Season 7 is airing on Crunchyroll right now, and the manga is closing on its last chapters. While we wait for a satisfying ending to the long-lasting series, let’s discuss how deep the world building is! What would MHA look like with a different main character?
The Beginnings of Superpowered Humanity
MHA’s unique world history has a major impact on the plot of the story. One day out of nowhere, people everywhere in the world started being born with strange powers, until 80% of humanity currently has a “quirk”. This sudden change led to chaos and disaster in the past! People struggled to adapt and figure out how to reconstruct society around powered people.
The anime shows glimpses of people fighting for human rights and demanding new laws to regulate quirk use. During that arose the hero profession, licensed people who worked to take down criminals who used their powers dangerously and for evil. Things then turned into a new normal under the hero era!
But how and why did quirks develop? Were there scientific organizations experimenting on people? How did other countries handle the issue? These are all questions that a pre-quel spin-off could explore.
All for One & One for All
The origins of these two would be perfect for a dramatic prequel to MHA! In the midst of all the emerging quirk confusion, one diabolical maniac starts his journey as the top villain in Japan’s history. The story of two brothers, and how All for One chose to be evil.
We would see a close up to the trauma of the past: people dying from misuse of quirks and discrimination based on your mutations. We’d watch society stitch itself back together under new laws. There’s also the other users of One for All to get to know as they are passed down through time. From them, we could get quick backstories about their motivations, relationships, and resistance against All for One!
Meta Liberation Army
The government tries to restore order when they make regulations to quirk use! Quirks are illegal to use in public, unless licensed or necessary for self-defense. Some people disagreed with this, believing that they should have the right to express their quirk freely. They formed a protestant group called the Meta Liberation Army, led by a man named Destro. This group made a return in the present MHA as Destro’s son revived the group and then joined forces with the League of Villains.
Their backstory would overlap with the time of AFO’s origin. It would add complexity to the story, highlighting the political conflict caused by sudden change.
Pro Heroes
While Midoriya and his classmates are training at UA, they get mentored by a lot of various pro heroes both within and outside of the school. A lot of the adult heroes are fascinating and very fun to watch, and certainly have their own “coming-of-age” backstories. What if they were the main characters in their own show?
The Rise of All Might
Another prequel idea that even Midoriya would be obsessed with! It would parallel his story as we watch a young Toshinori grow up quirkless but aspiring to be a hero. The world is a bit darker place then, which is why Toshinori wants to be a “symbol” to stand out in the darkness.
He will meet the previous owner of One for All, and train under her and Gran Torino. What was his partnership with Night Eye like? It is only mentioned during Night Eye’s introduction, but there are no flashbacks! Even worse, Night Eye is only present for a few episodes before getting killed off. Knowing his personality, it would be funny to see their friendship dynamic.
And lets get some focus on the mental stress All Might would have from being a constant symbol, especially after his injury. Like Midoriya, he keeps trying to save as many people as possible, even when it takes a toll on his limited power.
Best Jeanist
Ranking as the number 3 hero, Best Jeanist is very popular. He stands out with how he stylishly uses his quirk! Between the battle at Camino and the fight against Dabi, he is shown to be brave and unstoppable; he takes his profession very seriously. Naturally, us fans want to know how he rose to this point, and what the future after Shigaraki holds for him!
Hawks
Hawks is a major part of the plot in the latter half of the series! Since his introduction, many fans have fallen in love with him. The show dedicated a whole episode to his tragic backstory, which exposed the blurred line between heroes and villains. He has alot to offer as a well–rounded protagonist of his own show! After the war against AFO, hero professionalism will definitely be going thru some serious changes. He will be involved in that, for sure. Will his dream of a low-crime world with abundant freetime for heroes come true in the future?
Aizawa
Aizawa gets the most screentime next to Allmight since he’s Class 1A’s main teacher. He often acts irritated and tired, but genuinely cares about bringing the best out of his students. Aizawa forces them to take their studies seriously and looks after their well-being! He also has alot of popularity among fans, deserving his own spin-off.
Now there’s the reveal that one of his childhood friends from when he was a hero-in-training was turned into a nomu! He and Present Mic’s past was full of nostalgia, but also tragedy. A good spinoff could focus on their silly friendship, how they became pros and teachers, and their personal struggles, such as grieving their friend.
The Other Students
Class 1-A has an awesome cast of side characters! They take the spotlight in alot of the funniest and best scenes in the anime. The show does a good job of giving them all good development, even if it’s spotted throughout episodes. Here are some characters not often talked about that could use a few spinoff episodes each!
Shinso
It is a shame that he gets little screen time, for it would be interesting to watch him develop into a hero. Shinso apparently got teased as a kid for his quirk being stereotyped as an evil quirk. As a result, he pursued heroism to prove everyone wrong, and show that he can use his quirk for good. You would cheer for him as a protagonist and enjoy his interactions with other hero characters!
Aoyama
He was also born quirkless, but his family’s desperation led to them seeking AFO. It’d be cool to see his struggles in childhood, the control AFO had over him, and a glimpse at his future now that AFO is defeated. How traumatizing!
Tokoyami
We don’t know much about his motivations to become a hero, so it would be interesting to explore that in a spin-off! He is shown to be a fast learner and a major help to the pro heroes in high-stakes battles, especially to Hawks. It will be worth it to see the pro hero he becomes, and how he looks up to Hawks!
Future Generations
After the war arc, how will society heal? Will heroism improve and regain people’s trust? There are so many more unanswered questions about the future of the world in MHA.
Eri Grows Up
Eri appears to be adopted by Aizawa as she lives in the UA dorms. She is slowly building up he power and her control over it! What kind of hero will she be if she becomes one? One youtuber suggests that she could replace Recovery Girl when she retires, rewinding injuries of UA students and heroes.
Quirk Singularity Theory
A running concept in the series is that quirks will quickly grow more powerful before humanity can adapt with them. Some moments, such as when Shoto and Bakugo attempt to tame kindergarteners in season4 episode79, point to the theory being a real problem. If so, how far into the future? Who will survive, or will humanity really end? This could be a canon or fanon series with completely different characters set in the future of MHA.
Other Countries
With the debut of Stars and Stripes in season 7, we’re reminded of the rest of the world outside of Japan! They each must have their own hero systems and cope with quirk existence differently. Exploring how hero society would work in different cultures would make for a great multi-verse of spin-offs! Maybe we can focus on how AFO had influence in other countries, as mentioned in the beginning of season 7. Or the United Nations working together for global peace would be a cool route to go! Both would be for getting a glimpse of the general world in its quirk era.
My Hero Academia is so good because it doesn’t just center on the main character, but rather on how that character fits into their world. You can take any other character or idea within the story and zoom in on their part! There is alot of interesting concepts that could be explored deeper. It is not confirmed yet if official spin-off sequels will continue after the story ends, as the author Horikoshi deserves a break from his hard work. But other writers and fans will continue to draw from his influence in their own spin-off versions.
