Does MHA sexualize its cast of characters?

Aug 25, 2021 1:59 PM

Offline

Jun 2020

363

If you want a simple answer, I'd say yes, at certain times of the show it does oversexualize both genders especially females. Anyone that denied this statement has either not watched MHA or is being fallacious.

Now the next question to ask is, does it matter? I would say it does not matter. So far, the fanservice has not interfered with the major plot points. Whenever I get tired of the same old joke Minata makes, which happens a lot, I can easily skip it. I do the same exact thing for the Yaoi or Shoujo shows when I watch them. Whenever there is weird unexcepted sexual tension rising that does not pertain to the plot, I skip it. I don't see any backlash against the pretty boys flashing their abs on shoujo shows or random intimacies moments occurring in Yaoi shows. Then why does it matter to you when there are few sexual shots of some girls. I would have a problem if the major characters only exist for fanservice. *cough cough* I'm looking at you, Naruto. But, that's not the case with MHA. It does put in the effort to develop major female characters from Class 1-A, especially the arc after MVA, which I'm reading right now since the anime is hot garbage.

If you answered yes to the previous question since you are sensitive to these topics, which I totally understand, you always have the right to stop watching it, scoring it a 1 out of 10 and writing a review about how this was a diamond in the rough until the fanservice ruined it if it helps. Not all, shows will cater to your taste.

P.S. If you wondering as to why I did not touch on the MHA fandom behaviors pertaining to the sexualization of character, it is because I do not want to open that can of worms. From gay ships to death threats to weird fanfics about female characters, it is truly a horrifying thing to discuss and look at. I wish I could have the ability to bleach my eyes so as to not see such disgusting behaviors from the fandom epecially the ships. Keep the ships to yourself. PLEASE

Aug 25, 2021 2:08 PM

McAfrica

Offline

Apr 2021

Why do you care so much? It didnt affect to the story (at least from what i remenber)

Aug 25, 2021 2:11 PM

Novalty

Offline

Jan 2021

226

Why does everyone care about if MHA sexualizes. Y’all r obsessing over it so bad. A ton of other shows sexualize their characters 1000x more than in MHA

Aug 25, 2021 2:18 PM

l0rdshingan

Offline

Jun 2021

who tf cares man, we’re here for the plot P L O T. almost every anime has fan service but who cares as long as the plot is to our liking.

Aug 25, 2021 2:23 PM

SoldierDream

Offline

Dec 2016

6055

No. There's a big difference between what's truly sexual and what's only sexy/sensual. Shows like MHA sensualize some of its characters, not sexualize them.

Aug 25, 2021 2:36 PM

MoonStar9

Offline

Oct 2015

1348

Why is MHA known for sexualising characters or fanservice when it has scarcely any? Wtf is with this fandom?

Aug 25, 2021 2:58 PM

AniPhoenix

Offline

Dec 2020

339

Short answer: yes

Long answer
Yes, but it's not as big of a deal as the twitter mobs are making it out to be. The mangaka got literal death threats for that when all he did was draw the characters in bikinis on the beach while the fanbase that are so mad at him are the same people that ship deku and Allmight.

Also, its not just the girls that get "sexualized", if you look at Allmight or endeavour or even just some of the male class 1-A students(kirishima being topless all the time and the sugar guy having skin tight suits), mha has no shortage of fanservice that doesn't just apply to the male audience and it's somehow not a big deal when certain characters are affected by it.

Conclusion, I feel like this whole "sexualize" problem has been blown wayy out of proportion by people who think anyone that gives any form of characters having revealing costumes, looks or even personalities automatically deserves death threats

Aug 25, 2021 3:18 PM

XNohaco2468

Offline

Aug 2020

455

Wow is the first anime doing this

Aug 25, 2021 3:58 PM

official_brown

Offline

Jan 2021

2334

This is like the 4th post of the same thing this month. Stop it, it really doesn’t matter if they do.

The right mindset when watching an anime is hoping that it will break your top 10

Aug 25, 2021 5:31 PM

#10

Juonithz

Offline

Feb 2021

527

Almost all animes over sexualize there female characters. Why do you only have a problem with it in My Hero?

