Summary
- Monoma couldn't copy Deku's One for All quirk despite trying, leading to an unexpected revelation.
- Monoma discovers his Copy quirk can't activate certain abilities like Eri's, known as blanks.
- Monoma's attempted copying of One for All changes the dynamic, highlighting limitations of his Quirk.
One of the more interesting quirks in My Hero Academia belongs to a character called Neito Monoma. Monoma enrolled at UA at the same time as Deku, becoming part of Class 1-B. His quirk, known as Copy, lets him duplicate the effects of anyone’s quirk he touches for a certain amount of time.
However, we see that, for some reason, when Monoma touches Deku, he does not gain the benefits of his legendary One for All quirk as expected. Just why did Monoma’s Copy quirk not let him utilize the power of One for All in My Hero Academia?
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Monoma’s Copy Attempt
His Confrontation with Deku in Season 5
During the joint class training exercise in Season 5 of My Hero Academia, Monoma manages to catch both Deku and Ochaco off guard. He takes advantage of their surprise and lunges toward Deku, intent on proving that he can shine despite not being strong by himself.
“It’s impossible to get stronger on my own. I’m not meant to be a protagonist. I copy other people’s quirks. Still, I don’t feel bad or resent the power I was born with. Because in every masterpiece ever created, there are supporting characters who outshine the leads! Your power is mine.” -Monoma, while rushing at Deku.
This action by Monoma causes fear to spread through Deku, but not for the reason Monoma thinks it does. Monoma believes that Deku’s quirk is merely something that enhances his strength and doesn’t know the true secret behind One for All.
“Don’t tell me… He copied One for All?” -Izuku Midoriya
Deku becomes worried that if Monoma copies his quirk, his unprepared body would explode from the pressure of its immense power. Deku himself at this point could only handle a small 20 percent of its power at a time without taking immense damage. He remembers All Might’s warning to him back when he was preparing his body to contain the mighty quirk.
“An unprepared body can’t fully inherit it. Your arms and legs would shoot off if you tried to.” -All Might
Deku desperately tries to warn Monoma not to attempt to copy his quirk, but Monoma is too focused on his goal to listen to him. Ochaco manages to use martial arts to initiate a takedown, but Monoma declares it was too late.
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A Blank Activation
Monoma Discovers He Can’t Copy Deku’s Quirk
Ochaco thinks she manages to stop Monoma from copying Deku’s quirk, but Monoma reveals he did meet the conditions to use his Copy quirk on Deku.
“It won’t activate. Aw man, no fair. I drew a blank?” -Monoma
Midoriya considers what Monoma says for a second, but quickly refocuses on the battle to try to stop Shinso from moving freely. After the battle, Midoriya confirms that Monoma was able to copy One for All, but is confused why Monoma couldn’t activate it. Later, Monoma explains more fully why he can’t copy certain quirks. At Aizawa’s urging, Monoma tries to copy Eri’s quirk, but finds that this one, too, cannot be activated.
“Both of your quirks function as stockpilers. I copy the core nature of the Quirk itself. But if it’s an ability that accumulates something and changes it into a form of energy I don’t copy the stored-up fuel that would make it function.” -Monoma to Midoriya.
Monoma refers to quirks that he cannot use effectively as blanks. He can copy the core ability of One for All to accumulate power over time, but he doesn’t gain the efforts of the previous wielders to build up the quirk.
Technically, Monoma can copy One for All, but there's no point for him in doing so. Also, because of the time limit on Monoma’s copy ability, he would have no time to stockpile Deku’s quirk before it eventually disappeared. It could be an interesting story beat if Monoma copied the essence of One for All, which ended up changing the dynamic of the quirk, given that many of its wielders become unable to use it as it is passed on.
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)
