What do you think of the character Eri from My Hero Academia?
Eri is extremely shy and timid, not trusting in her own abilities. Her status as a Quirkless girl who never attended a hero’s academy no doubt contributed to this. She is the #1 target of Ochaco Ura’s attention for bullies because she has literally nothing but herself to defend herself with- which provides an opportunity for momentary power over someone else (even when they’re clearly weaker than you). It turns out that Eri can summon something real specifically from determination alone, although it evolves into brute force fairly quickly and she relies on physical strength at least just as much as sight to locate others through elimination of what she cannot see. This was a weakness that was exploited by those who bullied her by turning off the lights in a dark room, which made her power useless.
Eri is a study of the power of determination and how it can be used to one’s advantage. It was what she drew on when fighting for her life against The Crawler , standing up to his own Quirk after he stabbed her hand. What she lacked was combat skills, power, and experience. Still, she managed to escape with her life.
Eri is deeply grateful to Izuku for taking her in after his mother rescued her from The Crawler. She loves being here so much that she wanted to work at the U.A. school for him while he’s away on training missions because it makes her feel like part of the family. We can see that Eri is extremely devoted to Izuku and wants to become strong enough to follow him into battle one day, because she knows he’s not strong enough to fight for himself yet.
Eri is a wonderful character who shows us the power of good parenting and how good parenting is possible even without a Quirk. She herself does not have a Quirk so it gives us an idea of what kind of role model Izuku’s mother is. It also tells us more about the character of Izuku himself, because he admires Eri so much that he takes care of her like his own daughter, even though she’s not related to him by blood.
Eri was abandoned by her parents who were led to believe she didn’t have a Quirk, but it’s obvious that Izuku’s mother took care of her like she was family after rescuing Eri from The Crawler. Being abandoned because you’re not born with a special power is horrible enough on its own without any bullying involved, just because you’re not born with something that gives strength to the people around you.
