The school setting of My Hero Academia revealed what life would be like in a world where students with Quirks or superpowers begin their lives as future professional superheroes. Thanks to Izuku Midoriya and his peers from Class-A in UA High, the world has a better chance of being saved from the clutches of All For One and the League of Villains. Unfortunately, Izuku and his classmates have much more to learn throughout the series to become battle-ready against these villains who don’t play fair.

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Thankfully, the rest of My Hero Academia showcased the potential of each Class-A member as they trained and prevailed against various threats across the anime and the manga. However, eagle-eyed fans might notice that some of Izuku’s classmates didn’t get as much exposure as their peers throughout the series’s overall story.

10 Yuga Aoyama

The Flamboyantly Fancy Shining Hero

Throughout the My Hero Academia series, Yuga Aoyama already cemented his status as the flamboyant comic relief of his class. Despite his aristocratic upbringing, Aoyama is often ignored (not maliciously) by his peers, and his lack of control over his Navel Laser as well as his hidden insecurities have often put him in jeopardy. However, there were instances that Aoyama was willing to overcome his fear for his comrades: he shot his Navel Laser towards the dangerous Mr. Compress to help release the kidnapped Bakugo, and he was willing to drop out of the Provisional License Exam to ensure Tenya Iida passes - but his beam became a decoy to bring the class towards them for backup.

However, Aoyama’s biggest role in the plot is the revelation that he was the U.A. Traitor all along. All For One had given a Quirkless Aoyama his Navel Laser, provided his family worked for him. Alongside having a puppet in U.A. High, All For One accounted for the fact that even the revelation of his betrayal will shatter the morale of his enemies. In the Final War, Yuga tries to overcome this guilt by attacking All For One and even defeating the villain Kunieda with Hagakure’s refractive abilities. While Aoyama’s redemption arc has had a realistic mid-point and ending progression, one could hope his character has gotten more exposure to make the reveal of his betrayal much more jarring.

9 Tsuyu Asui

The Ever-Dependable Frog Hero

Among members of Class 1-A, Tsuyu Asui got early exposure as a minor character in the My Hero Academia series. Despite her Frog Quirk making her more or less a humanized frog, Asui’s blunt but analytical nature cemented her status as among the smarter and more tactically-sound members of her class. Early demonstrations of her prowess include: immediately noticing similarities between All Might and Deku’s Quirks, saving Deku and Minoru Mineta with her swimming and agility during the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, quick thinking during her sea-themed internship, and successfully capitalizing on Dark Shadow’s abilities to pass their term’s finals.

However, much of Asui’s exposure in the series along the mid-arc simply emphasizes her role as a rescue-oriented hero. This changes in the Final War, when she and Ochaco team up against a rampaging Himiko Toga, wherein Asui once again makes skillful analysis of their opponent’s state. While this fight cements her status as Ochaco’s best friend, Asui hasn’t gotten a more impactful way of showcasing her tactical prowess on a larger scale - especially during the Final War where wide-ranged powers are more emphasized.

8 Mina Ashido

Cheerful Acid Expert

Recognized for her purplish-pink skin and dark eyes, Mina Ashido is among the more sociable and easygoing members of Class 1-A. While Ashido doesn’t possess remarkable combat skills, her skillful usage of her Acid Quirk allows her to become a devastating long-ranged fighter. Early displays of her combat prowess include: using acid to propel Bakugo’s team during the Sports Festival’s cavalry battle, use her acid defensively to melt tagging balls during the Provisional Hero License Exams, and even combining her acid with her classmates’ abilities to make traps during the Joint Training against Class 1-B.

However, save for the fact that Red Riot looks up to her going way back in middle school and Ashido’s annoyance towards Mineta’s antics, not a lot of the story is relegated to Ashido for her character development. In the Final War, she teams up with Red Riot and Shinso Hitoshi to defeat the Sludge Villain, where Ashido pushes her Acid to the limits to save a suffocating Shinso. While it’s her efforts that allowed Shinso to brainwashes the immensely durable Gigantomachia to fight All For One in the heroes’ side, Ashido’s penchant for creatively using her Quirk could’ve had more moments in the moments leading to and during the Final War.

