"Asspull" is a term often misused by the anime community at large. A lot of people on here like to use terms they don't understand, and instead of meaning "something that happens with no reason or explanation", it now means "something i don't like"

In most instances, the things considered asspulls in My Hero Academia were foreshadowed, or logically follow the ongoing events. If not, they set up future plotlines. In this mini thread I plan on going over some of the most popular examples of "asspulls" for you guys.

Deku vs Shinso is the 2nd most frequent target of 'asspull' I see. To some people, it just seems like an invented problem with a contrived solution, especially with how wack it was that Deku even fell for the brainwashing to begin with.

However, I feel if you are paying attention, it introduces an interesting aspect of O.F.A. We can tell that there is more than just super strength at play, and while an awkward way to introduce this feature of O.F.A, is a fairly huge part of the development of the quirk.

So I would reject the notion that this is an 'asspull', as it was the start of the mystery of One For All, and wasn't only used as a way for Deku to win the match, but as a titular piece of information and foreshadowing for the future of One for All’s development

Deku vs Muscular is one that is still, to this day, misunderstood. The author comment on it isn't even required to debunk it, it's debunked in the series itself. Deku never went 1,000,000%, he used an opening made by Kota to smash the muscular shield away, and hit him w/ 100%

Some people consider Eri's quirk an asspull for Deku to beat Overhaul, but once again, the definition of asspull is "something that happens with no explanation". We know that Eri's quirk is something that allows bullets to be made to delete quirks.

We find out shortly before the fight that her power is rewind, and Overhaul spent a large chunk of time reworking it to specifically target the quirk factor, rewinding it into nothingness. The fact that we learn these two things beforehand by definition makes it not an asspull.

And it just so happens that a power capable of rewinding works really well with somebody who shatters their bones to use their full power. Her quirk was the basis of an entire arc. It can not be an asspull.

[ ANIME WATCHERS BEWARE ]

Beyond this point we are getting into manga territory, as S5 has not yet aired at the time of posting. Do not continue past this if you wish to remain unspoiled!

Blackwhip, and the other set of quirks, are the #1 target of 'asspull' in this entire list. This revelation, by default, did not come out of nowhere. Personally, I and many others EXPECTED something like this to happen when first starting My Hero Academia.

We're talking about a quirk that merged with another quirk to come into being. It is that much of a stretch to say the quirks of other users merged within O.F.A as well? I don't think so. And for people who ask "WHY DIDN'T ALL MIGHT GET IT", well, that's also explained.

A couple of arcs before, we're introduced to the Quirk Singularity Theory, a concept about the danger of Quirks becoming stronger and stronger with each generation. This is why the quirk wasn't this strong with Banjo, or Nana, or All Might. It's all within the story!

The development of Black Whip was also not what led him to winning the match. He probably could have done it without it, and no, he certainly has not mastered the quirk immediately after unlocking it.

Next 'asspull' is Toga's powerup. It was explained, same arc, that quirks can undergo Quirk Awakenings/Evolutions. You may not LIKE that this can happen, but nevertheless, it was not out of nowhere.

In high stress situations, quirks are capable of awakening, evolving new strengths or effects. Geten underwent a Quirk Awakening, increasing his capabilities from just "manipulating ice" to also being able to manipulate the temperature of the ice.

There is also the possibility that, as her quirk was shunned, and she was not allowed to explore her possibilities, she simply didn't know her quirk was capable of this. However, we see Toga holding a ball as Uraraka with all 5 fingertips and it was not activated.

I do not believe this Quirk Evolution is completely unwarranted. She is ingesting the blood of another person to physically become them, logically, a quirk is a biological feature of another person. It seems to me this is a fairly reasonable evolution of her Quirk.

Often times, there are no 'asspulls' in stories, there are just explanations or things about the story you don't like, and that is perfectly valid, What isn't valid is attributing things to a story that just aren't true whatsoever.

These are my counters to the often cited "asspull" criticism of MHA. If you have any suggestions please let me know and I'll add onto this thread, and if more pop up I'll take those on too!