Izuku Midoriya, also known by his hero name Deku, is the main protagonist of the manga series My Hero Academia, created by Kōhei Horikoshi.
He is an ambitious high school freshman and the ninth person to possess superpowers. “One for all,” Combine eight different personal superpowers or “Strange things.” Izuku possesses the special ability to transfer this power to others.
File
- First appearance: My Hero Academia #1, “Izuku Midoriya: Origin,” on July 7, 2014.
- Author: Kōhei Horikoshi.
- Cast: Shin Tamura (musical).
- Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita, Akeno Watanabe (young; anime), Yuna Taniguchi (young; manga).
- English: Justin Briner, Lara Woodhull (young).
Formation and creation
Izuku Midoriya was originally set up as Jack Midoriya, a sickly office worker working for a superhero supply company in the 2008 one-shot manga series My Hero.
However, Horikoshi later changed the character to a high school student in My Hero Academia, but kept the character’s core traits intact.
The prototype for Izuku’s character is Mikumo Akatani, a black-haired boy with no special abilities who would rely on gadgets to become a hero.
Horikoshi revised and refined the character designs, eventually resulting in the main character, Izuku Midoriya.
Voice Actor
In the anime adaptation, Izuku is voiced by Daiki Yamashita in Japanese and Justin Briner in English.
Yamashita approached the role to portray Izuku’s growth and inner strength as the series progresses. Having initially auditioned for other characters in Izuku’s class, Briner found the role to be powerful and capture the character’s bookishness and heroic passion.
Appear
Izuku is first introduced as a 4-year-old boy who is bullied by his classmates, including Katsuki Bakugo, who possesses explosive powers.
Despite being born without a Quirk, Izuku still yearns to become a hero and idolizes the legendary hero All Might.
After a chance encounter with All Might, Izuku is chosen as his successor “One for all”Quirk. Throughout the series, he attends UA High School and becomes an inspiration to his classmates.
Izuku plays a central role in the My Hero Academia series, including ““Two Heroes”, “Rise of Heroes” and “The Quest of World Heroes”.
He also appears in the spinoff light novel series “My Hero Academia: School Summary“and humorous parody”My Hero Academia: Smash!!“ .
Izuku is featured as a playable character in video games such as “My Hero Academia: Battle for All,” “My Hero One’s Justice,” And “My Hero One’s Justice 2.“
Additionally, he has appeared in crossover events with other brands, such as Fortnite and Jump Force.
Izuku possesses a Quirk “One for all,” allows him to store power, enhancing his physical abilities. This Quirk can be passed on to others, combining the Quirks of previous users.
These additional powers include Gearshift, Fa Jin, Danger Sense, Blackwhip, Smokescreen, Float and more.
Acquisition
The character Izuku has gained considerable popularity among fans of the series. He consistently ranks high in My Hero Academia’s popularity polls and has won numerous awards, including the “Hero of the year” at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
Critics have praised Izuku’s character development, his empathy, and the performances of his voice actors.
His optimistic and heroic nature, as well as his intelligence and strategic thinking, have been highlighted as positive qualities.
Popular
The character Izuku Midoriya is beloved by fans and often ranks high in popularity polls.
He has been voted the most popular hero character in various polls and ranked number one on Tumblr’s list of top anime and manga characters of 2020.
Izuku’s approachability and inspirational qualities contribute to his widespread popularity.
Important reception
Critics have given positive reviews to Izuku’s character, praising his likability, character development, and empathy.
Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner’s voice acting was also praised for effectively reflecting Izuku’s personality.
Critics have noted Izuku’s empathetic nature, origins as a hero, and interactions with other characters as prominent aspects of the character.
Overall, the character of Izuku was well received by both fans and critics.