Aug 25, 2021 6:21 PM

#11

fushiiquro

Offline

Sep 2020

Bruh stop being obsessive over it, it’s like u paying attention to that then u are the plot smh

bye bye! :D

Aug 25, 2021 8:18 PM

#12

rosesanimecorner

Offline

Apr 2021

Yes but only the girls. Hope this helps.

Aug 25, 2021 11:31 PM

#13

DoobieSam

Offline

Feb 2021

1194

Sure it does. Momo costume. Mina in yoga pants. All the ass shots this season. It's some pedo shit for sure, but I'm still enjoying the series.

Aug 26, 2021 12:10 AM

#14

TC_123

Offline

Feb 2021

It annoys me when people complain about fan service like it isn't bad

Aug 26, 2021 3:52 AM

#15

nachyochiz

Offline

Dec 2020

103

AniPhoenix said:
Short answer: yes

Long answer
Yes, but it's not as big of a deal as the twitter mobs are making it out to be. The mangaka got literal death threats for that when all he did was draw the characters in bikinis on the beach while the fanbase that are so mad at him are the same people that ship deku and Allmight.

Also, its not just the girls that get "sexualized", if you look at Allmight or endeavour or even just some of the male class 1-A students(kirishima being topless all the time and the sugar guy having skin tight suits), mha has no shortage of fanservice that doesn't just apply to the male audience and it's somehow not a big deal when certain characters are affected by it.

Conclusion, I feel like this whole "sexualize" problem has been blown wayy out of proportion by people who think anyone that gives any form of characters having revealing costumes, looks or even personalities automatically deserves death threats

Look mate I agree with you. Because twitter is a dumpster fire and theres a reason I don’t check it often. But as a pansexual woman… thinking from watching the whole series and reading the manga from the end of the 4th season, males aren’t sexualised. Kirishima not-wearing his top is part of his character in “being manly”, and the skin-tight suits on male characters like Sato that you mentioned aren’t sexual and weren’t ever intended to be. That’s it. Everything else you said checks out, lol.

Aug 26, 2021 5:19 AM

#16

Khushal_v

Offline

Mar 2021

1378

Most of female character have to take their clothes off to use their power and who don't are also sexualized like that woman who can get bigger

Aug 26, 2021 8:16 AM

#17

Dannyy05

Offline

May 2021

hold up people ship WHO AND WHO!?

Aug 26, 2021 8:18 AM

#18

Scordolo

Offline

Jul 2020

10610

Is this seriously a discussion?

Scordolo's Recent Reviews
To your eternity
Vanitas no Karte

Aug 26, 2021 10:37 AM

#19

bastek66

Offline

May 2009

9023

Yes because it's anime, not politically correct sjwshit western cartoon.

Aug 26, 2021 11:31 AM

#20

GratefulEternity

Offline

Jun 2021

Lots of nuclear takes in this thread.

The answer is clearly yes, but whether you think its problematic or not, or if it does it too much, or if you think it drags the show down is up to you and your judgment of it.

My Hero gets singled out for it a lot, and I think there are anime that are way worse offenders than it, but I still think its a valid criticism. Part of why it gets singled out is that it came out in a time where people are more socially aware of these things, part of it is also because its so popular.

But I think its problematic for three big reasons. First, female characters are the most sexualized in the show, but also have the least amount of importance in the show. All of them play backburner to their male counterparts, except for a few sparing moments here and there. It makes them feel like they are just eye candy.

Second, they are really young, even relative to a lot of other anime. Characters in MHA are 14-15, where as in something like Fairy Tail, which sexualizes its characters a lot, the characters are mostly 17-18.

Third is kinda anime exclusive but its also kinda makes it worse. A lot of the female characters have been made thinner/bustier relative to the manga. The cheerleading scene in season 2 shows this off. This kinda just calls attention to it, but also look at a character like Fatgum vs Momo. Both use their body fat in their powers, but Momo is a skinny and Fatgum is built like a cartoon sumo wrestler.

I personally think that the amount of heat MHA gets for this is a bit much, but its deff a valid criticism and if someone doesn't like it because of the sexualization of its characters, then I think that's fair.

