Everyone remembers the first time they saw Izuku Midoriya. He was just a scrawny kid with messy green hair, crying over a video of All Might saving people with a smile. It was relatable. Heartbreaking, really. For years, the story of Deku My Hero Academia has been the backbone of modern shonen, but as the manga wrapped up in late 2024, the conversation shifted from "Can he do it?" to "Wait, was that actually a good ending?"
He started with nothing. No Quirk, no confidence, just a notebook filled with obsessive hero analysis. Then he got One For All. Then he got six more Quirks. Then he became the greatest hero in the world—or did he? If you've been following the community discourse on Reddit or X lately, you know that Kohei Horikoshi’s protagonist is currently one of the most debated figures in anime history. Some fans call him the perfect underdog. Others think his character arc stumbled right at the finish line.
Why Deku From My Hero Academia Is Not Your Average Hero
Most shonen protagonists want to be the best. Naruto wanted to be Hokage. Luffy wants to be the Pirate King. Midoriya? He just wanted to help. That’s a subtle but massive difference in motivation. He didn't have a selfish bone in his body, which honestly made him a bit of a freak of nature in the hero society Horikoshi built.
Throughout the series, we saw him break his bones—literally shattering his arms to save a kid like Kota or to prove a point to Todoroki. This self-destructiveness is his defining trait. It’s also his biggest flaw. While Bakugo was obsessed with victory, Midoriya was obsessed with salvation.
The Shift From Quirkless to God-Tier
Early on, the appeal of Deku My Hero Academia was the tactical fighting. Since he couldn't just overpower people, he had to use his brain. Remember the Sports Festival? He didn't even use his Quirk to win the obstacle race; he used a piece of robot scrap and a pile of landmines. That was peak Midoriya.
But then the "Six Quirks" reveal happened in the Joint Training Arc.
Suddenly, he wasn't just the "strength" guy. He had Blackwhip, Float, Smokescreen, Fa Jin, Gearshift, and Danger Sense. This is where a lot of veteran fans started to get nervous. When a character becomes that powerful, the stakes change. It stopped being a story about a kid trying to catch up and started being a story about a kid who was destined to be a god. Some people loved the power fantasy. Others felt it betrayed the "anyone can be a hero" message the series started with.
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The Dark Deku Era: A Turning Point
After the Paranormal Liberation War, the story took a massive tonal shift. We got "Dark Deku." He left U.A. High, his costume got all ragged and scary, and he looked more like a villain than a hero. This was arguably the best writing in the entire series.
He was exhausted.
He stopped eating.
He stopped sleeping.
He looked like a monster because he felt he had to carry the entire world on his back. This arc showed the logical extreme of his "save everyone" mindset. It wasn't heroic; it was a mental health crisis. When Class 1-A finally caught up to him and brought him back to school, it was a rare moment where a shonen series actually addressed the emotional burnout of being a "chosen one."
Addressing the Elephant in the Room: The Ending
Let's talk about the finale. We have to. It's been months, and people are still heated. Without spoiling every single frame, the end of Deku My Hero Academia involves Midoriya losing the embers of One For All and returning to a "normal" life for a while.
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Horikoshi made a bold choice.
Instead of Midoriya staying the strongest man alive forever, he showed him as a teacher at U.A. He went back to his roots. For some, this was a beautiful "full circle" moment. It proved that being a hero isn't about having a Quirk; it's about the spirit of helping. For others? It felt like a slap in the face. They wanted him to be the Number One Hero, standing on a pedestal like All Might.
The reality is that Midoriya’s ending is a critique of the "Number One" system. The series spent hundreds of chapters telling us that the "Symbol of Peace" shouldn't just be one guy. It should be everyone. By having Midoriya settle into a teaching role before eventually getting a support suit to continue his work, Horikoshi was saying that the era of the lone pillar is over.
Is He Still the Greatest Hero?
If you measure "greatest" by punch force, maybe not by the very end. But if you measure it by the impact on society, then yeah, he probably is. He changed the way people view villains. His obsession with "saving" Shigaraki rather than just killing him was a radical shift in the hero world's philosophy.
Most heroes see a "bad guy" and think about containment. Midoriya saw a crying child inside a monster. That’s the legacy of Deku My Hero Academia. It’s about empathy as a superpower.
Critical Evolution of the Midoriya Aesthetic
It's worth noting how much his design changed. His original suit—the "Beta" suit—was basically a green jumpsuit his mom bought him. It was dorky. It had those weird long ears that were supposed to look like All Might's hair.
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As the series progressed, the suit became tactical. He added the Iron Sole leggings for his Shoot Style (kicking) and the Mid-Gauntlets to support his arms. By the final war, he looked like a professional soldier. This visual evolution mirrors his loss of innocence. He went from a fanboy to a veteran in about a year of in-universe time. That’s a lot of trauma for a teenager.
Common Misconceptions About Izuku Midoriya
"He's a crybaby."
Honestly, this critique is so 2016. Yes, he cried a lot in the first two seasons. But look at what he was dealing with. He was a bullied kid with no future suddenly given the weight of the world. By the time we get to the Overhaul arc, the crying stops being about weakness and starts being about frustration or empathy."He didn't deserve One For All."
Mirio Togata (Lemillion) is often brought up here. People say Mirio should have gotten the power because he was already a top-tier student. All Might himself admitted Mirio was a great candidate. But All Might chose Midoriya because of his instinct. He moved to save Bakugo from the Sludge Villain when he had no power. That "meddling where you don't belong" is the core of being a hero."He's boring compared to Bakugo."
Bakugo has a more dynamic "redemption" arc, sure. He has to learn to be a decent person. Midoriya is a "static" character in terms of morality—he’s already good. His struggle is external and physical. He’s the anchor that allows characters like Bakugo and Endeavor to change.
Practical Takeaways for Fans and Creators
If you’re a writer or a fan looking to understand why Deku My Hero Academia worked so well for so long, look at the balance of power and consequence. Every time he got stronger, it cost him something. His arms are permanently scarred. His relationship with his mother became strained because she was terrified for his life.
What to do next if you've finished the series:
- Re-read the "Final Performance" chapters: Look specifically at the panels where Midoriya interacts with the previous vestiges. It clarifies a lot of the ending's themes about "passing the torch."
- Watch the movies in order: Two Heroes, Heroes Rising, and World Heroes' Mission aren't just filler. They actually bridge the gap between his power jumps. Heroes Rising in particular gives a "what if" scenario regarding One For All that feels very relevant to the series finale.
- Analyze the "Shoot Style" transition: If you're interested in combat choreography, study the transition from season 1 (punches) to season 3 (kicks). It’s one of the best examples of a character adapting to their own physical limitations.
The story of Izuku Midoriya isn't just about a kid getting powers. It's a long, sometimes messy, but ultimately deeply human look at what it means to be a "good" person in a world that values "strong" people. Whether you loved the ending or hated it, you can't deny that Deku changed the landscape of shonen forever. He proved that you don't need to be the strongest person in the room to be the most important one.