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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | SHOTOOOOOOO!!! | „ |
| ~ Endeavor's catchphrase. |
| “ | That's right, you'll never be All Might, or Deku. Because I've only ever done battle with the weakness within. So don't even dwell... on the notion of some grand rebirth. Go on, keep cursing the true enemy - that weakness. That's... the only thing... that has kept you alive. | „ |
| ~ Endeavor speaking to himself. |
| “ | Endeavor: Toya... my son... I apologize. I should have gone... to Sekoto Peak. Dabi: I hate you, Dad. I hate the whole family. You're to blame... Your fault... Endeavor: That's it... I deserve this. Keep going. (starts crying) Rei, I'm sorry for breaking you down. Fuyumi, I'm sorry for making you hold our family together. Natsuo, I'm sorry I neglected you, all these years... (sobs uncontrollably) And Shoto... I'm sorry. For everything... |
„ |
| ~ Endeavor's heroic breakdown after Dabi's defeat, apologizing to his wife and children for everything he put them through. |
Enji Todoroki, better known by his hero name Flame Hero: Endeavor, is a major character in the My Hero Academia franchise. He was the No. 2 Pro Hero of Japan, with the highest tally of resolved cases in history. He was also a rival of All Might who resolved to surpass the Symbol of Peace no matter the cost.
To this end, he sired children with a woman named Rei, who possessed a powerful ice quirk. Enji and Rei's fourth child, Shoto, was born with a desirable quirk that Enji believed would allow him to one day one-up the No. 1 Pro Hero. He mercilessly trained Shoto to master his quirk from a young age. He abused his wife and children in this pursuit, eventually putting Rei in a mental hospital when she snapped from the abuse and ended up harming Shoto.
All Might retired before Shoto could surpass him, making Endeavor the new No. 1 Pro Hero of Japan. With his dream taken away from him, Enji began to reflect on all of his past wrongdoings as a hero and a family man. Eventually, he resolved to atone for his sins and become a hero his family could be proud of.
Unfortunately, after the war against Shigaraki and the Paranormal Liberation Front, both his pride and hero career gets completely destroyed and ruined by Dabi, who reveals that he was his son Toya Todoroki and Dabi broadcast the entire nation of Japan about his terrible past with him. Enji is then confronted by Natsuo, Fuyumi, Shoto and Rei, who tells him that he isn't suffering mostly and that they're gonna help him overcome it.
After All For One's demise, Endeavor retired from his duties as a Pro Hero and dedicated the rest of his time visiting the dying Toya every day, in hopes of making amends for his actions.
He is voiced by Tetsu Inada in the Japanese version of the anime, and by Patrick Seitz in the English version. Seitz has also voiced Jiren in Dragon Ball Super, Dio Brando in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Laxus Dreyar in Fairy Tail, Ira Gamagōri in Kill la Kill, Agil in Sword Art Online, Keith Shadis in Attack on Titan, Tanktop Master in One Punch Man, and Franky in One Piece.
Appearance[]
Enji is a tall man with a muscular physique. He has short and spiky, red hair with turquoise eyes. His beard and mustache appear to be made of fire, but when he turns off his flames on his face voluntarily, his stubble shows. During the Paranormal Liberation War arc, he gained a large, red scar on the right side of his upper face and lost his right arm.
Endeavor's Hero Costume is comprised of a navy blue bodysuit with flames streaming across his chest, arms, and most prominently his shoulders. He uses his flames as a make-shift domino mask, and his boots appear to be made of flames as well. He sports white bracers styled in a cage pattern and a black belt with a white pouch attached to the side.
After officially becoming the No. 1 Pro Hero, Endeavor's costume has been upgraded. His bracers have been redesigned to look more sharp and armor-like, and they now completely encase his arms. On the back of his hands, are grill hand guards which have a set of holes to flush a torrent of flames out the back of his hands if needed, & his fingers are exposed from the base knuckles. His bodysuit now has large stripes running across his torso, which are completely engulfed in his flames. Endeavor also added shoulder pads and a new belt, which appear to be made of the same material as his bracers. His belt is a stylized kanji for "Flame".
Personality[]
| “ | Endeavor is not a man who cares about other people or their well-being. He's self-righteous and weak willed. Consumed by ego. Do you really believe someone like that has the right to call himself a hero? | „ |
| ~ Dabi on Enji's selfishness. |
| “ | You're the one who put us on this path and I know you're to blame! But if I been able to knock some sense into Toya before he ran off to the mountain, he wouldn't have turned into Dabi! | „ |
| ~ Natsuo rebuking Enji for his harshness and cruelty. |
| “ | The responsibility is not yours to bear alone. Your heart may be broken, but we're going to help you put it back together. Because you have no choice, but to fight Dabi one day. | „ |
| ~ Rei promising Enji to fix his love for the family. |
| “ | Dad was a madman and our family was screwed up! | „ |
| ~ Shoto to Dabi on Enji's wrathful path. |
Enji has been described by his son as a prideful and ambitious man driven by his goal to surpass All Might. His desire to surpass the number one hero has driven him in family matters too, having "created" his children in hopes of having an offspring that could surpass All Might. This drive has followed him his entire life, and repeated failure has plagued him from a young age. He had no interest in the title or the fame of the position, instead wanting to have earned it on merit and ability.
