Whenever a complex power system is introduced in a shonen anime or manga franchise, it’s useful to have a detailed classification system that can organize things in a more efficient way, because this will help audiences understand the fictional world being showcased. And the popular series by Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia, is one of the best examples of this practice.

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My Hero Academia: 10 Worst Quirks, Ranked

These are some of the worst quirks that ever graced the world of My Hero Academia.

In the world of My Hero Academia, superpowers are known as Quirks, and they can be classified into four different categories. Each one of them has its own extensive list of pros, cons, and specific characteristics. This means that some of these Quirk Types have a significant advantage against the others, but which Quirk Type is the best one in the entire series?

4 Accumulation-Type

High Risk, High Reward

While this is often seen as a subtype of Quirk, it has enough examples that it can be considered its own thing. Accumulation-Type Quirks require their user to accumulate something in order to be used effectively, whether it's kinetic energy, power, body mass, or even other quirks.

Because of this condition, these types of Quirks are not always reliable since they need a lot of proper set-ups before they can be used properly. But if a user can be patient and careful enough to accumulate whatever they need with time, Accumulation-Type Quirks can end up becoming extremely effective.

Some of the most powerful characters in My Hero Academia have Accumulation Type Quirks, like Eri, Fatgum, and Re-Destro, which goes to show how good they can be. But, as expected, whenever these characters run out of whatever it is they need to accumulate, they become significantly weaker and less useful.

3 Mutant-Type

A Permanent Body Change

In the world of My Hero Academia, Mutant-Type Quirks come with the most radical change since they can completely alter a person’s body by adding appendages, structures, or swapping their skin with other elements. And it’s important to keep in mind that these “abnormalities” are permanent, so they can’t be suppressed at all.

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But like anything else regarding quirks in My Hero Academia, these alterations can be quite different and random. It can be something as small as having a normal tail or a pair of engines growing from the user’s legs, or it can be something as huge and eye-catching as having multiple tentacles or the biology of an animal, like a frog or an orca.

Because of this random factor, users of Mutant-Type Quirks can end up becoming powerful heroes (Like MezoShoji, Tenya Iida, or Tsuyu Asui) or intimidating villains (Like Spinner or Chimera). The most negative part about this type is the fact that its users – colloquially known as Heteromorphs – get unfairly discriminated against in this fictional society, which is a great burden since they can’t change how they were born. Luckily, there are many respectable people who are fighting against this discrimination.

2 Transformation-Type

Like Mutant Type Quirks But Temporary

On the other hand, Transformation-Type Quirks are much more appreciated since their users get all the benefits from altering their bodies without permanently changing them. This is also the main reason that the Accumulation-Type is considered to be a subtype since most of its users transform their bodies with whatever it is that they have to accumulate.

The main strength of Transformation-Type Quirks is that they can be very diverse. Some people can change parts of their body into other elements (like Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu’s Steel), others can generate useful weapons or tools from their limbs (Like All For One’s Spearlike Bones), and others can even temporarily turn into entirely different beings (Like Ryukyu’s Dragon).

However, since users of these quirks are not usually born with these alterations, mastering their abilities can take years of learning and training. Thanks to all of those factors, people with Transformation-Type Quirks can end up becoming some of the weirdest yet most memorable characters in all of My Hero Academia. They’re no strangers to unfair discrimination, though, so most of them hide their “abnormalities” in order to better blend into society.

1 Emitter-Type

Simple Yet Effective

While there’s definitely no objectively bad Quirk Type in My Hero Academia, there's no denying that Emitter-Type Quirks are the best ones someone can have. They are very simple, but this simplicity ends up working in their favor. Emitter-Type Quirks let their users generate and/or control a specific element, substance, object, etc.

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Some of the strongest My Hero Academia characters were blessed with Emitter-Type Quirks since they can generate powerful stuff, like fire and ice, (Shoto Todoroki), explosions (Katsuki Bakugo), electricity (Denki Kaminari), and much more. But there are also particular examples of quirks in this category that can perform incredible feats, like Shota Aizawa’s Erasure or Hitoshi Shinso’s Brainwashing.

Emitter-Type Quirks can be even more diverse than Mutant-Types or Transformation-Types, and while this means that there are a few disappointing outliers in this category, most of them work well because they are the most similar to conventional superpowers, something most people would expect to see in a comic book. Even All Might’s and Izuku Midoriya’s quirk, One For All, partially belongs to this category. This goes to show how powerful Emitter-Type Quirks can become.

My Hero Academia (2016)

Action

Superhero

Release Date

April 3, 2016

Studio

Bones

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu