On the surface, My Hero Academia comes off as another typical shounen series that's harping on the prevalent superhero obsession. But, beyond its shock-and-awe action, there are uplifting morals and literally "quirky" characters that make it all-the-more intriguing. Speaking of its characters, there's a huge roster of them.
While their gimmicky personalities add some much-needed comic relief, it's their unique superpowers, known in-universe as "Quirks," that make it a well-rounded battle shounen. Ranging from super-strength to super-speed, these quirks come in all shapes, sizes, forms, and guises. But, among them are a few that particularly stand out. For instance, there's something captivating about Toru, The Invisible Girl: a character whose—as the name suggests—true appearance remains unknown, yet, her personality shines right through.
She Has A Super Move
Some might argue that Toru ranks among those heroes whose abilities have little to no significance in battle. But, despite having a quirk that offers nothing more than 100% invisibility, Toru has found a way to stretch her ability beyond its limits.
For instance, in the first phase of the Provisional Hero License Exam, she uses her invisibility to refract and create a burst of light through her body, which can easily blind her enemies. This ability brings an interesting turn to her ability. It suggests that, apart from having invisibility, she might even be able to manipulate her molecules in such a way that a desired refractive index is produced when light travels through her body.
Her Name Relates To Her Quirk
As fans may already know, her full name is Toru Hagakure. The "葉 ha" in her surname is the kanji for "leaf," while the "隠 gakure" translates to "to disappear." When it comes to her first name, its kanji "透 tōru" translates to "invisible."
When read as an entire unit, her surname "葉隠 hagakure" reads as "hidden in leaves." This intriguing reference to her ability in her surname suggests that even her parents might possess the same ability as her. That also suggests the possibility of her quirk being hereditary.
Toru Might Recieve Her Own Arc In The Future
Despite being among the few heroes whose quirks are always active, Toru's quirk hasn't been explored to its full potential yet. In volume two, mangaka Kohei Horikoshi even revealed that he hasn't had the time to develop Toru's character yet. Hopefully, in the upcoming arcs of the anime, Toru will get some much-needed development, and her quirk will be explored and explained in detail.
Toru's Relative Rankings And Stats
All the students of U.A High are ranked and graded based on several different parameters. When it comes to Toru's rankings, she ranks 16 based on her seating arrangement in class 1-A, she was ranked 18 in the Quirk Apprehension Test, she's 16th when it comes to overall grades, and she's down to 42 in the annual U.A. Sports Festival First-Year Stage.
Quite a lot is revealed about Toru's official stats in the Ultra Archive Book. Going by Ultra Archive, she scores a perfect 5/5 in cooperativeness, a 4/5 in intelligence and technique, 3/5 in speed, and the lowest score of 2/5 in power.
She Was Initially Designed As A Male Character
According to her profile in the second volume of the manga, Toru was initially supposed to be a male character. However, because of a lack of too many female characters in the series, the mangaka decided to add her to the female cast.
Another reason why Toru was finalized as a female character is that the mangaka believed it would be funnier to have a female character with an invisible body. As anticipated, her character does bring some gimmicky humor to the table.
Her Quirk Is A Mutation
Although it isn't directly revealed anywhere in the series, many fans believe that Toru's invisibility is a mutant-type quirk. Quirks are classified into three categories: emitter, mutant, and transformation. Among these, the ones possessing mutant quirks have seemingly permanent physical "oddities" that contribute to their quirks.
Since Toru is invisible all the time, it is believed that it is her natural state. Just like Ojiro walks around with a tail all the time, every cell in Toru's body has a kind of transparency that makes her stay invisible.
She Isn't Among The Most Popular Characters Of The Show
Time and again, Weekly Shōnen Jump conducts popularity polls for the characters of My Hero Academia in both Japan and the U.S. According to the recent poll in Japan, which was conducted in 2020, Toru does not rank among the top 40 characters of the series.
Even when it comes to the recent US polls, she's nowhere in the top 10 rankings, which is unsurprisingly led by Katsuki Bakugo, followed by Izuku Midoriya.
Her Costume—Or Lack Thereof—Makes Her Unique
Not just in My Hero Academia, but in any superhero movies or series, the costume of a hero plays a key role in shaping their identity. However, in Toru's case, it's the opposite. For her quirk to be wholly effective, it's necessary for her to not have a costume at all. It's these tiny details that make Toru stand out from other superheroes despite being more of a background character in the series.
She's A Gemini
Gemini are known to be enthusiastic, playful, and "social butterflies of the zodiac." This explains why despite being literally invisible, Toru almost gets along with everyone and never leaves a dull moment when she's on-screen. Born on June 16, the bubbly invisible girl makes her presence known and can also be seen participating in a myriad of activities in the academy.
There Are Dark Theories Surrounding Her Identity
Because of the ambiguity of Toru's identity, many MHA fans have deduced dark theories surrounding her characterization. Many believe that she purposefully abstains from showing her true potential to always stay under the radar.
By doing this, she serves as a spy for the League of Villains and sneakily reports all the secrets of the heroes to them. But, despite having a pretty solid footing, this theory is contradicted by fans who are drawn to her innocent demeanor and charming personality.