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The Latest Hero Ranking Report is Out (What You Need to Know)
Ai Amachi, Heroics Reporter for Juzo News
[Image: It’s a silhouette of a group of heroes, the shapes of the costumes making clear the figures despite them being backlit. From left to right the five Heroes are the gravity hero Uravity, the explosive hero Dynamight, the Symbol of Hope Deku, the hurricane hero Gale Force and the waveform hero Nejire Chan. They stand outside in some vague metropolitan area. The keen observer would know that this photo was not part of a photoshoot (it’s subjects being from a wide variety of agencies, with interagency publicity photos still being somewhat rare)— rather, this image was taken after a minor rescue operation handled by these heroes and just so happened to be well taken.]
Ever since 20XX, the Hero Ranking Report has been mired by controversy. While the Report has always been respected as the way to distinguish which Heroes are doing the most, in 20XX, it came under fire for making Hero work a competition and shutting out Rescue Heroes. In the years afterwards, it quietly faded into the background and many a Heroics fan was left wondering what would replace it. Then, four years ago, the Report suddenly exploded back onto the scene with an extensive overhaul.
Much of the new parts of the Report came from the extensive changes the Heroics Commission, the publishers of the Report, were forced to undergo by lead figures in Heroics. Most of these lead figures came into fame through the Month of Terror and need no introduction. Still, the amount of changes were extensive— entire new categories for Rescue Heroes, Sidekicks and Hero Teams. Special awards for The Most Effective Team-up and Minimizing Property Damage. Analysis of Charities Funded and Founded by Heroes. And, of course, a completely new metric for the final Rankings which take into account Heroic performance in all categories.
At a staggering fifty-seven pages, this year’s Heroics Report contains many anticipated rankings but also some interesting upsets. This article could not possibly cover everything in the Report. But as of four years ago, the Report is now offered for free to the public. If you want to know all the in-depth detail, the report is available on the Hero Commission’s website. That being said, here are some key highlights.
5. The Rescue Heroes List Continues to Highlight Lesser Known Heroes
So, Uravity, the number one Rescue Hero for this year is no unknown. Neither is number three, Deku. But the number two, Kiriga, is. She’s not a new Hero, having started nearly a decade before the latest generation of Heroes emerged. However, ranking number two is quite impressive as her last rank was number fifteen on this very list. Her quirk Vaporize makes her ideal for Rescue work, allowing her to vaporize everything she touches. This pattern continues throughout the rest of the Rescue Hero list. Many of the Heroes made famous from the Month of Terror are interspersed with less well known Heroes who are finally getting their well deserved spotlight.
4. Dynamight Takes the Award for Minimizing Property Damage
Given that Dynamight is often compared to Endeavor by detractors, this award may come to many as a shock. Endeavor, of course, is infamous for inflicting large amounts of property damage. However, despite his reputation, Dynamight has always shown a Plus Ultra! attitude towards minimizing property damage. This is probably due in part to the fact that his Quirk could be used in very destructive manners. With the introduction of his latest special move, Flashbang, Dynamight has added a powerful non-lethal method of takedown to his arsenal. So while he has always excelled in this category, this year marks a new high point in his career. For those who expected Deku to sweep the top spots, this was quite the surprise. But the statistics don’t lie— in this category, Dynamight barely edges out Deku.
3. The Support Hero Category Remains Fiercely Contested
Few could forget the drama from last year with the public argument between then number seven Support Hero, Hoshi Koide and number six Support Hero Akito Asano. The two were caught on multiple observers’ cameras loudly arguing over their heroic ranks. Their argument quickly spread across the entire field of Support Heroes as it brought up questions about how Support Heroes should be ranked and categorized, or even if they should be at all. The Support Hero category has become one of the most fiercely competitive, arguably even over the top Hero spot. While many factors have influenced this shift, a key one is the prevalent belief that higher ranked Support Heroes bring in more traffic to their agencies. Unfortunately the drama shows no sign of stopping as this year, Hoshi Koide is ranked number four and Akito Asano is ranked number five. Mei Hatsume remains constant at rank number two, which is quite the feat given just about every other rank has shuffled around this year.
