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MHA has a gender problem.

Before I begin unpacking my thoughts, I would like to make clear that I am aware that Shonen is a genre which caters to boys. I do not think that a genre catering to a specific demographic excuses poor writing choices.

I am not by any means the first person to make a case for the importance of well-written female characters, however, as a lifelong anime fan, poorly-written women are a consistent issue in many anime/manga. The treatment of female characters in MHA limits the story's potential and at times makes the manga utterly unbearable.

MHA presents us with an unequal society, however, in the world of MHA, women uniquely lose out. In the hero world, women are sexualised and clearly provided with fewer opportunities than men. This is reflected in both the gender distribution of the classes at UA as well as the hero rankings themselves. There are six girls in both class 1a and class 1b and there are only two women in the top 10 of the hero billboard chart, those being Mirko and Ryukyu. The costumes which female heroes in the story wear are often highly sexualised and impractical, and on numerous occasions in the story the sexualisation of these women is openly demonstrated to the watcher/reader. In our first interaction with Mt Lady, she is sexualised with her butt being focused on.

Need I say much more.

This isn't the only example of the sexism within the narrative. During the internships following the sports festival, Momo and Kendo internships with Uwabami, and instead of gaining valuable experience they participate in a hair commercial. To make matters even worse, the message that Uwabami imparts to them is that keeping up appearances is crucial. Here, Momo and Kendo are deprived of gaining training and development and the harsh reality of what the hero world is like for women sets in. This experience is humiliating, and the narrative plays this off as joke.

Beyond these two examples, other sexist things occur within the narrative which are barely commented on. There's a headline in a newspaper which references a rescue that Tsuyu and Uraraka are responsible for which refers to them not by name but as "two cuties". Endeavour literally purchases Rei to be his wife and domestically abuses her (let's not even get into the horrific power dynamics here). The women in class 1-a are sidelined and frequently saved by their male counterparts. Mineta frequently sexually harasses and violates women in the story (grabbing Tsuyu's chest in the USJ arc comes to mind here). Momo is made to wear a revealing costume because she wont be able to phase the items she creates through the fabric but Mirio's costume can stay on as the fabric in his costume is interwoven with his own hair.

Additionally, power scaling in this manga is gendered. The majority of female characters have non-combative quirks, and the female characters who have combat-oriented quirks are usually weaker than their male counterparts. Ryuku for example, struggles to take down Rikiya Katsukame in the overhaul arc and has to utilise her three student interns to accomplish this. In the overhaul arc, the girls are majorly sidelined and are thrust into a support role. Many of the women in the manga are sidekicks, and a lot of the female pro-heroes don't have heavy-hitting quirks. When characters do have heavy-hitting quirks, Horikoshi's poor power scaling becomes most obvious. For example, Mina's quirk allows her to produce acid capable of melting metal and she isn't regarded as having a formidable quirk within the story. Similarly, Neijire's wave motion quirk is under utilised.

Most disturbingly, though sexism is deeply entrenched throughout the story, none of the female characters acknowledge its existence and this is a bad writing choice because it is antithetical to the values held by someone who is pursuing a career as a hero. In the MHA universe, heroism is pursued to help others and to achieve justice within society. Within the story, heroes are presented as the protectors of the weak and the facilitators of order within society. Thus, as a reader it is hard to believe that women who are pursuing heroism as a career path would be content with their own oppression. The women in the story also do not strive to be at the top, save for Mirko who is the main exception.

UA is the top hero school in the country and has a highly selective admission process. It is astounding that the majority (if not all) of female students that we meet are comfortable with becoming support or rescue heroes. In classes 1a and 1b there isn't a single female student who has the ambition of becoming one of the school's top three. The female students are not as ambitious or competitive as their male peers and are forced into gendered rivalries with other women in the story (see the Kendo and Momo rivalry, Ochacho vs Toga).

The inclusion of moments of critical reflection by the female characters within the story would have made them feel more three-dimensional. If Momo's self-doubt during the final exam arc had been the result of being chosen for an internship due to her looks rather then her hero ability, it would have made her self-doubt more understandable and would have demonstrated her discontent with her physical appearance being valued over her talent. If Tsuyu and Uraraka had been disheartened that the major takeaway from their rescue was the result of their physical appearance, this would have added another dimension to these characters. Hakagure having to be naked all of the time is played as a joke at her expense, but understanding Hakagure's thoughts and feelings about this would have allowed us as an audience to greater empathise with her rather than viewing her as a spectacle.

