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All About Izuku Midoriya
Izuku Midoriya (緑みどり谷や出いず久く Midoriya Izuku), also known as Deku (デク), is the primary protagonist of the My Hero Academia manga and anime series.
Though born without a Quirk, Izuku manages to catch the attention of the legendary hero All Might due to his innate heroism and has since become his close pupil as well as a student in Class 1-A at U.A. High School. All Might passed on his Quirk to Izuku, making him the ninth holder of One For All.
Appearance
Izuku is very short for his age, his round face framed by a short mess of fluffy dark green hair which sticks up at odd angles around his head, casting noticeably dark shadows onto itself. His eyes are large and somewhat circular, their irises the same green color as his hair, and are usually stretched quite wide, giving him an innocent appearance. He has a set of four symmetrical freckles in diamond formations, one on each cheek, but despite these prominent traits, he is often described by others as being plain-looking.
Though he was initially very skinny, Izuku has gained an array of toned muscles after his ten months of extensive training with All Might, and as the series progresses these are shown to become more developed and defined as he gradually grows stronger.
Personality
Izuku is a very timid, helpful, and polite boy, frequently overreacting to abnormal situations with exaggerated expressions. Due to being bullied for lacking a Quirk, he is initially portrayed as insecure, more reserved, and non-expressive. These traits are especially present around Katsuki, who constantly harangued him for his aspirations to be a hero. However, after being accepted into U.A. High School, making new friends, and facing Katsuki during the Battle Trial Arc, Izuku gradually turned into a more confident and brave person, eventually developing leadership skills. He also seems to be an energetic person, a feature of him that has been gradually more demonstrated thanks to his growing confidence, something noted by Mirio Togata and Midnight.
Additionally, Izuku is a quite diligent and strong-willed student. His dream drove him to write down notes about everything he knows in regards to Heroes’ Quirks. Because of this practice, Izuku has developed a great analytical mind and can form complex battle plans in seconds, which factor in both his allies’ and enemies’ Quirks. Izuku externalizes his observations through endless mumbling, a habit that annoys or scares his peers. Izuku often writes down his observations in a variety of notebooks he titles as Hero Analysis for the Future.
Izuku is a caring person and never hesitates to rescue someone in danger, even if he knows that he is not strong enough to do it. Often, he does this on a whim, taking a more careless approach than the usual overthinking he goes through. Izuku often helps people with personal and emotional problems, even if it does not concern him, claiming that a Hero should meddle in other people’s lives. Still, his heroic spirit is recognized by many, having earned the loyalty and gratitude of characters that were previously antagonistic to him such as Tenya Iida, Shoto, Hitoshi Shinso, Kota Izumi, Sir Nighteye and even the Hero Killer: Stain, acknowledged Izuku as a true hero.
Abilities
Overall Abilities: Izuku’s greatest asset prior to receiving his Quirk was his vast knowledge of fundamental hero skills and tactics. Izuku studied pro heroes for years and is able to apply that knowledge during crisis situations in a practical manner. His immense bravery and desire to become a hero was also a key factor greatly in helping his ability to protect himself and others. Before gaining his Quirk from All Might, he took on the Sludge Villain and rescued Katsuki Bakugo because of his boldness and applications of heroic skills.
Having been trained by All Might for 10 months in order to get his body physically ready to inherit One For All, he gained a muscular physique that allows him to perform at parameters higher than that of an average student outside U.A.’s hero course. After inheriting One For All from All Might, he was granted the ability to harness a stockpile of powerful energy. He could move faster than the eye can see and take down an enormous villain bot in a single punch. However, the physical backlash prevented Izuku from being able to fight properly or compete with his peers on an even playing field. Even so, he still possessed impressive physical durability, and his drive allowed him to withstand the drawbacks of One For All. Izuku’s heroic traits, combined with his usage of One For All earns him 7th place in the U.A. Entrance Exam, having scored the most rescue points out any other applicant.
Despite the intense drawbacks of One For All, Izuku’s wits allow him to use One For All in ways that are still effective in battle. He also retains his ability to act instinctively based on his notes and possesses basic hand-to-hand combat knowledge. This is shown where he was able to fight against Katsuki for a short time during the Battle Trial thanks to his knowledge and novice combat experience, and eventually, claim victory against the prodigal student. Even more impressively, at the U.A. Sports Festival, Izuku was capable of overwhelming Shoto, who was the most promising student in Class 1-A at the time, in close-combat when the latter was only using his ice powers.
Enhanced Stamina: Izuku has shown on many occasions that he is able to handle and bear with a lot of pain, such times are mostly because of the repercussion of over-using his Quirk, initially when he lacked proper control of his own Quirk, he ended up with broken fingers in a regular basis. However, he can still manage to move his body despite feeling excruciating pain, which was seen in his battles against Muscular and Katsuki. The former led him with broken arms, and could still remain active.
Keen Intellect: Izuku has proven to be exceptionally intelligent on many occasions, displaying both keen observation and analysis as well as adept intuition and resourcefulness. It is usually his intelligence that has helped him more than his Quirk. Izuku is a quick learner, being able to formulate strategies that take advantage of the situation and uses his knowledge to creatively utilize the Quirks of other people to their full potential, such as distracting Katsuki in their first mock battle and working together with Tsuyu Asui and Minoru Mineta to escape the villains at the flood zone at the U.S.J. Izuku also has extensive knowledge of Pro Heroes, his classmates, and their Quirks, as he takes note of them in great detail in his Hero Analysis for the Future. Because of his great admiration of heroes, Izuku has documented the history of many Pros, shocking even the heroes themselves.
Leadership Skills: Izuku has displayed on various occasions incredible leadership skills. His wits that he showcased during the Battle Trials earned him the title of the “Class Rep” of Class 1-A. Soon after, however, Izuku relinquished the title to Tenya, someone whom Izuku acknowledges as being more suitable for the said position. During Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, Izuku deduced the strategies of the rival schools and correctly figured they would come after his class first after seeing the U.A. Sports Festival; his warning his classmates prevents the “Crushing of U.A.”. During this battle, it is evidenced that his leadership is so trusted that he is one of the class’s unofficial vanguards, even if he himself is not aware of it.
