My Hero Academias epic superhero tale is divided into a number of story arcs that fit neatly into three major sagas to tell the story of Deku's rise to power. Major plot twists like Yuga Aoyama's reluctant betrayal and Bakugo's near death helped define the story and provided some powerful emotional stakes, but of course fans care about fights and power levels as well. That's why it's fun to review all the major arcs and determine which are the strongest characters.
Smaller bows may not count, as they don't have much action and can easily be lumped in with the larger bows around them, while the large bows have a clear hierarchy of power levels. It is also interesting how some characters enter My Hero Academia rank modestly in some arcs and grow up to be total powerhouses in others, while other characters get the opposite experience. All of these arc-defining characters can be ranked by how strong each is in their respective story arcs.
UA Sports Festival Arc: Katsuki Bakugo
Funnily enough, it didn't feel like Bakugo deserved it
During the tournament phase of the UA Sports Festival Arc, Katsuki Bakugo clearly stood out as it[strongestcompetitorWhilethegreaterworldofheroesandvillainsareothercharactersmuchstrongerthananyUAstudentmentheanimedidn'tfocusonthematthetimeWhiletheschool-widecompetitionwasBakugo#1althoughhehadstiffcompetitionfromShotoDekuandFumikageandstillwithTenyaIidaitwasnotsurprisingthatmostofthesecharactersmadeittothefinalfourofthetournament[powerfulcontestantInthebiggerworldofheroesandvillainsothercharactersweremuchstrongerthananyUAstudentbuttheanimewasn'tfocusingonthematthetimeInthatschool-widecompetitionBakugowas#1thoughhehadsomestiffcompetitionintheformofShotoDekuandFumikageandevenTenyaIidaIt'snowondermostofthosecharactersmadeittothetournament'sfinalfour[kraftigastetävlandeIdenstörrevärldenavhjältarochskurkarvarandrakaraktärermycketstarkareännågonUA-studentmenanimenfokuseradeintepådemviddentidenIdenskolomfattandetävlingenvarBakugo#1ävenomhanhadehårdkonkurrensiformavShotoDekuochFumikageochtillochmedTenyaIidaDetärintekonstigtattdeflestaavdessakaraktärertogsigtillturneringensfyrasista[powerfulcontestantInthebiggerworldofheroesandvillainsothercharactersweremuchstrongerthananyUAstudentbuttheanimewasn’tfocusingonthematthetimeInthatschool-widecompetitionBakugowas#1thoughhehadsomestiffcompetitionintheformofShotoDekuandFumikageandevenTenyaIidaIt’snowondermostofthosecharactersmadeittothetournament’sfinalfour
Shoto Power has won if he made full use of his Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk, but his personal barriers blocked him from reaching his full potential hence the final match's outcome. Bakugo, on the other hand, was eager to use 100% of his Explosion Quirk's power at the time, including the overwhelming fury of the Howitzer Impact move. With such fierce determination and advanced moves, it's no wonder Bakugo broke through Ochaco, Eijiro, Fumikage, and Shoto to take a gold medal he didn't feel he fully deserved. It was the first real hint that power alone wasn't going to make Bakugo feel happy or fulfilled as a budding hero.
Joint Training Arc: Shoto Todoroki
Shoto learned to go Plus Ultra
Plot-wise, the Joint Training Arc was only important in the sense that it welcomed Hitoshi Shinso to the ranks of student heroes and showed Deku awakening the properties embedded in One For All. But another key element of his arc is how the power rankings of Classes 1-A and 1-B had changed a lot by this point. Some students turned out to be much stronger than expected, while others performed roughly as expected, and others disappointed their classmates. It was a time to reevaluate what all first years at UA were capable of.
6 My Hero Academia Characters Who Deserved Better Endings
These My Hero Academia characters really got the short end of the stick when it came to how their stories ended.
Familiar powerhouses like Deku, Shoto, and Fumikage all had some impressive moves to show off, though Fumikage fell victim to Kinoko's mushrooms at the last second, and Deku wasn't quite in control of Blackwhip when it appeared. Thus, Shoto Todoroki emerged as the best fighter in that particular arc, ultimately surpassing Bakugo as a student comfortable with his own power. Critically, Shoto had fully embraced his Quirk's fire side, and he even managed to go Plus Ultra after riding his Quirk's ice powers for so long. Shoto still had a ways to go, but his progress was astounding as of this arc.
