I Always Thought My Hero Academia Wasted Its Premise (slight spoilers)

[MarvelousIntent]

The point is the same. It doesn't make him powerless, it just gives him pseudo powers. And Spidey's intelligence is still Genius level to be able to make those gadgets. It's just that, like so many things in comic universes, the scale is absurd.

The Everyman stand-ins in comics are only an "Everyman" in contextual comparison to the other super powered beings. But they're still super in comparison to actual average people in those worlds. Deku being a quirkless character in the world of MHA doesn't even just make him average. It makes him less-than-average. So a truly quirkless character becoming a hero doesn't work. And a quirkless hero that uses tech instead of a quirk is just changing the dressing. It's not an improvement. Just a surface level change.

Click to shrink...

A quirkless hero would still technically work, they just wouldn't be able to fight every single threat. Some opponents would wipe the floor with them, but that's the case for heroes with quirks too. Everyman characters always have some unique quirk (Ha!) about them. They're usually knowledgeable or competent in some specific thing that the "average" person doesn't know. Even if its just an exhaustingly extensive knowledge of pop-culture. The kid already has an obsession with heroes and quirks, may as well make use of that instead of just giving him the strongest quirk and making him a Chosen One.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

100% agreed.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I don't know why I was thinking of a middle ground of what OP wanted vs what we got and remembered this haha

 

[ElBoxy]

If Mei was a buff as fuck middle age man, who doesn't make the gadgets himself.

Also thanks for bring up Mei. Quirkless Deku could still work of you made him as smart as Mei. Make him an inventor who uses his own gadgets. He gets into UA so he can make gear for the other students, but starts using his own stuff.

Click to shrink...

A quirkless inventor Deku can become a hero, but he can't be the most powerful character. He would need to be a low-middle tier hero to successfully show the struggles of being a quirkless hero. He would need constant assistance just to beat villains that would otherwise be easy with a quirk. Sometimes his inventions don't always work cuz he's only human and can only do so much with what he knows. There's a right balance of Deku not being left behind but also not trivializing why heroes need quirks.

 

[Jest]

A quirkless hero would still technically work, they just wouldn't be able to fight every single threat. Some opponents would wipe the floor with them, but that's the case for heroes with quirks too. Everyman characters always have some unique quirk (Ha!) about them. They're usually knowledgeable or competent in some specific thing that the "average" person doesn't know. Even if its just an exhaustingly extensive knowledge of pop-culture. The kid already has an obsession with heroes and quirks, may as well make use of that instead of just giving him the strongest quirk and making him a Chosen One.

Click to shrink...

An actual quirkless hero in MHA doesn't really work though. Not in the sense of being an actual heroic figure. They wouldn't just get defeated by some opponents but by most. That kind of character only works as support, which is fine, but then we're talking about an entirely different kind of intent in the show. They already use his extensive knowledge of heroes, villains, and quirks as well as his strategic mind but they just don't make it his front and center talent. Which is honestly probably a good thing because the writer needs to be incredibly on point to do that without fatiguing the audience or coming across nonsensical eventually.

I'm not really sure I'm sold on current Deku filling the Chosen One trope. It's definitely a Hero's Journey but there's no real "destiny" or "fate" aspect to his story. It's fine to want something different but I don't really think that was ever in the cards for this show. It was always going to be a Hero's Journey of one kind or another.

My only point here really is that there's no real meaningful difference in a Non-Quirk Deku vs Quirk Deku in terms of the structure that seemed to be the authors intent. In order to make it effectively different, we start getting into changing the structure which functionally changes the story being told. There's nothing wrong with that at all but at some point it needs to be recognized that a person who wants those changes wants a different story entirely.

 

[Kewlmyc]

A quirkless inventor Deku can become a hero, but he can't be the most powerful character. He would need to be a low-middle tier hero to successfully show the struggles of being a quirkless hero. He would need constant assistance just to beat villains that would otherwise be easy with a quirk. Sometimes his inventions don't always work cuz he's only human and can only do so much with what he knows. There's a right balance of Deku not being left behind but also not trivializing why heroes need quirks.

Click to shrink...

You do have a point. While I would be happy with the MC of a shounen series not ending up as the strongest character in the series, I know a lot of other people wouldn't. So yeah, the idea was probably doomed from the start, hence why they gave up on it in the prototype stage.

I'll always have Knuckleduster I guess.

 

[loquaciousJenny]

A quirkless Deku would probably end up a much less interesting or believable Dr. Stone

I fell off MHA at the end of the current anime arc, and haven't really heard much noise from it since which is disappointing. Eagerly await when best girl Mina Ashido gets the spot light and I shall return

 

[Feep]

I've read like a quarter of Worm and was later advised to stop at the part that I did because the quality slides down?

