My Hero Academia: Deku in My Hero Academia is what Minato Namikaze would've been as an MC

Deku in My Hero Academia is what Minato Namikaze would've been as an MC

Modified Apr 09, 2024 12:30 GMT

Minato Namikaze and Izuku Midoriya as seen in the anime (image via Sportskeeda)

Minato Namikaze, also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash, is one of the most popular characters of the Naruto franchise, despite having relatively limited appearances. His humble and respectful nature, which is surprisingly in contrast with his son, is one of the many reasons behind his overwhelming popularity among fans.

While comparisons between My Hero Academia and the Naruto franchise aren't entirely out of the blue, many fans do not expect to see any between Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, and Minato Namikaze. However, the two characters surprisingly have a lot more in common than it seems at first, with their comforting and humble personalities being the main similarity.

Why Naruto's Minato Namikaze and My Hero Academia's Deku are more alike than initially thought

Minato Namikaze as seen in the anime (image via Pierrot)

Minato Namikaze is the prime example of a character who steals the show despite having relatively less screen time than others. Apart from being the father of Naruto Uzumaki, Minato was also the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. Additionally, his reputation as Konoha's Yellow Flash was pretty widespread, since he was feared in almost every village.

In spite of possessing an immense amount of power, Minato was not particularly arrogant. On the contrary, he was an extremely humble and polite person, who remained respectful to even his opponents.

He was also sympathetic towards his opponents at times, a quality which managed to win him over with the fans, thereby making him one of the most beloved characters of the Naruto series.

All these qualities made fans long for a series solely focused on Minato Namikaze. Due to his popularity and the impact he had on the Naruto series during the little time he appeared, fans have no doubt that Minato would shine as a main character.

Izuku Midoriya as seen in My Hero Academia (image source Studio Bones)

However, there is one character who is extremely similar to Minato if he were an MC, and that is none other than My Hero Academia's Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku.

The two characters may not have a striking resemblance at first glance, but their personalities are almost the same. Deku, the protagonist of My Hero Academia, was originally born Quirkless in a world where Heroes and Quirks were the norm.

From the very beginning, he was an extremely shy and timid individual, who always got picked on by Katsuki Bakugo. In spite of all the bullying, Deku never showed a hint of hatred towards anyone.

Even after he became strong after receiving the One For All Quirk, Deku never once strayed from his morals. His extremely polite and kind nature won him over with pretty much every single character he ever interacted with. Furthermore, Deku always tries to sympathize with and save even the worst of his enemies.

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Because he was once powerless, Deku understands the value of strength extremely well. He always tries to use his strength to look out for others and often goes out of his way to save those who need it.

He is also extremely smart, as he has been shown to be capable of analyzing his opponents and devise a way to defeat them without causing many casualties.

Upon putting the two characters side by side, it is evident that they are similar in more ways than one. Both these characters are extremely humble, reliable, and kind despite possessing an immense amount of strength. Another quality shared by both of them is that they are also shyer than the majority of the shonen main characters and are equally as polite as well.

Therefore, it can be concluded that, if Minato Namikaze had been an MC of a series solely focused on him, he would have more or less been the same kind of an MC as Deku currently is.

Minato is undoubtedly one of the most important characters of the Naruto franchise, seeing as to how much of an impact he had on the story, regardless of his limited screen time.