Himiko Toga

Himiko Toga was one of the main antagonists of the My Hero Academia manga and anime series. She was a member of the League of Villains, affiliated with the Vanguard Action Squad, and later becoming one of the nine lieutenants of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Himiko was a fair-skinned girl who was prone to blushing and was frequently described as having a pretty face. She had inward-tilting yellow eyes with thin slit-like irises, somewhat resembling those of a cat, and her wide mouth was also rather feline, as her canines were pointed and longer than the rest of her teeth, giving her a vampiric appearance. Her hair was a pale, ash-blonde color and was styled into two messy buns, with numerous wild strands sticking out, a straight fringe and two chin-length side bangs framed her face. Her usual outfit consisted of a plain seifuku with a Kansai collar, both the skirt and the shirt dark blue with a double white trim, which was paired with a red scarf that she tied loosely below. Over this, she wore an oversized beige cardigan with a long hem and cuffs, and pockets on either side, the right one was shown to hold a number of trinkets on either a keychain or a cellphone strap.[6] She sported knee-length black socks and dark brown outdoor school shoes. She sometimes wore a tan pink duffel coat along with a pink scarf, the former was gifted to her by Skeptic after she damaged her old one in her fight against Curious. In her villain attire, she wore the same outfit but with a few additional gadgets: a piped black mask, two green boxes of knives strapped around her thighs; a blue utility belt around her waist with more green boxes attached to it on either side. The most distinguishing feature was the loose black mask she wore around her neck, which was decorated with pieces of pale gray metal in the shape of a carnivorous grin. Three large silver canisters are attached to the sides of her mask; the needles poking out connected to the two larger cylinders strapped to the back of her belt, this is the mechanism Himiko used to suck people's blood for her Quirk. During the Final War, Himiko adorned a new set of supportive gear. This includes propelled tendril-like blades and a new piped black mask. When using Double, she gained a feminine form of Twice's villain costume partially showing the left side of her face to those who get in her way. Himiko was a very cheerful girl, to the point of smiling even after having presumably killed someone, displaying sadistic tendencies. This continued even when danger was imminent, as seen when Tomura Shigaraki was about to attack her, but it usually stopped when she was bored or annoyed. Himiko was frequently seen blushing seemingly out of excitement rather than embarrassment, giving her a permanent look of what appeared to be lovesickness on her face. However, she did show that she could easily be embarrassed, such as when she thought people were coming on to her, or when she was naked when copying clothes of the people she transformed into. Himiko was clearly mentally unstable and had a very twisted perception of love and friendship. This was evidenced when, despite her attempting to kill Ochaco Uraraka and Tsuyu Asui, she tried to befriend the two girls as they fought, affectionately calling Tsuyu by her first name and describing the former as "lovely". When talking to Ochaco, she said that it's only natural to want to be like the one you love, and for Himiko this was taken to the point of literally becoming that person. She further explained and compared that like how "normal" people kiss the people they love as "normal", she sucked the blood of the people she loved, as this was her "normal", further showing her twisted understanding of love. She used this to justify her carving up and butchering "guys who are tattered and reeking of blood", as they fit the description of her ideal lover. Additionally, although it may seem so, Himiko's interest wasn't just superficial, as her questioning Izuku Midoriya about what his values and beliefs imply, showing that although twisted, she did indeed want to learn more about the person she loved. During her later confrontation with Izuku in the Final War, it's shown that despite the twisted way in which she acts when infatuated, her affection for Izuku was absolutely genuine and without any inherent malevolence, as Izuku's Danger Sense did not detect Himiko even when she ran at him with a knife. The love Himiko felt seemed to be no different from what "normal" people feel, but she simply did not know how to express it in a normal manner due to her warped mental state, which is the reasoning behind her constantly seeking battle with and the blood of those she loved in order to become closer to them. Himiko was quite courageous, or at least very confident when using her Quirk, even impersonating an aspiring Hero and taking part in an exam that gathered thousands of hero students and multiple Pro Heroes. She also showed a comedic and childlike demeanor when faced with different situations, such as when she was with Twice or when she attempted to insult Mimic. Like most of her allies, Himiko found living life to be difficult in the current world and wanted to make it an easier place to live in. She looks up to Stain and saw him as her role model; declaring a desire to kill and "become" him (possibly a reference to her Quirk). In stark contrast to her maniacal nature, Himiko showed a very supportive side as she comforted a distraught Twice, knowing he felt the most responsible for causing Magne's death and covering a part of his ripped mask to prevent him from splitting. By extension, she was shown to care greatly about her comrades and was enraged enough by Magne's death that she wanted to kill Overhaul and his men as payback. Even during the Final War, despite being driven by her rage towards the Heroes, she still became distraught over why her Quirk couldn't allow her to truly become Twice and use his Quirk to its full extent, further showing her closeness towards her fallen ally. Himiko was also prone to mood swings. When she found a target of "affection" (mainly Izuku) she was loud and cheerful. However, when