Izuku is somewhat short for his age, his round face framed by a short mess of fluffy dark-green hair which sticks up at odd angles around his head, casting noticeably dark shadows onto itself. His eyes are large and somewhat circular, their irises the same green color as his hair, which at times are very watery, and are usually stretched quite wide, giving him an innocent, energized appearance. He has a set of four symmetrical freckles in diamond formations, one on each cheek.
Though he was initially very skinny, Izuku has gained toned muscles after his ten months of extensive training with All Might, and as the series progresses, these are shown to become more developed and defined as he gradually grows stronger.
After his battle against Shoto Todoroki, the fingers on his right hand became slightly deformed, and his hand shows visible scarring. His right arm was further damaged after his intense fight with Muscular, leaving many more scars. Following his recovery after the previously mentioned fight, Izuku wears a black compression sleeve on the upper portion of his right arm in order to support the heavy damage it sustained: it is partially visible when he wears short sleeves.
During his time in Junior High School, he wore a plain black gakuran uniform with yellow buttons, accompanied by white sneakers. While at home, he wears a green jinbei over a white shirt and gray sweatpants.
At U.A., he wears the standard male uniform: a light gray blazer with dark turquoise trimmings over a white dress shirt and dress pants, along with a red tie which he doesn’t do up properly, leaving it much shorter than how it should be. Instead of the plain brown shoes worn by the majority of the student body, he wears his signature pair of red high tops with white soles and black laces.
Izuku’s original hero costume (made lovingly by his mother) was a green full-body jumpsuit with a red belt, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, along with his signature red boots. He also wears a mask with long ear-like protrusions that resembles All Might’s haircut, and a respirator with a makeshift smile on it that also reflects that of said hero. The costume was severely damaged as a result of his first battle against Katsuki Bakugo and had to be repaired, which is why during the U.S.J. Arc and My Hero Academia – Save! Rescue Training, Izuku had to wear the U.A. gym uniform. This attire consists of a dark blue high-collared tracksuit with thick white lines over his torso and down his legs, forming the letters “U” and “A,” and along with this, a respirator.
His second hero costume, Costume Beta, has a few changes and now looks sturdier and more combat-ready in appearance. It includes light beige shoulder pads, and its knee pads have been extended to his legs, now reaching up to his thighs. His new gloves are also tinted light beige and are decorated with blue stripes. His respirator is now metal, diamond-shaped, and has eight holes. Izuku goes without a mask in his second suit, and although the mask is still present, he doesn’t wear it much. In terms of its color scheme, it is now a darker shade of green with black outlines instead of white.
During the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, Izuku had his costume upgraded again to suit his new fighting style, Shoot Style, by adding iron soles to his red boots to increase the power of his kicks. Arm braces were added, and his knee pads now have yellow bolts fastened into them (they were originally added in his second costume in the manga). He called this collection of upgrades, “Costume Gamma”. Sometime later, just before the U.A. School Festival, Mei Hatsume creates support gloves to better help him use his powers for long-range attacks. Prior to the Joint Training Arc, Izuku adds the gloves to his hero costume and uses them in combat.
For Mission: Humarise, Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto are chosen by the Endeavor Agency and the World Heroes Associations to be given with special advanced stealth costumes for their mission at Otheon. Izuku’s stealth costume was redesigned for black operations based on the database of his Gamma Costume consisting of a neoprene polyester black suit with teal-green highlights on the lines, equipped with black iron soles and black boots. The arm braces were cut out to only his support gloves that are heavily mortified to be bulky enough to allow Izuku to use long-range attacks, and his gloves and knee pads have teal green bolts on them instead of yellow. The mask was redesigned to be all black with the exception of the teal-green lines of his respirator mask and the “eyes” on his hood which are of the same color. This costume also includes two silver plates on his shoulders with the letters “WHA” (World Heroes Association) and two straps coming down from his upper body pads with a red button on the left.
After the Paranormal Liberation War, his costume was damaged, so he wore Gran Torino’s cape, as a memoir to his former mentor and to the deceased Nana Shimura. Due to his arm bracers and gloves being destroyed, he wore four Mid-Gauntlets to support his arms and legs, as well as the old gloves from his beta costume. In addition, Deku wore his mask more frequently to conceal his identity. Very distinctive about him wearing the mask now are the shadows cast over his eyes, which causes only his green eyes to be visible. This appearing feature is very similar to All Might’s look, who has his blue eyes shine through the shadows.
Following his fight with Lady Nagant, Izuku’s left arm Mid-Gauntlet is partially destroyed, leaving it practically useless. After the explosion at All For One’s mansion in Haibori Woods, Izuku gains an overall monstrous appearance that is stained in blood and filth. His costume, cape and gloves become more damaged and torn, his respirator appears to have gathered rust and chipped edges, and his iron soles becoming crooked like talons. In addition to his monstrous appearance, Izuku also constantly sprouts up to six Blackwhip tendrils from his back, which according to Hanta Sero are one of the reasons why his appearance keeps scaring people.
After finally recovering and returning back to U.A., Izuku temporarily wore his U.A. gym uniform, before his Costume Gamma was eventually rebuilt, accompanied by a new pair of Air Force Gloves attached to make-shift Mid-Gauntlets created by Mei, alongside Gran Torino’s scarf.