2. New Temporary Team-up Category Blazes onto the Scene
To the delight of many a heroics fan, a new category was introduced this year— Temporary Team-ups. Have no fear, the Official Hero Team rankings remain. For those curious, the dynamic duo of Nejire Chan and Suneater remains dominant, rank number one for the third year in a row. Though if the whispers about a permanent UA Class 3-A team are true, that may not remain for long. For now, the famous class will have to settle for absolutely dominating the Temporary Team-up category. Unsurprisingly, the trio of Deku, Dynamight and Gale Force take number one in this category for their work protecting Fukuoka during the 20XX tsunami.
1. Deku Takes the Number One Spot
At this point it probably comes as no surprise that Deku, the Symbol of Hope, is number one Overall Hero again. With high ranks in just about every category he could qualify for, he was the clear winner from the beginning. Though this hardly comes as a surprise given he has dominated the top spot ever since the report’s restructure four years ago. No, what is a surprise this year is just how much Deku dominated the top spot. He appears in the top ten for just about anything he could qualify for, and has three number one spots besides the overall. Given he shows no sign of stopping, it seems clear now the true fight is for second place— and that second place to Deku is nothing to be ashamed of.
fanlogic reblogged ultimatehero_fan
ProHero Brawl Ultimate Rematch’s Big Balancing Issue Aka Deku
Thanks @fanlogic for suggesting this topic of analysis, because it is a fascinating one. For those of you who are new here, I’m ultimatehero_fan, I do all sorts of analysis and breakdown of ProHero Brawl. In pervious analysis I’ve covered All Might across his various ProHero appearances, Endeavor and the inclusion of controversial ‘Heroes’, and much, much more. Feel free to check out my archives for more. I’ve covered Deku before but that was only theorizing as at the time he wasn’t in any ProHero Brawl games. However, as of ProHero Brawl Ultimate Rematch, Deku is now in ProHero Brawl. So without further ado, let’s talk ProHero Brawl Ultimate Rematch and the Symbol of Hope, Deku.
-—[read more]—-
Part I: How Do You Balance Heroes from Real Life?
When approaching the new ProHero Brawl game, the developers had a big problem. Deku, the Symbol of Hope, followed in his mentor’s footsteps in being very OP when scaled against other heroes. This was true of All Might as well, but to a lesser degree. And the issue with All Might was already pushing it a bit, to the point where All Might is often banned from usage in certain ProHero Brawl tournaments (the one which is least likely to have All Might banned, by the way? ProHero Brawl 2 which introduced All Might, about a year after his debut).
One of the big appeals of ProHero Brawl is that it gives everyone the chance to play as their favorite heroes (major heroes anyways, the roster can’t be infinite). Which means the heroes have to feel like themselves. Uravity wouldn’t be Uravity without her gravity powers. And Deku wouldn’t feel like Deku if he didn’t have a good sampling of everything he can do. Which is a lot.
First, there’s his kick-based smashes, all twenty-four of them. Then there’s his fist-based smashes. Admittedly there’s only six of those, but that’s still a lot on top. Then there’s his specialty moves— and there’s probably like thirty or forty of those? Honestly you have to be a real heroics nerd to know how many of those he has, Deku always seems to be tinker and changing that lineup. None of that even touches his mobility options— Deku can almost fly, can grapple around with dark tentacles and can bounce around tight spaces. Or his regular non-named attacks. That’s way too much for any fighting game, even the sophisticated system of ProHero Brawl. And yet, the more one takes off this list, the less it feels like Deku.
Some elements are easier than others— Deku has to retain a few of his kick based smashes and at least one of his fist based. His black tentacles have to show up in some form or another. He has to have high mobility and excellent tanking abilities. But see, already as I’ve listed all these elements, that sounds OP. In ProHero Brawl, Deku needed weakness, lest he be used by everyone to the detriment of all other heroes. All Might was pushing it, but his moveset was confined to kicks and punches for the most part.
Part II: The Solutions
Deku, current number one, is very powerful. So, how to balance the latest ProHero Brawl? I want to quickly note that this isn’t just true of Deku— they have to work with this issue whenever they add Heroes. Quirks can do a lot of interesting things. But Deku is an extreme case.
