My Hero Academia: Why does All Might always smile? Explained

My Hero Academia's All Might is one of the series' flagship characters, particularly when it comes to the first three seasons of the anime, with his development reaching its climax in his battle against All For One in the Kamino arc. His charisma, rock-solid sense of justice, and sacrifices have cemented him as one of the best-written characters in the entire series.

Something that has made All Might iconic in the My Hero Academia series is his signature smile, which gives his character a distinctive look. Throughout the series, author Kohei Horikoshi actually took the time to explain why the Symbol of Hope smiles all the time.

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

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Explaining why All Might smiles all the time in My Hero Academia

Nana Shimura, All Might's mentor (Image via Studio Bones)

Long before All Might, then known as Toshinori Yagi (his civilian identity), became My Hero Academia's greatest hero, he was a Quirkless person.

Toshinori met Nana Shimura, a hero who also happened to be the wielder of the One For All Quirk. Noticing the young man's passion for heroism and willingness to help others, Nana passed on One For All for Toshinori and became his mentor. However, she suffered a gruesome death against All For One.

Nana Shimura was a huge influence on All Might, with the hero saying he thought of her as his own mother. Her memory is something that is shown throughout the Number 1 Hero's journey in the series, especially her lesson that the strongest people always smile during the harshest times.

This is something that Toshinori took to heart and carried on doing since he went to the United States to prepare to become a full-fledged hero.

All Might's capacity to smile no matter the circumstances is something that has inspired a lot of people, particularly the main character of My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku. He has mentioned time and time again that he wants to be a hero who can save people with a smile. This message of optimism and hope is quite prevalent across Kohei Horikoshi's manga.

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All Might's importance in the story

All Might's role in the My Hero Academia story is quite important, serving as a major mentor and father figure to Deku and giving him the One For All Quirk while teaching him the ropes of being a hero.

However, there are divisive opinions regarding the Number 1 Hero's role in the series after his last stand in Kamino against All For One, where he lost the last remaining embers of his powers and had to retire soon after.

A lot of people feel that All Might should have died in Kamino because his character not only was out of the battlefield but also lost some of the spark and charisma that made him who he was.

Other fans claim that All Might being alive was a smart move on Horikoshi's part, proving that not every shonen teacher has to die in battle to entrust the generation with the responsibility of carrying on with his duty.

Be that as it may, All Might is widely regarded as one of the best-written characters in the series. His personality and sense of justice have been both endearing and fascinating to a lot of people. His ability to smile even in the darkest moments is pivotal as a theme in the story.