One of the reasons why My Hero Academia is one of the most popular modern Shonen series is its wide variety of highly impactful moments. These moments vary from drastically changing the plot and characters to just being scenes of pure hype. The best of these scenes somehow manage to do both. This is a testament to how series creator Kohei Horikoshi has been able to take a basic premise and elevate it to something more.
My Hero Academia is the story of Deku, an initially powerless boy who is granted superpowers by his idol All Might. He then uses these superpowers to train to be a hero and fight various antagonists, like the League of Villains or a serial killer who targets pro heroes. Deku’s determination to become worthy of his powers and save people is compelling to watch, and seeing him interact with the rest of the series’ cast is incredibly entertaining. But what keeps fans coming back for more are the incredibly exciting moments of hype and emotion like the ones listed below.
10 All Might vs Nomu
Throughout the beginning of the series, Deku’s mentor All Might had been dealing with tremendous physical limitations stemming from a blow he had received in a battle with his nemesis All For One. While he put on a strong front, it was unclear when he faced a powerful threat if he would be able to defeat it. However, despite Deku worrying about him, All Might pushed past his limits and defeated the incredibly powerful Nomu that was menacing Class 1-A in an incredibly epic flurry of punches. It is a simple moment that shows that All Might can match the determination of his protégé when the lives of those he protects are at stake.
9 All For One vs Star and Stripe
The conclusion of the battle between Star and Stripe and All for One/Shigaraki is incredibly bittersweet and emotional. After hearing about Shigaraki’s newly awakened powers, America’s top hero Star and Stripe travels to Japan to take him down. Their fight is incredibly epic as two of the strongest Quirk users in the series battle it out, but ultimately All For One gains the upper hand and takes Star and Stripe’s Quirk along with her life. However, the American hero laid a trap in her Quirk that destroyed a portion of All For One’s Quirks and greatly weakened him. Thus, Star and Stripe’s death was both a tragedy and a triumph.
8 Deku’s Body Moves On Its Own
In the very beginning of the series, Deku is Quirkless and thus All Might initially refuses to share his power with him. However, when Bakugo is captured by a slime villain, it is Deku who moves first to save him, rushing in despite the danger. It is a simple but inspiring moment that shows why Deku is a hero even without the powers he will eventually obtain. It also serves as a gold standard for heroic actions to compare to later in the series, with other characters like Bakugo eventually mirroring Deku at this moment, showing how much he has rubbed off on them.
7 Shigaraki Remembers His Past
The My Villain Academia arc shined a much-deserved spotlight on many of the members of the League of Villains, including its leader Shigaraki. While Shigaraki wasn’t able to remember his childhood at the beginning of the series, over the course of fighting the Meta Liberation Army these horrifying memories are finally unlocked. Shigaraki remembers that he was responsible for killing his entire family with his Decay Quirk, which in turn improves his Quirk in the present day, allowing him to murder large swathes of enemies at once. Both past and present events are some of the most horrifying and impactful in the series.
6 Deku vs Overhaul
Deku has pushed his body far beyond his limits many times before, but even despite this, his fight against Overhaul brought him to horrifying new extremes of disregard for his own well-being. Overhaul was an absolutely horrifying villain who ruthlessly tortured the young girl Eri in order to make a powerful Quirk Drug. His terrible deeds caused Deku to go to extremes in order to defeat him, dangerously teaming up with Eri herself. Eri’s Rewind Quirk let her undo any damage Deku did to his body, which let him attack Overhaul with everything he had in a breathtaking and disturbing fight that leaves a sickening impact on the viewer. Overhaul's later tragic and disgraceful reappearance in My Hero Academia just makes this moment hit all the harder.
5 Deku Gets Shoto to Use Fire
Shoto Todoroki is the son of the abusive hero Endeavor, who bred him to be the perfect combination of fire and ice. However, Shoto initially denied this fire part of himself due to all the harm Endeavor caused, which was ultimately unhealthy for him to do. When Deku fought him in the Sports Festival, he was strong enough to force Shoto to have to use his fire in addition to his ice in order to win. This not only led to Shoto becoming one of the most powerful students in My Hero Academia's Class 1-A, it also left a major emotional impact on fans.
4 Endeavor vs Nomu
While Endeavor is My Hero Academia's worst Dad and a terrible human being to boot, after All Might retired from being a pro hero the flame wielder became the new number one hero. Many were skeptical of him, however, which led to a period of anxiety and fear. Endeavor needed an inspiring victory to reassure the masses that he could protect them. His fight against a powerful Nomu gave him the opportunity he needed. In that battle, he pushed himself harder than he ever had before and ended triumphantly despite his opponent’s strength. This was all captured on camera, reassuring the public that they were still safe even if later events would prove this to be a false sense of security.
3 Shigaraki Awakens
Shigaraki’s Decay ability was naturally powerful to begin with, but with the help of All For One’s servant Garaki, he was able to make it even scarier. Garaki’s procedure culminated in the Paranormal Liberation War arc, unleashing a Shigaraki who had great physical enhancements and the various Quirks of All For One. This new Shigaraki wreaked havoc on the heroes massed against him and became one of the most powerful villains in the series. While this makes the moment of his awakening very impactful on the series as a whole, beyond simple plot impact the mass destruction he causes leaves a chilling emotional impression as well.
2 Class 1-A vs Deku
After the Paranormal Liberation War, Deku left UA in order to protect his friends and fought crime on his own as the epic vigilante Dark Deku. His friends, of course, were not happy about this, especially given how much he was neglecting his own needs in order to fight the villains he encountered. Thus, the class banded together to take him back to UA by force. Their ensuing fight is ultimately a heartfelt culmination of all the characters’ relationships with Deku and is thus incredibly emotionally impactful. It also leads to Deku admitting that he is not alone and can rely on his friends despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them.
1 All Might vs All For One
After believing his ultimate nemesis to be long defeated, All Might is shocked to discover that All For One is actually still alive and masterminding the League of Villains. Despite his greatly weakened state All Might decides to take down All For One as news cameras film the confrontation. Over the course of this fight, All Might’s weakened form is revealed, shaking some public trust in him. But despite this, All Might is able to use what he learned from Deku to defeat All For One in an epic blow before passing the torch on to the next generation of superheroes like Deku and Bakugo, in the most powerful moment of the series.
With its incredibly hype Final War arc in full swing, My Hero Academia is sure to feature many more majorly impactful moments before it ends. However, it will be hard for those moments to top the scenes listed above, all of which were incredibly powerful and important in their own way. But if any series can do it, it is My Hero Academia, which has consistently blown fans away with its incredibly impactful moments that outclass most other modern Shonen.