Before we go over how they actually solved this issue, let’s cover some of the ways they didn’t solve it. Some of this comes from leaked internal documents, but most of this is my own conjecture. The options left on the table are fascinating.
What we do know was proposed was to make Deku a timed event— basically players would only get to play as Deku at certain times. It seems like this didn’t make it very far before getting shot down. Similarly, it was proposed that Deku be a special mode. Basically it would be a team-up against the Deku playing player. This seems to be the basis of Team-Up mode, a new addition in ProHero Brawl Ultimate Rematch where up to three players team up against a fourth player who was an “Empowered” Hero (a hero with a greater, more powerful move-set).
Moving into the unsubstantiated theories, it seems possible Deku might’ve originally be planned to reflect his historical strength, either based upon his early Class 3-A days or just post-Month of Terror. It also seems possible the developers could’ve simply given Deku incredibly long cooldowns.
Instead, what the developers of ProHero Brawl chose to do was to make Deku one of the most tricky heroes to handle. His move-set combos requires more precise inputs than any other hero. Playing Deku is incredibly punishing with missed and incorrect inputs. In addition, Deku in Pro-Hero Brawl automatically chooses the smash he uses when performing a kick and punch special attacks. He has three punch options and five kick options. These options are randomly chosen when an attack is made and do different amounts of damage. This combined with the move-set combos precision makes Deku powerful in the right hands, but not OP.
Part III: Community Reaction
When ProHero Brawl Ultimate Rematch was announced, everyone wondered if Deku would be included and if so, how. When he was finally announced for the roster, there was much excitement, but also more than a few worried about his implementation, which was then unknown. Reactions to how ultimately worked out continue to be mixed to this day.
There is a quite vocal subsection of those who play ProHero Brawl who find Deku’s implementation unsatisfactory. Deku’s special attack randomization in particular is divisive. Many believe that it undermines what makes ProHero Brawl fun. There are others who think it doesn’t do enough to make Deku balanced.
Deku’s inclusion in tournaments remains mixed, like All Might before him. To the credit of the ProHero Brawl developers, Deku is more often allowed in tournament play. The precise inputs required along with the randomization of moves makes Deku a niche character at higher levels of play. Those who do chose to use Deku at high levels of play often specialize in multiple Heroes.
But many have praised Deku as incredibly fun to play casually. The randomization of his special moves can lead to incredibly cool moments. In casual play, a failed combo or two is less of an issue and makes successes feel all the more rewarding. And, most crucially of all, few claim Deku in ProHero Brawl doesn’t feel like Deku.
—
Whoa, this was really in depth! Though I disagree that Deku’s combos are too hard. I mean, they’re tricky for ProHero Brawl standards, but they’re not that bad.
#HeroOtakuLife, #ProHero Brawl, #ultimatehero_fan
InstaSnap
[Image: It’s a picture of a cosplay of Silver Age All Might and a cosplay of Deku from just after the Month of Terror. The Deku cosplayer is wearing makeup to mimic the famous Deku victory photo. That means she is covered in fake mud splatter and a rainbow of fake bruises and cuts. She even has a prosthesis for a large cut that shows a fake bone on her right arm. The All Might cosplayer seems to lack any makeup at all in comparison. But close inspection would reveal that there seems to be a bit of makeup just above his cheeks.]
5ky1abf0x posted #HeroConPrep In the run-up to #HeroCon, I have been forced by my friends to re-post that one time I accidentally took a photo with #Deku without knowing I took a photo with Deku while dressed as Deku. Are you guys happy now?!
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fanlogic presents a brief history of #Deku at #HeroCon!
[Video: A short clip of fanlogic, an ordinary looking man save for his cyan octopus tentacles for hair and dark blue, nearly black eyes. He grins at the camera and after a moment speaks.
He says “Hey guys! It’s a week before Hero Con so I thought now would be the perfect time to repost my brief history of Deku at Hero Con, newly updated for this year! Without further ado, let’s get into it!”]
