Summary
There are plenty of ultra-powerful Quirks that have been shown off over the course ofMy Hero Academia’s story, but a lot of the time, a strong ability will be paired with at least a heft drawback or two to help ensure it doesn’t come across as too strong or overpowered. Considering there are some Quirks out there that have been shown to be capable of obliterating entire cities and landscapes in no more than a few seconds, having a weakness makes it harder for a hero or villain to go too far when utilizing an attack or technique while out on the field.
If a Quirk inflicts a side effect upon it being activated too often, this also encourages the user to be a bit more strategic with how they use it, which has resulted in some incredible scenes where the hero or villain figures out a clever way to put their abilities to good use. With all that being said, it’s time to take a closer look at theMy Hero AcademiaQuirks that have the biggest drawbacks to understand what makes them so risky to use.
8Fat Absorption
Toyomitsu Becomes Extremely Vulnerable After His Fat Has Been Chipped Away
Taishiro Toyomitsu is a hero who excels at catching a villain off guard with a counterattack, but if a battle drags on for too long, things can horribly go wrong for him if he doesn’t have back-up. Fat Absorption, as the name implies, is a Quirk that lets Toyomitsu use his body fat as a barrier, with each attack thrown his way being completely absorbed.
On the one hand, this means Toyomitsu always needs to keep himself overweight for the Quirk to even work in the first place, but another downside is that the fat will slowly be chipped away the more damage the user receives in a battle. Duringthe Overhaul arc, for example, while fighting against Rappa and Tengai, Toyomitsu eventually lost his defensive barrier and became a slim and skinny version of his former self, and while he is still capable of dishing out damage in this form, his Quirk essentially becomes useless.
7Food
Soramitsu Tabe is a character who only receives a few minutes of screentime during the Overhaul arc, but in that time, he manages to perfectly demonstrate why he has become known as such a terrifying villain, outside of just hiscreepy appearance. Tabe’s Quirk, Food, allows him to eat anything he lays his eyes on, as is shown when he takes a giant bite out of Amajiki’s octopus tentacle.
The issue, however, is Tabe digests all of his food as soon as he consumes it, and, as his partner Toya Setsuno states in chapter 141 of the manga, “There’s no filling that guy up”. As a villain, Tabe can cause some real chaos by taking a bite out of a building, or even a person, while following Overhaul’s orders, but being hungry all the time is a tough price to pay.
6Brainwash
Shinso Needs His Target To Respond To Him For His Brainwashing To Take Effect
Shinso possesses the ability to take over a person’s body throughbrainwashing them, but to even begin using the Quirk, he first needs the opponent to respond to him after he asks a question. If the enemy decides to remain silent, Shinso’s Quirk will simply remain dormant, and though his training with Aizawa does turn him into a pretty formidable one-on-one combatant later on, he usually prefers relying on his ability to outsmart anyone who dares to face him.
That’s not all, though, as once someone is under Shinso’s influence, all it takes is a small knock or bump to snap them back to their senses. Shinso’s Quirk is still extremely strong, especially once he gains the ability to force people to speak while they’re being controlled, but it can be easily countered by anyone who knows how it works and the numerous ways to prevent it from taking effect.
5Electrification
Getting A Little Too Zap-Happy Will Turn Kaminari’s Brain Into Mush For An Hour Or Two
Being able to cover his entire body in electricity has been extremely useful for Kaminari in several of his fights, but if he goes a little too overboard, he can end up frying his mind in the process. Exceeding his wattage limit will cause Kaminari’s brain to essentially shut off, turning him into a bumbling idiot for a little while who essentially becomes a sitting duck for the villains to take aim at.
Though the Quirk is lethal enough to fry up entire groups of enemies in one go, Kaminari isn’t the type of guy to keep a tab on his usage, making it easy for him to get overwhelmed by his power. By the end of the series, he does begin acquiring a few gadgets to help with this, but it’s still ultimately an unfortunate drawback to an otherwise great Quirk.
4Erasure
Aizawa Is Often Forced To Keep His Eyes Open For A Painfully Long Time For His Quirk To Stay Active
Aizawa’s Quirk, Erasure, may not be able to dish out any damage on its own, but that’s because it’s far more useful as a support ability, considering it can disable an enemy from using their Quirks entirely, so long as Aizawa keeps his eyes on them, that is. Sometimes, Aizawa will only need to glance at a villain before they are taken down by a comrade, but usually, he will be forced to let his eyes run dry for a very long time since blinking will stop the Quirk from working its magic.
Additionally, while Aizawa tends to wear goggles so that the enemy can’t see where he’s looking, the hairs on his body will always stand on end whenever his Quirk is active, so if villains know where to look, they can deduce whether he’s using the ability or not. As shown during his face-off with Shigaraki near the end of the story,Aizawa’s Quirk can be invaluablewhen facing dangerous foes, which is why it comes with such harmful weaknesses to prevent it from being too strong.
3Permeation
Not long after he makes his debut in the story, Mirio, a member of U.A.’s Big Three top students, explains to Midoriya how it took him many years of hard work and training before he was able to use his Permeation Quirk effectively and, most importantly, safely. Permeation makes Mirio completely intangible when activated, meaning he can walk or fall through any surface, making it easy for him to get the drop on an unsuspecting villain, especially when paired with hisoverwhelming physical strength.
The issue is that becoming intangible also means air and light will pass straight through Mirio, so he won’t be able to see, hear, or even breathe while the Quirk is active. Needless to say, this is a highly dangerous maneuver for Mirio to pull off since even one slip-up could prove fatal for the plucky young hero.
2One For All
Controlling The Immense Underlying Power Of One For All Is No Walk In The Park
There aren’t many people in the world ofMy Hero Academiawho would have what it takes to inherit One For All, considering the enormous amount of work and dedication it takes to use even a slither of its underlying potential. As Midoriya comes to find out very early on, throwing out a blast of power here and there without knowing how to use it properly can end up breaking a person’s entire body. Even a little later down the line, whenMidoriya faced off against Overhaul, he was still forced to use Eri’s rewind Quirk just to stop One For All from essentially killing him while using it at 100% power.
There’s also the side effect of the person’s lifespan being cut short, that is, if they possess another Quirk when One For All is passed down to them, as is the case with most of the previous holders. It goes without saying, but those who are able to master One For All can easily become the top hero thanks to how strong it is, but with how much damage it deals to the user, it’s far from easy to get the hang of.
1Blueflame
Despite Being Endeavor’s Son, Dabi’s Body Can’t Resist The Intense Heat Of His Quirk
While Toya Todoroki, or Dabi as he prefers to be known, was someone born to be the one to surpass All Might in place of Endeavor, this didn’t exactly work out all that well for him. While Dabi came to possess the absurdly strong Blueflame Quirk, it also turned out he had inherited his mother’s resistance to ice, not heat, meaning every time he tried to awaken his ability, it would slowly begin scorching his own skin.
By the time Dabi abandons his family and becomes a villain due tohis father’s neglect, he has inflicted so much harm to his body that he has become numb to the effects. However, while this is a massive weakness, it doesn’t take away from the Quirk’s explosive power, which, as seen in the final war, is strong enough to flatten an entire city, or even country, when fully unleashed. However, trying to do so causes Dabi’s body to become little more than a walking corpse because of the nightmarish side effects.
