PART 2: The Fairness Lie - Merit, Effort, and Quirk Inequality
Why "Anyone Can Be a Hero" Is Hero Society's Biggest Scam
My Hero Academia sold us a beautiful lie from episode one: "Anyone can be a hero." All Might hands Deku One For All, trains him up, and boomโthe quirkless kid becomes the greatest hero.
Inspirational, right? WRONG.
Because the series itself PROVES that "anyone can be a hero" is complete bullshit. The moment you zoom out from Deku's plot armor and look at literally everyone else in the story, you realize that hero society is NOT a meritocracy. It's a genetic lottery with extra steps, wrapped in motivational speeches and underdog narratives to make you forget that 90 percent of the cast never stood a chance from birth.
The Genetic Lottery: Some Quirks Are Just Better
Let's be real: quirks are NOT created equal.
Bakugo can create explosions with his SWEAT. Todoroki inherited two god-tier quirks from both parents [ice AND fire]. Tokoyami has a sentient shadow beast living inside him. Momo can create ANYTHING from her body if she knows its molecular structure.
Meanwhile, Ojiro has a tail. That's it. A TAIL. Sato gets super strength... but only if he eats sugar, and it makes him dumber. Koda can talk to animals... in a world where 90 percent of hero work happens in URBAN AREAS with zero animals around.
You see the problem?
No amount of training, willpower, or "Plus Ultra" screaming is going to make Ojiro's tail competitive with Bakugo's nukes. No amount of hard work will make Sato's sugar rush match Todoroki's dual-element god mode. This isn't a "work harder" situation. It's genetics. Pure and simple.
The series tries to sell you on effort and determination, but then gives the most powerful quirks to the main characters and leaves everyone else in the dust.
If MHA was honest, it would admit that hero society is built on GENETIC PRIVILEGE, not merit.
The Hard Cap Problem: Training Can't Fix Everything
Here's where it gets even worse: some quirks have HARD CAPS that no amount of training can overcome.
Take Mineta. His quirk is Sticky Balls. He can pull sticky spheres off his head and throw them. That's... it. No explosions. No ice walls. No flight. Just sticky balls.
Now imagine Mineta training his ENTIRE LIFE. He becomes the most strategic, tactical, physically fit hero in the world. He masters combat, acrobatics, and teamwork. He's PEAK Mineta.
He's still getting obliterated by any villain with a mid-tier combat quirk. Why? Because his quirk has a CEILING. There's only so much you can do with sticky balls, no matter how hard you train.
Compare that to Deku, who gets MULTIPLE quirks from One For All, each one more overpowered than the last. Float, Danger Sense, Smokescreen, Black Whip, Fa Jinโthe list goes on. Deku doesn't just get stronger through training. He gets NEW ABILITIES handed to him for free.
The series pretends everyone's playing the same game, but some characters are playing on Easy Mode with cheat codes while others are stuck on Nightmare Difficulty with a broken controller.
Side Characters: Narratively Doomed from Birth
Let's talk about Class 1-A's side characters, because they're the PROOF that "anyone can be a hero" is a lie.
The Forgotten Ones:
โขKoji Koda [Anivoice]: Can talk to animals. Useless in urban combat. Almost never gets focus.
โขRikido Sato [Sugar Rush]: Super strength, but only with sugar. Gets dumber when powered up. Zero character development.
โขToru Hagakure [Invisibility]: Invisible girl. Can't turn it off. Barely has a personality because WE CAN'T EVEN SEE HER.
โขMashirao Ojiro [Tail]: HAS A TAIL. That's the quirk. Nothing else. The series gave up on him.
โขYuga Aoyama [Navel Laser]: His quirk HURTS HIM when he uses it. Later revealed to be a traitor, and even that plotline was rushed.
These characters aren't just "less powerful" than the main cast. They're narratively TRAPPED. The story doesn't give them arcs, doesn't give them wins, doesn't give them growth. Why? Because their quirks aren't marketable. They're not cool enough, not flashy enough, not strong enough.
And here's the kicker: THE STORY KNOWS THIS. It just pretends it doesn't.
When's the last time Ojiro did ANYTHING important? When's the last time Sato got a meaningful fight? When's the last time Koda had a character moment that wasn't a throwaway gag?
You can't remember, because it didn't happen. These characters exist to fill seats in the classroom and make the main cast look better by comparison.
The False Equivalence: Mindset vs. Capability
MHA loves to preach that "it's not about the quirk, it's about the PERSON." All Might says it. Aizawa says it. Deku internalizes it.
But the series itself CONTRADICTS this at every turn.
Aizawa [Erasure quirk] is constantly held up as proof that "skill matters more than power." He's quirkless in combat, relies on hand-to-hand skills and capture tools, and can take down students with flashier quirks.
