Why All Might Sucks | Manga Mondays

Hi, welcome to my blog, today I'm talking about why I hate All Might from My Hero Academia. 

Everything I am talking about is my own opinion, obviously. I'm all for constructive criticism but keep the hate to a minimum. Also keep in mind, this post will contain spoilers for both the manga and the anime. 

Some background information: All Might is the Symbol of Peace, the former number one hero, inspiring kids left and right and striking fear into the hearts of villains all over Japan. And he also happens to be a horrible teacher, extremely naive, and has little to no public relations skills. 

I do have to mention that a part of my dislike toward All Might I can't really explain, because the evidence I have doesn't add up with the amount of hatred in my body. Like, it doesn't make sense why I don't like him so much, but I can't really help that. Sometimes you like characters and sometimes you don't. You don't always need a reason for it. But in this case, I have several reasons, they just don't match the feeling. Anyway, let's get on with it, starting with the first freaking episode. 

1. "It's not bad to dream. But you also have to consider what's realistic."

    Taken out of context, this doesn't seem like a bad thing to say. Everyone has unrealistic dreams. I want to be an astronaut, and we all know that isn't going to happen. However, let's take a look at Izuku Midoriya's mindset and thought process. 

We as the audience know that Izuku has been constantly bullied for being quirkless for over a decade by the time he meets All Might and asks him the ultimate question on a rooftop: "Is it possible for someone without a quirk to be a hero?" Personally, I think yes. So many heroes out there have non-combatant quirks and don't even use them in the field, or they do, but then rely on other skills to take down villains. Hell, with Izuku's brain, he could easily be an analysis hero, but I digress. 

All Might doesn't know what Izuku's life has been like, but the man was quirkless himself at a point. I refuse to believe he honestly forgot what it was like to be in a superpowered society without any power. And yet, he delivers the greatest blow he could to a literal child. He says no. 

Let's go back to like, ten minutes before. How did All Might meet Izuku again? Oh, that's right, he saved him from a villain attack. The boy was literally drowning, he almost died. Surely, that would be traumatic and terrifying, and no doubt there is still fluid in Izuku's lungs from the sludge villain. And yet, all All Might does is wake Izuku up (he literally says "Thought we lost you there!" He thought Izuku was dead! And all he does is wake him up!) and then he prepares to leave. He doesn't ask Izuku if he's okay, if his lungs hurt, does he need an escort to the hospital? What about a police statement for the paperwork of capturing the villain? Trauma counseling, perhaps? 

Nothing. Zilch. Nada. 

Instead, he signs an autograph and then jumps away. I get that All Might is a public hero, he's used to big battles that are cordoned off by police and have paramedics at the ready. But did he honestly forget that he had just saved a civilian? There's procedure, protocol! He was literally tested on this in school (if the provisional license exam is any indication). 

So, he jumps and Izuku hitches a ride, and they end up on a rooftop, where Izuku proceeds to explain his quirklessness and how everyone has told him all his life that he can't be a hero. He says, and I quote from the manga, "Because I don't have a quirk...well, maybe that's not the only reason. But I've always been picked on." Even though All Might is deflating, he proves later that he listened to Izuku's speech. And then he crushes his dreams, and leaves him on the rooftop. 

He leaves him on the rooftop! Izuku, who was told just hours before to "take a swan dive off the roof of a building and hope you're born with a quirk in your next life," is left on a random rooftop by his biggest hero! Sweet Jesus, All Might! 

(Again, I know that All Might isn't aware of what Bakugo said earlier, but we the audience are, and that's the significance of that moment. In that moment, Izuku saw even All Might give up on him. If this boy didn't have a stronger will to live than literally anyone else in this series, I don't want to think about what he would have done.)

2. The "Aim to Pass" All American Dream Plan

    Well, because Izuku is sunshine incarnate, he goes to save Bakugo and All Might amends his original statement, and the proceeds to train Izuku to prepare for receiving his quirk, with his All American Dream Plan. However, I have a bone to pick with the plan. 

First off, All Might didn't realize Izuku was overworking himself and not following the plan until it was too late and he collapsed from exhaustion. I get that hindsight is 20/20 yada yada yada, but really. Izuku is just like All Might, they both will run themselves into the ground if it means saving as many people as they can. Come to think of it, maybe that's why All Might is such a terrible teacher to Izuku, because they have the same amount of self-awareness, too. 