Izuku is a very timid, reserved, and polite boy, frequently overreacting to abnormal situations with exaggerated expressions. Due to yeаrs of being looked down on by Katsuki for lacking a Quirk, he is initially portrayed as insecure, tearful, vulnerable, and non-expressive. These traits are especially present around Katsuki, who also constantly harangued him for his aspirations to become a hero. However, after being accepted into U.A., making new friends, and facing Katsuki during the Battle Trial Arc, Izuku gradually matures into a more confident and brave person who’s always eager to prove his worth as a hero, eventually developing strong leadership skills, which combined with his passion and strategic abilities, have turned him into a central figure within Class 1-A alongside Katsuki.[5]
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Izuku’s mumbling habit.
Izuku is a quite diligent and strong-willed student, being extremely (and sometimes scarily) enthusiastic about topics related to heroes. His dream drives him to write down notes about everything he learns in regards to heroes’ Quirks and fighting capabilities. Thanks to this practice, Izuku has developed a great analytical mind and can form complex battle plans in a few seconds, factoring in the best ways he can utilize the Quirks of allies and enemies alike for his own advantage.
Izuku externalizes his observations through endless mumbling, a habit that annoys or creeps out his peers. Izuku often writes down his observations in a variety of notebooks he titles as Hero Analysis for the Future, checking on them regularly during school activities or at night.
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Izuku rushing towards danger.
Izuku is caring and emotional, never hesitating to help or rescue someone in danger, even if he knows that he might not be strong or qualified enough to do it. Often, he does this on instinct, taking a more careless approach than the usual overthinking he goes through and putting himself in peril in order to protect someone. Izuku putting others’ lives above his own can go to the extreme, to the point he has little to no self-preservation. Katsuki speculates the bullying Izuku received for being Quirkless made him internalize that his life has less worth. Izuku will routinely break his arms for others’ sake, even if it’s not completely necessary, such as demanding Shoto unlock his full potential by using his fire side. This can make Izuku somewhat short-sighted, as he continued to break his arms, despite warnings he could paralyze them and cut his hero career short. Eventually, Izuku listened, adapting his battle style to not put so much strain on his body. Though when he’s in a particularly tight satiation, he’ll pull back on old habits.
Izuku is known to help or lecture people with personal and emotional problems, regardless if it’s his business or not, claiming that a hero should meddle in other people’s lives. This audacious spirit, while initially viewed as perplexing or even insane by others, is also recognized by many, and has earned the loyalty and gratitude of characters that were previously antagonistic to him such as Tenya Ida, Shoto, Hitoshi Shinso, Kota Izumi, Sir Nighteye and even the Hero Killer: Stain.
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Izuku breaks down after being acknowledged by All Might.
He has a strong fascination with heroes and is shown well-versed in their history, sometimes surprising the heroes with his vast knowledge.[6][7][8] He is prone to geeking out and rambling on about the heroes he meets, often bringing up their history and accomplishments, while also being eager to share this knowledge with others. Of all heroes, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, has impacted and modeled Izuku’s life the most. Many of Izuku’s decisions and actions result from his desire to become a Pro Hero similar to All Might, and thus he has a great devotion to him.
Izuku is an avid collector of All Might merchandise, has knowledge of his several feats (no matter how minor), and emulates many of his traits. Having inherited his Quirk, one of Izuku’s current priorities is to be able to live up to his idol’s legacy, as he is always looking for ways to improve his usage of One For All, being aware of the immense pressure that comes with succeeding the greatest Hero of all time. The unwavering trust and approval Izuku receives from All Might has been vital to his development as a hero, especially when feelings of self-doubt and unworthiness plague his mind.
Izuku appears to have a more brash and abrasive side to him, which typically shows up when he finds himself in combat. This side of him makes him act more like Katsuki, being rather loud and unwavering, and also with a strong drive towards victory. He claims that this is because he sees Katsuki as the embodiment of what someone who strives for victory should be. He has also admitted that he doesn’t like this side of him very much and tends to keep it in check. He does, however, find himself giving in to this almost feral rage when in dire situations and faced against opponents who had brutally hurt people he cares for, like in his battles against Overhaul and Tomura.
Izuku also possesses an empathetic side and has developed a desire to want to understand the villains he has faced, and potentially save them from themselves. While initially believing Tomura to be a madman who just wants to meaninglessly hurt others, after learning about his tragic history and sensing the pain in his heart through their connection between One For All and All For One, this re-invigorates his belief that a great Hero is someone who saves others, not kills, and because of this, desires to learn how they became villains and see if there is any way to prevent a fight. While he is not naïve in this ideology and will resort to violence if there is no other option, like during his second fight with Muscular, he truly wishes to reach out and help villains recover and reform themselves, even giving Kai Chisaki (whom he was still bitter towards) the chance to save his boss should he make amends with Eri. At the same time, Izuku desires to save Tomura from his life of villainy and pain, even when such a notion feels unlikely and is deemed pretentious by others, showcasing his great sense of humanity.
Following the conclusion of the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku has begun to drastically change his behavior. After suffering from the trauma brought in by the War, seeing countless innocent people have their lives ruined by society, having All For One relentlessly target him for his Quirk, and bearing the responsibility of protecting his friends, Izuku becomes more cold and distant towards others. When All For One vowed to break him both physically and mentally, he became increasingly paranoid about how much harm he will bring to those who are closest to him, The overwhelming stress and burden results in him rushing into fights and leaving behind All Might and the other Heroes looking after him so no one else will get hurt. His lack of self-preservations gets the worst it’s ever been, neglecting to look after his basic needs like sleeping and eating. This increasingly driven, serious side of him has even caused civilians to note that he doesn’t look like a hero. After his friends from U.A. get through to him and take him back in, these traits seem to have diminished, with him now being determined in stopping All For One alongside his friends, teachers, and allies.
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