WhenMy Hero Academiastarted, nobody anticipated that One For All, the powerful quirk All Might transferred to Deku via a lock of hair, would actually be a 7-in-1 deal. Ever since the Joint Training arc/Season 5, Deku started manifesting Blackwhip, one of the quirks contained within One For All. As of the middle of the Final War arc/Season 7,Deku has finally been seen using Gearshift, making him now able to use One For All in its entirety.
All the quirks within One For All have different natures and they also have different levels of applicability, with some ofDeku’s One For All Quirks being more useful than others. Deku, being the brainiac he is, has employed all of them in a variety of ways, from his encounter against Lady Nagant, until the ultimate showdown against Shigaraki. Just like any other action-packed series, events happen in the blink of an eye during fights, and it’s demanding to keep track of everything, so here’s a quick summary of all the quirks contained within One For All that Deku can use:
1One For All
Type: Emitter
One For All is the backbone for all the other quirks because, with no One For All, all the quirks would’ve died with their users. One For All has two main characteristics: the first is its transferability,the attribute that allows it to be passed from one user to another. Yoichi, All For One’s brother,was One For All’s original user, until it was transferred to Kudo without Yoichi really knowing it. A “side effect” of One For All being passed down from person to person is that each user’s conscience remains within the quirk. That’s what Izuku sees in the vestige world.
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The second characteristic of One For All is power accumulation and physical strengthening. This wasn’t apparent when Yoichi was its sole user (and the transferability either, for that matter), butthe more the quirk is transferred, the stronger it becomes.The downside is, though, that One For All overwhelms the body of its user if they already had a quirk before. Neither Deku or All Might experienced this because of their quirkless nature, but it did affect all the other previous users, potentially killing its fourth user, Shinomori.
2Gearshift
Gearshift belonged originally to Kudo,the second user of One For All. Because it is the last one that Deku was allowed to use, not much about its functioning was seen. Gearshift works exactly how it sounds: much like when shifting gears when driving a vehicle,Gearshift controls the speed at which an object can goand, additionally, its trajectory too. The original quirk Kudo had only could control small objects, so he used it on bullets, but now the quirk has evolved so that Deku can use it on himself. In that way, Gearshift functions similarly toUravity’s Zero Gravity.
Deku has used Gearshift to boost the speed of his already existing attacks, as seen in the epic combo of Detroit Smashes featured in the episode “A Chain of Events, Across the Ages”, and manga chapter 369 of the same name. Deku has also used Gearshift combined with Fa Jin to make himself move so extraordinarily fast that it defied physics, like a true hero. This quirk, however, has the downside of a tremendous physical recoil,Kudo even warned Deku not to overuse it, as it could end up killing him.
3Fa Jin
The easiest way to explain Fa Jin is to compare it to a clockwork toy.Fa Jin stores energy by doing repetitive movements, and this can be appreciated clearly when Deku stored energy in his legs while bouncing up and down when trying to escape from Lady Nagant. Deku frequently combines Fa Jin with the other quirks. It’s how he initially gained speed when attempting to reach the Coffin in the Sky after he was pulled to Okuto Island by Toga. By activating Float and gaining momentum with Fa Jin and One For All, he was able to fly at an incredible speed.
“Fa jin” is actually a chinese term used in martial arts and it means “to release energy in a sudden and explosive way”, which is quite literally what the Quirk does.
Unlike with Gearshift, it’s unclear if the quirk improved in any way since it was passed down from its original user Bruce, but what is true is thatit also acts on One For All itself, further boosting the physical enhancement.
4Danger Sense
Perhaps the most curious of all the quirks within One For All, Danger Sense is clearly a nod to Spiderman’s Spider-sense, as they have the same function.Danger Sense alerts its user of nearby threats, but with a catch: as seen in Deku’s encounter with Toga in Okuto Island, the fact that Toga herself was convinced her actions came from love and meant no threat to Deku,Danger Sense did not activate.It didn’t matter that the user of the quirk did see her as a threat.
Danger Sense also doesn’t guarantee that the user will be able to dodge the attack or neutralize the hazard.It activated and alerted Deku of Lady Nagant’s bullets, but he still got damage from them. In a way, it’s a very agitating quirk, as it only makes the user aware of danger, but figuring out how to avoid it, if it’s even possible, it’s up to them.
5Blackwhip
Blackwhip is the first additional quirk Deku unlocks, it happened by accident in the Joint Training arc. As explained by its original user, Daigoro Banjo, it gives the user the ability to extend and use dark energy tendrils, pretty much like a whip.It’s a very versatile quirk. It can be used for quick transportation, binding enemies, rescuing people, and even like a provisional brace for a damaged body part.
Cellophane helped Deku control Blackwhip, so now he can not only control how many whips he takes out, but also their length and strength. An important factor that Banjo mentioned and doesn’t seem to apply to other OFA quirks it’s thedominion of emotions, of the heart. If Deku is not in control of them, Blackwhip becomes uncontrollable, too.
6Smokescreen
Smokescreen is a pretty straightforward quirk: with it, Deku is able togenerate thick purple smoke from his body that allows him to conceal his location and distract foesto gain a little bit of time. Deku has used Smokescreen in his encounters against Muscular, Lady Nagant, and Shigaraki Tomura. In this last one, he combined Smokescreen with Gearshift to make the smoke dissipate much slower and conceal his Blackwhip attack.
Though Smokescreen doesn’t quite reach the heights of the other Quirks contained in One For All, it does possess tremendous utility. With it, Deku can make a quick escape, obscure his location, and disorient his enemies. Deku is a smart character, meaning that in his hands, Smokescreen has serious potential to help the young hero out in a pinch.
7Float
A quirkoriginally owned by Nana Shimura, Tomura Shigaraki’s grandmother. Much like Smokescreen, its main function is really simple: to make the user float in the air. Its combination with One For All’s power and Deku’s wit and AirForce move render him able to fly at high speeds. In the beginning, Deku learned how to manage his body during midair training with Uraraka, and by the time of theParanormal Liberation War arc, he had already perfected it. Float is also an efficient method of avoiding Shigaraki’s Decay.
Some One For All quirks are certainly more complex than others, but they have all been of great help to Deku in his efforts to become the greatest hero. It’s important to note that, in the end,the hero makes the quirk, and not the other way around.Deku became the greatest inMy Hero Academia, not because he wielded these seven quirks, but because of how he employed them, thanks to his cleverness and dexterity.
My Hero Academia
Cast
Anime series My Hero Academia follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers in a world where most have them. Despite his lack of abilities, he enrolls in a prestigious hero academy, striving to learn the true essence of heroism and fulfill his dream of becoming a hero.