Cool. Inspiring. Except... Aizawa's quirk is LITERALLY one of the most overpowered abilities in the entire series. He can ERASE QUIRKS just by looking at someone. That's not "skill over power." That's having a god-tier support quirk AND being skilled.
The series wants you to think Aizawa succeeded because of hard work, but he succeeded because his quirk is broken AND he trained hard. Remove the quirk, and he's just a guy with a scarf fighting people who can shoot fire and summon lightning.
The "mindset matters" message only works when you ignore the fact that EVERY successful character in MHA has a top-tier quirk. There is not a single pro hero in the top rankings with a weak quirk who made it through sheer determination alone.
Not one.
Hero Rankings: A Popularity Contest Disguised as Merit
Let's talk about the hero rankings, because they're the ultimate proof that MHA's society is rigged.
The official hero rankings are based on:
โขNumber of resolved cases
โขContribution to society
โขPublic approval
Notice what's NOT on that list? ACTUAL CAPABILITY. SKILL. EFFECTIVENESS.
The rankings are a POPULARITY CONTEST. Hawks himself admits this. Endeavor becomes Number One not because he suddenly got better at hero work, but because All Might retired and there was a vacuum at the top.
And here's the thing: popularity is directly tied to FLASHY QUIRKS. You think Wash [the washing machine hero] or Manual [the water hose hero] are ever breaking into the top 10? Hell no. Why? Because their quirks aren't marketable. They're not cool. They don't sell merch.
Best Jeanist is literally in the top rankings partially because he's FASHIONABLE. His quirk is controlling fabric. It's strong, sure, but he's ranked high because he LOOKS GOOD and has a brand.
Hero society isn't a meritocracy. It's a capitalism-fueled spectacle where the genetically lucky get fame, money, and power while everyone else fights for scraps.
The Myth of Equal Opportunity
MHA wants you to believe that UA [and hero schools in general] are places where ANYONE can succeed if they work hard enough.
But let's look at the actual admissions process:
The UA entrance exam is a ROBOT-SMASHING CONTEST. You get points by destroying massive combat robots in an urban battlefield scenario.
Now ask yourself: how is someone with Koda's animal-talking quirk supposed to pass that? How is Hagakure [invisibility] supposed to rack up points? How is Shinso [brainwashing, but only if the target responds to him verbally] supposed to compete when the robots DON'T TALK?
The exam is literally designed to favor COMBAT quirks. Specifically, DESTRUCTIVE combat quirks. You're not testing strategy, teamwork, rescue ability, or leadership. You're testing "can you blow shit up fast?"
And when the series DOES acknowledge this [Shinso's complaint about the unfair system], what happens? He gets a second chance... and then gets shoved into the background again because his quirk isn't flashy enough for the main story.
The system is rigged from the entrance exam onward, and the series knows it but refuses to actually address it.
Why This Destroys the Story's Core Message
Here's why this matters:
MHA's entire foundation is built on the idea that ANYONE can be a hero if they try hard enough. Deku is supposed to be the proof of that. The quirkless kid who made it.
But Deku didn't make it because of hard work. He made it because ALL MIGHT GAVE HIM THE MOST POWERFUL QUIRK IN THE WORLD.
Every single "you can do it" speech in the series rings hollow when you realize that success in MHA is almost entirely determined by genetic luck. The series preaches equality while showing you a world where inequality is baked into your DNA.
And the worst part? The story COULD have addressed this. It could have:
โขFocused on support heroes and non-combat roles as equally valid paths
โขShown quirk creativity mattering more than raw power
โขGiven side characters meaningful victories and growth
โขCriticized the hero ranking system as the corrupt spectacle it is
โขMade Deku's success about strategy and heart, not inheriting god-tier powers
But it didn't. Instead, it gave Deku SIX extra quirks, gave Bakugo and Todoroki infinite stamina and plot armor, and left everyone else to rot in the background.
The Bottom Line
"Anyone can be a hero" is a lie.
In MHA's world, your worth is determined at birth by your quirk. If you're born with explosions, ice, or creation abilities, you're set. If you're born with a tail or the ability to stick to things, you're fucked.
No amount of training, willpower, or "Plus Ultra" energy will change that. The series pretends otherwise, but the story itself proves it's bullshit.
Hero society isn't fair. It's a genetic aristocracy pretending to be a meritocracy, and the fact that the series refuses to acknowledge this is one of its greatest failures.
Discussion Questions
โขDo you think MHA actually believes in "anyone can be a hero" or is it just lip service?
โขWhich side character deserved better development but got shafted by their weak quirk?
โขIs the hero ranking system more about skill or spectacle?
โขCould Deku have succeeded without One For All, or does that prove the system is rigged?
โขWhat's the weakest quirk that could realistically make someone a top hero with enough creativity?
Drop your takes in the comments. Let's argue about this.