My Hero Academia- Masks

Plus Extra!

My Hero Academia is an excellent anime, featuring a group of classmates going to the number 1 high school for aspiring super heroes. An ensemble of interesting characters makes it seem like a living, breathing world.

In this setting, the majority of people are born with “quirks”, or super powers. Some are minor mutations, and others are big, flashy and powerful. Because of this change, being a professional super hero is a valid career, with a salary and everything.

Young kids with quirks that want to be superheroes apply to U.A, the number one high school for super heroes. Aside from their normal classes, they also receive training on using and developing their quirks, and becoming stellar super heroes.

I’ve been playing a lot of the Masks Role Playing Game lately, and the show captures a lot of the important elements from the game. Big emotions, dramatic scenes, and developing powers are all important in Masks, and the show has them in spades.

I’ve listed some of the main characters from My Hero Academia, and assigned them a corresponding playbook in Masks. If you want to play a character from My Hero Academia, this might help you get the right feel!

Izuku Midoriya- Midoriya is the main character of the show, and fits within a few possible playbooks. The Legacy is the immediate fit, as Midoriya literally has All Might’s legacy. The Doomed could also work, if you consider All Might’s impending death and the overall villain of the story as the possible ‘Doom’. The Protégé models Midoriya’s leadership and analytical skills, and keeps All Might directly connected to the playbook.

Katsuki Bakugo. He’s The Bull, absolutely. Bakugo’s personality aligns perfectly with the Bull; you even get to pick a rival!

Ochako Uraraka- The Nova is the closest fit, especially since it has gravity control. Her quirk is more support focused, so you can pick moves and abilities that allow you to support others and manipulate the environment.

Tenya Iida- The Legacy. His family are superheroes, and he is following in their footsteps. Give him a super speed power and you're good to go.

Shoto Todoroki- The Nova. His powers are big, flashy, and easy to lose control. Elemental control is also one of the standard options with the Nova as well.

Yuga Aoyama- The Star. Rather, he wants to be The Star.

Tsuyu Asui- This one is tough. Asui is a strong, stable influence. She’s almost handled better as an NPC, as she seems unlikely to get into arguments or fights like other characters. She could be a modified Janus or The Joined.

Momo Yaoyorozu- Her family is wealthy, so the Protégé would be a good fit. Because all of the kids in the anime have powers, The Beacon will almost never be used. However, because she creates mundane objects, an argument for the Beacon can be made.

Mezo Shoji- The Transformed. His body is obviously weird, and his associated powers align with the Transformed.

Eijiro Kirishima- He’s a good candidate for the Bull. He tries to overcome obstacles with brute force.

Mina Ashido- The Outsider! I know she’s not really an alien, but she looks just like the default picture. She even references how alien she looks!

Toru Hagakure- Because her only quirk is invisibility, the closest I can think of is the Beacon.

Kyoka Jiro- Another hard one, possibly handled better as a NPC or support. Perhaps the Janus?

Minoru Mineta- I hate him. The Delinquent? I’m not going to spend more time on this creep.

Denki Kaminari- The Nova, because his powers are elemental in nature and have a very bad drawback.

Fumikage Tokoyami- I want to go with the Doomed, but I’m not sure what his ‘Doom’ would be. Overall, the Doomed is the gloomiest of the playbooks, and he seems like the gloomiest person! But, somehow in a cool way.

Mashirao Ojiro- The Beacon might be a good fit here. His quirk is a tail, but it’s not a power in and of itself, so the Beacon could still work.

Hanta Sero- Yikes, this one is hard. His tape is definitely a power, but could be seen as a type of equipment, so the Beacon might apply. Additionally, the Janus has some similar powers.

Koji Koda- We don’t know much about Koda, so it’s hard to pick a playbook for him.

Rikido Sato- The Bull would fit his style, especially with the declining brain function.