Saddest Moments In MHA

Though My Hero Academia may seem like a fun, vibrant, and joyful series on the surface, it’s certainly not shy about getting a little darker and more emotional now and again. While the majority of sad moments will relate to the heroes of the show, since they are the ones fans are always going to be rooting for, Horiksohi is such a talented writer that he’s also managed to create some truly upsetting yet memorable scenes for the villains of the series too, making them just a little more sympathetic as characters.

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The early arcs of My Hero Academia focus more on high-caliber action and fights, meaning the emotional moments tend to come a little later in the story once the stakes have risen and the characters start to be pushed to their absolute limits. It’s time to get the tissues out as we go through the saddest moments in all of My Hero Academia, which had fans weeping upon seeing them for the first time.

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

8

Hawks Loses His Quirk

The Usually Cool, Calm, And Collected Hero Gets A Little Too Close To All For One

Hawks is honestly a character who is difficult to hate. First introduced in the Pro Hero arc, Hawks is a young and charismatic Pro Hero who managed to rise through the ranks primarily thanks to his Quirk, Fierce Wings, which allows him to both fly and control his feathers to use as weapons. Hawks plays a vital role in the heroes’ resistance against All For One and Shigaraki, which is why it comes as such a surprise when the latter suddenly rips his Quirk away from him during a scuffle between the two.

Seeing the distress on Hawks’ face as he accepts what is about to happen to him is truly heartbreaking, especially considering it would mean he would need to stop being a hero altogether. After already going through such a harsh upbringing, this was yet another emotional moment for Hawks that caught a lot of fans by surprise.

7

Mirio Gets Shot With A Quirk-Destroying Bullet

After Working So Hard To Master His Quirk, Mirio Loses It To A Single Bullet

When Mirio is first introduced just before the Overhaul arc kicks off, he explains to Midoriya how, although his Permeation Quirk is difficult to use, he managed to put in enough training to eventually make it not just useful but absurdly powerful. As a result, Mirio is recognized as one of U.A.’s strongest heroes, which is why it’s so saddening to see the spunky young man’s Quirk be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

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While trying to protect Eri from Overhaul, the villain fires off one of his brand-new Quirk-destroying bullets at the hero, leaving Miro largely defenseless. The fact that Mirio still tries to keep a smile on his face to cheer up Eri, despite the dread and anxiety he is feeling at the time, really amplifies the intensity of this scene. Although Mirio does get his Quirk back much later on, it doesn’t take away from the initial emotions many fans felt when seeing this happen for the very first time in the story.

6

Nighteye’s Final Moments

Nighteye Expresses His Confidence In Midoriya During His Last Few Moments

Nighteye doesn’t exactly get along with Midoriya all that well when the two first meet. The truth is, Nighteye, who had been a lifelong fanatic of All Might, believed that his mentor should have passed his Quirk down to Mirio, considering he was in prime condition to inherit One For All, which is why he became so skeptical of Midoriya. During the mission to apprehend Overhaul, though, Midoriya proves exactly why he should be considered worthy of wielding the immensely powerful Quirk after he obliterates Overhaul and rescues Eri from his clutches.

During the whole fiasco, Nighteye took a nasty hit straight through the chest, leaving him in a hospital bed after the mission was finally over. Realizing he doesn’t have long to live, Nighteye admits that he now has full faith that Midoriya can carry All Might’s torch, while a giant smile can be seen across his face as he fades away. This is a heartbreaking scene that is only made all the more upsetting when understanding the context of Nighteye’s confession to Midoriya.

5

Twice’s Death

Twice Learns Too Late That He Shouldn’t Be So Trusting Of Complete Strangers

Unlike the other League of Villains members, Twice doesn’t come across as all that threatening or evil for much of the story. The truth is, his Quirk, which allows him to duplicate anything he touches, began to drive him crazy once he struggled to figure out whether he was the real him or just a clone, which is what drove him into the League. During the Meta Liberation War, Twice finally begins to overcome his trauma so that he can utilize his Quirk to save his friends, specifically Toga, from danger.

