Summary
- The My Hero Academia anime features many filler characters that were created by Bones for non-canon episodes.
- Some filler characters, like Master Driller and Innsmouth, became quite memorable.
- Other anime-original characters like Selkie and Saiko Intelli added depth and diversity to the My Hero Academia world.
My Hero Academia is known for its extensive cast of memorable characters with excellent designs and unique abilities but, weirdly enough, not all of them were created by the manga’s author, Kohei Horikoshi. Curiously enough, a good number of its students, heroes, and villains were actually created by Bones to be used exclusively in non-canon episodes of the anime.
Best My Hero Academia Characters, Ranked
My Hero Academia is full of incredible characters, but these stand out from the crowd.
Despite their special status, most of these characters ended up being so interesting, likable, and distinctive that it feels like they could have appeared in the original manga. Of course, the My Hero Academia anime has its fair share of great “filler” characters, but the following eight are the best ones in the entire show so far.
8 Seijin High School Students
A Bunch Of Color-Coded Ninjas With Strong Quirks
- First Appearance: Episode 54
The anime’s adaptation of the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc had a few filler scenes and episodes that actually ended up being beneficial to the story, because they featured skilled students from other Hero Schools that never appeared in the manga. One of them is Seijin High School, and its students confronted Shoto Todoroki during the first round of the exam.
For a bunch of characters that were clearly supposed to be random fodder, the Seijin High School students ended up being surprisingly strong and memorable. They dressed up in colorful ninja attire, and by effectively working together, they managed to give Todoroki (one of the most powerful students in U.A. High School) a lot of trouble. They all wielded interesting quirks, but the biggest standout was the group’s leader, the ninja in red, who could use an unnamed Gigantification quirk that allowed him to quickly enlarge any projectiles he shot, similarly to how Yui Kodai uses her Size quirk.
7 Master Driller
A Cool-Looking Pro Hero With A Tragic Fate
- First Appearance: Episode 126
My Hero Academia is filled to the brim with prominent Pro Heroes, and sometimes, all the ones that Horikoshi created for the manga are seemingly not sufficient to make this world feel populated enough in the anime. That’s why Bones created some original Pro Heroes for its adaptation, and Master Driller is one of the most remarkable ones.
Not much is known about this drill-themed superhero, but his unique robotic design, coupled with his courageous personality, made him a key player during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc. Unfortunately, Master Driller met a tragic end when he saved Burnin from a powerful leech-like Nomu and actually managed to kill it, but the monster closed its mouth at the last second, taking the Pro Hero with it. At the end of the day, this was quite a legendary and heroic sacrifice for someone who was technically just a filler character.
6 Innsmouth
An Intimidating Villain With An Interesting Design
- First Appearance: Episode 32
It’s not common for the anime to feature original characters with Mutant Type quirks (most likely because their designs take a lot more work than usual), so it’s truly fascinating whenever the studio tries to create one. One of the most notorious examples is Innsmouth, a villain that Tsuyu Asui faced during her internship at Selkie’s agency.
8 My Hero Academia Characters Who Lost Limbs
Many characters in My Hero Academia have lost limbs, but the following eight are the most remarkable examples.
In terms of personality, Innsmouth is a pretty generic criminal who steals cargo from other ships, but what makes him stand out is his excellent design: thanks to his Octopus quirk and his pirate-like outfit, he looks like an intimidating and disturbing monster. On top of that, his name is a clever reference to the H.P. Lovecraft novella, The Shadow over Innsmouth, which is part of the Cthulhu Mythos.
5 Kashiko Sekigai (Sensor Girl)
A Brilliant Student From Isamu Academy High School
- First Appearance: Training of the Dead (OVA)
Training of the Dead is one of the most beloved My Hero Academia OVAs, not only because of its hilarious zombie-themed plot, but also because it introduced the Isamu Academy High School students, and they all have interesting designs and quirks. Their class representative is Kashiko Sekigai, better known by her hero name, Sensor Girl.
She’s a responsible and smart girl, just like Momo Yayaorozu, but Kashiko also stands out due to her excellent black, white, and red hero costume and her Chart quirk. With it, she can create a holographic map that allows her to track and detect her opponents, and it was especially useful during the training exercise against Class 1-A. It’s a real shame that Kashiko has never appeared ever since, because her skills and abilities must have definitely helped her become an effective and popular Pro Hero.
