Okay this is going to be a weird rant-ish thing but in Boku no Hero Academia, how important are quirks to being a superhero?
Honestly, the answer I’m starting to find is: not very
like All Might is all ‘It’d be irresponsible for me to tell you you could be a Pro Hero without a quirk!’ to Izuku but??? so many pro heroes with quirks??? have the weirdest fucking quirks?
Take Fourth Kind for example. His quirk is ‘I have Four Arms’. Unless there’s an unmentioned side effect where he’s Super Strong as well, it’s literally just Four Arms? Like my dude, you’ve been replaced. Shoji has as many fucking arms as he wants.
And Ojiro’s quirk is: ‘I have a tail’. Not knocking it or anything, but… it’s literally just a tail. He’s an ordinary human plus a tail. I’m sorry Ojiro, but Todoroki can shit fire AND ice simultaneously, having an extra limb that can’t even hold things is just not that impressive.
So what I’m saying is Toshinori that was bullshit an ordinary human could absolutely become a Pro Hero (probably not like, top ten but with dedication and training you could definitely do it)
Sir Nighteye is another great example. His quirk, although I’d argue it’s one of the most powerful in the world, is not suited for hero work, and he rarely uses it anyway. He’s not top 10, but certainly up there.
He’s just a normal dude. Except that a normal dude has to accept they might die, and Nighteye knows he will.
Mumen Rider (pictured above) from One Punch Man is, imo, the most compelling character in that show. He’s a hero without powers, and the world of One Punch Man is on a much higher power scale than BnHA.
But the thing is, A LOT of BnHA characters are effectively quirkless, because their quirks are weak or ill suited to hero work. That dynamic doesn’t get played out, though. Mumen Rider stands out because he is remarkable as a powerless hero. Conversely, the weak-quirked characters in BnHA fade to the background because they’re so unremarkable. Not powerful enough to rise to the top, but they still have quirks, useless as they may be, so it doesn’t seem impressive that they’re keeping pace either.
There actually is one quirkless hero, just not in the main comic. Knuckleduster from BnHA Illegals. I can’t recommend that manga enough.