Izuku Midoriya

Izuku Midoriya (Japanese: 緑谷 出久, Hepburn: Midoriya Izuku), also known by his hero name Deku (Japanese: デク), is a superhero and the main protagonist of the manga series My Hero Academia, created by Kōhei Horikoshi. In the series, he is an ambitious first-year high schooler and the 9th (and current) holder of "One For All" (ワン・フォー・オール, Wan Fō Ōru), a superpower which combines eight different individual superpowers, or "Quirks", together and creates powerful bursts of energy, and also has the unique ability to be passed off to other people.

Initially born without a "quirk" to call his own, Izuku would still grow up with aspirations to become a superhero in his own right. In this universe, quirks are what we would generally refer to as superpowers or superhuman abilities. Mockingly nicknamed "Deku" by childhood classmate and former bully Katsuki Bakugo, Izuku would later save him from a villain, in turn winning over the interest of All Might, Izuku's childhood idol and #1 hero, who in turn passes down his sacred One For All quirk to him. After being accepted into U.A. High School, Izuku's classmate Ochaco Uraraka inspires him to embrace his nickname and he uses it as his hero name.

In the anime adaptation of the manga, Izuku is voiced by Daiki Yamashita in Japanese and Justin Briner in English. The character has received praise from critics for his development and personality. The voice performances in both Japanese and English dub also received praise. The character has also made consistent appearances in popularity polls related to the series, most commonly he placed second.