[Image: It’s a picture taken from All Might’s InstaSnap, of a blushing Midoriya who is standing backstage at All Might’s first ever panel at Hero Con. He’s looking down at his phone, the bright screen illuminating his face slightly. He is still in his Sir Nighteye cosplay.
fanlogic speaks over the image. He says “This is the first known appearance of Deku at Hero Con, way back when he was a student at UA. And what a memorable introduction it was! Deku assisted All Might with his panel. Though Deku sort of ended up taking over the panel when it was revealed he was TheHeroOtaku, a well known pillar of heroic fandom to this day!”]
[Image: It’s Deku with fanlogic. fanlogic is wearing a Deku shirt, one of the first ever produced, which was simply a print of the top of Deku’s hero suit at the time. Deku is wearing an Ingenium shirt which has his logo cleanly printed in the front. Avid heroics fans would know this shirt was actually for the first Ingenium, the current Ingenium’s older brother. Deku is also wearing a full cast on his right arm and right leg. It is covered in many multicolored signatures.
fanlogic says “Deku was one of the few heroes to show up to the first Hero Con after the Month of Terror. And he was swarmed with people who wanted to sign his casts. By the end of the Con, every inch had been covered several times over except for where his friends and family had signed it.”]
[Video: It’s a short, shaky clip of Deku charging into a panel, a step away from using his quirk. He looks flustered and is saying something rapidly, though the audio for the clip has been muted. fanlogic speaks over the clip instead.
He says “This is the now infamous ‘caught up in a small debate’ incident wherein Deku was nearly 45 minutes late to his panel because he sparked a five-way debate on the Con floor. Ever since this incident, fans as well as Deku’s friends and family have taken to reminding Deku to go to his panel on time. It’s a bit of an in-joke at this point.”]
[Video: It’s a static security camera shot of Deku, Dynamight and a police officer getting pulled into a fight against several villains. They are just outside a convention hall and Deku is in a cosplay of Lemillion, a hero who’s career was cut short by health issues (though rumors have recently been circulating that he may come back to heroics soon).
Over this clip, fanlogic says “Last year Deku even managed to get pulled into the fifth ever villain attack at Hero Con. Which lead to this footage of Deku fighting in cosplay circulating everywhere. Actually a few people there the day of mistook Deku for Lemillion at first, despite the fact that Lemillion hasn’t been active for many years now. And the fact that Deku’s quirk looks a lot different than Lemillion’s reportedly does.”]
[Video: A longer clip of fanlogic, who immediately jumps into speaking. He gestures excitedly as he speaks. “And now for some quick fun facts about Deku at Hero Con.
First, he always comes in cosplay for at least one day of the con. Many fans, like myself, have started to collect pictures with Deku in cosplay.
StarryEyedFangirl has even complied a list of every Deku cosplay. They include everything from All Might to Mt. Lady to Crimson Riot to Lemillion. When Deku gave an apartment tour, he had a whole closet for cosplays.
And finally he has on occasion bought out whole fanartists’ booths. Even when he doesn’t, Deku will sign fanart of himself while shopping. I’ve heard from more than one fanartist that they’ve been aggressively complimented by Deku. It’s to the point where I’ve heard him visiting called ‘being Deku-ed’.
Anyways, that’s a brief history of Deku, TheHeroOtaku himself, at Hero Con. He is a pillar not only of the heroic community, but the heroic fandom for a reason!”]
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Security Camera 34A Footage Log — 12:01 pm
[Video: It’s a close shot of a convention hall’s front facade through a broken camera lens. Much of the hall still stands on the edges of the camera, but the area closest, the front facade, has crumbled. A torn banner hanging off the facade shows that this footage was taken the second day of last year’s Hero Con.
It’s not clear from this angle, but the culprit for the damage to the hall is a group of villains who are offscreen. Occasionally green flashes, flare from offscreen, making the already poor quality worse. Into this scene emerges one Dynamight, at a rapid pace. His back is to the camera as he heads towards the rubble.]
[K. Bakugo]: Just got (indistinct) censored more to go. What I wouldn’t give for some of those censored extras to get censored here already!
[Video: Dynamight audibly sighs.]
[K. Bakugo (quietly)]: It’s a censored victory if someone censored dies.
