My Hero Academia Characters Born In April

Summary

• Tomura Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains, harbors a deep hatred for All Might.
• Recovery Girl’s healing Quirk saves many, including Deku, from debilitating injuries.
• Katsuki Bakugo, known for his explosive personality, undergoes significant character growth.

Being one of the main shonen franchises today, My Hero Academia is an extremely popular manga and anime series created by Kohei Horikoshi. With a long and complex narrative, the franchise isn’t afraid to explore the dark side of superhuman society and many of its heroes. Likewise, its villains are painted in a unique light which creates a strong sense of empathy from readers and viewers alike, as many of them are tragic products of the society that rejected them and their Quirks.

Seeing as the Japanese school year begins in April, having a birthday in this month makes these characters the oldest in their cohort. It seems fitting that some of the series’ most prominent characters have birthdays in this month. But whether they’re central to the story, or somewhat underrated, the following MHA characters born in April each stand out for their own unique reasons.

1

Tomura Shigaraki (April 4th)

Deku’s Evil Yet Tragic Arch Nemesis

• First Appearance: Chapter 11 (Manga) Episode 8 (Anime)

Leader of the League of Villains and the primary antagonist of the series, Tomura Shigaraki is the man who would eventually become history’s greatest villain. His real name is Tenko Shimura, and he’s the grandson of All Might’s former master. But after a terribly tragic life, he was raised by none other than All For One, who molded him into a vessel to carry out his evil plans, giving him the name “Tomura Shigaraki”. His original Quirk ‘Decay’ is extremely deadly and resulted in the loss of his family.

Tomura debuted with his trademark look, wearing the hands of his deceased family members on his person. He harbors a deep hatred for All Might just like his master. Once Shigaraki receives All For One’s stolen Quirks, the two become fused together; however, his real self, Tenko Shimura, is suppressed deep inside. After fighting Shigaraki/All For One multiple times, Deku still holds fast to his belief that Tomura’s true self still exists and is crying out to be saved.

2

Recovery Girl (April 4th)

U.A. Wouldn’t Be Able To Exist Without Her

• First Appearance: Chapter 4 (Manga) Episode 4 (Anime)

Chiyo Shuzenji, aka Recovery Girl, is one of the most important members of U.A’s faculty. She has an amazing Quirk that can heal a wide variety of injuries by kissing the injured person. She’s also one of the few to know the truth about One For All. Initially, Deku can’t control One For All and even when he’s only been at the school a short time, he is her main patient, something she reprimands All Might for a lot.

Her ‘heal’ Quirk saves many people from otherwise debilitating injuries, though in the worst cases, this isn’t enough alone. However, Deku and many others owe a lot to this surprisingly powerful character.

3

Kesagiri Man (April 4th)

A Minor Character Yet Hidden Easter Egg

• First Appearance: Chapter 134 (Manga) Episode 69 (Anime)

He may share his birthday with more major characters in the series, but Kesagiri Man is as minor and mysterious as they come. He may not play as big a role as some other characters, but Kesagiri Man participated in the events surrounding the Yakuza group Shie Hassaikai. He joined Sir Nighteye’s meeting and learned about how the situation had escalated surrounding the Eight Bullets.

Once the heroes embark on their mission to take down the Shie Hassaikai, Kesagiri Man fights the thugs head-on and thus plays an important if minor role in the mission. If anything, Kesagiri Man is more of an Easter egg, with his design reused from Horikoshi’s earlier work.

4

Naomasa Tsukauchi (April 4th)

Held In High Regard By All Might Himself

• First Appearance: Chapter 11 (Manga) Episode 13 (Anime)

Naomasa Tsukauchi plays an important role in the series as a whole and is a vital part of the police force, working as a detective. His many skills, combined with his determination and strict desire to abide by the rules at all times make him excel at his job. Many times he’s helped the heroes in some of the most intense and stressful situations. It was Tsukauchi who organized the whole Hideout Raid mission to rescue the kidnapped Katsuki Bakugo from Shigaraki’s League of Villains, and he remained by All Might’s side during the Final War.

Most notably, Tsukauchi had All Might’s complete confidence and was one of the hero’s closest friends. In fact, he was trusted by All Might enough that he told him the secret about his Quirk, One For All, making Tsukauchi one of the few to know the true nature of the Symbol of Peace.

5

Ragdoll (April 8th)

A Once Powerful Hero Rendered Quirkless

• First Appearance: Chapter 72 (Manga) Episode 41 (Anime)

Ragdoll was the founding member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, and is known for her extremely upbeat personality. Her real name is Tomoko Shiretoko, and her Quirk ‘Search’ was unfortunately deemed too useful by All For One and thus made her a target. Though Katsuki Bakugo was the League Of Villains’ primary target when they attacked the training camp, Ragdoll was also kidnapped, which led to her Quirk being stolen by All For One. This new search ability was later used by Shigaraki/All For One to track the location of One For All during the Paranormal Liberation War.

