My Hero Academia is on the verge of a war in the upcoming 6th season and the stakes are higher than before. In a world where 80% of the population has some uncanny ability, the heroes of this superhuman society continuously face trials that unleash their bravery.
The impending Paranormal Metaliberation Front arc will be the next test of bravery for the student heroes, who have already come so far. Each character demonstrates their bravery best when they overcome their unique challenges as they work toward their dreams, making them the best characters to follow as the events unfold.
Minoru Mineta Lacks Substantial Bravery
Minoru Mineta is a spineless character. If Mineta stands up to overcome an obstacle of his own accord, it's usually to save his own skin, for instance during his fight against Midnight in the midterm exams, making him fairly cowardly.
Mineta cries and runs away in the face of conflict. If he doesn't immediately bail, he panics and throws the balls from his head with no clear objective. He's inept in contributing to his team until one of his classmates comes up with a plan that involves his powerset, and even then his classmates must encourage him to follow through with their plan. His bravery is as substantial as the peer pressure he needs to coerce him into doing the right thing.
Momo Yaoyorozu is a Warrior of Internal Battles
Momo Yaoyorozu exhibits bravery in combating her own feelings of incompetence. Yaoyorozu acknowledges her insecurities that flare up when she's in a crisis that requires quick thinking, but she combats those insecurities when she knows she's needed to help her friends or reach her goals. After being given a moment to recenter, or a pep talk from a friend she can exceed her limitations.
Yaoyorozu is more competent than she believes, but usually ends up hampering her own abilities since she rehashes her internal battles in the face of a new challenge, never quite putting them to rest. She's fairly brave for repeatedly facing her internal struggles, but she lacks the perseverance to stick to her convictions to prevent the same struggle from returning.
Mina Ashido is a Bully Buster
Mina Ashido is naturally personable, and will not shy away from expressing disdain toward irritating characters, especially bullies or creeps. In her backstory, she stood up to a villainous character that cornered her friends, and she was able to talk her way through the predicament to send the villain on their way.
Ashido exercises her heroic qualities with little hesitation, but in circumstances that naturally suit her personality and established range of capabilities. She is effortlessly brave as it is in character to make use of her personable qualities to alleviate conflict, but this bravery is mostly apparent in low-stakes interactions.
Tsuyu Asui is Unapologetically Honest
Tsuyu Asui's honesty, if not brave in itself, demonstrates her bravery throughout the series. This is notable when Tsuyu tells her classmates she'd prefer to let the professional heroes handle Bakugo's kidnapping, which starts an argument amongst the class.
In this scene, Tsuyu clearly feels uncomfortable taking a stand against her friends but stays true to her sense of justice. She stands up for her beliefs and expresses her thoughts and feelings to her classmates, even though it is not the class's popular opinion. Tsuyu exhibits bravery in being open about her feelings and standing up for them even though she goes against the grain.
Shoto Todoroki is a Rebellious Independent
Shoto Todoroki is brave for his rebellion and perseverance. After enduring a grueling childhood due to his father's actions, he gets into UA without using his father's powers or becoming a villain out to destroy Endeavor or heroism itself out of revenge.
Dabi/Touya Todoroki is a fan-favorite villain and a powerful foil to demonstrate how Shoto could have ended up like him but didn't. Shoto uses his anger to prove he'd be better than Endeavor rather than seek more pain and destruction. Shoto doesn't fear his father, rather he rejects him, which is remarkable for a child to challenge the person that has the most power over them in a manner that doesn't involve revenge. Shoto had a rough start but demonstrates extraordinary bravery by mastering the means by which he combats injustice.
Eijiro Kirishima is a Reinvented Man
Eijiro Kirishima is brave for his self-reinvention. Kirishima was meek and failed to stand up to bullies and be the hero he wanted to be. After nearly giving up on his dream, he regained inspiration from Crimson Riot and turned his life around. He trained, reinvented his look, and squashed his insecurities. There is notable proof of his progress when he puts himself in the line of attack between a sword villain and civilians in his hero debut.
Kirishima not only had the bravery to take the steps to change his demeanor, but he also took it a step forward and mastered his bravery. Kirishima is continuously kind to others, and never fails to intervene or step in to resolve a tough situation. He squashed his insecurities for good and continues to progress and exhibit his ideals.
Tenya Iida is a Harbinger of Justice
Tenya Iida is brave for standing up to the villain that devastated his hero. Tenya looked up to his older brother Tensei growing up, viewing him as the hero he'd hope to be which highlights his bravery in this arc.
When Tensei was incapacitated by Stain, Iida's first instinct was to enact revenge rather than view Stain as an unstoppable force. The disparity between his view of Stain and Tensei demonstrates that Iida wasn't sure if he was capable of taking down his brother's perpetrator, but would try to avenge him regardless. Iida was never disillusioned, he still looked up to his brother, but bravely felt that he could overcome a powerful adversary.
Eri Runs Toward Her Worst Nightmare
Eri's background was tragic, but made her all the braver for it. She was physically ripped apart and reassembled to produce anti-quirk weaponry for the Shie Hassaikai. Eri tried running away but was intercepted by Deku and Lemillion, which led to one of Eri's most tragic moments onscreen. When Onslaught threatened to murder the heroes in front of her, Eri ran back to him to save their lives.
Eri was aware of the trade-offs of her actions. She chose to return to her nightmare rather than save herself or let the heroes die trying to save her when she was so close to freedom. Eri exercises extraordinary bravery for a young character and recognizes the balance of choosing the greater good in a situation that challenges her and others' wellbeing.
Katsuki Bakugo Could Fight the World
Katsuki Bakugo is brave for overcoming adversity. Bakugo nearly died in middle school when he was taken hostage by the slime villain, fought villains alongside his classmates during training, and he was kidnapped by the League of Villains, managing it all with an unflappable confidence, making Bakugo one of the strongest UA students.
Bakugo fights back to the best of his abilities against the villains as a hostage, and still escapes (with his classmates' help). Bakugo demonstrates that he can't be torn down, choosing to fight until the end, even when he reveals to have felt helpless or terrified after he is out of the fray. Bakugo just keeps coming back stronger, brave in his ability to let nothing tear him down.
Izuku Midoriya Would Do Anything it Takes to be a Hero
Izuku Midoriya/Deku is the ultimate example of a self-sacrificial hero. He always puts others' safety above his own even if he almost dies in the process. Deku stepped up to save Bakugo from the slime villain before inheriting One For All, and only increased his heroics after harnessing his power.
Izuku Midoriya was raised to believe he could never be a hero because he was quirkless, but still chose to do everything he could to protect others. Deku embodies bravery in that he's willing to face incredibly difficult battles he's not certain he'll win to become the hero he never thought he could be.