Summary
- Gearshift is Deku's strongest vestige Quirk, capable of allowing him to access 120% of One For All's power.
- Gearshift has drawbacks, including control issues and body breakdown after use.
- Combining Gearshift with One For All allows Deku to "break the laws of reality itself."
The following contains spoilers for my Hero Academia.
Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia is truly a blessed protagonist. Not only did he get to inherit one of the most powerful Quirks in the world from his favorite hero, but he managed to evolve it to use the Quirks of the previous wielders. After calling upon the Quirk factors of his predecessors, Deku truly becomes an unstoppable force in the world of My Hero Academia. During his brief stint going rogue, it took the entirety of Class 1A just to slow Deku down while he was weakened from fighting villains for days nonstop.
All the vestige Quirks Deku utilizes are incredibly strong in their own ways, but some seem to be clearly a cut above the others. Which of the vestige Quirks could be considered the strongest Deku has access to through One for All?
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Deku’s Vestige Quirks
Strengths and Drawbacks
As the ninth wielder of One For All in My Hero Academia, Deku unlocks access to the vestige Quirks of every predecessor who had their own Quirk during their time with the power.
| Vestige Quirk | Used By | Ability | Drawback |
| Gearshift | Second Wielder: Toshitsugu Kudo | Originally, only able to affect small targets, the Quirk evolved after being incorporated into One for All to be capable of greater limits. | It has become difficult to control and can only be used for a few minutes before the user’s body starts to break down. |
| Fa Jin | Third Wielder: Bruce Lee | By completing repetitive movements, the user can store energy, which can be later used to enhance their physical stats and unleash powerful attacks. | It takes time to build up enough energy to use effectively against strong opponents. |
| Danger Sense | Fourth Wielder: Hikage Shinomori | The user is warned ahead of time of incoming threats, allowing them more time to dodge. | It doesn’t work against attacks delivered without negative emotions, and overusing it can cause headaches. |
| Blackwhip | Fifth Wielder: Daigoro Banjo | Dark energy tendrils emanate from the user, allowing for their free manipulation. | Effectiveness depends on the user's emotional state and can easily become uncontrolled. |
| Smokescreen | Sixth Wielder: En Tayutai | The user can release a thick cloud of smoke that obscures vision in an area. | Has no offensive potential to exploit with One For All and can be easily dispelled by powerful attacks or the weather. |
| Float | Seven Wielder: Nana Shimura | This quirk grants the user the ability to levitate and fly around with ease. | While extremely useful, the Quirk only reaches its full potential when combined with other offensive measures. |
The Eighth Wielder Toshinori Yagi, also known as All Might, was Quirkless, so he didn’t have an ability for Deku to use after he evolved One For All. This is perfectly fine for the story, though, since Deku already has such a huge selection of powers at his disposal. Also, it was All Might’s Quirkless origins that allowed him to stockpile energy for One For All as long as he did, perhaps contributing the most to the Quirk’s power than any other user.
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The Strongest Vestige Quirk
Going By the Numbers, Gearshift Seems to be the Most Powerful
One often true heuristic when looking at the strength of a power in anime is to find the one with the greatest drawback, since the author likely has to give it this drawback to balance out its immense power. Going by this standard, Gearshift seems to be a clear frontrunner among the vestige Quirks.
“Once you use this, it’s over. If you don’t defeat him in the next five minutes, the world will fall.” -The vestige of the second wielder, Toshitsugu Kudo, describing the stakes to Midoriya before he uses gearshift.
Gearshift’s drawback was so intense that during the final war arc, Deku considered transferring it to Shigaraki to avoid being taken out of the fight. With the ability to use gearshift in overdrive mode, Deku was able to pull out an estimated 120% of One For All’s power, delivering multiple punches that surpassed the sound barrier.
“It’s not the same Quirk I wielded, All For One. The power has changed. And at this moment, Izukuu Midoriya is exceeding his perceived limits. He’s operating at 120 percent!” -Kudo describing the power increase Midoriya is receiving while using overdrive.
Kudo also states that gearshift, when combined with the stockpiled power of One For All, “can break the laws of reality itself” with a single punch. Many of the other vestige Quirks have also allowed Midoriya to overcome his natural limits and use more of One For All’s overwhelming power, but none of them are quite described in these terms. It seems definitive that gearshift is Deku’s strongest vestige quirk, but it also comes with the highest drawback.
My Hero Academia can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
- 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
- Studio
- Bones
- Franchise
- My Hero Academia
- Characters By
- Kohei Horikoshi
- Japanese Title
- Boku no Hero Academia
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Kōhei Horikoshi
- Distributor
- FUNimation Entertainment
- Main Characters
- Tsuyu Asui, Katsuki Bakugo, Ochaco Uraraka, Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki, All Might
- Production Company
- Bones
- Story By
- Kōhei Horikoshi, Yōsuke Kuroda
- Number of Episodes
- 159
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu, Crunchyroll
- MyAnimeList Score
- 7.85 (Season 1)
