My Hero Academia revolves around the top-ranked hero students at UA High School as they learn to use their quirks to one day be top-rated heroes themselves. As the show goes on, the tensions with the world and villains continue to grow. While earlier seasons focus on the students in school, the show evolves into them using that knowledge to fight the many villains attacking society.
The current top-rated heroes are also significant characters throughout the show and are given ample opportunity to show the students and viewers why they are rated so high. Here are the best fights that left us on the edge of our seats in My Hero Academia.
10 Kirishima And Fat Gum Vs. Rappa
While the highlight of the Shie Hassaikai arc was mainly on Deku, Lemillion, and Night Eye, that didn’t stop Kirishima and Fat Gum from stealing the show during their fight. While Kirishima has a very defensive quirk, this fight highlights his usefulness in a battle, as he was integral to Fat Gum delivering the final blow.
Not only do we see Kirishima push past his limits, but Fat Gum uses all of his stored-up fat to deliver what may be one of the most powerful punches in the series from a non-One-For-All user. The teamwork in this fight is also something the show tries to highlight among class 1-A but truly highlights in this teacher and student tag-team.
9 Aizawa Vs. League Of Villains
Aizawa is first introduced as the teacher of the top hero course, so it would make sense that he is a powerful hero himself. While his Erasure quirk itself isn’t based around raw power, it is incredibly useful when used by someone as skilled as Aizawa is with his bandages.
Aizawa is shown going from villain to villain, using his quirk to level the playing field and engage in simple fistfights where he dominates. Even after being held down and beaten mercilessly by a Nomu, he still displays his care for his students in getting one last Erasure off on Shigaraki to save a Tsu.
8 Deku, Todoroki, And Ida Vs Stain
Stain will always be a staple villain in the series because of his unique ideals that make him only a bit more reasonable than the other villains we see. Stain’s quirk kept knocking the heroes out of the fight, having each of them hold their own while trying to buy time for their teammates to get back up.
This fight also highlighted another one of Deku’s strengths as he watched and analyzed Stain’s quirk to try and think his way out of a problem instead of just punching. This fight also led to a major turning point for all the heroes involved and the world of My Hero, as Stain’s ideals spoke to many people.
7 Lemillion Vs. Overhaul
While Lemillion is powerful with his quirk and really holds his own against Overhaul, the highlight of this battle is for sure what happens after his quirk is taken away. Not only does he decide to lose his quirk to save Eri, but he still stands against Overhaul without flinching.
Quirks are the highlight of every hero in this series, and it speaks volumes to Lemillion’s sheer talent in a fight that he is able to be so efficient even when quirkless. This battle also served as a great stepping stone to build up Overhaul’s power and prepare viewers for the fight to come.
6 Deku Vs. Bakugo
Deku and Bakugo have been rivals since the beginning of the show, and their periodic fights are not only emotional but show the character and viewers how much stronger they have gotten since attending UA. This fight also had them in nothing but their usual clothes, not letting them rely on support items and just their quirks and skills.
After Deku finally gets fully into the fight, we are able to see just how evenly matched the rivals are now. While Deku is expected to be more powerful, he still hasn’t fully caught up to Bakugo and serves as an ever-moving goal for Deku to keep working towards.
5 Heroes Vs. Shigaraki
The war against the Liberation army had us see almost every character in the show contribute in different ways and display their powers. Once Shigaraki was awake, the real fighting began for the pro heroes as Shigaraki was able to fight some of the strongest characters in the show on his own.
Aizawa was a clear standout in the fight, displaying his use against such a powerful enemy and his will to win as he immediately cuts his leg off to keep his quirk after being hit by a quirk-removing dart. Despite doing severe damage to himself, Deku fights Shigaraki directly, using what was 100% of his power for multiple hits. This fight’s conclusion also helped to remind viewers of the central conflict of the story of One-For-All against All-For-One.
4 All Might Vs. Nomu
All Might at full power is only briefly shown throughout the first season, while we are repeatedly told how incredibly powerful he is. This fight sees him going all out against an enemy that is seemingly made to beat him. While the animation and fight as a whole are excellent, the added soundtrack of “You Say Run” playing in the background only makes this fight more incredible.
This fight is also the first clear depiction of the massive shoes Deku has to fill as he trains to be the next All-Might-level-hero with One For All. All Might is also able to go all out for the entire fight without deflating his muscle form, which is not often seen in the show as All Might’s power is already going downhill after his last fight with All-For-One.
3 Deku Vs. Overhaul
Deku is incredibly powerful, but the risk of injuries has always held him back. He does adapt the shooting style to use his legs and protect his arms, but even then, he is rarely shown fighting at full strength.
This fight against Overhaul has him strapping Eri on his back, who is constantly healing him at an incredible level, and letting him fight with complete reckless abandon, and to a level we haven’t seen Deku come close to on-screen. This fight was a true spectacle to watch, but it also showed viewers the potential of what we may see Deku do in the future without needing Eri.
2 Endeavor And Hawks Vs. Nomu
Endeavor quickly became one of the most interesting characters in the show. While first hated, he now shows remorse and works every day to be a better person than he once was. This fight was an incredible display of power by the new number one and two heroes, but it also represented tremendous character growth for Endeavor.
Hawks is also given many moments to shine as he is still being introduced as a prominent character, and quiet literally pushes Endeavor forward to be a hero the people and the world will look up to. Endeavor also unleashes his maximum potential and shows viewers and the other characters just how powerful the new number-one hero is.
1 All Might vs. All For One
The show’s central conflict is between the wielders of One-For-All and All-For-One, which comes front and center for the first time in this fight. While All Might has been getting weaker and weaker since the events of the show, he can still call on One-For-All one last time to defeat All-For-One and give Deku more time to prepare before he one day faces All-For-One.
Even as All Might grew weak throughout the fight, his sheer force of will helped him stand up to the strongest being in the My Hero Academia world, and his final United States of Smash will always be one of the best moments in the show.
