My Hero Academia: 8 Characters Who Should Have Died

While it’s always a sad occasion whenever a character loses their life in an anime, it can sometimes also feel necessary to add some stakes and tension to the overall plot. While author Kohei Horikoshi seemed pretty hesitant about killing characters off for a while in My Hero Academia, there would eventually be a lot more casualties once All For One, Shigaraki, and the other dangerous villains all started to become a lot stronger.

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With that being said, several key characters ended up narrowly avoiding death, or in some cases, even having a fake-out death. For a lot of these characters, fans tend to agree they should have probably stayed down for good, considering it would have not only made for a memorable moment in the series but could also have acted as a nice conclusion to their arc. When talking about My Hero Academia characters who probably should have been taken out of the story at one point or another, these are some of the main examples who are regularly brought up by fans.

1

Overhaul

The Irredeemable Villain Took Quite A Beating Before Being Locked Up

• First Appearance: Episode 65

Overhaul is a villain who’s easy to hate, so much so that it’s honestly surprising he managed to remain alive after his confrontation with Midoriya, considering how irredeemable he is as a character. After Overhaul managed to get his hands on Eri, a young girl with the extremely powerful Rewind Quirk, he would use his own Quirk to break the girl apart before quickly putting her back together, so that he could extract her blood.

The reason he was abusing Eri was so he could use her Quirk to create bullets that were capable of removing a person’s Quirk ability altogether. Pair this with the fact that Overhaul gets pummeled by a barrage of attacks from Midoriya at 100% of his power, and it remains a surprise that Horikoshi didn’t decide to have him removed from the story entirely.

2

Hawks

Having Such A Formidable Pro-Hero Killed In Action Would Amplify The Intensity Of The Final War

• First Appearance: Episode 87

Despite being introduced at roughly the halfway point of the series, the young and endlessly charismatic Pro-Hero known as Hawks plays a pretty big role in the wider story. Hawks acts as a kind of undercover agent for the heroes who manages to extract plenty of critical information about the villains and Meta Liberation Army for his allies, and despite his wings being burned up by Dabi, he did eventually make it out in one piece.

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It’s in the final war with All For One where Hawks really takes a beating though. After being bested by All For One and strung up like a lifeless corpse, All For One would steal Hawks’ Quirk away from him, and while Hawks survives the encounter, him dying would have put into perspective just how absurdly powerful All For One truly is that he can humiliate the number 2 hero in such gruesome fashion.

3

Mirko

Mirko’s Sacrifice Would Demonstrate Just How Absurdly Strong Shigaraki Would Truly Become

• First Appearance: Episode 87

The scene of Mirko obliterating multiple high-end Nomus in one fell swoop is a truly epic moment for the Pro-Hero, though many fans were left scratching their heads when, after having multiple limbs off, Mirko would survive the hellish ordeal. Though she would require an arm and leg transplant to stay alive, the fact that Mirko was still alive and kicking at all was remarkable, though having her be killed off after the Nomu spectacle would have allowed her to end her time in the series with a bang.

At the same time, Mirko’s absence would have raised the stakes by putting the heroes at even more of a disadvantage in the final war, where they’d be missing one of their strongest units. It makes sense that Mirko made it through to the end of the series, considering how popular she is among the fanbase, though her death definitely would have added a lot to the tension building up to the final war.

4

Re-Destro

The Former Leader Of The Meta-Liberation Army Could Have Gone Out In A Blaze Of Glory

• First Appearance: Episode 108

Re-Destro’s epic duel with Shigaraki is one that no fan of the series will ever be able to forget, but their clash does end on somewhat of a controversial note. Upon seeing how strong and capable Shigaraki is in combat, Re-Destro decides that he is worthy of leading the Meta Liberation Army and its ideals into the future, encouraging him to hand over the top spot to his newfound ally.

