This article contains spoilers for My Hero Academia

Deku, the main character of My Hero Academia, is often considered to be somewhat of a divisive protagonist. While many fans of the immensely popular anime and manga series would eventually warm up to the lead character as the story went on, it was definitely easy to ridicule him early on in the series when he was still a big crybaby who could barely even throw a punch of his own. However, while Deku goes through a very long and compelling character arc that sees him turning into a fully-fledged hero by the end, there is a big reason why the author of the series, Kohei Horikoshi, decided to create a protagonist who would appear this way early on in the story.

It's not uncommon for manga authors to insert a specific aspect of themselves into their characters. For example, Oda's love for wonder and adventure can clearly be seen through Luffy, though as One Piece has gone on, the character himself has grown into his own skin and become a distinctive member of the cast. Though the same can definitely be applied to Deku in My Hero Academia, Hoirkoshi has still admitted why he relates to the character so much, and how his own personal experiences led to the protagonist's creation in the first place.

Horikoshi Sees A Lot Of Himself In Deku

Especially His Insecurities And Cowardly Nature

Any longtime fans of My Hero Academia will know the deku was very prone to crying his eyes out any time he felt a little worried or anxious near the beginning of the story. This isn't necessarily a bad character trait to have, especially since it can help to make him a bit more relatable and sympathetic than most other shonen protagonists, who often come across as more stoic and serious, but it turns out that Deku's cowardly personality was actually influenced by Horikoshi himself when he first started writing.

Back in 2017, when the My Hero Academia anime was entering its second season, Horikoshi had a chance to sit down with musician Kenshi Yonezu, who produced the second opening for the show. While much of the discussion revolved around Horikoshi's love for the new song, he was taken aback by a rather interesting question that was thrown his way at roughly the midpoint of the discussion when he was asked which character in the series he relates to the most.

"I've never really thought hard about it. As far as who's similar to me, I guess strictly speaking, it'd be Deku. He cries easily and cowers... It's not really the most pleasing aspects" - Kohei Horikoshi

According to the author, this is something he had never previously thought about, but he goes on to admit that the answer would have to be Deku. The reason he gives is that Deku cries very easily, and can often be found cowering away from stressful situations, which Horikoshi relates to his own personality. Though Horikoshi undoubtedly would have been over the moon to see My Hero Academia performing so well both in Japan and overseas, there are good reasons why he would have been in this state of mind when he first came up with Deku as a character.

My Hero Academia Was Horikoshi's Last Chance

His Final Opportunity To Become A Hero, Just Like Deku

Horikoshi was down on his luck when he started writing MHA
His first two manga series failed to make an impression
He started to become more confident in his abilities, just like Deku

It's important to remember that Horikoshi had already produced two stories that were published in Shonen Jump before My Hero Academia even existed. Unfortunately though, Oumagadoki Zoo and Barrage didn't perform well enough in the magazine to last very long, meaning that by the time Horikoshi was able to start writing My Hero, he knew it would be his final opportunity to make an impact as a manga author. When taking this into account, it can be easy to see why the talented author would be a little anxious and downtrodden, which pretty much mirrors Deku early on within the My Hero Academia story.

Deku wanted to make a name for himself by becoming a hero, but as someone without a Quirk to his name, achieving this lofty goal was pretty much impossible, at least for a while. He was given one final shot to achieve his dream thanks to All Might gifting him the One For All Quirk, and while Deku's timid personality remained intact, it did slowly start to shed away once he became more confident in his abilities.

The same thing can be said for Horikoshi himself, who decided to make Deku much more self-assured in his abilities as the story went on, which is most likely a reflection of the author finally being able to accept that he had written a story that fans around the world had fallen in love with. Still, this journey has been far from an easy one for both the author and his protagonist, but one thing is for sure, it's been an incredible journey.

Deku's Journey From Crybaby To Japan's Hero

The Protagonist Never Gave Up And Gave Everything He Had To Stop Shigaraki

Deku starts to lose his timid nature as the story goes on
He has grown and matured a lot since the early story arc

Deku has been on quite the emotional roller coaster throughout the story of My Hero Academia, to the point where he appears almost like an entirely different person by the end of the Final War. As someone who was desperate to become a hero despite not having a Quirk, Deku was initially extremely self-conscious and more or less an outcast, but once he obtained All For One, he finally was given the chance to become a protector of society.

Because of how absurdly powerful One For All actually is in practice, it would take Deku a long while before he was able to fully master it. At roughly the halfway point, he would even come to acquire the Quirks held by the previous users of One For All, essentially turning Deku into a powerhouse who would become strong enough to take on Shigaraki one-on-one. By this point in the story, Deku's personality had completely changed, becoming more of a mature and silent protagonist who had clearly grown up a lot since those early story arcs.

"I'm the Deku who always does his best" - Deku

When taking Horikoshi aforementioned interview into account, it's clear as day that the author was projecting his own growth as a person into Deku, while still making sure that the protagonist feels like his own distinct character. This has resulted in a fascinating character arc which has been an absolute joy to witness over the last few years, with Deku now being one of the most well-known and beloved protagonists in shonen manga.

Source: VGPerson

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

Display card tags widget

TV-14

Anime

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget

Release Date: 2016 - 2025-00-00
Network: TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
Directors: Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano