My Hero Academia’s Shota Aizawa is Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher at U.A. High School. His pro-hero name is Eraser Head, referencing his Quirk, which allows him to “erase” someone’s Quirk depending on how long he looks at them.
Shota teaches with a tough-love mentality, but his students come out stronger because of it. He’s also tired most of the time and carries around his signature yellow sleeping bag, often opting to take a nap instead of teaching his class. Nonetheless, he’s one of U.A. High’s best teachers, but there are still a few harsh realities of being the Erasure Hero.
8 Aizawa Has To Focus On Protecting His Eyes During Battle
Aizawa’s erasure ability only functions because of his eyes. If an enemy manages to injure his eyes during battle, he loses his Quirk altogether. Though he wears a pair of goggles and usually fights from a distance, having to protect his eyes all the time puts him at a disadvantage during close-range fights.
The goggles don’t only protect his eyes, they also obscure his line of sight to throw enemies off guard as to whose Quirk he’ll erase next. Aizawa would be out of luck if an enemy is bold enough to attack him head-on, take his goggles off, and then damage his eyes.
7 Aizawa Is Surrounded By People Who Constantly Test His Patience
Between Present Mic’s constant chatter, Ms. Joke’s failures to make him laugh, and All Might’s flashiness, Aizawa seems surrounded by people who constantly test his patience. Though he’s close friends with Mic, he’s expressed subtle annoyance at his loud behavior.
Ms. Joke always tries to use her Outburst on Aizawa to make him laugh, but unfortunately for her, he’s quick to erase her Quirk. All Might and Aizawa constantly butt heads over their different teaching methods, and the latter has criticized the former number one for his blatant favoritism of Izuku. It seems like Aizawa has to bite his tongue most of the time to work with some of these people.
6 Aizawa’s Best Friend Was Revived & Biologically Manipulated By All For One
The only time fans saw a display of emotions from Aizawa was after he and Mic went to interrogate Kurogiri. They learned that the League of Villains’ Warp Gate was their former best friend, Oboro Shirakuma. He died, but All For One revived him and biologically manipulated his corpse to become Kurogiri.
Aizawa had to fight Kurogiri when the League infiltrated U.S.J. and recognized that he was a completely different person back then. Aizawa cried at the end of the interrogation and tried getting through to Oboro.
Between the Sports Festival and all of the controversy U..A. High has had in recent years, it’s pretty hard for Aizawa to avoid the press. He hates the media and does everything he can to avoid being on camera.
It’s understandable why he’d hate news journalists. They often spin a story to fit their narrative and disregard the truth to make a sensationalist headline for their smear campaigns. It’s happened to U.A. countless times, and it was enough to make the public think twice before sending their kids to school there.
4 Aizawa’s Quirk Isn’t Suited For Combat
Aizawa may specialize in close-range sneak attacks by capturing an enemy with his scarf, but his Erasure Quirk isn’t otherwise suited for combat. Unlike Bakugo’s flashy Explosion or Izuku’s One For All, Aizawa’s Quirk has no potential for offensive combat.
Luckily, Aizawa has a unique fighting style that combines mid-air acrobatics with his high agility to capture an enemy and take them down. Unfortunately, Aizawa’s most likely out of luck if he’s going up against someone with a stronger Quirk or an especially large enemy.
3 Aizawa Is Always Tired
Aizawa has notoriously low energy levels to match his prominent dark under-eye circles. He’s always tired and would rather take a nap than teach his class. He seems exhausted all the time, and, unfortunately for him, U.A. doesn’t seem to be giving him a break any time soon.
Regardless of why Aizawa is always tired, having a low-energy teacher who constantly carries around a sleeping bag is certainly one of the best running gags in the series. Plus, his constant exhaustion goes with the rest of his attitude and appearance, and fans appreciate that he’s too tired to deal with other people. Plus, his perpetual desire for sleep is something many viewers can relate to.
2 Class 1-A Isn’t The Easiest To Teach
Between Bakugo’s short temper, Aoyama’s flamboyance, Iida’s rigid temperament, and Mineta’s constant perverted behavior, Aizawa has his hands full when teaching Class 1-A. This class isn’t the easiest to handle. The class is full of bold personalities, making it hard for Aizawa to teach them as a group.
Bakugo and Izuku’s constant fighting would get in the way of most group activities, plus he has to keep an eye on Mineta at all times to make sure he isn’t harassing his female classmates. Aizawa can’t catch a break with his coworkers or when teaching his class. When he asked them to come up with something for the School Festival, it turned into an entire class of teens screaming over each other and suggesting ideas that seemed to get worse as time passed.
1 Aizawa Has A Severe Case Of Chronic Dry Eye Because Of His Quirk
Aizawa never leaves the house without a case of eyedrops. His Erasure Quirk gave him a severe case of chronic dry eye since it’s only active when his eyes are open and deactivates if he blinks, meaning he has to keep his eyes open for long periods to slow down a villain.
Dry eye is painful, and it probably contributes to his constant tiredness. Even though his power seems cool in theory, it proves that there are always a few harsh realities of having any Quirk. Since many fans deal with dry eyes daily, it’s easy to relate to Aizawa’s struggles.