At the beginning of My Hero Academia's story, it's made pretty clear to the audience that heroes and villains are always opposed to one another. After all, considering all most villains want to do is wreak as much havoc as possible, it makes sense why they would be deemed the enemy by the larger population, but with that being said, Kohei Horikoshi, the author of My Hero Academia, still has a true knack for making many of his antagonists oddly sympathetic.
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My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is home to an array of powerful characters. These, however, are some of the strongest.
In fact, there are even some who many fans, for one reason or another, started to root for after understanding who they truly are beneath the surface. Of course, this series is still packed full of unforgivable villains who will always be viewed with disdain and disgust, but that certainly doesn't apply to those villains listed below, who are very easy to cheer for.
Lady Nagant
A Tragic Former Hero Who Turned Her Back On Society
- Quirks: Rifle / Air Walk
When she first meets Deku late in the story, Nagant comes across as little more than a one-time antagonist for the hero to take down with his new powers, but there's a lot more to her than initially meets the eye. Lady Nagant was actually once a valiant Pro-Hero who worked for the Public Safety Commission. As the best marksman in all of Japan, Nagant was ordered to carry out espionage missions which often involved killing defenseless villains in cold blood. However, this would eventually end up warping her mind, to the point where she not only abandoned her position, but also ended up in the clutches of All For One, who granted her a brand new Quirk as a way to gain her trust.
When Nagant first tries shooting down Deku with her deadly Rifle Quirk, it's honestly pretty easy to dislike her, but it's only when her full backstory is revealed that this perception begins to change. In fact, Nagant even begins to see the errors of her ways later in the story, prompting her to come in clutch during the Final War, where she is able to assist Deku one final time, marking a complete turnaround from when she first showed up in the series.
Re-Destro
Re-Destro's Unwavering Loyalty to His Cause Makes Him Easy To Admire
- Quirk: Stress
Re-Destro isn't a villain who simply wants to destroy everything in sight just for fun, as there's much more to this snazzy businessman than some may have expected. Inspired by the late Destro, Re-Destro's ultimate goal is to create a world where anyone and everyone can use Quirks without restrictions. While his methods of going about achieving this aren't exactly all that wholesome, the truth is, Re-Destro is just such a well-written character that it's very easy to warm up to him after he shows up on screen a handful of times.
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In that same vein, Re-Destro is utterly obsessed with achieving his goal, as he views his Paranormal Liberation philosophy as something that is genuinely a greater good, rather than simply an evil scheme that he can use to take over the world. All of this makes him an antagonist who many fans will find themselves cheering on, despite how brutal or vicious he may be beneath the surface.
Kurogiri
The Mysterious Butler Starts To Become An Asset To The Heroes
- Quirk: Warp Gate
While most members of the League of Villains enjoy nothing more than running their mouths off anytime they get the chance, Kurogiri is the complete opposite. This spooky-looking butler doesn't say a word for the majority of the series, as it is heavily implied that he is actually a member of the League of Villains against his own will. This suspicion is confirmed once it's revealed that Kurogiri is actually none other than Oboro, one of Aizawa's childhood friends who was turned into a Nomu after he was captured.
As a result, it's not hard to see why popular views on this villain started to change as the story progressed, as by the time that the Final War rolled around, everyone wanted to see him play his part in getting back at those who wronged him. He's a fascinating character, and one which many fans are happy to rally behind after learning the truth about his tragic past.
Twice
Twice Just Wants To Be Happy
- Quirk: Double
Most of the villains seen in My Hero Academia only turned their backs on society because of their tragic upbringing. In the case of Twice, he ended up losing his mind after spawning an entire army of clones of himself through his Quirk, causing him to question whether he is actually the real Twice, or just another imitation who will eventually disappear. When he appears in the main story, though Twice is more than willing to follow Shigaraki's every order, it's also made clear that he simply wants to be around those that he can call friends, and even family.
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These My Hero Academia characters may be villains in the series itself, but they once all had big dreams of becoming heroes.
After all, Twice was made an outcast from society after he started to lose his touch on reality, so it can be hard to hate him considering everything he's been through up to this point. Pair this with his goofy personality, which always manages to lighten up a dark and dire situation, and Twice is undoubtedly the most lovable and sympathetic member of the League of Villains.
La Brava
Gentle's Quirky Accomplice Is Too Fun To Hate
- Quirk: Love
La Brava is another character who only ended up traveling down the path of villainy after she was made to feel like a waste of space by those around her. After being utterly humiliated for confessing a crush on a boy in school, La Brava would spend her days dedicating all her time to computers, and more specifically, hacking, which she has a real knack for. This would eventually lead her to Gentle Criminal, an up-and-coming villain who formed a duo with La Brava so that she could record his evil doings to the outside world.
This may all sound very sinister on paper, but La Brava is by far the most fun, cheerful, and joyous villain in the entire series. She struggles to take anything seriously, and is also helplessly in love with Gentle, to the point where it often feels like impressing him takes priority over causing chaos. Fans were finally able to get the chance to cheer on La Brava after she is released from her cell during the Final War, giving her the opportunity to put her hacking skills to good use in order to help the heroes, despite still technically being a villain.
Gentle Criminal
Gentle Is A Villain Who Always Dreamed Of Being A Hero
- Quirk: Elasticity
While Deku starts off the story with big dreams of becoming a hero, at least he was finally able to actually achieve this dream, as the same can't be said for Gentle Criminal. Despite being well on his way to becoming a hero, Gentle made the mistake of trying to save an innocent civilian without actually having a license, which resulted in him getting in the way of another Pro-Hero who was already on the scene. This single mistake would completely ruin Gentle's chances of becoming a hero, as he was put in severe debt and was also mocked by everyone around him, causing him to accept that villainy was the only way forward.
It's common to see many My Hero Academia fans say that Gentle is the most relatable and sympathetic villains in the series, which is a completely valid statement when considering how harshly he was treated by hero society. Thankfully though, just like his companion La Brava, Gentle was given one final shot to prove himself in the Final War, providing the iconic moment where he uses his elasticity Quirk to prevent the floating base from crashing into the ground, saving countless lives in the process.
- 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
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the "One-For-All" quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
- Seasons
- 8
- Creator
- Kōhei Horikoshi