7 Toru Hagakure

An Invisible Girl Who Packs A Lot Of Punch

Invisibility is a staple power in superhero fiction, and Toru Hagakure embodies this trope in My Hero Academia. Known as Invisible Girl, Hagakure spent most of her time in the series in her default invisible form. This is due to her Invisibility Quirk, which essentially refracts light to conceal her appearance. Despite only her boots and gloves being visible to others, Hagakure brightens up the mood with her cheery and easygoing attitude. However, Hagakure only had a few moments to show off in the early parts of the series: sneaking up on Snipe to pass her term finals, blinding opponents with her light during the Provisional License Exam, and using her Quirk to stop a rampaging Dark Shadow during the Joint Training.

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These all change whenever Aoyama Yuga is involved, as Hagakure is implied to have some sort of close friendship with him. It’s thanks to her refraction that Yuga missed Deku with his Navel Laser, although she was devastated about his betrayal of her classmates. The two also had frequent team-ups where she redirects his Navel Beam - one during the Paranormal Liberation War, and another in the Final War. Such was her skill with her Quirk that she even managed to redirect a devastating attack from All For One directed to her classmates. Despite the running gag about how easy it can be to draw and animate Hagakure, she could’ve used more moments to showcase how terrifying her “basic” invisibility can become.

6 Mezo Shoji

Quite Literally The Extra Hand Everyone Needs

The masked Mezo Shoji and his tentacled arms can make him seem frightening at first glance, but beneath his quiet exterior is a selfless and understanding Class 1-A student. Despite suffering from discrimination as a heteromorph child, Shoji’s usage of his Quirk to save a drowning little girl pushed him to become a hero. This may also explain his early mastery of his Dupli-Arms Quirk, essentially an ability that lets him create better-performing duplicate body parts. The ability allows him to create multiple arms for striking, as well as extra ears and eyes for reconnaissance.

The unique nature of his powers often positioned Shoji as a dependable member of any team: Shoji risks his life to protect Tenya Iida from a rampaging Tsukuyomi, used his body as a cavalry to carry teammates in the U.A. Sports Festival, and saved a paralyzed Izuku in the Beast’s Forest. However, Shoji doesn’t get a true “personal arc” until the Final War, where he reveals his faith in all of humanity despite suffering from abuse as a child due to his app34earance. While this touching backstory fits Shoji’s heroic nature, he suffers from underexposure and a rather underwhelming superhero suit.

5 Koji Koda

The Meek Animal Whisperer

Despite his bulky stature and rock-shaped head, Koji Koda is among the most kindhearted students in Class 1-A. Not much is known about Koda’s childhood, except that his parents raised him to become like his father who stands up for others - especially persecuted fellow heteromorphs. Similar to other minor characters, Koda is often relegated to the sidelines as an averaging-performing student. Highlights of Koda’s presence in the anime thus far include using (and overcoming his fear of) insects to defeat Present Mic and win their term’s final exams, win their Joint Training against Class 1-B despite being captured, and acquire his Provisional License.

However, not much is shown of Koda until the Final War Arc. When he and fellow heteromorph Mezo Shoji are assigned to aid mutant refugees against an empowered Spinner, Koda undergoes a transformation and grows horns that extends the reach of his Anivoice. This provides Koda with a much-needed moment to grow out of his meek shell, becoming a more assertive and confident hero. However, Koda’s character development would’ve benefited from more instances of stepping up in smaller but equally intense moments.

4 Minoru Mineta

Token Comic Relief

A traditional shonen series like My Hero Academia won’t be complete without a token comic relief character, with the short-statured Minoru Mineta being infamous for his quips and perverted nature. As a hero hopeful, Mineta dons the mantle of Grape Juice and uses his Pop Off Quirk, allowing him to pull his hair into balls that are extremely sticky to others but he can easily use to bounce around the battlefield. While cowardly to a fault, Mineta can step up to the challenge of being a hero whenever necessary. Among his feats include overwhelming Midnight with his Grape Rush to help himself and Sero pass their term finals, immobilize students for Class 1-A’s easy pickings in the Provisional License Exam, and creatively use his sticky balls and his body’s ability to bounce off them to overwhelm Class 1-B in their Joint Training.