Considering Re-Destro is imprisoned not long after, Horikoshi could have potentially had Shigaraki kill him in their battle as a way to emphasize just how strong and merciless Shigaraki has become. At the same time, since Edgeshot is the one to take him down, it would have been perfect to see Edgeshot’s Quirk interacting with Re-Destro’s insides as a way to kill him, which could foreshadow Bakugo’s revival later on, making it much more plausible.

5

Dabi

Dabi’s Final Encounter With His Family Felt Like A Fitting End For The Villain

• First Appearance: Episode 31

While Dabi’s Blueflame Quirk is more than strong enough to incinerate even the strongest of heroes to nothing but ash, it comes at the cost of his own body, which is slowly scorched away due to the heavy use of his flame abilities. In the final war, after Dabi tears down hero society and reaches his emotional breaking point, his Quirk starts going into overdrive, turning him into a ticking time bomb that is set to destroy the entire country if he’s not stopped.

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Thankfully, Endeavor and the rest of the Todoroki family are there to prevent this from happening, but it’s honestly surprising Dabi doesn’t lose his life here, considering how damaged his organs are from all the fire. After the war officially ends, Dabi is hooked up to a machine that is barely keeping him alive, but having Dabi die in the original battle, moments after talking to family one-on-one, would have been a truly fitting end for the iconic villain.

6

Gran Torino

How Gran Torino Survived A Stab Straight Through The Chest, Fans Can Only Wonder

• First Appearance: Episode 27

Gran Torino plays a pretty important role early on in My Hero Academia‘s story, acting as a mentor to Midoriya when he was still getting accustomed to One For All, but he slowly fades into the background throughout the series. As a member of the old guard who had been a teacher to All Might and a companion of Nana Shimura, Gran Torino had watched One For All be passed down between numerous users in his time.

As a result, many assumed he would inevitably be removed from the story by a villain as a way to feed into the series’ prominent theme of each generation, continuing the legacy of the one that came before. However, the main reason Torino should have kicked the bucket is because of how he was stabbed right through the chest by Shigaraki, only to somehow make it through alive, despite also being an older man. It may have just been that Horikoshi loved Gran Torino just a little too much, but in hindsight, having the Pro-Hero be killed seems like it would have been the right call.

7

All Might

All Might’s Fall Would Have A Huge Impact On Midoriya, And Hero Society In General

• First Appearance: Episode 1

Before My Hero Academia officially ended in the manga, many fans were determined that All Might was going to bite the dust sooner or later, considering the tradition of protagonist mentors being killed in action. Much to the surprise of everyone, Japan’s most iconic Pro-Hero made it through, though it’s not an exaggeration to say his death would have had huge implications on the story and characters.

If All Might had lost his life in the first battle with One For All in the Hideout Raid arc, it would have put a heavy strain on people’s trust in hero society, raising the stakes tremendously. On the other hand, if All Might had died in his second confrontation with his arch-rival, where he used Support Gear to help him fight, Midoriya would have been even more determined to put a stop to Shigaraki and his teacher once and for all, as a way to carry on All Might’s incredible legacy.

8

Bakugo

Bakugo’s Revival Is A Controversial Moment That Feels Like It Comes Out Of Nowhere

• First Appearance: Episode 1

Bakugo is one of the most compelling characters in the entire series, primarily because of how much he changes and matures. At first, he comes across as little more than a brash and selfish lunatic who loves nothing more than blowing up anyone who looks at him the wrong way, but he eventually comes to realize the responsibilities that come with being a hero and the selflessness that is required to become a protector of society.

All of this culminates in him making a final stand against Shigaraki in his final form, where Bakugo not only unleashes the true potential of his Explosion Quirk, but also reveals a brand-new Panzer form too. Bakugo is left for dead by the end of this battle, though he is later revived by Edgeshot, seemingly out of nowhere. Seeing as Bakugo is considered one of the “big three” characters in the series, it’s easy to see why Horikoshi went back on his death, but it felt like the perfect moment to end off Bakugo’s character arc, considering he would have put his life on the line protecting others from a powerful villain.