I have to mention the food, too. Now, we don't canonically know Inko Midoriya's profession, or if she even works at all, but we do know that they are a middle-class family who don't have a whole lot of money. Hisashi, Izuku's father, is never shown in the manga or anime, and instead is referred to only as a man who can breathe fire and is overseas for work. We don't know if he's alive or dead, at this point. Does he send child support? Are he and Inko divorced, or are they still happy together and talk on the phone every night? Is Hisashi Midoriya in fact an alias and he's actually the supervillain that Izuku has now inherited the fight against?

Okay, obviously that's not canon. But if anyone wants to hear my Dad-for-One theory, please let me know. 

The point I am trying to make is that the Midoriyas live comfortably, but not excessively. So I wonder what was going through Inko's head when Izuku came to her with All Might's meal plan. A lot of food, high in protein and calories, three times a day. Also, did Izuku even own any gym equipment before he started his training? I don't know how it is in Japan (especially fictional Japan where quirks are catered to) but in America, gym equipment is pretty expensive. So is food. Did All Might help at all with any of the expenses? He's the number one hero, he has to be loaded, if we're looking at the Todoroki and Iida families for reference. Surely he could've helped out. 

Of course, knowing Izuku he either doesn't think about how this affected Inko and their budget, or if he did, he would be too embarrassed to say anything to All Might. So I guess I can't put everything on his shoulders with this one. 

3. All for One and One for All

    Oh man, it's quirk time. I'm completely obsessed with quirks and how they work. I recognize that this is also why Izuku has his quirk analysis. When you don't have something that everyone else has, you automatically want to know everything about it so you can fit in better. This is partly why My Hero Academia is so popular, in my opinion. 

Anyways, we all know the story of All for One and One for All. Two brothers, three quirks, centuries of unrest. One for All became a beacon of hope to All for One's beacon of fear. All Might explains at the beginning to Izuku that One for All is a stockpiling quirk, and that he's the eighth user, meaning that Izuku is going to be ingesting eight-people's worth of power all in one go. Not to mention, All Might is 700 pounds of pure muscle on his own. I'll give him a little credit, he does say at the beginning of training that if Izuku were to take on the quirk now, the power would be too much and he'd explode. But did he really think ten months was enough time to prepare his body? 

Also, All Might should have told Izuku everything up front, instead of waiting for months to tell him about All for One and Nana and the other OfA holders. It's bull that he didn't think it would be relevant. This boy is literally inheriting everything from him, secrets should be included in that. And it should have been all laid about before Izuku took the quirk, so he had all the facts before agreeing. We all know that Izuku would have said yes regardless, but All Might should not have made that assumption. 

Lastly, I think Izuku would have progressed farther a lot faster if All Might didn't put so much pressure on him. Izuku already had problems seeing One for All as his quirk and not All Might's, he does not need that extra pressure of proving to the world he's there to take up the mantle when All Might steps down. We see this in the Sports Festival arc, how Izuku is constantly worrying about All Might telling him "This is your chance to tell the world, 'I am here!'." It makes him reckless in his fights. And Sir Nighteye certainly didn't help with this, telling Izuku that he isn't worthy of being the ninth holder and that he should give it up to Mirio instead. Again, if Izuku's will and stubbornness was anything less than astronomical, as it is now, I don't want to think about how he would have reacted to that. That being said, Izuku still stewed in self-doubt for the entire Overhaul arc and even offered his quirk to Mirio at the end. 

Izuku has absolutely zero self-worth, but all of the will to survive and prove a point. If he was more confident, his pettiness would put him on par with Bakugo. 

Conclusion: All Might needs to go back to school

    He has forgotten all about the empathy, social grace, and communication needed to be a good hero. All Might is flying by the seat of his pants in almost every scene he's in. The only time he excels is when he's fighting. But being a hero is so much more than fighting villains, as Aizawa teaches Izuku and the rest of 1-A. It's about being someone that people can rely on, not just for safety but also for reassurance and quality of life. Even Gran Torino recognizes this. If Izuku only had All Might as a teacher, he wouldn't make it very far in life. 

Alright, that's all I have for today. Do you agree with me, or disagree? Tell me in the comments, or tweet at me!

Until next time, go beyond, plus ultra!