Despite the tragic events that rendered Ragdoll Quirkless, meaning she could no longer be a Pro Hero, she aided the heroes as best she could during the Final War.

6

Moyuru Tochi (April 9th)

A Villain Turned Vigilante

• First Appearance: Chapter 1 (MHA: Vigilantes Manga)

Moyuru appears in the MHA spin-off My Hero Academia: Vigilantes manga, following a number of individuals who, whilst they perform heroic acts, don’t obey the laws surrounding the use of Quirks. Moyuru was once an Instant Villain, but he does undergo character growth, deciding to become a vigilante and growing to have more respect for others.

He has the Quirk ‘Ignition’, which gives him the ability to create small flames on his head. This isn’t the strongest ability ever, so as a villain, he used the Trigger drug to enhance his abilities.

7

Snatch (April 14th)

A Kind And Compassionate Hero

• First Appearance: Chapter 160 (Manga) Episode 77 (Anime)

The Sand Hero: Snatch only appears in one episode of the anime, yet he is remembered by fans for being the unfortunate first hero death seen on-screen. Whilst it looks like he can hold off Shigaraki’s Decay, he is bested by Mr. Compress and Dabi.

Snatch stands out for being a highly compassionate individual who showed genuine care and concern for people in need, and especially towards the families of victims. His final words to Dabi made the villain, even for a moment, think about the families’ losses, something that stays with him later in the series.

8

Mei Hatsume (April 18th)

One Of U.A.’s Most Brilliant Minds

• First Appearance: Chapter 25 (Manga) Episode 15 (Anime)

Mei Hatsume is a very gifted student in U.A.’s Support course. Her eccentric personality and incredible array of skills have made her a popular female character. She first meets Deku during the Sports Festival when she convinces him to team up with her so she can promote her “babies,” that being her vast array of support gear items. She also upgrades Deku and his classmate’s hero suits to include many new features to help them use their Quirks more efficiently.

Mei is extremely diligent and talented and spends all her free time working on her next invention. When the heroes devised their ‘Divide and Conquer’ plan for the Final War, the so-called “Coffin in the Sky”, designed to hinder Shigaraki’s power as much as possible, was all thanks to Hatsume’s brilliant mind.

9

Katsuki Bakugo (April 20th)

Known For His Strength, Spirit, And Stellar Character Growth

• First Appearance: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)

The series’ deuteragonist, Katsuki Bakugo is one of the most popular characters known for his character growth, explosive personality, and the vital role he plays in the series’ events. He has known Deku the longest, and the two of them looked up to All Might in their childhood, yet for a long time, they shared a complex relationship. With an April birthday, Katsuki is the oldest student in Class 1-A, and thus one of the oldest in his year group.

Katsuki debuts as a 14-year-old middle schooler with a huge yet fragile ego and inferiority complex, something which is explored over the course of the series. However, he matured into a powerful hero who learned to identify his own flaws and grow as a person. Katsuki always had the potential to become one of the strongest heroes in the series thanks to his innate ability and Explosion Quirk, and he even became especially feared by Shigaraki/All For One during the Final War.

Due to his sheer strength, indomitable spirit, and being highly reminiscent of One For All’s Second Wielder and All For One’s worst enemy Kudo, Katsuki caused the villain to genuinely panic. Even though Katsuki dies a brutal death at the hands of the villain, his own power, combined with Edgeshot’s Quirk, was able to save him.

10

Pony Tsunotori (April 21st)

Naive, But Not To Be Messed With

• First Appearance: Chapter 26 (Manga) Episode 15 (Anime)

Just like Katsuki Bakugo is Class 1-A’s oldest student, Pony Tsunotori is the oldest in her class, 1-B. Pony was born in the USA and is a transfer student at U.A. High. As such, she isn’t as familiar with the Japanese language like her peers. Unfortunately, the infamous Neito Monoma exploits this by teaching her how to insult Class 1-A like he so loves to do.

She’s first seen during the Sports Festival and later plays a prominent role in the Joint Training Arc. She may be a bit timid and naive compared to those around her, yet she is a strong and capable fighter, consistently keeping herself aware of her surroundings and figuring out ways to pin her opponents down. Her Quirk ‘Horn Cannon’ is unique and powerful, and she can launch her horns at her opponents as her way of attack.

11

Bubble Girl (April 23rd)

A Unique Fan-Made Character

• First Appearance: Chapter 124 (Manga) Episode 63 (Anime)

The Bubble Girl, real name Kaoruko Awata, was the winning result of a fan art contest and thus made her debut in the My Hero Academia anime’s fourth season. She works in Sir Nighteye’s agency as his sidekick, alongside Mirio Togata, and later Deku when he manages to secure a work placement under the legendary Nighteye. When Deku first meets her, she’s being punished by Nighteye for not being funny enough which, to both his shock and surprise, involves securing her in a tickle machine.

Alongside her mentor and many other prominent heroes, Bubble Girl has a large role in the operation to take down Overhaul and thus participates in the raid on the Shie Hassaikai. This fan-made character certainly left her mark on the series.