One villain's Pro Hero potential exceeded any other in My Hero Academia (& it's not Shigaraki)

Modified Mar 19, 2025 01:12 GMT

My Hero Academia had one villain with major Pro Hero potential (Image via Bones). — My Hero Academia had one villain with major Pro Hero potential (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia has established several villains with a lot of potential for good if they decided to redeem themselves, but the best one is Danjuro Tobita, most commonly known as Gentle Criminal. That is not only due to the character's stronger moral compass when compared to other villains in the manga but also due to his Quirk and his experience using it.

Gentle Criminal's Elasticity Quirk might be one of the most underrated powers in My Hero Academia since he can turn anything he touches into something elastic. While this may seem like a simple and not truly effective ability at first, it has a lot of ramifications when executing, evidenced by the character's performance in the series and how he has the moral code of a hero even if he made mistakes in his life.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author.

Explaining why Gentle Criminal has more Pro Hero potential than any My Hero Academia villain

Gentle Criminal as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

It has been quite clear in the story that Gentle Criminal wanted to be a hero and his arc in the series goes in that direction, with the character ending as one after the time-skip. However, while most fans are happy to see him achieve his lifelong goal, a lot of people tend to undermine his potential as a Pro Hero, which far surpasses other antagonists in the story, such as Tomura Shigaraki.

That is because Gentle Criminal's Quirk, Elasticity, is extremely flexible since he turns anything he touches into something elastic, which is evidenced during his battle with Izuku "Deku" Midoriya. This allows him to throw and control heavy objects since he manipulates even air itself to throw them, which is something that needs to be taken into account.

Therefore, Gentle has abilities that would make him quite helpful to protect people and during rescue missions. A good example of that is how he kept UA floating in the air, thus keeping it from collapsing, while Deku was fighting with Tomura Shigaraki, which also represented Gentle's transition to becoming a hero.

The role of La Brava

Gentle Criminal and La Brava as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Another element that needs to be taken into account in My Hero Academia when analyzing Gentle Criminal as a Pro Hero is his collaboration with Manami Aiba, also known as La Brava. She is not only her support and eventual wife, but she is also a genius hacker and expert with technology, which gives this character an edge over a lot of people throughout the story.

There is another factor that needs to be considered, which is her Love Quirk, and how she can boost the power of the person she loves the most. This boost in power was depicted during Gentle Criminal's clash with Deku, and also when dealing with UA during the final arc of the series.

Final thoughts

Gentle Criminal ended up being one of the most beloved My Hero Academia antagonists and a perfect example of how redemption works for people who have made significant mistakes in life. When considering the abilities and resources at his disposal, he could also achieve his dream of becoming a great hero.

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay