The “Uselessness” of Midoriya Izuku

Today, Hori shares an interesting fact through his author’s note:

The poem is called Ame ni mo Makezu in Japan, written by Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, and it is a very famous poem. The verse Horikoshi is referring to is [ミンナニデクノボートヨバレ] (originally written in katakana) or “minna ni deku-no-bō to yobare”. Translated straight, means “Called useless by all.”

I’ve always wondered why Izuku never really gets credit or widespread acknowledgement whenever he wins villain fights, of how he doesn’t seem to be known more than being ‘the boy who broke his bones during the U.A. Sports Festival.’ The shared victory against Stain was credited to Endeavor, his personal fight against Overhaul was never televised, and his defeat of Gentle Criminal was never relayed to his classmates.

Even now, he’s known as ‘the cryptid who saves people.’ In the span of the entire manga, Deku never really sought popularity nor money. The closest he did this was when he was told by All Might to announce his presence to the world via the Sports Festival, but even then, he prioritized saving his classmate over winning and wasn’t recognized for his previous victories. He didn’t even receive a single internship offer aside from Gran Torino. Plus, Deku doesn’t exude a natural charm when it comes to scripted interviews.

The poem:

The poem illustrates a person who lives simply, who helps those who are in need of help, and doesn’t get praise for it (nor desires to be praised.) So aside from it’s other meaning ‘dekiru’ or ‘I can do it!’, Deku as a hero name means that he doesn’t seek credit for doing what should come naturally.

But since Izuku choosing it for a hero name is yet another statement: he still hopes to become someone that everyone aspires to. That is, by asking people to call him Deku, he becomes a ‘No One who can save everyone.’

And that is the theme of BnHA. Izuku is supposed to symbolize the turning point, the revolution against the broken Hero Society, the society which is built upon the self-interests of “Heroes” barring a few. Izuku choosing Deku as a name means to impart that anyone who ‘helps/reaches out a hand to those who needed saving without expecting anything in return’ is already a hero.