[Video: Dynamight picks through the rubble with purpose, occasionally using his explosions to literally propel rubble out of the way. The way the rubble has built up, this is clearly not the first time Dynamight has dug through this particular rubble pile and he is clearly making an attempt to keep the pile balanced. A small girl’s voice cries out as he shifts some of the rubble.]
[K. Bakugo]: censored censored! Hold on, m- kid!
[Video: Dynamight visibly slows down, clearly trying to be gentle in removing the rubble.]
[Unknown Girl]: (indistinct) tired.
[K. Bakugo]: No, censored don’t— don’t censored go to sleep! Stay awake, brat!
[Unknown Girl]: (indistinct)
[K. Bakugo]: I censored know it censored hurts, kiddo. But you got to censored stay awake.
[Unknown Girl]: (indistinct) talk funny, (indistinct).
[K. Bakugo]: Oh? How do I censored talk funny?
[Unknown Girl]: (indistinct). censored. That’s funny.
[K. Bakugo]: It is, is it? Well I’m a censored hero, brat. So that’s why I can censored talk funny. Midgets like you censored can’t.
[Unknown Girl (quiet)]: You’re a (indistinct)? Dad and I came (indistinct) to meet heroes! I was going to meet Deku (indistinct). Do you know Deku? I really (indistinct) meet Deku.
[Video: Dynamight laughs, although it is clearly forced. He speeds up picking through the rubble.]
[K. Bakugo]: Do I know censored Deku? Who doesn’t know that censored? Hey brat, I said censored stay awake! Stay awake and I’ll tell you about that censored loser.
[Unknown Girl]: He’s not a loser, he’s Deku!
[K. Bakugo]: That’s it, kiddo. Just like censored that. And yeah, he’s a censored loser nerd. Cries over everything. Which means you can censored cry, brat. I don’t censored judge.
[Unknown Girl]: (indistinct) strong like Deku.
[K. Bakugo]: Midget, you’re stronger than censored Deku. You’d be stronger even if you were censored sobbing. Alright, hold censored still.
[Unknown Girl]: (indistinct) stronger! He can hold up buildings!
[K. Bakugo]: Sure can, kid. But he’s a censored mess when he needs surgery. So you’re stronger. And, just like censored that. C’mon kiddo, you want to go for a censored ride? It’ll be censored fun, I promise.
[Unknown Girl (quietly)]: Okay.
[Video: Dynamight straightens up from his crouched position.]
[K. Bakugo]: Yeah, up we go, just like that.
[Video: Dynamight emerges from the rubble carrying a small girl with pale green hair. She has a tourniquet tied around one leg. Her face is buried in Dynamight’s costume.]
[Unknown Girl (muffled)]: D-do you think I’ll m-meet Deku someday?
[K. Bakugo]: Yeah, you censored will. I’ll make sure of it. Alright, censored hold on tight, little nerd.
[Video: Dynamight casually points the arm not clutching onto the girl behind him and lets out a controlled explosion, rocketing out of frame just barely off the ground.]
DekUravity Ship Docks
-Thursday 1:21 AM-
[acidburn]: i finally finished my comp video 😁
[CandyHeart]: oh nice! link please?
[acidburn]: oh my bad. here!
[StarryEyedFangirl]: Wow, how did you get some of these photos and videos?
[StarryEyedFangirl]: Wait. Please tell me you didn’t use paparazzi photos.
[acidburn]: i promise i didn’t.
[CandyHeart]: I’ve never seen this photo.
[CandyHeart] has sent screenshot_3215.png to the chat
[Image: It’s a screenshot of a private YapTube video. In the freeze frame of the video, a younger Deku is sitting on a couch with Uravity next to him. Both are wearing intense expressions and holding video game controllers though the actual console and game screen is out of shot. Deku is in UA uniform with his tie missing and Uravity is wearing casual clothing.]
[firelight]: Wait how did you get that photo?
[StarryEyedFangirl]: Wait a sec. Acid, weren’t you shipping DekUravity at Deku’s first Hero Con?
[StarryEyedFangirl]: We barely knew about Class 3-A then.
