Horikoshi handled Eri's Quirk perfectly in My Hero Academia (& Pro Hero injuries prove it)

Due to the variety of unique characters in the My Hero Academia series, fans have pondered several scenarios. The series has several quirks, and while many of them were extensively shown throughout, the mangaka Kohei Horikoshi handled some of them perfectly.

To narrow it down, Eri's quirk— Rewind— is one of the most overpowered quirks in the series, and rather than using it haphazardly everywhere in the My Hero Academia series, Horikoshi used it effectively, while also maintaining a balance for it not to be overly affecting the main storyline. Here is a summary of how Horikoshi perfectly handled Eri's quirk in the series.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions.

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Eri's Quirk usage by Horikoshi in the My Hero Academia series

Eri's quirk, Rewind, from My Hero Academia is considered one of the most powerful quirks in the series due to its unique functionality. Her quirk allows her to rewind time and bring back any living body to its previous state, essentially healing them, making them physically younger, and undoing modifications done to her target's body.

The quirk also has a huge limitation, mentioned by Neito Monoma, as it is an accumulation-type of ability. Eri needs to store up time in her horn, which is the source of her power, to use it later on. The size of her horn reflects how much she has accumulated and thus, how much time she can rewind.

While this is an overpowered quirk and can change the course of the storyline, Horikoshi has uniformly maintained a balance with Eri's quirk, not overusing it in the series. While several fans have been seen bickering about how Eri's quirk could have been used to do this and that, Horikoshi's decisions of using it and also not using it in several scenarios make complete sense.

Several pro heroes from the series who were gravely injured could have been healed by Eri, especially Sir Nighteye and Ingenium (Tensei Iida), but were not. As shown in episode 26 of the My Hero Academia anime, Tensei Iida, the original Ingenium, was gravely injured after confronting Stain in an alleyway during the Hosu Incident arc.

Tensei Iida was hospitalized after fighting Stain, as shown in the My Hero Academia anime (Image via Bones)

The aforementioned incident had resulted in Ingenium becoming paralyzed from the waist down, and ultimately, he retired from his position as a pro hero. While Eri could have easily pitched in and healed Ingenium perfectly, this would have hindered the plot massively, removing the entire Tenya Iida carrying his brother's legacy, becoming Ingenium, and confronting Stain sequence from the series.

Instead of that, Horikoshi has used Eri in a more crafty way in other instances, like when Eri used her quirk on Mirio, by restoring his quirk, which was nullified by Kai Chisaki (Overhaul) using a quirk-destroying drug. The repercussions of overly using Eri's quirk were also shown in the anime during the fight between Deku and Overhaul, when Eri helped Midoriya reach 100%.

While Midoriya was able to achieve 100% use of his One-For-All ability and defeat Overhaul, after the battle, when the Rewind's effects wore off, he was affected by all the damage and aftereffects from the battle, showing another drawback of Eri's Rewind quirk.

Another contorted use of the quirk was seen by All for One when he used an unstable version of the quirk to revert to his prime fighting state. However, due to the irreversible nature of the quirk, All for One would constantly grow younger and soon would dissolve into nothingness.

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Final thoughts

While possessing one of the most powerful quirks in the My Hero Academia series, Eri is loved by everyone for her kind character and her contributions throughout the series, despite her age. Her quirk has even played a key role during the final battle against All for One and Shigaraki Tomura.

With the series already in the middle of the Final War arc, Eri's contribution in the battle is yet to be seen. The upcoming anime season of the main series will likely dive more into the significance of Eri's rewind quirk in the battle.

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