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In the Final War Arc, Mineta is among the ones assigned to contain Gigantomachia and eventually fight All For One. Despite having grievous injuries, Mineta defiantly taunts All For One to stop harming Tsukuyomi. All For One leaves the battlefield shortly after, content in demoralizing the heroes there. Despite this shining moment in the Final War, Mineta could’ve used a more comedic but impactful moment to cement his comic relief status even in the face of danger.

3 Rikido Sato

Sugar Fuels His Superhuman Strength

Every superhero team needs a brawler, and this is a role Rikido Sato takes as Sweets Hero: Sugarman in the story of My Hero Academia. Not much is known about Sato’s past, but his friends know him as an optimist with a flair for cooking - especially baking sweets. Thanks to his Sugar Rush Quirk, Sato only needs 10g of sugar to give his physique a 5x Boost for 3 Minutes, although he slowly uses his cognitive functions the more he consumes sugar.

Unfortunately in the story, Sato is among the neglected cast members - often serving as an average performer in his Class. He and Red Riot lost to Cementoss in their term’s final exams, he had to take extra classes after failing their practical exams while training in the Beast’s Forest, and he won his round of Joint Training against Class 1-B courtesy of Katsuki Bakugo’s leadership. It would’ve been interesting to see Sato more than his characterization as the typical strong guy, especially when one of his more interesting feats involved fast-paced punching to free Bakugo from a welded steel trap during the match against Class 1-B.

2 Mashirao Ojiro

Martial Artist With A Prehensile Tail

It perhaps makes sense for a martial artist like Mashirao Ojiro to not only be a hardworker but also have a strong sense of nobility and dignity. Ojiro’s shy nature extends to his hero outfit consisting majorly of a karate gi - but this doesn’t make him a mere pushover. Possessing the Tail Quirk, Ojiro possesses quite a strong prehensile tail that often uses to coordinate his attacks. Despite his rather simple Quirk, Ojiro compensates with immense training that led to interesting results: he’s able to surprise Class 1-B’s fastest student in their Joint Training battle, outpace Power Loader in their term’s final exams, and even managed to a horde of students dead-set on defeating U.A. High during the Provisional Hero License Exams.

Unfortunately for Ojiro, these moments in the story were some of the already few highlights of his character arc. Ojiro doesn’t get as much exposure in both the pre-Final War and Final War proper, except perhaps being able to capture a vigilante Izuku who’s openly using more of One For All’s Quirks. This lack of character moments towards the end of the series places Ojiro among underused Class 1-A students. It would’ve been interesting to see Mashirao and his meager Tail making an impact in the Final War, especially when the all-out battle has seen more use of wide-area Quirks.

1 Hanta Sero

Laidback Slinging Tape Hero

Hanta Sero is perhaps one of the more sociable and laidback students in Deku’s Class 1-A. In his My Hero Academia appearance, Sero is established as an easygoing guy who’s often one of the few who can call out his classmates when they do something wrong. While depicted as more of an average performer in the beginning parts of the story, Sero is shown capable of using his Tape Quirk with his tactical prowess and agility to achieve incredible feats. He’s seen releasing tape to avoid tagging balls during the Provisional Hero License Exam, as well as use tape to create barriers and even trap Class 1-B Setsuna via attaching one of Bakugo’s grenades to one of her deployable body parts during the Joint Training Battle.

Despite Sero’s remarkable growth in the mid-part of the story, he’s left without much solo exposure in the Final War Arc. Sero’s quick-thinking could’ve been used for a team-up moment with other students against an intelligent enemy, or more of his mature side could’ve been showcased with a moment that forces him to overcome a difficult challenge during the conflict.

My Hero Academia (2016)

Release Date

April 3, 2016

Seasons

7

Studio

Bones

Number of Episodes

141+