My Hero Academia VA Daiki Yamashita Discusses Deku’s Mindset in Season 7

My Hero Academia‘s seventh season recently took a brief hiatus due to the 2024 Summer Olympics. Now that the games have concluded, there are hopes that the anime adaptation will continue without further delays, especially as it approaches the final battle of the shonen series. The recent major cliffhanger saw Izuku Midoriya finally return to UA Academy to face Shigaraki in what is poised to be the most significant confrontation of the seventh season. Recently, Deku’s Japanese voice actor, Daiki Yamashita, shared insights on his approach to voicing Midoriya in season seven and how his portrayal has evolved.

As My Hero Academia fans know, season seven’s original plan to defeat Shigaraki and All For One was upended by unexpected events. Instead of seeing Deku immediately arrive at UA Academy to set a trap for Tomura Shigaraki, the One For All wielder was diverted by the villainous Toga. Declaring her love for Deku, Toga created complications that involved Froppy and Uravity, who eventually managed to provide Midoriya an escape route. This allowed him to make a desperate dash to face Shigaraki. Unfortunately, Deku’s arrival may have been too late, as Bakugo is now fighting for his life after a severe attack.

(Photo: TOHO Animation)

In a recent conversation with Daiki Yamashita, the voice actor delved into Deku’s current mindset. Yamashita explained, “At the end of the 6th season, the story left me with a very important feeling. It was that everyone fought together in the end. Everyone came together to bring Izuku back. As such, one strong, big emotion took root inside Izuku, and so when he was facing season seven, I felt that Izuku’s eyes were filled with much more hope than when he was fighting alone in season six. He’s stronger, so I really wanted to voice that feeling and get it across.”

Fortunately, Deku has never been more powerful in the anime than he is now. With a strong grasp of his various Quirks, Midoriya also regularly communicates with the Vestiges of One For All, giving him an additional strategic advantage.

Source: ComicBook