Spoiler

after Leviathan attacks

Click to shrink...

The heck? That's when it really picks up! I thought it was a little inconsistent and slow prior to that part. Keep going!

(Do not, however, read the sequel, Ward. It's...just not as good.)

 

[Elderly Parrot]

Didn't even have to open the thread to know what this was about.

 

[Hanuli]

I don't see it mentioned anywhere but maybe OP should try Samurai Flamenco. It's a story about a hero with no powers and what I saw of it I liked. I think I only saw the first 7 or so episodes though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Flamenco

 

[Xita]

I probably would have read it longer than I did if that was the case.

 

[Nightbird]

My guess is that the editor said no because he felt it would be hard to get the series off the ground if the main character didnt have a flashy power.

You could reason that a powerless protagonist might not draw the reader's intrest as effectively, and the fear of early cancellation is pretty freaking evident for mangakas in Jump, so I undstand where he was coming from.

Click to shrink...

Especially for Horikoshi, who had already been canceled twice at that point.

 

[Skittles]

A quirkless inventor Deku can become a hero, but he can't be the most powerful character. He would need to be a low-middle tier hero to successfully show the struggles of being a quirkless hero. He would need constant assistance just to beat villains that would otherwise be easy with a quirk. Sometimes his inventions don't always work cuz he's only human and can only do so much with what he knows. There's a right balance of Deku not being left behind but also not trivializing why heroes need quirks.

Click to shrink...

Have it be a parallel story to the Justice League and deku is the reason it forms (he's the leader). And it's the reason society focuses less on one hero to hope upon.

 

[Disco]

These shounen shows are kinda boring as shit now. Its the reason why i havent bothered to watch demon slayer. The gifs make the animation look super dope but im attached to this wack show now and am too far in to quit now. I dont need another one that follows the same plot beats. So derivative.

 

[caliph95]

People say this but that kind of thing has been played or i seen similar so many times that's not the interesting to me

 

[GeeseHoward]

At least his quirk has some limitations in place that put him in danger if not used properly. I would stop considering him an underdog if they start giving him more superpowers that aren't just extensions to super strength, would even call it bullshit as that would automatically make him better than everyone else in his class.

Click to shrink...

So about that...

 

[Vee]

So about that...

Click to shrink...

^LMFAO, This is where i really stopped giving a shit about Deku. My problem with MHA is later spoilers with dekus power, too many characters in class A that dont matter( you could cut the class in half and not change anything important), cool characters that get no spotlight, most of the female cast go nowhere(this is just a shonen problem in general), a shitload of bakugo and todoroki(ymmv but i dont care for either personally). I think vigilantes is much better than the main series if im being honest

 

[NekoNeko]

i agree OP, i was interested in reading a story about a smart shonen character who succeeded despite not being the chosen one number 1 of all time best ever but alas.

 

[1upsuper]

I have to agree with the OP. I thought it had an interesting premise but quit watching it after the story did a 180 and gave the main character his powers. No thanks.

 

[NotLiquid]

With the way Quirks were depicted - and have been ever since - in MHA, I feel like "the series would've been more interesting with a quirkless Deku" is one of those things people think is smart even though it really isn't.

 

[BKatastrophe]

My thing is: Having someone whose Quirk isn't a natural part of themself is basically making it a piece of equipment, right? Everyone else's quirk is an actual biological part of their body. Bakugo explains during the Sports Festival that quirks are like muscles: no matter what kind, they tire out eventually because they're a part of you (because he messed up his arm fighting Uraraka). But Deku's isn't. It's not really a part of him like the others.

I'm only on the anime, but to me his power isn't so insanely broken yet (it's just super strength/speed kinetic energy bullshit), but I'm sure something in the manga happened where his power set opened up or something.

My point being that the interaction his power has and its effects on his body may not be the exact same as being some quirkless gadget heavy genius hero, but at that point the only difference I see is the complaint about physical power. It's still him wielding something not natural to him.

If we go off of the All Might legacy thing anyways, he could have picked Deku regardless. He could've picked anyone. The recent arc shows that Deku is literally special because of his personality and not his power (again, anime only so I'm not gonna argue anything beyond it).

The most plausible alternative would've been having Deku become Iron Man, but even then in a series like MHA, Tony Stark's genius intellect/engineering expertise likely would've been considered his Quirk.

Click to shrink...

He's got some of that in him already. One of his strongest traits is his ability to analyze and breakdown powers rapidly. He figured out Stain's power real quick, if I recall, and that shit was like "whaaaaa".

