This list contains spoilers!
Summary
While there are many characters inMy Hero Academiawho have big dreams of one day becoming a hero, actually qualifying to be a protector of society is far from an easy task. Not only do the students need to prove themselves in real combat, but they are also required to complete a bunch of ruling exams. DespiteMy Hero Academiabeing a very inspirational series that can easily get viewers motivated, there have still been several students who, unfortunately, didn’t end up passing their exams for one reason or another.
Thankfully, this doesn’t mean that these characters are locked out of becoming heroes entirely; it’s just that they needed to put in extra work to achieve their goal, making the process a lot longer as a result. With that being said, it’s time to pick out the students who ended up flunking their exams to see why exactly they were unable to achieve top marks.
8Eijiro Kirishima
Kirishima Used Up All His Energy Far Too Quickly
While Kirishima performed pretty well in the first few exams, it was the final one that proved too much for him to handle. Kirishima and Sato were tasked with going up against thePro Hero known as Cementos, but rather than taking his time and preparing a strategy, Kirishima decided that the best course of action was to take the opponent down as quickly as possible.
With Cementos using his Quirk to fend off Kirishima’s attacks while also crushing him with makeshift walls, it wouldn’t be long before the fiery student was down for good. In the aftermath, Cementos would comment that Kirishima needs to learn how to maintain his strength in the long term, considering there’s never any telling how long a fight will go on for, so it’s a good thing he took this onboard in his later fights after he was able to master his Hardening Quirk.
7Rikido Sato
Sato Came To Realize A Crucial Weakness Of His Quirk
Sato would ultimately follow Kirishima’s lead during the final exam in the battle against Cementos, in the sense that he too would rely on trying to brute force his way through the cement walls in order to reach the Pro Hero. In Sota’s case, he believed that his Sugar Rush Quirk would be more than enough to give him the power he needed to overcome the obstacles standing in his way, but this only resulted in him learningone crucial weaknessabout his own ability.
As Cementos makes clear after the battle, Sugar Rush can only be used for a specific amount of time and will leave Sato virtually defenseless after it deactivates. While he therefore may have faced a humiliating defeat, at least Sato was able to get a better idea of how his Quirk worked in practice, which is what is most important at the end of the day.
6Denki Kaminari
Kaminari Severely Underestimated The Principle Of U.A
When Kaminari came to realize that his opponent for theFirst Term Final Examwould be none other than Nezu, the principal of the school, it seemed as though the test would be a cakewalk. After all, despite being in such a highly prestigious position, Mezu is still a mouse at the end of the day - it’s just that he possesses a Quirk which makes him much smarter than the average human, something he would come to demonstrate during this very brief battle.
Rather than showing himself to the enemy, Nezu decides to hunker down in a wrecking ball machine, which he uses to demolish the entire stadium without Kaminari even knowing where he is. Clearly, the naive student had severely underestimated his opponent, resulting in him failing the exam before he was even able to land a single hit.
5Mina Ashido
Ashido Wasn’t Able To Identify The Location Of Her Target During The Final Exam
Accompanying Kaminari in his fight against Nezu was Mina, a classmate whose Acid Quirk made her a real force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Though she admitted she was hesitant to use Acid on Nezu, considering how much damage it can deal to the body, she was nonetheless still confident that she and Kaminari would be able to at least take down Nezu, considering he’s not all that much of a fighter.
Just like her partner, though, Mina faces an embarrassing defeat after failing to find the final escape route after the rest of the battlefield is destroyed by Nezu. This would result in Mina needing to take extra exams during theQuirk Training Camp, which honestly isn’t all that bad, considering an ability as dangerous as hers requires a lot of practice to use safely and effectively.
4Inasa Yoarashi
Despite Being Absurdly Powerful, Inasa’s Recklessness Caused Him To Fail An Exam
Inasa, the incredibly talented and powerful student fromShiketsu High, manages to breeze past the first few stages of the Provisional License Exam without breaking a sweat. However, it’s when the heroes are tasked with saving a group of civilians from debris that Inasa’s flaws begin to show. While he is able to use his Whirlwind Quirk to move the innocent bystanders out of the way of the debris, the Pro Heroes note that he failed to check on the civilians beforehand, meaning he could have caused more damage because of his recklessness.
Not only that, but Inasa would also get into an explosive argument with the Todoroki, which isn’t exactly a great look for someone who wants to become a Pro Hero one day. Despite the heroes being well aware of Inasa’s true potential, it was clear he was still prone to letting his emotions get the better of him and also needed a lot more time to get fully accustomed to his Quirk, resulting in him failing the Provisional Licence Exam.
3Shoto Todoroki
Inasa’s Actions Ended Up Coming Back Onto Todoroki
While Todoroki seems less than interested in getting to know Inasa when he first meets him during the Provisional Licence Exam, it quickly becomes clear that ignoring him is going to be much easier said than done. As someone who has always looked up to the Todoroki family, Inasa is utterly obsessed with gaining Shoto’s favor, which is ultimately what leads to them butting heads in the course of the final stages of the exam.
This was seen by the Pro Heroes as a lack of cooperation, considering that in a real battle, there is no time to simply argue with other heroes who are on the team, especially when villains are right around the corner. While Todoroki would therefore fail the original Provisional Licence Exam, he still proved his worth in battle by stepping up against any villains brave enough to take on him or his classmates.
2Camie Utsushimi
Camie Failed The PLE Exam, But It Wasn’t Even Her Fault
Though Camie technically ended up failing the Provisional License Exam, the reason for this happening wasn’t even her fault, primarily because she wasn’t even there, at least not technically. At the very end of the PLE arc, it’s revealed that the Camie who appears during that exam was actuallyToga in disguise, who was using her Quirk to get close to Deku and the other heroes.
The real Camie would then appear not long after the exam, only to be told that she would need to enlist in the Remedial Course to make up for her failure. Still, the upbeat Shiketsu High student doesn’t seem all that bothered about the situation, since if there was anybody who could keep a smile on her face in even the most dire of circumstances, it would be Camie.
1Katsuki Bakugo
Bakugo Needed To Learn That Saving Civilians Is A Crucial Responsibility Of Any Hero
Despite being gifted with an insane amount of power thanks to hisExplosion Quirk, by far his biggest flaw was his selfishness. He was always more than happy to let the sparks fly without having a care in the world about anyone getting caught in the crossfire, but this reckless attitude would eventually catch up to him in the Provisional License Exam. Despite it being made clear to the students that they would need to save as many civilians as possible to score points, it seems as though Bakugo simply rejected as rule, as he instead decided to tell these civilians to get themselves together rather than actually help them.
Paired with his highly dangerous fighting style, it was no wonder that Bakugo ended up failing the exam, despite him somehow believing that he should have passed. Bakugo has always been a student with an incredible amount of underlying potential - it’s just that it’s taken a while for him to truly understand the responsibilities that come with being a hero, and his failure in the Provisional License Exam was definitely a big wake-up call.
My Hero Academia
Cast
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