4 Shinjiro Hohoemi (Mr. Smiley)
A Goofy Antagonist From A Hilarious Comedic OVA
- First Appearance: Laugh! As If You Are in Hell (OVA)
My Hero Academia: Laugh! As If You Are in Hell is undoubtedly the funniest OVA in the entire series, mostly thanks to its main antagonist, Mr. Smiley (real name: Shinjiro Hohoemi), who not only has an extravagant costume that reflects his artistic tendencies, but who also wields a powerful (but silly) quirk named Smile, which forces other people to laugh uncontrollably.
Watching Deku, Shoto, Bakugo, and even Endeavor laugh while trying to catch Mr. Smiley was both very endearing and very funny, but, surprisingly enough, Shinjiro also had a tragic background: he was a talented unknown artist who wanted to get more recognition for his work. At the end of the OVA, Deku’s heroic actions inspired Mr. Smiley to use his powers for good and to turn himself in. However, he accidentally made everyone remember his name when he used his quirk on live TV and forced almost the entirety of Japan to burst out into laughter.
3 Romero Fujimi
This Filler Character Has One Of The Most Distinctive Quirks In The Entire Series
- First Appearance: Training of the Dead (OVA)
Of all the students from Isamu Academy High School that were introduced in the Training of the Dead OVA, Romero Fujimi is definitely the most important one, seeing as he’s the one responsible for the theme and title of this special episode. For starters, he has a condescending and arrogant personality that not only helped him stand out from his classmates, but it also made him form a rivalry with Class 1-A’s resident egomaniac, Katsuki Bakugo.
My Hero Academia: 8 Smartest Characters, Ranked
These heroes and villains in My Hero Academia are keen strategists who use their high intelligence to their advantage both in and out of combat.
On top of that, Romero wore a well-designed black and red hero costume that made him look a lot like both a villain and Seiji Shishikura from Shiketsu High School. But the most remarkable part of this character is his quirk, Zombie Virus, which allows him to emit a pink gas that can transform everyone who inhales it into mindless zombies. This caused a lot of chaos and hilarious shenanigans throughout the duration of the OVA, especially because not even Romero himself is immune to the effects of his own quirk. Additionally, his first name is an obvious reference to George Romero, the visionary horror director of the Night of the Living Dead movies.
2 Saiko Intelli
Momo Yaoyorozu’s Biggest Rival Is An Anime Original Character
- First Appearance: Episode 55
During one of the filler episodes of the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, Momo Yaoyorozu met what may possibly be her biggest rival yet: Saiko Intelli from the all-female hero school, Seiai Academy. She’s naturally extremely intelligent, but she’s able to further enhance her intellect by drinking tea, thanks to her unique quirk called IQ.
Needless to say, Saiko is a brilliant (albeit arrogant) strategic mind who came up with an efficient plan that almost rendered Momo, Jiro, Tsuyu, and Shoji completely useless during the first round of the exam. However, Momo’s own intellect, combined with her trust in her friends and her own heroic attitude, allowed the group to come out victorious anyway. It’s quite unfortunate that Seiko never appeared outside of her debut episode, because she feels like one of the few characters in the series who was able to match Momo in terms of intelligence, and it would have been great to see their rivalry developing even further.
1 Selkie
A Pro Hero So Strong And So Incredible That He Was Added To The Manga
- First Appearance: Episode 32 (Anime) Chapter 259 (Manga)
Selkie is a famous aquatic hero and marine captain who accepted Tsuyu Asui’s request to work at his hero agency. With his Spotted Seal quirk (which gives his body the properties of a seal), he was able to become an efficient Pro Hero in both land and water, not to mention that he's so incredibly strong that he was able to defeat deadly villains with just one attack.
But Selkie is not only an efficient hero, but he’s also quite a funny character, especially when he tries way too hard to look cute and his crew denies it (except for Tsuyu). Thanks to his excellent design, his unique quirk, and his lovely personality, Selkie became the very first anime-original character to be featured in the manga after his debut, which proves that he always belonged in the world of My Hero Academia, even if he wasn’t created by Kohei Horikoshi.
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
- Directors
- Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano
Cast
-
Daiki YamashitaIzuku Midoriya (voice) -
Kaito IshikawaManga Fukidashi (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 8
- Studio
- Bones
- Japanese Title
- Boku no Hero Academia
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Kōhei Horikoshi
- Number of Episodes
- 159
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu, Crunchyroll
- MyAnimeList Score
- 7.85 (Season 1)
