How old is Deku? Izuku Midoriya’s age across all of ‘My Hero Academia’

While entertaining, superhero stories aren’t always pretty. When they involve young kids, as My Hero Academia does, things get even darker.

In this series’ superhuman society, having some type of special ability is the norm, making those without one the targets of social exclusion. This is the case of Izuku Midoriya — or it was until he got a powerful quirk, One for All. From that point onward the protagonist is forced to grow into a proper hero, building up strength and gaining combat experience to stand up against My Hero Academia‘s most dangerous threat, All for One. It’s a heavy burden for anyone to carry on their shoulders, let alone a kid.

Seeing Deku struggle to adapt to his newly acquired quirk makes for an interesting story, that’s for sure, but as we see him grow up, we can’t ignore the unjust world around him. With that, of course, comes the realization that the protagonist seems far too young to be involved in a full-blown war, and especially to be at the center of it. All My Hero Academia fans have pondered over this matter, naturally, but not all know how old is Deku throughout the series. Well, they’re about to find out.

What is Deku’s age in My Hero Academia?

Deku is one of the characters that the audience gets to see grow up, along with Katsuki Bakugo. Because their childhood is so closely tied to their character arcs, we see Deku in different stages of life, from a toddler playing heroes with his mother to a self-sacrificing U.A. student.

At the beginning of My Hero Academia, Deku is a 14-year-old middle school student, desperately holding onto his dream of becoming a hero, even without a quirk. In the series’ early episodes and chapters, though, the story alternated between the present and the past, showing us flashbacks of Deku when he was four years old, a period in time that greatly impacted the protagonist.

In the present timeline, Deku remains 14 throughout most of All Might’s training to inherit One for All, but by the time of the U.A. Entrance Exam, is he 15. This is his age during Deku’s first semester at the high school, until the Final Exams arc. By the time we get into the Forest Training Camp arc, Deku has turned 16 years old, and although a lot happened in the story since then, that is still his age at present.

Let’s hope that Izuku manages to survive beyond his teen years. If All for One and Shigaraki have a say on the matter, it won’t be an easy task.