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My Hero Academia is proud of its proclamations of right and wrong, heroism and villainy, as well as good and evil, making the viewer question these concepts multiple times during the story.
Amidst all this, the manga also comes with a political undertone. There have been certain events or parts of the story that seem to have subtle political implications attached to them. While harmless at first, these instances hint at major issues prevalent in the real world.
8 times My Hero Academia took a political turn
1) Notions of good and evil
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The difference between good and evil has been debated throughout the My Hero Academia series. Villains in the manga are shown to commit crimes because they are evil, not because they are starving or poor or oppressed.
The use of their Quirks seems to dictate their status. Quite often, the series implies that villains do what they do for fun and their justifications are just insubstantial cover-ups for their love of chaos and violence.
2) Star and Stripe controversy
Introduced in My Hero Academia chapter 329, Star and Stripe was the Number 1 Hero of the United States of America. She was basically a stereotypical representation of the U.S. Appearing for only about six chapters, Star and Stripe was defeated and killed and her Quirk (New Order) stolen by Shigaraki.
Despite being an All Might fan, she was not all humble before him. She refused to follow orders. Her actions almost allowed Shigaraki to steal One For All. Moreover, Horikoshi took satirical swipes at POTUS by showing him wanting to align with the Symbol of Chaos.
3) Mutant discrimination
Discrimination is prevalent in the My Hero Academia world. Individuals with mutant-type Quirks are the victims of this. Mutant-type Quirks alter the appearance of its possessor, for instance, giving them extra appendages (Shoji and Fumikage) in addition to their human form.
Due to this, people with these quirks have to live like Second-Class citizens. They are subject to discrimination, harassment, and in some cases killed for the way they look. Mutant-type Quirk possessors face a lot of prejudice and mistreatment, not unlike the real world.
4) Japan loses all support
As seen in My Hero Academia chapter 334, the world was stunned by Star and Stripe’s demise. Hearing of it, every country decided not to dispatch their heroes to Japan. All aides were withheld and all dispatched forces received an immediate call-back. Only Egypt's hero, Salaam, refused to abandon Japan in its time of need.
Such an event is symbolic of real-life incidents as well. At one point, right in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack and their alliance with the Axis Powers during World War II, Japan received no aid or help from other countries when they were brought to their knees following the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
5) Power politics
My Hero Academia brings in a form of power politics. This comes in the shape of the passing of One For All. While the idea of One For All being passed on and inherited by different people seems glorious, it embodies power politics because of how the passing on is determined.
It can be thought of as a King passing the mantle to his son. As such, All Might passed on his power to Deku, who also aimed to be the Number 1 Hero.
6) Fascism
My Hero Academia mangaka Kohei Horikoshi has been criticized for supporting fascism multiple times.
Numerous online posts have linked the birthdays of characters like Endeavor, Bakugo Katsuki, Tomura Shigaraki and Izuku Midoriya with the birthdays of Adolf Hitler, Imperial Japanese officer Kenji Doihara, and WWII Japanese naval commander-in-chief Isoroku Yamamoto.
Additionally, "Maruta” is a Japanese word for “logs”. This was used as a code word during WWII, when prisoners of war were used as "guinea pigs" to develop bacteriological weapons. Thus, the aforementioned term was used to refer to the victims of these experiments.
7) Hawks' training
My Hero Academia's Hawks was trained in espionage and intelligence from an early age. Before that, he was locked up by his father for fear of him being kidnapped. He was kept secluded due to which, for a while, he believed that Heroes were fictional.
He was rescued by the Hero Public Safety Commission and went through rigorous training. He later emerged as an undercover agent working for the betterment of society. This again points to the fact that he did not have a single childhood memory, and proves how the higher-ups use people as puppets.
8) Endeavor's dark past
My Hero Academia's Number 1 Hero Endeavor has a dark past. He was first introduced as the abusive father to the Genius Shoto Todoroki. Wanting to prove his superiorty to All Might, he sought to create the perfect heir. Thus, he married Rei, whose Ice Quirk was supposed to bond with his Hellflame.
As a father, he physically and mentally tortured his children in order to make them top Heroes. Even after Shoto turned out to be the "perfect" heir, he wasn't spared from Endeavor. Rei faced abuse as well, even being hospitalized at one point.
Such a character is testament to the fact that powerful people seem to get way with unpleasant things. Their crimes are overlooked and the brunt of their deeds scars others in unimaginable ways.