Aug 26, 2021 11:54 AM

#21

Rojaseb

Offline

Jul 2019

1222

What's this dumbass comment about random intimacy in yaoi? Yaoi is literally all about that, why are you even watching yaoi if you skip the relationship lmao

Aug 26, 2021 12:34 PM

#22

NoonDaMoon

Offline

Oct 2019

288

Tell me a series which doesn't do that which isn't rated for babies and atleast for teens. Oh wait, there is none. Why would we care if it doesn't distract us from the plot. Coming from a teen girl here idgaf if there's a couple ass shots or mineta on screen it's not something that would make me drop the show let alone skip a few seconds. All those Twitter weirdos are blowing it out of proportion.

NoonDaMoonAug 26, 2021 12:39 PM

Aug 26, 2021 12:45 PM

#23

slimepoop

Offline

Dec 2020

502

Fan service in MHA is barely noticeable at times. There’s plenty of anime that are 100x worse but don’t get criticized because they aren’t as mainstream ig

Aug 27, 2021 5:41 AM

#24

Jkappele

Offline

Jul 2020

226

Compared to other anime it feels like they aren’t sexualized at all

Aug 27, 2021 8:36 AM

#25

ssbanks2000

Offline

May 2010

GratefulEternity said:
Lots of nuclear takes in this thread.

The answer is clearly yes, but whether you think its problematic or not, or if it does it too much, or if you think it drags the show down is up to you and your judgment of it.

My Hero gets singled out for it a lot, and I think there are anime that are way worse offenders than it, but I still think its a valid criticism. Part of why it gets singled out is that it came out in a time where people are more socially aware of these things, part of it is also because its so popular.

Well put and I agree...in part.

GratefulEternity said:
(...)But I think its problematic for three big reasons. First, female characters are the most sexualized in the show, but also have the least amount of importance in the show. All of them play backburner to their male counterparts, except for a few sparing moments here and there. It makes them feel like they are just eye candy.

Second, they are really young, even relative to a lot of other anime. Characters in MHA are 14-15, where as in something like Fairy Tail, which sexualizes its characters a lot, the characters are mostly 17-18.

Hmmm...Kinda sorta.
The females are, indeed, "backburner" characters (so far). However, so are most of the male charters. While the focus of the show happens to revolve around the students of class 1A, the class as a whole are not the show's main characters. Anyone that isn't a main charter is a support character. Support characters are there to help round out the story, ground the main character(s), provide comic relief, eye candy, levity, and motivate/die.

Big thing that a lot of people seem to gloss over is that MHA, as are many other, is a Shounen. Shounen are specifically aimed at 12-18 year old males, staring males, usually about fighting and teamwork. It makes sense that the characters are in the age group that the target audience is in and with character designs appealing to that audience. Those outside of the target demographic that complain about not liking it are like people that say Gerber isn't seasoned well enough and Teletubbies doesn't have enough conflict or character growth.

GratefulEternity said:
(...)Third is kinda anime exclusive but its also kinda makes it worse. A lot of the female characters have been made thinner/bustier relative to the manga. The cheerleading scene in season 2 shows this off. This kinda just calls attention to it, but also look at a character like Fatgum vs Momo. Both use their body fat in their powers, but Momo is a skinny and Fatgum is built like a cartoon sumo wrestler.

Perceptive, but easily explained. Consider that manga aren't usually developed by a bustling studio of artists like anime. Generally speaking, there is the creator/artist and maybe a couple assistants that mostly add backgrounds, lettering, and preform clean-up. Also, a lot of manga are published by chapter, weekly, in digest magazines, so they have a high production output and tight deadlines. Curves are more difficult to draw, keep within panel ratios, and keep consistent than straight(er) lines. This is why, in most manga (unless in main focus), most female characters appear flatter than in anime...its just easier to draw.

