My Hero Academia: Quirk Based Marriages Are Bad Not Only for Children but the Society Too

Post date: 09-Feb-2021 11:00:44

My Hero Academia introduces us to a world of Quirks, heroes, villains, and the conflicts that emanate from the power struggle. Villains are determined to take over the world while the heroes ensure that the civilians are not hurt by them. Since Quirks are a crucial aspect of this power struggle between the two groups, they are very important. It is common for people to envy others for their natural gifts. As characteristics of a Quirk are sometimes inherited, there are cases where heroes and villains have married with the hope of having a child with a stronger Quirk.

Marriage is special but when couples marry for external motivations, problems are sure to follow. Things spin out of control very soon as Quirks and genetics are added to get some results that are not guaranteed. So, if the wish is not fulfilled it leads to severe consequences. Furthermore, this line of reasoning dehumanizes children who are ought to be treated well. Shoto Todoroki was one such character who faced the consequences of such flawed foundations of marriage. Endeavor not only put too much pressure on his children to achieve his dreams but he left their mother in a terrible mental and emotional space.

Personal Impact of Quirk-Based Marriages

Shoto Todoroki has to bear the psychological toll of the Quirk-based marriage of his parents. It is surprising how well he has handled the emotional trauma of watching his family shatter in front of his own eyes as a child. Any other person would have become vengeful, negative, and depressed. But Shoto is special, he understood that his father had his flaws and even though he had treated his children like lab rats in the past, he was now interested in making up for all the wrongs that he had done. Forgiveness is not easy but it is important. Shoto understood this at a very young age when he has every right to be angry, irritable, and hateful.

When Shoto was young, his father would train him to the point that he would be left unconscious. Endeavor even told him to ignore his siblings because they were not as powerful as him. Shoto, therefore, was isolated from his loved ones from a young age even though he lived with them. His father would show him no mercy. Just like a lab rat he suffered from dusk to dawn with little emotional support. None of this would have happened if Endeavor and Rei had married for love instead of trying to give birth to the next Number One hero.

Endeavor could have just continued working on himself with the hope that he would one day achieve his goals instead of pushing them on his children. Since he later became the Number One hero once All Might stepped down, all of his past efforts were futile. He destroyed his own family for no reason, leaving his children and wife scarred for life.

Since the world of My Hero Academia is so competitive it is safe to assume that Shoto was not the only child who carried the burden of his parent’s dreams. Everyone who would have tried something like this would likely have failed miserably. Looking at your children as a Quirk and not as a human being is sure to have long-term consequences for them that might never be sorted out. There is also a much darker possibility that the children of such heroes might end up with the villains.

Societal Consequences of Quirk-Based Marriage

Even if we were to assume a scenario in which these Quirk-Based marriages did not have any negative effect on children, they will still have far-reaching societal consequences that must be avoided. The Quirks in the world of My Hero Academia are influenced by several factors and they can combine in unexpected ways. This makes them quite dangerous. Since villains and heroes alike depend on the Quirks then there is a danger that in the pursuit of powerful Quirks both groups have Quirk-Based marriages in large numbers. If this happens, the race to become powerful will pose an existential threat to the world of My Hero Academia.

As Quirks get stronger, the conflict between heroes and villains will become more intense. Gradually there will come a point that too many heroes and villains would have powerful Quirks. If there is a confrontation in such a scenario, the entire world will be threatened by it. It would be impossible to imagine how much blood will be spilled and how many people will die. Therefore, for the sake of the preservation of the My Hero Academia world, Quirk-Based marriages must be discouraged.

The world of My Hero Academia is complex and little events can have consequences that might be hard to imagine. Quirk-Based marriage is one such thing that is not only problematic for the emotional and psychological well-being of the children but is also bad for the overall society. Endeavor learned his lesson the hard. His family was shattered before he could realize what he has done and there was no going back. He did take responsibility for his past wrongs and tried to redeem himself but that was never enough. It is good to see that Shoto has been mature enough to not let his past impact him but his mother and brother are not that lucky. They are scarred for life. It is just one of many examples because heroes must avoid Quirk-based marriages not just for society but for the well-being of their own families.