[acidburn]: whoops. i forgot about that one 😫
[acidburn]: i may have taken that photo?
[CandyHeart]: Acid, do you mean you were at UA at the same time as Deku!?
[acidburn]: maybe
[CandyHeart]: Heroics, support, general or business?
[firelight]: Whoa wait guys. acid deserves privacy too.
[acidburn]: no, no it’s ok. i was going to say something eventually. i’m in heroics.
[acidburn]: don’t go spreading it around, but. hi, i’m pinky! 💖
[firelight]: What?!
[StarryEyedFangirl]: You’re joking. What?
Class 3-A Emerged on this Day from the Month of Terror
Kinnosuke Kamoto, Heroics Reporter for the Tokyo Herald
[Image: It is a picture of Class 3-A standing in front of UA’s main building in their school uniforms. A popular photo for new articles about Class 3-A. They stand in a semicircle arc in seating order, with Yuga Aoyama as student no. 1 as the rightmost student and Hitoshi Shinso, a relatively new addition at the time of the photo, as student no. 21 as the leftmost student. The most observant would know that this is actually their group school photo from their second year. The next year, when it came time to take the group photo, it was only a few weeks after the end of the Month of Terror and consequently most of them (but especially Deku) were still injured.]
Class 3-A of UA was propelled to fame by the Month of Terror and needs no introduction. That being noted, the usage of the collective name Class 3-A is misleading. Every class A of UA eventually becomes Class 3-A before graduating. Yet, at the same time, it is an incredibly accurate moniker, for never has there been such a large group of heroes with such well honed synergy in all of Japan, or perhaps even the world.
Perhaps this should come as no surprise. Certainly no UA class has ever faced the dangers that this one has. Indeed, many theorize the famous Class 3-A can effortlessly team up because of the pressures placed upon them. It is a bit of an idealistic notion but it does seem to fit the way the Class seems to completely embody the ‘Plus Ultra’ motto of UA. So perhaps the name ‘Class 3-A’ does fit, as it accurately describes the way the group is.
Many have forgotten by now, but after the Month of Terror was resolved, there was much talk of Class 3-A. Much of it revolved around agencies. Looking back on it now, it seems foolish to wonder. The Rescue Corps, Dynamight’s, Deku’s, all of it barely seems to matter to those in the agencies. Class 3-A might be spread across a dozen agencies, but no one seems to have informed them of that.
Looking back on All Might’s retirement, when all of Japan was left in a limbo state, the emergence of Class 3-A seems obvious. Here was a class who had already been through a villain attack and a kidnapping of one of their fellow classmates. Their performance at the Sport’s Festival should have made it easy to realize this was one of the most powerful classes UA had ever put together. They were, in many ways, already heroes.
Yet much of it was, at the time, unpredictable. All of their raw power was unpolished. Even Deku at that time looked less like the dominant Number One he now is and rather more like a top ten hero at best. To us now, that seems laughable, but it must be remembered that the rapid rush for the top ten Class 3-A has shown is unprecedented. Even with the Hero Rankings’ restructure, Class 3-A have rapidly emerged to fill the top ten spots, a feat that usually requires years.
All Might, their former teacher, was called the Symbol of Peace. It was a marker of how he redefined what Japan thought of as low rates of criminality and villainy. In the early days of Class 3-A, when they first emerged out of the Month of Terror, many tried to attribute titles to some of the more prominent of the class. In fact, to this day, the title Symbol of Hope has stuck for Deku. But he is the rare exception, as most titles thrown around at that time have long been forgotten.
The only other moniker that has stuck around from that time aside from individual Hero names is Class 3-A. It’s been years since Class 3-A has emerged— any other group of Heroes would have long ceased to be referred to by their class name. But Class 3-A has remained. There are many reasons for this, of course.
But perhaps we should propose one more.
I think the reason we still think of Class 3-A as Class 3-A is because they have become Japan’s new Symbol of Peace. It is a burden shared across a new generation of Heroes. On this day, several years ago, Class 3-A emerged onto the national, and even the world, stage. Out of the rubble of the Month of Terror stepped forth new Heroes. They echoed the famous catchphrase of All Might, first said all those years ago at his debut, not in words but deeds. And the message rings true for every appearance of UA’s most famous class.
