Kirishima rushed into battle, failing to maintain his strength, leading to his downfall.
Sato relied on brute force, learned his Quirk’s time limit, failing in the process.
Kaminari underestimated Nezu, causing his failure by being outsmarted.
While there are many characters in My Hero Academia who have big dreams of one day becoming a hero, actually qualifying to be a protector of society is far from an easy task. Not only do the students need to prove themselves in real combat, but they are also required to complete a bunch of ruling exams. Despite My Hero Academia being a very inspirational series that can easily get viewers motivated, there have still been several students who, unfortunately, didn’t end up passing their exams for one reason or another.
When it comes to sad and tragic backstories in My Hero Academia, these characters in the anime series have had it the worst.
Thankfully, this doesn’t mean that these characters are locked out of becoming heroes entirely; it’s just that they needed to put in extra work in order to achieve their goal, making the process a lot longer as a result. With that being said, it’s time to pick out the students who ended up flunking their exams to see why exactly they were unable to achieve top marks.
8
Eijiro Kirishima
Kirishima Used Up All His Energy Far Too Quickly
First Appearance: Episode 4
While Kirishima performed pretty well in the first few exams, it was the final one that proved too much for him to handle. Kirishima and Sato were tasked with going up against the Pro Hero known as Cementos, but rather than taking his time and preparing a strategy, Kirishima decided that the best course of action was to take the opponent down as quickly as possible.
With Cementos using his Quirk to fend off Kirishima’s attacks while also crushing him with makeshift walls, it wouldn’t be long before the fiery student was down for good. In the aftermath, Cementos would comment that Kirishima needs to learn how to maintain his strength in the long term, considering there’s never any telling how long a fight will go on for, so it’s a good thing he took this onboard in his later fights after he was able to master his Hardening Quirk.
7
Rikido Sato
Sato Came To Realize A Crucial Weakness Of His Quirk
First Appearance: Episode 4
Sato would ultimately follow Kirishima’s lead during the final exam in the battle against Cementos, in the sense that he too would rely on trying to brute force his way through the cement walls in order to reach the Pro Hero. In Sota’s case, he believed that his Sugar Rush Quirk would be more than enough to give him the power he needed to overcome the obstacles standing in his way, but this only resulted in him learning one crucial weakness about his own ability.
While these My Hero Academia characters strive to be protectors of society, their personal Quirks seem much more suited for villainy.
As Cementos makes clear after the battle, Sugar Rush can only be used for a specific amount of time and will leave Sato virtually defenseless after it deactivates. While he therefore may have faced a humiliating defeat, at least Sato was able to get a better idea of how his Quirk worked in practice, which is what is most important at the end of the day.
6
Denki Kaminari
Kaminari Severely Underestimated The Principle Of U.A
First Appearance: Episode 4
When Kaminari came to realize that his opponent for the First Term Final Exam would be none other than Nezu, the principal of the school, it seemed as though the test would be a cakewalk. After all, despite being in such a highly prestigious position, Mezu is still a mouse at the end of the day – it’s just that he possesses a Quirk which makes him much smarter than the average human, something he would come to demonstrate during this very brief battle.
Rather than showing himself to the enemy, Nezu decides to hunker down in a wrecking ball machine, which he uses to demolish the entire stadium without Kaminari even knowing where he is. Clearly, the naive student had severely underestimated his opponent, resulting in him failing the exam before he was even able to land a single hit.
5
Mina Ashido
Ashido Wasn’t Able To Identify The Location Of Her Target During The Final Exam
First Appearance: Episode 4
Accompanying Kaminari in his fight against Nezu was Mina, a classmate whose Acid Quirk made her a real force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Though she admitted she was hesitant to use Acid on Nezu, considering how much damage it can deal to the body, she was nonetheless still confident that she and Kaminari would be able to at least take down Nezu, considering he’s not all that much of a fighter.
Just like her partner, though, Mina faces an embarrassing defeat after failing to find the final escape route after the rest of the battlefield is destroyed by Nezu. This would result in Mina needing to take extra exams during the Quirk Training Camp, which honestly isn’t all that bad, considering an ability as dangerous as hers requires a lot of practice to use safely and effectively.
4
Inasa Yoarashi
Despite Being Absurdly Powerful, Inasa’s Recklessness Caused Him To Fail An Exam
First Appearance: Episode 53
Inasa, the incredibly talented and powerful student from Shiketsu High, manages to breeze past the first few stages of the Provisional License Exam without breaking a sweat. However, it’s when the heroes are tasked with saving a group of civilians from debris that Inasa’s flaws begin to show. While he is able to use his Whirlwind Quirk to move the innocent bystanders out of the way of the debris, the Pro Heroes note that he failed to check on the civilians beforehand, meaning he could have caused more damage because of his recklessness.
Not only that, but Inasa would also get into an explosive argument with the Todoroki, which isn’t exactly a great look for someone who wants to become a Pro Hero one day. Despite the heroes being well aware of Inasa’s true potential, it was clear he was still prone to letting his emotions get the better of him and also needed a lot more time to get fully accustomed to his Quirk, resulting in him failing the Provisional Licence Exam.
3
Shoto Todoroki
Inasa’s Actions Ended Up Coming Back Onto Todoroki
First Appearance: Episode 4
While Todoroki seems less than interested in getting to know Inasa when he first meets him during the Provisional Licence Exam, it quickly becomes clear that ignoring him is going to be much easier said than done. As someone who has always looked up to the Todoroki family, Inasa is utterly obsessed with gaining Shoto’s favor, which is ultimately what leads to them butting heads in the course of the final stages of the exam.
Though these My Hero Academia characters had tons of potential, in the end, they felt a little underutilized in the story.
This was seen by the Pro Heroes as a lack of cooperation, considering that in a real battle, there is no time to simply argue with other heroes who are on the team, especially when villains are right around the corner. While Todoroki would therefore fail the original Provisional Licence Exam, he still proved his worth in battle by stepping up against any villains brave enough to take on him or his classmates.
2
Camie Utsushimi
Camie Failed The PLE Exam, But It Wasn’t Even Her Fault
First Appearance: Episode 53
Though Camie technically ended up failing the Provisional License Exam, the reason for this happening wasn’t even her fault, primarily because she wasn’t even there, at least not technically. At the very end of the PLE arc, it’s revealed that the Camie who appears during that exam was actually Toga in disguise, who was using her Quirk to get close to Deku and the other heroes.
The real Camie would then appear not long after the exam, only to be told that she would need to enlist in the Remedial Course in order to make up for her failure. Still, the upbeat Shiketsu High student doesn’t seem all that bothered about the situation, since if there was anybody who could keep a smile on her face in even the most dire of circumstances, it would be Camie.
1
Katsuki Bakugo
Bakugo Needed To Learn That Saving Civilians Is A Crucial Responsibility Of Any Hero
First Appearance: Episode 1
Despite being gifted with an insane amount of power thanks to his Explosion Quirk, by far his biggest flaw was his selfishness. He was always more than happy to let the sparks fly without having a care in the world about anyone getting caught in the crossfire, but this reckless attitude would eventually catch up to him in the Provisional License Exam. Despite it being made clear to the students that they would need to save as many civilians as possible to score points, it seems as though Bakugo simply rejected as rule, as he instead decided to tell these civilians to get themselves together rather than actually help them.
Paired with his highly dangerous fighting style, it was no wonder that Bakugo ended up failing the exam, despite him somehow believing that he should have passed. Bakugo has always been a student with an incredible amount of underlying potential – it’s just that it’s taken a while for him to truly understand the responsibilities that come with being a hero, and his failure in the Provisional License Exam was definitely a big wake-up call.