I've been meaning to begin watching this. But it looks so edgey.

Click to shrink...

Nah it's not edgy at all. That's just the visual style. It's a very punk "fuck the system" show, in a way. They portray a very fucked up caste system that is super messed up that I think is a very strong portrayal given that it illicits genuine emotion out of me. Healthy rivalries and a sense of what a rivalry should be. Good characters for the most part (Gauche is weird as fuck and could be done without even though his backstory is solid). Good fights.

Problem is the pacing, though. When you clip show episode during a fight, you know you fucked up.

Could try Chainsaw Man. It's very offbeat, not like the usual shounen stuff at all.

Click to shrink...

Chainsaw Man is fucking outstanding and more people should read it. Aki is best boy.

the fact that he inherited the most powerful ability is what makes the series boring. the other characters are far more interesting than him but the manga will always have to revolve around him and that will always be a drag. he's also boring as shit and reminds me a lot of tsuna from hitman reborn. i stopped reading the series because i really don't care about deku.

Click to shrink...

Not as bad as Tsuna could be though.

You do have a point. While I would be happy with the MC of a shounen series not ending up as the strongest character in the series, I know a lot of other people wouldn't.

Click to shrink...

Yoh from Shaman King isn't the strongest, I believe. Pretty sure he's the weakest by a good lot. Most of his fights are damn near ties but I only ever watched the anime which I liked but apparently the manga is 100% better so I need to read that.

 

[Qvoth]

i find shy the better superhero shonen manga atm
hell even mha vigilantes is more interesting than mha

go check out shy

Spoiler: sample image

 

[klauskpm]

I would have liked if Deku was powerless if the heroes powers were tame, but we are on super powers and shonen anime territory. Power exaggeration will always be a thing, and people with super powers like Deku already suffer a lot of permanent damage.

 

[Stowaway Silfer]

When I watched the first episode, I thought the way the story was going was indeed having him remain powerless but compete anyway and liked the idea. But the way him getting the quirk was handled as well as his relationship with All Might make me cool with the idea of him getting power.

I still would've preferred if he had trained before meeting AM and being promised the best quirk ever. But I hear I shouldn't want that cause insecure teenagers aren't able to do push ups or something...

With female characters in WSJ battle series Black Clover is probably the best with MHA and Demon Slayer towards the bottom. I haven't read Jujitsu Kaisen and Samurai8, but from what I've heard the latter is probably bottom of the list in Jump.

Click to shrink...

I think Demon Slayer is good in that regard too. I find the female characters there much more relevant and important to the events of the story than MHA.
Jujutsu Kaisen does it well too. Nobara Kugisaki is my second favorite main heroine of the current battle manga lineup and there are other cool female characters besides her who get to do cool stuff.
(Still time for it to falter though, even if it doesn't look like it will. When MHA was at a similar point I still thought the female characters were cool and that Ochaco was handled well...)

eagerly await when best girl Mina Ashido gets the spot light and I shall return

Click to shrink...

Read like the first 3-4 pages of the latest chapter. Cool, if minor, Mina stuff happens.

 

[ckareset]

With the way Quirks were depicted - and have been ever since - in MHA, I feel like "the series would've been more interesting with a quirkless Deku" is one of those things people think is smart even though it really isn't.

Click to shrink...

Pretty much. It would have been stupid and part of the appeal imo is the ridiculous quirks that have been present day 1.

 

[Klyka]

OP, this is slightly off-topic, but you should read Worm. The heroine *does* have powers, but they're seemingly massively underpowered/useless compared to most...but she uses them in incredible ways.

Plus it's fucking incredible.

Okay bye.

Click to shrink...

I agree on this, Worm was one of my favorite stories I ever read.

 

[Sandfox]

When I watched the first episode, I thought the way the story was going was indeed having him remain powerless but compete anyway and liked the idea. But the way him getting the quirk was handled as well as his relationship with All Might make me cool with the idea of him getting power.

I still would've preferred if he had trained before meeting AM and being promised the best quirk ever. But I hear I shouldn't want that cause insecure teenagers aren't able to do push ups or something...


I think Demon Slayer is good in that regard too. I find the female characters there much more relevant and important to the events of the story than MHA.
Jujutsu Kaisen does it well too. Nobara Kugisaki is my second favorite main heroine of the current battle manga lineup and there are other cool female characters besides her who get to do cool stuff.
(Still time for it to falter though, even if it doesn't look like it will. When MHA was at a similar point I still thought the female characters were cool and that Ochaco was handled well...)


