If there’s a word to describe the world of My Hero Academia, it would be vibrant. After all, since the moment we laid eyes on this world in the very first episode of the series, the one thing that stood out the most was the fact that there are all kinds of people with all kinds of quirks here, all living together in harmony. Sure, there are bad apples who want to ruin it for everybody, but the overwhelming majority of people in this world, quirks or no quirks, manage to get along incredibly well.

That being said, the recent chapters about All For One’s past revealed that this peace and harmony is actually a rather new phenomenon. The world used to be a dark and unforgiving place filled with chaos, hatred, and violence. So let’s use this chance to talk about what happened during those darkest days in the world of My Hero Academia.

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The Introduction of Quirks Seemed to Cause as Many Problems as it Solved

The world of My Hero Academia used to look so different from what it is today. Decades before the beginning of the story, there were no such things as meta abilities or quirks in this world. There were no such things as superheroes and supervillains. There were only regular humans, some good and some bad.

But then, something shocking happened. One day, unique abilities began to emerge in humans all around the world. Some developed strange powers, while others underwent a drastic change in appearance. Interestingly, this strange phenomenon only happened to young people who went through puberty. But soon after, a baby was born with a body engulfed in light, aptly named the Glowing Baby. This was the first recorded case of a human who was born with quirks. Since then, almost every baby was born with a quirk. This was the time of the great awakening.

The brightest minds that the world had to offer at the time immediately began to research this strange phenomenon. They called these unique powers Meta Abilities. Furthermore, they found that those who awakened their meta abilities were a sub-branch of humanity with new genetic factors. These meta-humans were essentially mutants. Unfortunately, the scientists couldn’t find out the cause of this mysterious global awakening.

A Fear of the Unknown Plunges the World Into Chaos

It is often said that the greatest fear that plagues the human mind is fear of the unknown. When the great awakening happened, nobody had a clue about these so-called meta abilities. What they knew was the fact that these people could perform feats that no normal human beings could ever do. They saw people who could fly, people who could trigger explosions with a snap of a finger, and those who not only looked like a monster but also had the strength of a monster. It didn’t take a long time for a seed of fear to bloom within the heart of every regular human being on the planet.

Furthermore, the scientist’s decision to announce the differing genome between regular humans and those who had meta abilities turned out to bear a catastrophic result. People began to see the meta-humans as “the others”. Something different from a normal human. Something dangerous. The tribalism instinct kicked in and was soon followed by discrimination. Discrimination led to segregation. And segregation inevitably led to violence.

Interestingly enough, humanity was the side that openly displayed its animosity first. It started with simple name-callings, like shouting “monsters” or “freaks” whenever they encountered a meta-human. But it quickly devolved into a witch hunt where people formed armed militias with the sole purpose of hunting and killing meta-humans. The meta-humans soon retaliated with even greater force. What started as small skirmishes quickly turned into open battles between the two factions, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake.

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All For One Rises As The World's Most Evil Villain

Amidst the chaos and the violence that spread throughout Japan at the time, there was one figure who rose from the darkness as the embodiment of evil. He devoured both regular humans and meta-humans alike. The more people he killed, the more powerful he became. As a result, his notoriety spread throughout the land, planting fear in everyone’s hearts. Nobody knew his real name or where he came from. He was simply known by his moniker, the one who ruthlessly and indiscriminately took everything for himself; All For One.

However, not everybody was scared of All For One (AFO). There was a growing number of meta-humans who actually admired him. To them, AFO was the savior who dared to stand up against those who wanted to eradicate the meta-humans. These people gladly became loyal subordinates of AFO. Over time, a much more unsavory group of meta-humans who actually enjoy committing crimes and hurting people also joined AFO’s group. In no time at all, the group had grown into one of the biggest crime organizations in Japan. In a way, AFO became the de facto evil overlord of Japan.

Fortunately, these dark days were eventually ended by a band of meta-humans, led by the wielders of the One-for-All quirk, who stood together with regular humans to drive out AFO and his organization. It took time, but the force of good eventually prevailed and peace was finally spread throughout the world. The new generation won’t be aware of these troubling periods, but those who were unlucky enough to live through those dark days will remember them for the rest of their lives.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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