What is a Quirk in My Hero Academia? The superhuman abilities & how they're obtained, explained

Modified May 11, 2024 01:30 GMT

Understanding the concept of Quirks in My Hero Academia (Image via Studio Bones)

One of the many reasons why My Hero Academia is a successful shonen animanga series is its world-building elements. These constitute various concepts and rules that govern the world within the story. One of the biggest challenges for a writer is to create elements that are not only unique but also adhere to logic.

Superpowers are by no means unique in any sense. However, the applications of these so-called superpowers make Kohei Horikoshi stand out as a mangaka. The concept of “Quirk” is one of the most fundamental aspects of the series.

However, those who are new to the series seem to have one question in mind—what is a Quirk in My Hero Academia? In simple words, a Quirk is the series’ equivalent to a superpower. Analyzing the anime episodes will give viewers a deeper understanding of what this concept is, as well as its application.

Disclaimer: This article also contains massive spoilers from the manga on the origin story of All For One.

What is a Quirk in My Hero Academia?

Bakugo's explosion Quiek as seen in the anime series (Image via Bones)

Initially, Quirk was called Meta Ability. However, both are interchangeable terms and refer to the superhero powers that every individual in the series has. Each individual either has a unique Quirk or the same Quirk as their ancestors. Usually, the parents' Quirks are passed down to their offspring, which could also result in an entirely new Quirk that is a combination of the ones that their parents had.

How Quirks came about, explained

An early example of Meta Abilities featuring a baby that emitted light (Image via Studio Bones)

The first-ever recorded case of a Quirk belonged to a sex worker who gave birth to twins. The Quirk manifested in the form of spiked bones that would often grow on her arms. However, she was unable to use this Meta Ability and lost her life while giving birth to her children.

These children were none other than All For One and Yoichi Shigaraki. She died because All For One managed to suck every ounce of her life force when he was born, which also resulted in his twin brother being born fragile. These bone-like growths were the first-ever Quirk.

However, people around the world started exhibiting odd traits such as emitting light out of their bodies and so on. These powers also started to manifest during the puberty stages and the name Meta Abilities was born. The true cause of this is still unknown and hypotheses put forth by scientists broke it down to two potential reasons—novel diseases carried by mice or the result of human evolution.

Quirk factors, explained

Nomu is the result of multiple Quirks being fit into one person (Image via Studio Bones)

Quirk Factors, also known as Plus Alpha Elements, refer to the genetic and physical element grouping that make up any Quirk. These Quirk Factors can be studied, duplicated, and enhanced if one has the right tools and understanding of the human anatomy. The manipulation of Quirk Factors allows the addition of a Quirk. However, this puts massive amounts of strain on the user.

All For One has the Quirk Factors that allow him to steal Quirks from people and add them to his arsenal. Meanwhile, One For All has the Quirk Factors that allow him to pass on Quirks to the people he chooses. This is why Midoriya has a variety of Quirks and their respective vestiges in the manga series.

Quirk Singularity theory in My Hero Academia, explained

Kyudai Garaki as seen in the My Hero Academia anime series (Image via Studio Bones)

This was an interesting theory that was put forth by Dr. Kyudai Garaki, which talked about the effects of Quirks, their evolution, and their effect on human beings.

With every generation, Quirks were becoming stronger at an exponential rate. While the short-term effects are great, the theory states that it would ultimately result in the end of the human race. When Quirks get stronger, it puts a strain on the user.

The rate at which Quirks evolve is a lot higher than the rate of evolution seen in the physical form of human beings. Since this is the case, there will come a time when Quirks are so strong that humans can no longer handle them. This would ultimately lead to the death of the human race.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.

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Edited by Meenakshi Ajith