Read like the first 3-4 pages of the latest chapter. Cool, if minor, Mina stuff happens.

Click to shrink...

I don't agree with you on Demon Slayer, but I'm not going to argue over it.

 

[AnansiThePersona]

People say this but that kind of thing has been played or i seen similar so many times that's not the interesting to me

Click to shrink...

Plus, I don't even think the "powerless" thing fits Deku at all. It's not like he was trying to compensate for being powerless in anyway. Not like he was working out or built anything. Also all the hype Deku moments we've gotten from the series would become slow panning monologues instead. Todoroki vs. Deku would've been garbage lol

 

[Slacker247]

I don't see it mentioned anywhere but maybe OP should try Samurai Flamenco. It's a story about a hero with no powers and what I saw of it I liked. I think I only saw the first 7 or so episodes though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Flamenco

Click to shrink...

This was good but I think after about half-way mark it went a bit coo-coo. Demons and shit. Felt like it was very grounded at first without any reason to believe demons and such were a thing, but I may feel this way also because I took a break watching it at that point too.

 

[Deleted member 45414]

I like the spinoff MHA Illegals way more than the main series because it actually dives a little deeper into the premise, unlike the mains series that's completely bogged down in shonen pacing.

 

[JVID]

I'd be less interested personally. But I'm also not looking for that from the show. I'd rather support character just be a.. support character.

 

[Mirage]

Plus, I don't even think the "powerless" thing fits Deku at all. It's not like he was trying to compensate for being powerless in anyway. Not like he was working out or built anything. Also all the hype Deku moments we've gotten from the series would become slow panning monologues instead. Todoroki vs. Deku would've been garbage lol

Click to shrink...

I feel like powerless Deku doing well vs someone like Todoroki would just be ridiculous.

 

[Slayven]

Deku should've had Monoma's quirk. It would allow him to use his observational abilities and hero/villain obsession to copy other quirks and put his own spin on them. He could've even kept his initial limitation in that his body isn't a a good vessel to house abilities properly.

Click to shrink...

That is one thing MHA does, give all the interesting things to folks you will never see that often. Like that Big Three eating dude, now that is the power Deku should have had

 

[vypek]

I think I would have liked it a lot less. In that kind of world, Deku would have seemed pretty useless. Maybe peoples quirks would have been lowered down. As it is now, I prefer him with powers. I think the only "powerless in a world of supernatural" that I've liked the execution of a lot is A Certain Magical Index. But even then that probably doesn't count the same because the main character has a power.

 

[Reyes]

Looking at where we are currently in the story in terms of powers, I'd be lying if I said I don't still think about what could've been...

Click to shrink...

Agreed, maybe have a buildup to Deku eventually getting a quirk if Horikoshi editor really wanted Deku to have one.

Just weird to take an inherent disadvantage from the protagonist to really put him on equal footing when there could have been a more interesting dynamic

Then again I remember Samurai 8 all the stuff pre release was cooler then what it turned out to be as again it would be cool to see a protagonist with a legit disability be a shonen hero as there really isn't to any in the medium but coped out of it in the first chapter making Hachimaru way less interesting

 

[808s & Villainy]

A quirkless hero would still technically work, they just wouldn't be able to fight every single threat. Some opponents would wipe the floor with them, but that's the case for heroes with quirks too. Everyman characters always have some unique quirk (Ha!) about them. They're usually knowledgeable or competent in some specific thing that the "average" person doesn't know. Even if its just an exhaustingly extensive knowledge of pop-culture. The kid already has an obsession with heroes and quirks, may as well make use of that instead of just giving him the strongest quirk and making him a Chosen One.

Click to shrink...

He would get DESTROYED without a quirk by almost every other person in the class. In the world fo MHA, a quirkless hero excelling just doesn't work. And if he did manage to beat some of the stronger ones, it would come off as ridiculous

 

[Arkeband]

A quirkless hero would still technically work, they just wouldn't be able to fight every single threat. Some opponents would wipe the floor with them, but that's the case for heroes with quirks too. Everyman characters always have some unique quirk (Ha!) about them. They're usually knowledgeable or competent in some specific thing that the "average" person doesn't know. Even if its just an exhaustingly extensive knowledge of pop-culture. The kid already has an obsession with heroes and quirks, may as well make use of that instead of just giving him the strongest quirk and making him a Chosen One.

Click to shrink...

On paper that sounds fine, but in reality it would boil down to obnoxious inner monologue play-by-play exposition that already plagues shounen anime, and MHA is rife with it, which has become a crutch as the animation quality has dramatically dropped and now most fights are still-frame explosions with some moving backgrounds.