Ultimately, MHA's depiction of women is disappointing and a lot of potential is wasted here.

How can he be so wrong yet so good?

Older and Wiser

Did I say they fully understand each other’s language because they both speak raptor? More like, mostly. Takes some work but will get easier eventually.

(I figured actual-words dialogue would be unnecessary here, so have squiggles representing raptor noises. Downside of squiggles is, though, it’s hard to recognize when the same ones are purposefully reused, so I hope giving the reused ones colours works to help get across that Blue does still get to say all the same things in the last two panels as she said in the second one. Just slower, so Indo and his nonexistent experience at conversation can keep up.)

Do you know who hate women more than men?

Women that ship a (non canon)gay couple and there’s also a girl in the picture(the canon girlfriend/wife/love interest of one of the male characters).

The best part of the London Special was when Ladybug said "Its London time!" and spent 99% of the special being anywhere but London.

MHA Wild AF for calling this man a villain when really he was just activating for basic human rights

MHA is like those webtoons where the kids are always fighting and it's just like "where are the adults??" (like Weak Hero) except the adults are right there and just doing basically nothing.

Lesser-Known BNHA Character Details

A list of things from the light novels, spin-offs, and such that I think more people should know about because they’re fun •w•

For reference on my personal canon hierarchy, with the exception of spoofs (SMASH, I’m looking at you) I consider the main manga and anime the top, and accept everything else that doesn’t contradict the information provided there—for example, I’ll accept Tsuyu’s ghost encounter as canon, but I personally believe she was with a cousin at the time since we know she doesn’t have an older sister.

Yaomomo’s mother is a very sweet person who goes out of her way to make her daughter’s friends feel welcome, adores Jirou, and has been nicknamed Yaomama. She is also a terrible cook and has the critical thinking skills of a sea cucumber (source: light novels, specifically volumes 2 and 3)

There is a pro hero named Odd-Eye who basically embodies Middle Schooler Syndrome. His Quirk is forcing people to reveal their embarrassing secrets (source: Team Up Missions volume 2)

Izuku likes zombie movies, or at the very least has seen enough of them to know their common tropes (source: Training of the Dead OVA)

Aizawa became a teacher out of peer pressure, mostly from Midnight (source: Vigilantes)

Izuku becomes a “bloodthirsty quiz demon” during trivia games. Most people are terrified by this, but Eri thinks it’s cool (source: light novels volume 4)

The large scar on Izuku’s right arm is from Dabi, not Muscular. When the boys land in the clearing, Dabi’s fire is seen brushing his arm exactly where he later has the scar (source: main story, training camp arc)

Kendo doesn’t feel fully comfortable being called a woman, noting that the word feels like “a burden” and she prefers to be defined on her own terms (source: light novels volume 4)

Rody’s younger siblings are baby weebs (source: Team Up Missions volume 3)

After the events of Two Heroes, the Shields are no longer living on I-Island, which is likely why Melissa is able to travel freely (source: Team Up Missions volume 1)

Shouto’s listed blood type of O is impossible, as Endeavor’s blood type is listed as AB. My best explanation for this is that Shouto has a mutation that results in his blood genotype being A and phenotype being O, meaning his actual blood type is A (source: Ultra Analysis and my 10th-grade biology class)

Hagakure knows how to make booby traps, and likely does so regularly (source: Team Up Missions volume 2)

Shinsou can read lips (source: Team Up Missions volume 3)

Kouda can’t actually understand animals, only control them (source: light novels volume 3)

Shouto spent a good part of move-in day running around campus helping Hatsume. Recovery Girl gave him the tatami mats, which he specifically wanted because he didn’t like how the floor felt on his feet (source: light novels volume 3)

Hagakure and Tsunotori liked the same anime as kids (source: light novels volume 3)

If Ochako could have any of the boys’ Quirks, she would want Bakugo’s, specifically so she could go wild in a fight (source: light novels volume 2)

Bakugo has never gotten Valentine’s chocolate (source: light novels volume 6)

Shouto has stated he’s “not looking for that kind of action” while in conversation with the grape, which to me implies that he’s not interested in girls (source: light novels volume 6)

Aizawa is supposed to tell Mic if he’s going drinking (source: light novels volume 3)

There’s plenty more of these, but I’m out of time for now! Let me know if you want a part 2 •w•

SINNERS (2025) dir. by Ryan Coogler