Despite his best efforts, Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia cannot cause villains to become emotionally overwhelmed and burst into tears like Tanjiro from Demon Slayer – and this is understandable.
Izuku Midoriya, the protagonist of My Hero Academia, shares many similarities with other shonen leads. Like them, he is a believer in the power of friendship, in the hard-earned rewards of effort, and in the unyielding spirit of optimism that enables heroes to triumph over true wickedness. While there are some differences between Midoriya and Demon Slayer’s Tanjiro Kamado, they have a great deal in common as well.
Both Tanjiro and Midoriya are compassionate, sympathetic boys who put in a lot of effort to be ready for a life-or-death struggle to save their loved ones. Like Tanjiro, Midoriya recognizes the humanity in his adversaries and looks to give them a chance to be redeemed, yet as seen recently in My Hero Academia, this isn’t always successful. Tanjiro can make his enemies such as the hand demon and Kyogai weep in the end, but Midoriya has to save his heroic understanding for his true rival – Tomura Shigaraki.
Why Tanjiro and Other Villains Cannot Be Individually Redeemed by MHA’s Midoriya
Izuku Midoriya, like all Pro Heroes, has the goal of subduing and apprehending villains rather than killing them, in order to safeguard the public. In My Hero Academia’s advanced world, humans, Quirks, heroes, and villainy are all intertwined, with society’s high regard for heroes generating villains as a consequence. This means that some individuals are raised in the “right” way in hero culture, conversely there’s also a “wrong” way to live and the “wrong” type of Quirk to possess, as evidenced by Himiko Toga. However, some villains like Muscular appear to have been born evil and are not a consequence of society.
Midoriya attempted to bring out the humanity in Muscular during their confrontation, but the villain simply scoffed. Despite the success of the fight and Muscular’s capture, the protagonist was unable to reach the person underneath the layers of Quirk-powered muscles. In My Hero Academia’s anime, Midoriya hasn’t redeemed many people, although there may still be a chance for Gentle Criminal. As All Might’s heir to become a symbol of justice, Midoriya is not just focused on helping individuals, but on working for the collective good and the team of heroes that protect it.
The only person that Izuku Midoriya may potentially be able to save is Tomura Shigaraki. If Midoriya can manage to reach out to the scared and poor Tenko Shimura hiding inside, he can bring redemption to Shigaraki and possibly the other villains. By doing so, Midoriya will demonstrate his worth as an authentic symbol of harmony between heroes and villains.
Tanjiro’s Mission in Demon Slayer Started Off More Individual
Midoriya and Tanjiro from My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer respectively may share similarities in their compassionate and courageous desire to protect other people’s joy, but if they attempt to imitate each other, they will not be able to achieve much. Whilst they have many resemblances, the themes in their respective shonen stories differ, which is observable in the dialogue and plot of the two. Midoriya’s story was always focused on heroism and safeguarding the world as a sign of harmony, while Tanjiro’s mission in Demon Slayer is driven by personal motivations, as illustrated by the first episode, “Cruelty.”
Tanjiro is not seeking to use his noble spirit or heroic feats to motivate all Demon Slayers. Rather, he is driven by a single goal; to defeat the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji and restore the humanity of his sister Nezuko. His compassionate approach to those he has slain and his ability to demonstrate empathy, leadership and forgiveness are indicative of his personal ambitions, rather than any higher aspirations to change society.
Tanjiro is aware that even though Nezuko has now become a demon, there is still a good person within her that remains unseen by many. This is also true for Rui and Kyogai, and others. As a result, Demon Slayer’s main protagonist has become one of the most emotionally understanding characters in shonen. He does not fight for the sake of the universe, like Midoriya in MHA, but for individual people, even if the essence of their personality is hidden inside the body of a flesh-eating demon.
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