Momo Yaoyorozu remains one of the most underutilized characters in My Hero Academia (and it's not because of her Quirk)

My Hero Academia has introduced numerous Quirks and characters that ended up being synonymous with their Quirks while eventually reaching the pinnacle of their hero careers. Although many of the introduced characters realized the potential laid out for them, be it via their character traits or their Quirk, Momo Yaoyorozu from class 1-A ends up as one of the most underutilized characters within the series.

Although Momo remained as one of the more prominent characters in the series in terms of appearances, her growth, both as a character and as someone who could completely utilize her Quirk, was limited. Given the archetype she embodies and her status as a side character, her lack of growth ended up creating a character that wasn't meant to realize her potential.

Disclaimer- This article contains spoilers for the My Hero Academia series.

My Hero Academia: Momo Yaoyorozu and how her potential went underutilized

Class 1-A students as seen in the My Hero Academia climax (Image via Shueisha)

Amidst the numerous My Hero Academia characters, Momo Yaoyorozu's utilization within the story is a reminder of the huge wasted opportunity, as the writer failed to give her any meaningful character growth. Although her Quirk gained enough insight and background details, allowing her to be more than someone simply reliant on her Quirk, the main issue with knowledge-based Quirks like hers is the writer's imagination.

Momo's ability to create non-living objects by understanding their molecular structure had the potential to make her one of the most proactive problem solvers within the series. Although her growing repository of knowledge did become apparent through the series' run, it was also limited by the amount of knowledge that the author could research.

My Hero Academia: Momo Yaoyorozu (Image via Studio Bones)

Aside from the fact that Momo's Quirk is a modern-day equivalent of the "artificer/smith" character class from tabletop fantasy games, one overlooked aspect is that characters embodying these archetypes often break through the boundaries of their abilities. They become much more formidable simply because of the knowledge that they possess.

Aside from her rather powerful Quirk, few aspects of her character further make her journey rather frustrating. Among the numerous prospects present within the hero class, Momo Yaoyorozu was one of the few who got officially recommended to the course simply due to her "potential."

My Hero Academia: Momo Yaoyorozu following the Forest Training Camp Arc (Image via Studio Bones)

Alongside this, a few other characters, like Mei Hatsume, ended up being the character closest to what Momo could achieve. Momo's lack of development and creative use of her powers eventually became an example of the classic folly where the authors design a character too difficult to write.

Final thoughts

My Hero Academia ended with a total of 432 chapters, all of which are available for reading on platforms like Shueisha's MANGA Plus. Since a short after story is still possible for manga that have reached their conclusion, Horikoshi will likely reveal some material or additional data covering whether Yaoyorozu could realize her potential, especially after the events of the main story.

Related links-

About the author

Anupam is an anime and manga writer at Sportskeeda. Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Logistics & Transportation, Anupam has simultaneously gained professional experience of almost 2 years as a content writer, having worked previously for Otakukart and Sportslumo.

Being part of the anime fandom for over a decade, Anupam believes his greatest strength lies in theorycrafting around animanga series and predicting their plots. His personal experiences have guaranteed him detailed knowledge about the reputation, reception, and plot points of several anime, which he combines with extensive research to report on a topic. They have also taught him the significance of respecting and accurately reporting on community sentiments attached to a particular series, which has now become a non-negotiable part of his writing process.

Anupam’s favorite artist is video game designer Hideo Kojima, whose ability to nonchalantly embed deep messages in his games he deeply admires. When not debating fresh anime theories, Anupam can be found reading or playing combat games.

Know More

Edited by Meenakshi Ajith