Highlights

• In My Hero Academia, Eraser Head undergoes significant character development, from a stern teacher to a selfless guardian and protector of his students.
• He stops being cold and indifferent and starts to consider his students as peers and colleagues in the fight against villains.
• Through various arcs, Eraser Head's growth from a strict teacher to a supportive mentor mirrors the overall journey of the series' characters.

Although My Hero Academia has a lot of characters on its roster, the series manages to provide decent character development for most of these characters. Needless to say, the one who gets the most development has to be the main character.

That said, there are several supporting cast members who also get a lot of attention. One of them is the teacher of UA High School's Class 1-A, Shota Aizawa, also known as Erasure Hero: Eraser Head. Let's take this opportunity to see how much Eraser Head has changed since the first season of My hero academy.

Strict and carefree teacher

Eraser Head first appeared in the story as the teacher of Class 1-A. He immediately introduced himself as a stern but carefree teacher. He calmly explained how not everyone in the class would graduate as a pro hero or even survive their harsh training, while resting on the floor in his sleeping bag.

First days as a student

Shota Aizawa was already a cold and gloomy young man since his early days as a student. He was struggling to find his purpose in this world because he was unsure whether or not his quirk was suited to helping people as a pro hero.

Fortunately, he had best friends like Hizashi Yamada and Oboro Shirakumo, who helped him find his way and instilled confidence in him. But everything changed when Shirakumo lost his life during a mission. Since then, Aizawa has become darker and more determined on his path to becoming an underground hero specializing in anti-villain combat.

“The one who has the lowest score in all eight events will be considered hopeless and will be expelled. Their fates are in our hands. Welcome. This is UA High’s hero course!”

– Eraser Head, Chapter 5

First days as a teacher

At some point in his career as a professional hero, Eraser Head decided to become a teacher at UA High. Unlike other heroes at the school, Eraser Head strives to bring the harsh realities of hero life that he has experienced over the years into his classroom. This may make him seem cold and uncaring, but he would rather subject his students to hellish training and expel an entire class than see his students fall on the battlefield due to lack of training and preparation.

A selfless and caring guardian

As he spends more time with his students, Eraser Head grows closer to Deku and the rest of the kids in Class 1-A. Slowly but surely, the cold-hearted teacher transforms into a selfless and caring guardian. On several occasions, Eraser Head has protected the students from villains and has even sacrificed himself to save his students.

A selfless hero

The first time Eraser Head shows his guardian side is in the Unforeseen Simulation Joint (USJ) Arc. During class training, members of the League of Villains suddenly appeared and wreaked havoc around them. Eraser Head immediately ordered the students to evacuate while he stayed behind to face Tomura Shigaraki and his subordinates alone.

He knew there was no way he could fight them alone, but he could at least hold them off until reinforcements arrived. In the end, not only did he manage to hold them off, but Eraser Head even defeated some of the villains. Unfortunately, there was always strength in numbers, and the League of Villains eventually defeated Eraser Head. By the time All Might and the other teachers came to help, the villains had already inflicted several serious injuries on Eraser Head.

A protective guardian

Another example of Eraser Head acting as a protective guardian of the children is during the Forest Training Camp Arc. It was meant to be another hellish training characteristic of Eraser Head that would help the students improve the power and handling ability of their Quirk. It was also a joint training with Class 1B with the help of a team of pro heroes called the Wild, Wild Pussycats as supervisors.

Unfortunately, Dabi's clones from the League of Villains managed to infiltrate and attack the kids and Eraser Head while they were in the middle of training. Eraser Head frantically ran towards the students to ensure their safety. Thanks to him and the teacher of Class 1B, along with the heroes of Wild, Wild, Pussycats, the students managed to survive with only a few minor injuries.

Proud and supportive colleague

Another major character development for Eraser Head happened when the story moved into its most ambitious arc, the Paranormal Liberation War Arc. The students are forced to grow and adapt to increasingly dangerous situations in order to help the rest of the pro-heroes fighting against the combined forces of the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army. At this point, Eraser Head began to consider them not just as his students, but as his peers fighting for the same cause.

Respect as fellow heroes

The pro heroes never intended to bring the students into the battlefield. But when they try to defeat the villains and protect innocent citizens at the same time, they quickly realize that they are severely short-handed. Not to mention, the increasing number of heroes suffering life-threatening injuries further dwindles their numbers.

Meanwhile, the skills and power of the students, especially those from UA High, are roughly on par with low- to mid-tier pro heroes. Some are already as powerful as the top-ranked heroes. Therefore, it only makes sense to add a few of them to the ranks. Ultimately, the more they spent together on the battlefield, the more Eraser Head realized that his students had become genuine heroes.

From students to colleagues

Now that the story has entered the Final War Arc, it's clear that Eraser Head has discovered that the lines between students and classmates are extremely blurred. On one hand, he still sees them as students that he must guide and protect, but on the other hand, he can't help but be moved by the fight and determination of Deku and the rest of Class-1A, who are sometimes more than regular pro heroes.

He cares about them as students, but he also respects them as fellow heroes. In his opinion, they are now not just teachers and students, they are colleagues who help each other in the best way possible.

Eraser Head from the first season would never have this kind of thinking or attitude towards his students. It takes a series of extraordinary events that span the entire series to transform him into an admirable teacher and a respectable hero.

My Hero Academia is available for streaming on Crispy roll.