It’s Going to be Alright, Everyone, Class 3-A is Here!
Eri bounced excitedly on her feet with only a hint of nervousness. Around her, Hero Con was in full swing. All she had to do was figure out where to go first. It was proving to be a more challenging choice than she expected. But it couldn’t dim her excitement. Hero Con only happened once a year, after all!
Her classmate and childhood friend Kota, scoffed from beside her. “Calm down, Eri. It’s just Hero Con. We’ve been here before.”
“But we’re UA students now!” Eri said, grinned at him. “Come on, you know that’s going to make a difference! Zuku and the rest of them always say so.”
“Deku and the rest of Class 3-A are the pillars of the Heroics Community.” Kota said. “I don’t think their experiences are going to be typical.”
“Kota,” Eri whined, “stop being such a spoilsport. I know you’ve been waiting for this as much as I have!”
“Well, duh.” Kota said. “It’s Hero Con! I’m just saying I don’t think it’s going to be any different than last year.”
“Like I said. Spoilsport!” Eri said. “How about this? I bet you 20 yen we’ll find some Water Hose merchandise.”
“No way.” Kota replied, crossing his arms. “When we find some of my parents, you’re going to claim that counts.”
“It’s not my fault you decided your hero name was going to be your parents’ team name, Mr. Unoriginal!” Eri said, throwing up her hands in the air.
“Well at least I have a name, Miss Undecided.” Kota snorted.
“Spoil. Sport.” Eri said. “Fine. 20 yen for merch of you specifically. Happy?”
Kota grinned. “Now that is a bet I’ll take. You’re so going to lose. Come on, let’s go check out the con floor!”
Eri groaned. “No way, you’re going to take a million years! You take after Zuku too much! We’ll miss all the panels!”
“What’s the point of Hero Con if not to get a bunch of limited run merchandise?” Kota asked, already starting to move towards the con floor.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the panels and experiences and stuff?” Eri said, running to catch up to him. “Or are you going to tell me you haven’t been waiting for Zuku’s panel as much I have been?”
“Eri, you and I both see Deku all the time. Why would we need to see his panel? I’m fairly certain both of us will know everything he says and then some.” Kota said, groaning. “We’ve both literally grown up around heroes.”
“I- that’s different, Kota!” Eri sputtered. “You honestly just spend all your time with them pestering them with questions about their work?”
“Uh, duh?” Kota said. “I’m a heroics student, aren’t I? Why wouldn’t I take advantage of the fact that I have personal connections to the number one and his high ranking classmates?”
“Kota, that’s rude!” Eri said.
“They love their jobs,” Kota said. “I’ve done far ruder things than pestering the infamous Class 3-A to talk about their heroics work. Besides, do you really think Deku of all people hates talking about heroics?”
“Well no.” Eri said. “But still! It’s the principle of it all!”
“It’s not rude when Deku won’t shut up about it.” Kota scoffed. “Now come on, Eri, Deku’s panel isn’t even until Sunday! And before that I have 20 yen to win!”
“Ugh, fine.” Eri said. “But I think you mean you have 20 yen to lose!”
Kota shouted with a grin as he ran ahead, “In your dreams!”
▷ Yap!Tube
[Video: It’s about an hour into the panel. Izuku Midoriya is sitting on a sofa in the center and has clearly dragged some of his friends onto the panel. They sit on three couches in a u-shaped pattern. Ochaco Uraraka is attempting to aggressively shoving Izuku off their couch. She is failing miserably despite the fact that she has clearly made him weightless. The observant would notice that Midoriya is discretely holding onto the couch with a black tentacle.
On the leftmost couch, the Iida Tenya is sitting properly, but also wildly gesticulating as he cheers on Midoriya. Next to him is Hitoshi Shinso who looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but is putting up with this madness for now. Meanwhile on the rightmost couch, Shoto Todoroki is egging on Uraraka. Next to him, Momo Yaoyorozu is clearly trying to stifle her laughter. She is also failing miserably.
After a moment, Uraraka lets out a large sigh and releases her quirk.]