someone got in between her and her target of her "affection", she showed a very cold, angered, and annoyed expression, instantly switching priorities to kill whoever the nuisance is. In the past, Himiko was noted by her family and former classmates to be, "a cheerful, reasonable, well-mannered girl" whose subsequent turn to a life of crime surprised everyone who knew her. However, her own recollections imply that this was merely an act she put on to try and fit in with what society deemed "normal." She believed the way she acted was her own normal and that she shouldn't be forced to conceal it. Re-Destro theorizes that Himiko's twisted personality came off as a result of her Quirk being blood-related, thus prompting a natural inclination towards it, and by proxy her "non normal" behavior, which was later emphasized due to societal norms, as well as her parents who tried desperately to repress and reform the tendencies brought on by her Quirk. During childhood, Himiko was put through much pressure to be "normal", where she struggled seeing everyone around her being allowed to be themselves and show affection. As it turns out, being forced to repress her feelings only made them grow internally. Her parents admonished her for her behavior, calling her rotten to the core and labelling her as inhuman, something that drove a distraught Himiko to her breaking point. She eventually succumbed to her Quirk's influence and ended up attacking another student, Saito, who was bloodied and bruised from a fight, believing that what she felt towards him was a crush. Despite her psychotic personality and violent habits, Himiko did possess some standards, as she was greatly shocked and upset when Twice was killed during the Paranormal Liberation War. Following her murderous rampage to avenge her comrade and dear friend, she questioned if the heroes didn't view Twice as a person if they are meant to save people. Furthermore, Himiko did show a strong desire for true friendship and others she could relate to outside of her murderous behavior, viewing the League of Villains as a place she could call home due to her allies also being outcasted by society. She was also greatly hurt when Ochaco refused to identify with her, due to both of them being forced to shut away their true feelings, with Ochaco hiding her feelings for Izuku, and Himiko having been forced to hide her true nature brought on by her Quirk. This all hinted at a sense of loneliness within Himiko due to her inability to fit into society. During her fight with Curious, she also recalled that when she took on the guise of a high school girl while she was on the run, the world became a bit kinder to her. Himiko was also curious and even somewhat fearful as to what would have happened to her if she was caught, and went to Ochaco to inquire about this. Although the latter's answer of apprehending the young villainess didn't answer this much, Himiko wondered if the heroes planned to kill her like they did with Twice. Despite boasting of never coming close to being caught, she did show to fear being captured or killed, as seen when she begged Eel Boy to let her go while the Pro Hero was apprehending her, as well as when she screamed in terror upon nearly being killed by Curious. Himiko later acknowledged that her most likely circumstances are ending up in prison on death row, or being killed outright by the Heroes in battle, which is why she refused to back down. During her time with the League, Himiko adopted Tomura's philosophy: that she should destroy whatever she despises. This was first demonstrated when she killed Curious and her squad, choosing to do this rather than leave them for Gigantomachia. During the Final War while facing off against Deku and Uravity, Himiko demonstrated how much she related to Tomura's ideals, saying that society has done nothing but reject her for how she is, and that she has a right to reject them. Himiko's loathing towards hero society was further emphasised, with her believing that they only value those who are important to them, while people like her and Twice are swept away and left to struggle and suffer by themselves. By the height of the Final War, Himiko fully embraced her villainy as she took on Twice's appearance and used his Quirk, telling her clones to massacre every hero in sight. While at first, Himiko expressed some regret that she couldn't talk to Ochaco about love, she soon discarded any sentiment she had towards Izuku, Tsuyu, and Ochaco, believing that they were just like her parents who rejected her, while lamenting that their society's rules pity her but don't care. As the battle raged on and Himiko's past memories began to resurface, she became more determined on killing the Heroes in her way, becoming even more unstable as a result. However, through much effort, Ochaco finally managed to get through to Himiko, getting her to open up about her past and her true feelings, how she would get so jealous over not being allowed to express her love towards other people. During this, Himiko's emotions reach their climax and she found herself unable to finish Ochaco off, instead becoming elated when Ochaco admitted to finding her smile cute and calling her "the cutest in the whole world", causing the villain to finally stand down. Following this heartfelt exchange, Himiko became willing to sacrifice herself to save a dying Ochaco by giving her all of her blood, still unwilling to let herself be captured, but not wanting to let someone so close to her die, being grateful that Ochaco took the time to reach out and understand her, despite everything she did. Overall, Himiko was a twisted yet conflicted villain whose life led her to commit many horrible actions. However, she never truly wished to be evil and only wanted a world that would accept her. Himiko acknowledged that her feelings of warped love and jealousy led her to hurt others, but had she known the feeling that Ochaco gave her sooner, then she might have felt compelled to share her blood with others, and could have lived an easier and happier life. In her final moments, Himiko held Ochaco close to her with tears in her eyes, content at receiving the acceptance she never had.