Because of this, he is enraged when he becomes the number one hero after All Might retires because he feels that all his efforts were wasted, since he only won the spot from a technicality and not because of his strength. This divide in ability and ambition influenced his adult life and decisions regarding his family. Some signs of regret are shown when he contemplates on how his ambition drove his family life into pressure and abuse. Even so, he constantly pushes Shoto to try and surpass both himself and All Might so he can achieve his own goal of becoming the best. This ambition can be seen in how he ignores the rest of his children and focuses only on Shoto while preventing him from interacting with his siblings.
He appeared proud of Shoto when he used his flame side during the U.A. Sports Festival, and when he chose Endeavor's agency for workplace training. Enji has a bad temper which has been demonstrated on several occasions such as when he saw All Might's true form and shouted in rage at the number 1 hero for hiding such a state, angered that his lifelong goal seemed so pitiful. This was shown again after All Might was forced into retirement and Endeavor would be given the No. 1 spot by default he destroyed his training hall, furious he was being put into the no. 1 spot without having earned it. Then, he storms off and demanding Hawks foot the bill for the meal they shared. After believing he had wasted his time.
Endeavor's behavior does not go unnoticed by the public, his dismissive and aggressive behavior being a selling point to his fans. While he is a hero and possesses an amount of supporters, there are those in the public who recognize his less charismatic nature and comparing him to All Might brings doubt to the position of No. 1. According to Present Mic, Endeavor is usually not a sociable person. Despite this, his competence at solving crimes and defeating villains is unquestioned, with Endeavor having dedicated his life to studying and training to attain the top spot of the Hero rankings.
During Shoto's retake of the Hero License exam, Endeavor asks All Might for advice on what it means to be a Symbol of Peace, showing a rather calm expression towards the former No.1 Hero instead of dismissing him and his advice as usual. After hearing All Might's response, Endeavor accepts this information, and resolves to work towards that ideal. After Shoto gets his hero license, Endeavor tells him how he is proud of his son and vows to become a proper father and a better hero, and while Shoto initially brushes this off, he smiles to himself once his father leaves. He is also shown to be more respectful of Shoto's boundaries, having backed down from physical contact after Shoto knocked him away.
Endeavor fully understands the gravity of his crimes against his family and the horrible pain he put all of them through. As such, he accepts whatever criticism comes from his family members and the hatred they hold against them. When his son, Natsuo, explains that he'll never forgive him for what he did to their family and to his brother, Toya, Endeavor replies by saying it's alright if he doesn't forgive him, and the only thing he wants to do is atone for his crimes. He becomes determined to do whatever it takes for his family, and he eventually decides to take himself out of the equation by creating a new home for his family where they can all spend time together without him.
During the Hero Ranking Ceremony Endeavor is shown to be more dedicated to the goal of becoming worthy of the No. 1 rank and the new symbol of peace. Despite his determination to become a better father and someone worthy of being the new symbol of peace, Endeavor still retains traces of his old personality, openly stating to Izuku and Katsuki during their work studies that he only wanted Shoto to come and had no real interest in teaching either of them. In spite of this, he still does his best to teach all three students about the fundamentals of heroism and compliments them when they manage to take out a villain faster than he could.
Quotes[]
| “ | YES SHOTO! Have you finally accepted your purpose? That's it, very good. This is the dawn of a new era for us. With my blood in your veins you'll surpass me. YOU WILL LIVE UP TO THE REASON I CREATED YOU! | „ |
| ~ Endeavor becomes over-excited after seeing Shoto finally use his fire quirk. |
| “ | Apart from what that novice tried to stir up... There is not much to say. Just watch me. | „ |
| ~ Endeavor's statement to the public. |
| “ | "Bio-engineered human... You... are me... from the past... or from another future... Burn up... and be put up to rest." | „ |
| ~ Endeavor to Hood as he remarks that Hood is his past or future self. |
| “ | I take full responsibility. I swore to bear that burden... and live my life atoning for it all. However, you've been watching me all this time, while I couldn't be there to watch you. You were someone I especially needed to do right by. No, I can't let you meet your end alone... but I won't let anyone else get caught up in our tragedy! | „ |
| ~ Endeavor connecting with Dabi. |
Theme[]
Just Another Hero by Yuki Hayashi[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Endeavor seems to be a representation of what Katsuki Bakugo could become in the future: a hero filled with pride and ambition who strives to be at the very top. Both he and Bakugo have also shown to have violent and aggressive tempers.
- Endeavor's name means "attempting to achieve a goal", which is very fitting for his character.
- Despite being a controversial character among the fandom, Endeavor was placed 8th in the fourth Japanese popularity poll, which is a huge improvement to his last placements. This is likely due to his recent character development in the Pro Hero Arc.
- Endeavor was originally intended to be a teacher at the U.A. High School, but the concept was scrapped as the idea of having both the No. 1 (who at the time was All Might) and No. 2 Pro Hero on the protagonist's side would result in their conflicts being dealt with more easily.
- Similar to Kotaro Shimura, Endeavor was the cause of his own son choosing to be a villain and eventually regretted it. The difference however, whereas Kotaro utterly resented the idea about heroes and died a monster in Tomura's eyes because of it, Endeavor harshly groomed his son Toya into his successor at the expense of the latter's well-being and lived long enough to eventually regret it.
- Controversial it might be, Endeavor's story ultimately serves as a cautionary tale in which those who committed terrible things like him can change to better if they willingly choose to all while understanding damages they done won't be easy to mend.
External Links[]
- Endeavor on the Villains Wiki
- Endeavor on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
- Endeavor on the My Hero Academia Wiki
[]
 Heroes
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