Here's How My Hero Academia's Endeavor Became An Undeniable Fan Favorite
When "My Hero Academia" debuted in April 2016, it quickly rose up the anime ranks to become a top dog in the industry. It's one of the latest Shōnen animes to become a global hit, spawning numerous seasons and many successful theatrical movies. While "My Hero Academia" creator Kōhei Horikoshi promised the anime would end before reaching a "One Piece" level of episodes, the popular show doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
The series takes place in a world where everyone develops superpowers, known as quirks, at a young age, which makes being a superhero a common practice. The main character, Midoriya, never develops a quirk but inherits one from Japan's top hero, All Might. He enrolls in a prestigious superhero school, and the series focuses on his journey to becoming one of the world's most prominent heroes.
"My Hero Academia" continues the typical Shōnen anime trope of having a long list of characters for fans to keep up with as the series puts in the time to develop them individually. The series boasts a massive number of heroes and villains, allowing viewers to form bonds with many of them. Given that the series takes its time developing the characters, fans generally gravitate towards certain ones as their favorites. However, "My Hero" fans seem to agree that Horikoshi wrote one character better than the rest.
Endeavor is head and shoulders above the competition
Over on the "My Hero Academia" subreddit, fans of the series posted a poll to determine who's the best written character. The poll garnered over 3,000 votes, and Endeavor absolutely swept the competition.
Endeavor ranked first in the poll, receiving over 1,400 votes and nearly doubling the next closest character. Bakugo finished second, followed by Shigaraki, Todoroki, other unlisted characters, and Deku last. u/Jhowz said, "Deku is my favorite, but Endeavor is the best written imo, so I voted for him." u/Locksmith_Most said, "Endeavor. No one else comes close." u/Aros001 compared Endeavor's writing to Marvel and DC, stating that neither of the two comic book powerhouses has a character that matches his writing in "My Hero."
Fans of the hit series won't be surprised with Endeavor taking the top spot in the poll. The character popped up every now and then during the show's first three seasons, but fans only knew him as Todoroki's mean and abusive father. It wasn't until the back half of Season 4 that he became a more prominent character and drastically changed his personality. Following All Might's forced retirement, Endeavor becomes the new number-one hero and vows to do the role justice. Around this time, he also reconnects with Todoroki, promising to be a better father. He goes on to become someone Todoroki, Bakugou, and Deku look up to while the trio intern at his hero agency.
Creator Kōhei Horikoshi revealed in "My Hero Academia" Vol. 5 that he originally planned for Endeavor to be a teacher at UA but decided against it because it would've given the school too much firepower. Needless to say, the Endeavor we eventually got in the series lives up to the title of number-one hero.