My Hero Academia reveals the secrets behind the origin of One For All

In the latest episode of the My Hero Academia television anime series, fans were introduced to the Second and Third Users of One For All, unfortunately not being named beyond as such. Fans also saw yet another conversation between protagonist Izuku Midoriya and the power’s previous wielders in the Quirk’s vestige realm.

In the process, the latest episode of My Hero Academia taught fans about the true origins of One For All, or when the quirk was first set down on the path that led to its current form. However, some fans seem confused as to why Yoichi Shigaraki, the original user of One For All, claimed that it was only truly born when he passed it onto the Second User.

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Latest My Hero Academia episode highlights true origins of One For All Quirk via an extended hand

What is the One For All Quirk?

My Hero Academia’s One For All Quirk is an incredibly unique power, which was first acquired by Yoichi Shigaraki at birth. Yoichi’s brother, All For One, once forced a Quirk on him that allowed him to stockpile power within his body. However, both were unaware that Yoichi already had a Quirk, which allowed him to transfer the Quirk itself to another person.

The two merged to become One For All, and Yoichi tried to defeat All For One after discovering his new power. However, he failed due to the difference in their strength, causing him to entrust the Quirk to the next generation of heroes. His goal was to have the Quirk cultivated across generations, eventually becoming powerful enough to put a stop to All For One.

One unintended side effect of passing the Quirk down across generations was that if a user had a naturally acquired Quirk of their own, it would become a part of One For All. In other words, while the One For All Quirk did indeed cultivate power across generations, it also accumulated the various other Quirks of its users for subsequent generations to wield.

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How Yoichi and the Second User met

With this in mind, it makes sense why Yoichi calls his meeting with the Second User the true birth of the Quirk in the latest My Hero Academia episode. The Second User was once the leader of a resistance movement that sought to fight and defeat All For One. All For One was at the pinnacle of his power at the time, seemingly leading a new world order of villainy and chaos.

Willing to do anything if it meant defeating All For One, the Second User eventually set his sights on Yoichi himself. This was due to Yoichi being All For One’s brother and the Second User planning to kill him for their ties. However, he eventually had a change of heart and chose to save Yoichi rather than kill him.

This prompted Yoichi to pass down One For All to the Second User, which he views as the true creation of the Quirk as seen in the latest My Hero Academia episode. This is due to the fact that passing down One For All in the first place is what first allowed it to grow and stockpile power, taking Yoichi’s minimal power and adding it to the Second User’s.

While this first power transference was negligible due to Yoichi’s weakness, it started the Quirk down the path that allowed it to become the powerhouse it is in the contemporary series. As the Quirk continued to be passed down from generation to generation, its power allowed All Might to defeat All For One (albeit temporarily) and become a Pro Hero who would be known worldwide as the Symbol of Peace.

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In summation

While Yoichi’s words on the origins of One For All in the latest My Hero Academia episode may seem inaccurate, this isn’t the case. One For All only set down the path to become what it currently is with the transfer of the Quirk from Yoichi Shigaraki to the Second User. This began the accumulation of power that spanned generations, eventually resulting in the Quirk becoming what it is today.

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