This plan goes wrong, however, after he receives a stab in the back from Hawks, a hero who Twice considered to have been a close friend. It’s hard not to shed a tear seeing Twice say his final goodbyes to Toga while slowly fading from existence, especially considering he could have had a very different life if he had received some support for his troubled mental condition.

4

Endeavor Learns The Truth About Dabi

Endeavor’s World Comes Crashing Down When He Learns The True Identity Behind Dabi

Many My Hero Academia fans agree that the Todoroki family subplot is one of the best-written sections of the story. While Endeavor was an abusive father to his children before he became the number one hero, once he does finally earn the top spot, he begins trying to make up for his sins, and after a tremendous amount of hard work, it feels as though he’s finally able to start restructuring a fatherly bond with Shoto.

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However, Endeavor is brought crashing back down to earth once Dabi reveals himself to be Toya, one of his sons whom he neglected for much of his childhood. While Dabi’s dance may be a fun and joyful moment for the villain himself, Endeavor becomes distraught at the sight of the boy that he thought was dead, seemingly standing right in front of him as a villain hell-bent on destroying his old man.

3

Eri Being Used By Overhaul

It’s Truly Saddening To See How Eri Was Being Treated By Overhaul

When Overhaul and Eri randomly show up in the middle of the street while Midoriya is on patrol, the former of the two claims that they are simply a father and daughter going on a casual stroll. The truth, however, is a lot more sinister. Overhaul has been using his Quirk, which allows him to disassemble and reassemble anything he touches, to forcibly extract blood from Eri’s body so that he can use her Rewind Quirk to create Quirk-Destroying Bullets.

While it was clear from the get-go that Eri was worried about something, nobody expected her story to be this dark and tragic. Thankfully, Midoriya and the other students succeed in rescuing Eri and giving her a safe space where she can feel at home, but the scenes that show what was going on behind the curtain are some of the most upsetting in the entire series.

2

Shigaraki’s Past

Shigaraki’s Haunting Backstory Explains A Lot About Why He Turned Out So Violent And Nihilistic

It’s certainly not uncommon for the villain of a story to have a tragic backstory as a way to try and partly justify their actions, but Horikoshi went above and beyond with Shigaraki’s. While it can be hard to believe, considering how he appears in the main series, Shigaraki was once a regular child who wanted to become a hero. This wasn’t a dream his father supported, so much so that he would physically abuse Shigaraki any time the boy even mentioned the word “hero” in front of him.

Things take a nightmarish turn once Shigaraki’s Quirk, which had been passed to him by All For One without him knowing, begins to activate, causing him to kill not just his dog but his entire family, without having a clue what was happening to them. He would then helplessly wander through the streets where not a single person would help or even acknowledge him. It’s difficult getting through this part of the story without feeling sad, angry, or just plain upset at Shigaraki’s situation, which is a testament to just how effective it is as a backstory.

1

Bakugo Falls To Shigaraki

One Of The Most Beloved Characters In The Series Meets A Grizzly End At The Hands Of Shigaraki

While Midoriya initially seems like the only hero strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Shigaraki, by the end of the series, his archnemesis, Bakugo, actually manages to hold his own against the villain for quite a while after he jumps into the fray. In fact, Bakugo throws Shigaraki off-guard with his mobile and explosive fighting style, but eventually, his heart is ripped to shreds after getting a little too close to the absurdly powerful villain during their epic battle.

Considering how beloved of a character Bakguo is, seeing him not only be humiliated but seemingly killed off right at the end of the story had the community in an emotional frenzy for quite some time. Despite Bakugo being revived by Edgeshot soon after, the initial shot of Bakugo’s lifeless body lying on the floor left every fan shaken up, as for just a moment, it seemed as though Horikoshi was deciding to pull the trigger on Bakugo being removed from the story for good.