8 darkest implications of My Hero Academia's world and setting

With 7 seasons under its belt and the eighth on its way, Kohei Horishkoshi's My Hero Academia is one of the more popular animes out here. It is a fan favorite that falls under the killer combination genres of superheroes and adventure. It's an anime full of action, teen emotion, suspense, storyline buildup, and the concept of good and evil.

However, where there is so much positivity, there are bound to be some dark aspects as well. To say in the style of a hero, light only prevails if there is darkness. Here is a list of such 8 darkest implications within the world and setting of My Hero Academia.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime and reflects the opinions of the writer. This article also contains canon-typical mentions of Sensitive topics. Readers’s discretion is advised.

8 dark implications of My Hero Academia's world and setting

1) Mind control superpowers

Nighthide- Hitoshi Shinso (Image via Bones)

The fact that the mind control/hypnosis quirk hasn't been implied enough as being something to deal with caution feels like an issue. My Hero Academia hasn't shown the viewers any precautionary steps taken to ensure its safety. It was just considered a normal quirk similar to something like growing branches out of your body.

While only Hitoshi Shinso from the hero faction is shown to possess this quirk, a question can be raised what if Shinso wasn't a hero? What if he belonged to the villain side? A quirk such as mind control or hypnosis can easily infiltrate itself into the social and judicial systems of society.

Something so morally questionable and so easily attainable seemed so casually portrayed in the anime. Better preventive measures if things went south should have been shown. Shota Aizawa- eraser, cannot always be relied on to deal with these problems.

2) Lady Nagant following orders

Lady Nagant- Kaina Tsutsumi (Image via Bones)

Lady Nagant's acts shine upon the darker side of HPSC (Hero Public Safety Commission) from My Hero Academia. She was a top hero at a point in her life, her acts show us the manipulative willingness of the commission and their disregard for agents. She is the prime example of what HPSC asks of their agents under the guise of national security.

When Lady Nagant turned towards the villain side, it was solely due to her disgust towards the corruptive methods of the commission. She brings in the idea that not all heroes are shown in public, but some are used behind the scenes and disposed of when they run out of usefulness.

3) Villain rehabilitation, a vague idea

Shigaraki Tomura from My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

One of the most touching topics of My Hero Academia is that of villain rehabilitation. Fans have always wondered if villains can be redeemed. While an occasional touch on the concept is shown, it has never been implemented as a full commitment. Yes, some characters have shown to change, but the underlying issues are yet to be clarified.

A prime example can be of Shigaraki Tomura, one of the main antagonists in the series. Tomura had been seen struggling from a very young age. Not being able to cope with his feelings he usually would lash it out by harming himself or others. He was deprived of the proper guidance and care from a very young age.

Remains to debate whether rehabilitation or guidance would have avoided the situation he ended up in. Even the implication of the measurement of how far a villain has gone of no return is missing entirely.

4) Mutans living remotely under poor living conditions

Anima- Koji Koda, a mutant quirk user (Image via Bones)

Episode 14 from season 7 of My Hero Academia shows us the darkest implication about mutant quirk users during the rebellion. The implication of discrimination based on appearance is something everyone is well familiar with in the real world. Mutant quirk users are those whose quirks alter their physical appearances either mixed with human appearances or completely.

Just because of their physical appearance differing from humans, the mutant quirk users were exiled away from the main cities to live remotely on the outskirts under poor conditions. Even though some of them like Koda and Asui, have coexisted among human quirk users, they were mostly partially altered, not completely. The concept of foreign appearance as an outcast lingers throughout the series.

5) Biological understanding of fully mutated

Spinner- Shuichi Iguchi from My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

As a continuation of the previous point, the implementation of lack of studies about mutated biology has been shown through the series. There is barely any mention of the study from the U.A. High School, which is the number one ranked school for heroics. As a part of the discrimination, the entire study of mutant physiology and biology was also discarded.

The dark indication of leaving a foreign-appearing personality to die in case of disease or injury can be hinted at as due to a lack of understanding or showing importance. My Hero Academia has done a poor job of keeping a filter on the discrimination aspect for the mutants in this aspect.

6) Toga constantly consumes unchecked blood

Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia has a quirk that allows her to transform into another person and change her voice upon ingesting their blood. This might sound okay at first given the nature of the anime, however, there is one problem in this, blood.

Blood is a carrier of multiple diseases and can be lethal at times. Toga in the heat of battle has been seen to consume blood completely unchecked and left unharmed from it. However, it does not change the nature of blood which is a poor implication made by the anime.

Adding to the fact that it is still unaware of the construction of mutant blood and what changes it can have on the body, makes it equally dangerous. The implication that it is okay to consume unchecked blood is a definite miss by the anime.

7) Concept of bullying on a quirk basis

The prime example is the early relationship between Bakugo and Midoriya from the very beginning of the My Hero Academia series. Midoriya being born without a quirk unlike others, landed him receiving a lot of bullying, especially from Bakugo. The fact that Bakugo got away with it without any consequences is a very bad representation of the constant social problem of bullying.

And to implement it in a darker way that no one ever said anything about it or even tried to interfere with the fact, is yet another unwarranted implementation. As the world turned from the quirkless bullying the quirked to the quirked bullying the quirkless, the constant theory of bullying was never intervened with properly.

8) Hawk's childhood theory

Hawks- Keigo Takama as a child from My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

Episode 16 from season 6 of My Hero Academia gave us a look back on Hawk's childhood. From what the viewers saw, Hawk grew up in a disturbed household, with his father being a villain and his mother being an accomplice to his crimes. The only reason Hawk's turned out to be good is because he idolized Endeavor.

However, many others like Hawks didn't turn out positively. The implementation of financial and social inequality had left the viewers missing out on a lot of potential heroes.

In Conclusion

My Hero Academia albeit a successful and fan-favorite series has a lot of shortcomings with its dark implications and things that could have been described more thoroughly. Being a teen drama it has shed light upon a lot of the social problems, however, missed out on opportunities to deliver a solution.

With the upcoming 8th season this year viewers are left in anticipation as it slowly progresses towards its climax. Safe to say, despite these dark implications, My Hero Academia is one of the most expansive and popular anime to watch.

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Edited by Madhur Dave