In regards to the Momo/Fatgum comparison- Fatgum, as per the artist's own words, is a joke character added to keep his mood up while drawing. That's why his design is so simplistic and goofy. Though, digging deeper, it could be rationalized that while both character's quirks use their fat...they do so very differently.
Momo actively converts her fat into objects of her choosing and has to remove them from her body. So a somewhat reveling costume design is warranted. True that she could benefit from being a larger woman, but women (generally) store fat differently, and with her frequent use of her quirk...the fat wouldn't remain in her body. Thus she would practically maintain a body shape of thick/plus. In darker thoughts, she could easily fall into a weird form of bulimia where she binge eats then just rips the fat from her body.
Fatgum's quirk allows him to envelop objets/people into his fat folds (essentially) and absorb/disperse kinetic energy. The larger/fatter he is, the more effective his abilities. He doesn't need skin exposure, just a fabric that is stretchy. I'd guess that he could do the job naked, but the suit may help with slashing/cutting damage and ...no.

GratefulEternity said:
I personally think that the amount of heat MHA gets for this is a bit much, but its deff a valid criticism and if someone doesn't like it because of the sexualization of its characters, then I think that's fair.

SoldierDream said it.

SoldierDream said:
No. There's a big difference between what's truly sexual and what's only sexy/sensual. Shows like MHA sensualize some of its characters, not sexualize them.

The show does have sensual character designs and moments, but not neccessarly sexual.
Mineta sexualizes almost everything, that's why he's shunned/disliked/gross.

Aug 27, 2021 8:56 AM

#26

TraX_EZ

Offline

Oct 2019

237

wtf is this question? every shounen anime "sexualizes" its cast of characters to some degree

Aug 27, 2021 7:22 PM

#27

Issei_Ddraig

Offline

Jun 2021

265

A little but nothing too serious.

Aug 30, 2021 7:17 AM

#28

farenhay

Offline

Jun 2021

Is not like in kobayashi shit where 9 years old kids are gay and are in sex scenes up to each ather

Is kota and eri are not sexualize is okay after all mha class ua tennegers have 16/17 years and is not like they show nuds or something

Aug 30, 2021 7:24 AM

#29

Kogasa-Tatara

Kii_Ibarra

Offline

Dec 2020

2434

Aside from Mineta, who is a joke character (whether you find him funny or hate him as much as I do, he is still intended to be comic relief), I really don't get why people say the cast are "sexualized". Midnight, sure, since she's based on a dominatrix (which is a perfectly valid profession, even if someone like myself has no desire for such services) and that sort of comes with the territory, but how is anyone else sexualized?

There are a few sexual jokes in MHA (mainly involving Midnight or Mineta) but, like, it doesn't even have fanservice apart from that one scene with Deku and Hatsume

My greatest contribution to this website:

Aug 30, 2021 12:55 PM

#30

HatTrkPatrk

Offline

Feb 2021

239

Great, here we go again.

Yes, this anime sexualizes the characters, just like pretty much every other anime, and actually pretty much every piece of media that doesn't air on Nickelodeon (though even that's debatable by this logic).

If you can't look past it, go watch SpongeBob SquarePants. Although even then...................

Aug 30, 2021 9:00 PM

#31

xZabuzax

Offline

Nov 2016

3236

Does MHA sexualize its cast of characters? Yeah, specially season 5, there's a couple of yummy ass-shots here and there but I don't mind.

Nothing wrong in having a couple of ass-shots, even Steins;Gate (my favorite anime) has a couple of yummy ass-shots too, the thing is knowing how to do it, you need to be subtle about it, forcing those moments is bad, the trick is being subtle.

Aug 31, 2021 11:34 AM

#32

TheOneOfSeven

Offline

Nov 2014

298

...*Sighs* I have nothing to say about this.

Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.

Aug 31, 2021 2:57 PM

#33

deg

Offline

Jan 2009

93891

overall Japan sexualizes minors so nothing new just continue the Culture Wars

See All Discussions

Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - Sep 25, 2021	208	by plzwork »» Jun 16, 11:59 AM
Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - May 29, 2021	216	by brunoyilli »» Jun 15, 9:08 PM
Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 16 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - Jul 17, 2021	213	by Kayle_Matthew »» Jun 8, 9:04 PM
Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Sep 18, 2021	147	by Skowyt »» May 27, 2:30 PM
Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 23 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Sep 11, 2021	295	by WolfWood37 »» May 24, 9:13 PM

Does MHA sexualize its cast of characters?

More topics from this board

Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 )

Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 )

Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 16 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 )

Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

Poll: » Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season Episode 23 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters