Summary
A redemption arc in a story refers to a character who, through their own actions, does all they can to make up for the sins of their past. In the world ofMy Hero Academia, where all it can take is one bad day for someone to become a villain, it’s meant several characters who may have been criminals in a past life eventually try to make things right by fighting for the sake of heroism and justice.
However, author Kohei Horikoshi is a master at creating characters that are morally gray, meaning sometimes, even the heroes need to try and seek redemption, despite often being portrayed as the “good guys” of society. Either way, it’s always fascinating to see how a character decides to deal with their past mistakes, and how those previous actions have changed them as a person, so with that being said, it’s time to take a deeper look at theMy Hero Academiacharacters who embarked on their own redemption arcs, and which has been the most intriguing and compelling of them all.
5Lady Nagant
From Dangerous Traitor To Life-Saving Hero, Nagant Goes On Quite The Personal Journey
Though Nagant’s dreams of becoming a hero eventually came true, she soon realized that she had become little more than a pawn for the Public Safety Commission. With the group forcing Nagant to mercilessly kill numerous villains as a way to maintain the status quo from behind the scenes, Nagant eventually became disillusioned with the position, causing her to blow the head of the commission’s leader before joining up withAll For One.
Despite being dead-set on exterminating Midoriya when she first shows up during theDark Hero arc, after receiving a savage beatdown, she makes a grand return in the final war, though this time, with good intentions. Moments before Shigaraki is able to touch the surface, which would have wiped out many heroes due to the devastating power of Decay, Nagant was able to fire a bullet at his hand just in time to prevent disaster. Though she only receives small bits of screentime here and there, Nagant’s persona arc still adds a lot to her character and makes her much more than a villain of the week.
4La Brava
A Devious Rogue Villain Who Eventually Puts Her Hacking Skills To Good Use
When La Brava first appears in the story, she acts as a sidekick to Gentle Criminal who is completely infatuated with the villain, and is more than happy to record each of his evil deeds for the world to see. Admittedly, La Brava’s crimes tend to be a lot more minimal compared to the more malicious and dangerous villains, but herLove Quirkdoes still make her a real thorn in the side of Midoriya. This was moments before her and Gentle planned to disrupt the U.A School Festival, which would have sparked yet another villain attack for the students to take care of.
Once the heroes start realizing that they need all hands on deck to stop Shigaraki from destroying the country, La Brava is let out of her cell so that she can help out from a technical standpoint. It’s fair to say La Brava had a pretty big impact in the conflict, being the one who was able to hack into Skeptic’s HQ, while also giving Gentle the encouragement he needed to prevent the floating U.A from crashing into the ground.
3Gentle Criminal
Gentle Is Finally Able To Use His Quirk To Protect Rather Than To Cause Harm In The Final Arc
Gentle is a character who represents the unfairness of hero society. As someone who was aspiring to become a hero, one day, Gentle used his Elasticity Quirk to try and save a man falling from a building, only to get in another Pro Hero’s way. Not only did the victim pick up nasty injuries from the fall, Gentle would also become an outcast, and someone who would come to use his unique Quirk for committing petty crimes as a way to reject the society that tore him down.
AfterMidoriya manages to put Gentle awaythough, he would then come back near the end of the story during the heroes' face-off with Shigaraki atop the floating U.A platform. With the platform crashing down to the surface, it was Gentle who appeared out of nowhere to create a massive cushion, softening the landing and saving countless lives in the process. Despite initially seeming like a one-off antagonist, Gentle’s journey of doubt, rejection, and eventually, heroism, make him someone who is easy to love due to how desperately he tries to prove himself worthy of being a hero.
2Katsuki Bakugo
Bakugo Eventually Comes To Realize Why He Bullied Midoriya So Relentlessly For Much Of Their Lives
From the moment he appears on-screen, it’s made very clear to viewers and readers that Bakugo is ahuge bully, with his main target often being Midoriya. Ever since they were kids, Bakugo has always picked on Midoriya, primarily because he was Quirkless, but over the course of the main story, Bakugo’s outlook on Midoriya, and the world in general, starts to change.
After blaming himself for All Might losing his Quirk, Bakugo becomes obsessed with comparing himself to Midoriya in terms of power level, considering how absurdly strong he had become thanks to his own Quirk. Eventually, though, Bakugo finally cracks and admits that he’s sorry for all the harm he caused to Midoriya, willing to even put his own life on the line in the final war to help his friend out in the fight against Shigaraki and All For One. Bakugo may have seemed a little one-note at the beginning of the series, but Horikoshi managed to add a lot of depth to his character, with his journey of redemption for his bullying being one that all longtime fans will remember fondly.
1Endeavor
Endeavor Desperately Tries To Find A Way To Atone So That His Family Doesn’t Need To Suffer Anymore
Many fans agree that Endeavor is the best written character in all ofMy Hero Academia, which makes complete sense considering the incredible journey thisPro Herogoes on. Initially, all Endeavor cared about was overtaking All Might as the number 1 hero, leading him to have multiple children in the hopes that they could one day achieve Endeavor’s goal for him. However, this eventually resulted in several of the kids facing neglect and abuse at the hands of Endeavor; something that would haunt him for the rest of his days. Upon reaching the top spot, Endeavor’s demeanor begins to change as he tries warming up to his son, Todoroki. While this goes well at first, Endeavor realizes he can’t escape his past when Toya, one of Endeavor’s sons who was thought to have been killed in childhood by his own Quirk, exposes himself as the immensely dangerous villain known as Dabi.
Seeing Endeavor struggle with making peace after years of selfishness has been one of the most compelling sub plots in the story for many fans, and a real highlight of Horikoshi’s writing. What starts off as a journey of seeking redemption slowly morphs and merges into one of atonement once Endeavor understands how he can move forward as a father. In the end, after Endeavor was forced to go one-on-one with Dabi, the Todoroki family would eventually attempt to rebuild, marking the end of Endeavor’s arc as he steps down from being a hero.
