The students surpassing the teacher is a classic trope in anime. Especially when it comes to the Shonen genre, where a well-written bond between the mentor and his mentee is appreciated. We saw it with Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto Shippuden, which is what made Naruto’s journey to becoming the best ninja so hype. So, it’s no surprise that fans are speculating when another protagonist from a beloved Shonen, Deku from My Hero Academia, was going to pull a fast one on his teacher, All Might.

Turns out, we don’t have to speculate! Because Deku has already surpassed All Might in the manga, and it was always going to happen. In his battle against Lady Nagant in chapter 315, the abilities and techniques he employed have shown that his mastery with One-For-All has gone beyond anything All Might could pull. From being able to outrun a bullet to using his latent energy to build up like a Spirit bomb ala Dragon Ball, he’s shown extreme mastery over his Quirk.

But isn’t this something we already expected from someone like Izuku Midoriya, who went from being an ordinary boy with an unattainable dream to one of the strongest Heroes around? His hard work and dedication, as well as his passion for Pro-Heroism, have led him to take the gift bestowed upon him and take it to the next level. There was no doubt he was going to overtake All Might when mastering One-For-All, but it’s still a journey worth witnessing.

Welcome To Character Analysis! This is a segment where we take popular characters from across the Otaku world and analyze what makes them so iconic. We break every aspect down to learn what motivates them to reach the heights they did, and if they are hiding something we might’ve overlooked before. So, let’s discuss Deku and how he’s well on his way to becoming the best Hero of them all!

From Izuku Midoriya To Deku

My Hero Academia is essentially an underdog story, which is pretty on-brand for a Shonen about superheroes. In Midoriya’s world, people are either ordinary citizens or they are born with something called a Quirk, which is basically a superpower. Every Quirk holder has different powers, and they enroll in the famed UA academy to become Heroes. Or they fall off the deep end to become the Villains.

Midoriya grew up idolizing the Heroes he saw going around, saving people’s lives. All he wanted was to grow up and be like his ultimate icon, All Might. But he was born Quirkless, and incessantly bullied for his lofty ambitions by Katsuki Bakugo, his classmate. Bakugo was a shoo-in for Midoriya’s dream school, UA Academy, a training academy for Heroes.

However, Midoriya’s life changes when he encounters All Might, the No.1 Pro Hero. All Might is impressed by Midoriya’s strong sense of justice and heroic nature and decides to pass his Quirk, One-For-All, to him. And thus starts Midoriya’s journey as Deku, now on his way to becoming the ninth mantle in a long line of amazing predecessors.

One-For-All: A Mantle To Be Passed On!

One-For-All is one of those Quirks that is transferable, which means that it doesn’t matter whether you were born with a Quirk or not. In fact, One-For-All stacks on any pre-existing Quirk and carries that Quirk forward in an itinerary for the next mantle holder to be able to utilize.

It’s how it basically keeps collecting Quirks as it gets passed on, with Deku being able to access almost all of them. However, they do take a load on the body if it is untrained and can be erratic when first deployed. It’s what Deku majorly tackles during his first few arcs in the manga.

When Toshinori Yagi aka All Might inherits the same power from his predecessor, Nana Shimura, he goes on to become the best Hero in the world. He even gets to defeat the Legion of Villains founder, All-For-One.

How Deku Surpassed All Might

In chapter 315, Deku is lured out by Lady Nagant, an assassin sent by All-For-One, who is a Multi-Quirk User herself. Deku, of course, used to struggle using One-For-All at 100% capacity before. But here, actually loopholed his way to unleashing a modified form of his 100% capacity, called Pseudo 100% Manchester Smash. He could only do this, thanks to his Mid-Gauntlet, which works to stabilize his power.

But perhaps the most impressive ability he showed off in this chapter was his skill to unleash two Quirks simultaneously, working perfectly in tandem with each other. This is something, not even All Might has shown to be able to do before. And he has had One-For-All powers for the longest time.

And his Fa Jin Quirk is also upgraded, being able to keep a consistent store of Kinetic energy ready to be deployed at any given moment.

So, the question wasn’t of if Deku was going overpower All Might, but when. But he’s still a long way from fulfilling his goal of becoming a Hero that people can rely on!