[O. Uraraka]: I hope that answered your question! So yes, with sufficient warning, Deku here can counteract my quirk. Now, if I had actually managed to catch Deku off guard, then we would’ve had a show!
[Video: Izuku Midoriya frowns a little bit at Uraraka. He is blushing slightly.]
[I. Midoriya]: I-I don’t think the con staff want me exploring the ceiling! But Ochaco is right, most quirks are counter-able with sufficient warning. The hard part is that we, as heroes, sometimes get very little warning. After all, it’s not like we can ask rampaging villains to wait while we figure out how to stop them. Which is why reaction time is so crucial. Anyways, next question?
[Video: The video cuts to a shot of the audience, where a small kid stands. He is maybe eight years old, with cyan-blue hair that stands up in sharp spikes. His hoodie is clearly one of Deku’s merch line, with its forest green color, bunny ears on the hood and white piping.]
[T. Anjo]: Hi! I- I’m T-takehiko Anjo. Y-you’re really c-cool, Deku! I j-just wanted to- to know, what’s the m-most powerful q-quirk you’ve seen?
[Video: Izuku Midoriya grins brightly.]
[I. Midoriya]: Hi Anjo! Most powerful quirk, huh? That’s a hard one actually. It’s true that some quirks are more powerful than others. But most of the time, the power of a quirk comes down to how much a person practices with it. How much a person get’s used to it. Take Ochaco for instance. Manipulating gravity is a powerful quirk, but when I first met her, she could only really use her quirk for a few minutes. Powerful in its own right, but she certainly would’ve struggled if her limit had stayed where it was.
[Video: Izuku Midoriya trails off for a second, descending into muttering. It’s too quiet for the microphone to pickup. But eventually he seemed to realize what has happened (perhaps thanks to a discrete nudge from Uraraka) and straightens up.]
[I. Midoriya]: Whoops. Where was I?
[H. Shinso]: Uravity’s quirk.
[I. Midoriya]: Oh, my bad! As I was saying, often times a powerful quirks comes not from the strength of the quirk itself. So it’s rather hard for me to pick what the strongest quirk I’ve ever seen is. It’s hardly fair to be comparing my fellow heroes to someone who has never had any quirk counseling, therapy or even just training. If I had to pick amongst the current heroes, I’d probably have to say either Kacchan, Gale Force or Shoto here. If we’re talking heroes of all time though, it’s All Might, hands down. But I would say that the power of a quirk matters less than we often think it does. Invisible Girl’s quirk is incredibly hard to use offensively, but she still does. Because she wanted to be a hero, she is. That’s what matters, far more than how powerful a quirk is. I hope that answered your question!
—
Deku Full Panel Live at Hero Con 20XX
28k views 1 day ago #HeroCon #Deku #DekuPanel #Heroics
Join us for two and a half hours of Q&A with Deku, the Symbol of Hope! And perhaps a few other surprise guests as well!
More information can be found at HeroCon.org, along with…more
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[Image: It is a well edited picture of a bunch of heroes standing in a V formation. Deku stands proudly in the center, fist raised to the sky in triumph. Uravity floats slightly to his left. Dynamight next to her grins at the camera, aiming one of his hand canons at the camera. Nejire Chan stands in a bodybuilder pose to the far left. Gale Force stands looms between her and Dynamight, slightly in the background. To Deku’s right is Shoto, creating a fire held in a frost cage. Next to Shoto is the second Ingenium who appears to have just run into frame. Tsukuyomi and his Dark Shadow stand just off to the right and behind Ingenium in a menacing pose. Suneater stands at the far right, a mass of tentacles for his right hand. Behind the group is a silhouette of many more heroes, past and present. Notably, one of the shadows near the front has distinctively v-shaped hair.]
Hero Con 20XX!
Five Days celebrating All the Heroes, New and Old! Come to the biggest and longest running celebration of Heroes ever!
Come see panels from your favorite heroes, past and present— DEKU, SHOTO, URAVITY, INGENIUM, SUNEATER and so many more!
Fanart - Cosplay - ProHero Brawl - Roleplay - and Everything Else Heroic!
Register online for the convention at HeroCon.org