Hideout Raid Arc: All Might
The United States of Smash Was All Might's Swan Song
The Hideout Raid Arc directly followed the Forest Training Camp Arc, and My Hero Academia fans might lump them together as the story of Bakugo's capture and rescue with the League of Villains. The cast's power levels were the same in these two connected arcs, so viewers can focus on the Hideout Raid Arc to determine who is the strongest character. The symbol of evil, All For One, threatened to become #1 when he massacred the pro heroes, but then the symbol of hope eclipsed him.
All Might was a true hero not only because of his strength, but his indomitable courage and his willingness to sacrifice everything for one last shot to save the day. Scraping together One For All's remaining embers, All Might delivered a United States of Smash to win as the top fighter in the Hideout Raid Arc, but it was an awkward victory. The bulwark against the villain was gone, and no one was yet ready to replace him as other villains rose to power in the wake of All For One's recent defeat.
Shie Hassaikai Arc: Review
Overhaul's Quirk has endless uses
It was in the Shie Hassaikai arc when Izuku Midoriya really felt like a bona fide hero named Deku. It's true that Deku saved Izumi Kota from Muscular in Season 3, but Shie Hassaikai from Season 4 hit differently. Deku was in costume and vowed to save Eri no matter what, making him feel less like a corner student and more like a professional hero with a duty. It took an incredible villain to test Deku's resolve, and that villain arrived in the form of Overhaul.
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Mirio Togata and Deku were both impressively powerful in the Shie Hassaikai Arc, but alone, neither can top Overhaul's terrifying power. Deku eventually won, but it was only due to Eris' risky Rewind tactic to heal his body when One For All's full power was used. In a 1v1 battle, Overhaul could not be beaten in the Shie Hassaikai arc, making it all the more miraculous how Deku and the other heroes managed to take down Overhaul's criminal empire in the end. At the last second, Tomura destroyed Overhaul's arms to render him powerless, but as a whole, Overhaul is still the strongest fighter in this arc, even with Tomura around.
Paranormal Liberation War Arc: Tomura Shigaraki
Bakugo almost died protecting Deku from Tomura's wrath
IN My Hero Academia6th anime season, the explosive Paranormal Liberation War Arc erupted to start the final showdown between heroes and villains. Or rather, this arc ushered in an era of war where the heroes and villains would continue to fight until one side claimed dominion over Japanese society once and for all. In the first major phase, the Paranormal Liberation War arc, Tomura Shigaraki himself was the most powerful fighter, thanks to Dr. Garaki's twisted science.
My Hero Academia: 6 Anime Moments That Were Better in the Manga
These iconic My Hero Academia moments were done much better in the manga than in the anime.
Top pro heroes like Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist gave Tomura stiff competition, but by wielding multiple quirks at once, Tomura proved to be the strongest of them all. He even had the power of his awakened Decay Quirk, an apocalyptic weapon that forced the pro heroes to reshape their entire battle strategy around it after a certain point. This powerful, multi-Quirk Tomura even tried to kill Deku and almost killed Bakugo as the latter to serve as a human shield for Deku.
Final War Arc: All For One
The symbol of evil refused to fade away
The supervillain All For One continued to rise and fall in the ranks of My Hero Academias most powerful characters due to his various power-ups and defeats. Off-screen, he was once an unbeatable evil, but after his defeat in Kamino Ward, he left the ranks My Hero Academiastrongest fighters. First in the epic Final War Arc, All For One returned to the upper echelons of power to become the Final War Arc's #1 cast.
Other heroes and villains also wielded titanic power at the time, like Tomura and Deku, but All For One has the lead, albeit a narrow one. He again brought many Quirks to bear at once on the battlefield as a one-man army, with the help of Dragon Ball-caliber attacks to blast away huge chunks of the terrain as he fought. This villain even used Eri's Rewind Quirk to buy himself some extra time, a twisted version of Eri lending her Quirk to Deku a few seasons back to fight Overhaul.
My Hero Academia
- Release date
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2016 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
- Directors
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Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Nayokada, Takuro Nayokada, Morikawa, Takanori Yano
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Daiki Yamashita
Izuku Midoriya (voice)
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Kaito Ishikawa
Manga Fukidashi (voice)
