My Hero Academia Finally Justifies Its Most Irritating Student

Warning! Spoilers for My Hero Academia chapter 344 ahead!

The biggest reveal of My Hero Academia in its latest chapter is how exactly the heroes manage to use Kurogiri’s warp quirk to deliver Midoriya’s reinforcements, but it turns out a very different (and much less liked) character is the keystone of this plan.

The beginning of My Hero Academia chapter 343 sets up for what’s sure to be the biggest battle in the series to date. The heroes’ plan relies heavily on surprise, and nothing provides a better surprise advantage than being able to instantaneously drop heroes onto the battlefield. While this poses a major problem and could have been the focus of an arc all its own, chapter 344 reveals the shortcut that the heroes come up with to bypass the question of Kurogiri’s loyalty: trot out a side character with a particularly amazing quirk by the name of Neito Monoma.

Monoma is a student from Class 1-B, all of whom are minor characters who are occasionally used as training opponents for Class 1-A. The defining aspect of Monoma’s character is his obnoxious behavior, as he is constantly harping on how his class is actually the best, ranting and provoking students in Aizawa’s class. He’s frequently pulled off screen for reprimands over this behavior by both his fellow students and occasionally teachers, and there’s little-to-no reason for fans to really have any positive feelings towards him. As a student hero, he must have some redeeming qualities, but the reader is never really exposed to any. His most noteworthy feature is his quirk: the ability to copy any one quirk from the last person he touched. It still takes time for Monoma to learn how to use these new quirks, so it’s an ability with a lot of potential, but limited usefulness in combat.

In the context of the heroes’ current situation, bringing Monoma in to copy and train with Kurogiri’s quirk is actually a brilliant move. Since Kurogiri’s both kept unconscious and in custody, it’s easy to allow Monoma to touch him, and they’ve had Kurogiri for a long enough time that Monoma might even get pretty good at using the warp. It also doubles as an opportunity for Monoma to actually generate some good will with the audience and prove why he wants to be a hero and how he can help. As a plot point in the story, however, it would’ve been far more powerful to have Kurogiri perform this trick himself, especially considering All for One’s goals, his complex feelings towards Tomura Shigaraki, and his connections with Aizawa. The real question that arises from having Monoma do it is, “Why not have Monoma use it earlier?”

Since My Hero Academia is barreling on towards its ending, now’s as good a time as any to make sure that some bit characters get their turn in the spotlight. Being the one responsible for the awesome Avengers: Endgame warp homage is certainly a cool moment for Monoma, and might finally help him to win a few fans over after all.

About The Author

Carlyle Edmundson
(232 Articles Published)

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Carlyle Edmundson is a news and features writer with an affinity for science fiction and fantasy. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BS in Film Studies and is glad that it’s relevant to his work. A lifelong fan of anime and manga, he has attended dozens of conventions over the years and may or may not have cosplayed at them. He is also the author of the Dystopian Detective series, available from most places ebooks are sold.

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