder soreness by having three arms per shoulder, and all their combined weight? The poor kid must need a lot of massages and rest.
8 Why Does Mezo Cover His Mouth At All?
Why does Mezo Shoji feel the need to cover part of his face at all times? It's one thing for some heroes to cover parts of their faces as part of their costumes, such as the pro hero Hawks and his yellow visor, or Katsuki Bakugo's black mask over his eyes. But those are for the sake of a costume, not everyday life.
Meanwhile, Mezo Shoji is always wearing that blue mask over his nose and mouth, or a similar one while in his hero costume. He did this for other people's sake in his hometown, but why keep it up at school? No one there is terribly afraid of his appearance.
7 Why Is Mezo's Head Elongated?
Having a Quirk can result in a person having a modified body shape, from Fumikage's trademark raven head to Hanta Sero's bulky elbows to Mina Ashido's pink skin and black scleras. Mezo Shoji's Quirk has mutated his arms, which makes sense, but what about his head?
For whatever reason, Mezo has a somewhat elongated head, which is even more obvious from the shape of his hair that extends rather far forward. It's not clear how an arm-based Quirk altered the shape of his head as well. Or is it something entirely unrelated?
6 Why Does Mezo Have So Few Possessions?
Mezo Shoji did try to explain this in the anime, but he was a bit evasive about it, leaving some questions unanswered. In Season 3, Class 1-A's students took turns checking out each other's customized bedrooms, from Yuga Aoyama's dazzling living quarters to Mina Ashido's stylish room. What about Mezo's?
Incredibly, Mezo Shoji's room was downright spartan, having a plain desk and seating mat, a plain futon, and nothing else. Even Ochaco Uraraka, who came from an impoverished household, found ways to personalize her room. There's no way Mezo's personality is this plain. Is he hiding something?
5 Why Does Mezo Have Military-Style Civilian Clothes?
Every student at U.A. has their own idea of civilian clothes, mainly dressing up in fairly ordinary street duds when they are not at school or fighting as a trainee hero. Most of these outfits are unremarkable as shown in their sketches, but Mezo's is a bit odd.
For unclear reasons, Mezo is shown in camo pants, tough-looking boots, a belt, and a tank top, almost like a soldier who's taking it easy at the barracks. All that's missing are some dog tags. Perhaps Mezo's second career choice, behind pro hero, was to join the Japanese defense force?
4 Can Mezo Make Complete Extra Heads?
Mezo Shoji's Quirk doesn't just give him extra arms. It also allows him to make eyes, mouths, and ears at the ends of his extra limbs, making him an effective scout in battle. But can he train his Quirk hard enough to make fully-formed extra heads and not just sensory organs?
Concept art suggests that this is possible, but not all details from early concept art make it into the final product. For now, Mezo is either holding back or unable to make extra heads. But if he can, that would be quite a sight to see.
3 Why Is Mezo's Hair Gray?
A wide variety of hair colors can be seen in this series, from Izuku's vivid green hair (as per his last name) to Ochaco Uraraka's chestnut-brown hair and Momo Yaoyorozu's dark hair. Shoto Todoroki's hair reflects the two halves of his Quirk, including his mother's pale gray hair to reflect their shared ice powers.
Mezo Shoji's hair is also pale gray, but there's no clear reason for this. His Quirk is a physical one, not an elemental one, so there is no obvious connection between that and the color of his hair. Adolescents don't typically have gray hair, even in this supernatural future setting.
2 Why Does His Quirk Include Webbing?
It is clear that the webbing between Mezo Shoji's arms is rather useful, since he can use it to form a dome to protect his allies (such as Minoru Mineta and Tsuyu), and he can use that webbing as an organic hang glider. But how did it get there?
Mezo's Quirk is based on having six arms, and while the webbing fits nearly between his arms, it doesn't necessarily have to be there. How did his genes make the leap from "extra arms" to bat-like webbing? He could have just as easily not had any webbing, but on a practical level, he's better off with it.
1 Why Does Mezo Only Speak Through His Extra Mouths?
There are some plausible theories for this, but nothing seems to be confirmed just yet. Anime characters such as Kakashi Hatake and Ken Kaneki can speak fairly clearly through their face masks, and there is every reason to think that Mezo Shoji can, too. But he doesn't even try.
Instead, Mezo will use a mouth on his extra limbs to talk, and it's quite a visual. Is he too shy to use his real mouth? Does he feel ashamed to use it for some reason? Or perhaps this is merely Mezo's idea of being cool.