My Hero Academia/Recap/Entrance Exam Arc

The Entrance Exam Arc covers chapters 1-4 of the manga and episodes 1-4 of the anime, and is the first arc in the series.

We're introduced to five-year-old Izuku Midoriya, the Quirkless son of a Japanese couple who both have Quirks, hopelessly defending a bullying victim from his former friend, Katsuki Bakugo. Lying beaten up and powerless, he remarks how not all people are created equal.

Nine years later, he witnesses pro Heroes Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady defeating a villain together and vigorously takes notes - this is because he aspires to become a pro Hero one day, despite being Quirkless. While he receives encouragement from a stranger, he is ridiculed by his classmates and viciously bullied by Bakugo, who goes so far as to burn one of his notebooks and spitefully give him a suicide dare. To boot, Bakugo aspires to become a pro Hero himself and possesses a very potent Explosion Quirk. As he returns home from school, he recalls the first time he saw his favorite Hero, All Might, and being told that he was born Quirkless at age 4.

On his return home, Midoriya is attacked by a Sludge Villain who wants to hijack his body and choke him to death for cover. Before he passes out, he is rescued by a strapping Hero with a wide smile. Midoriya is in utter shock when he wakes up - it was All Might, in the flesh! Desperately wanting to hear his opinion on whether or not he should become a Hero, Midoriya grabs onto All Might as he's about to fly away, and just before he asks him the question, he sees his favorite Hero deflate into a sickly, emaciated man.

Midoriya is utterly flabbergasted, but All Might notes that his present state was induced by a grievous injury he received five years ago, which the public wasn't informed about on his behest; he can only use his full power for three hours a day. The Hero beseeches the boy not to write about it or tell anyone, and notes that being a Hero without a Quirk is far too dangerous to be feasible as he leaves. Midoriya walks back home in disappointment, while All Might notices that the bottle he used to contain the aforementioned Villain was gone - he had dropped it when Midoriya grabbed onto him!

As he walks along, Midoriya hears an explosion and heads over to investigate - he sees that the Sludge Villain was at large once again, and that his current victim was Bakugo. There are several Heroes on location already, but they can't operate because of the narrow location and the fires Bakugo's Explosion Quirk started. Feeling guilty and horrified, Midoriya has a lapse in judgment and hopelessly tries to rescue Bakugo from the Villain. Just when the villain is about to attack him again, he's stopped again - by All Might. He was already at the scene in the first place, lamenting not being able to act. However, witnessing Midoriya's heroism spurs him into action despite his weakened state and he defeats the Villain for good. All Might is hailed by the citizens, Bakugo is praised by the Heroes and Midoriya is scolded for his recklessness.

As Midoriya once again heads home, Bakugo catches up to him - his pride wounded, the bully shouts that he never asked for Midoriya's help not and claims he doesn't owe him anything before leaving in a huff. Midoriya is fully determined to give up his dreams of heroism when All Might appears before him again! The Hero thanks the young man for giving him the push of strength, but Midoriya blames himself for the villain's escape and getting in the way of All Might's work just for his sake. All Might states that it was exactly because of him - timid and Quirkless - that All Might was able to act in spite of his time limit, and that the true mark of a Hero is to act before they have a chance to think. Realizing that All Might is telling him that he's worthy, Izuku is overwhelmed by emotions and falls to his knees in tears. Then, the man he admired the most told him these words: "You, too, can become a Hero."

All Might notes that he came to this city to find a successor to his Quirk, "One For All". He notes that it wasn't innate to him, but that he inherited it from a previous wielder - the power to transfer power and generate strength with each new wielder. Having heard the offer, Midoriya accepts it without hesitation. For the next ten months, he undergoes a grueling training routine to become fit enough to handle the Quirk's power, which involves turning a junkyard beach back into a clean tourist site. On the morning of the Entrance Exam to U.A., his desired Hero School, Izuku Midoriya gains One For All by eating a strand of All Might's hair.

At U.A. High School, the examinees are greeted by pro Hero Present Mic, a teacher. He explains that the way to score points in the exam is to destroy villain bots - one, two and three points each - and to beware the massive zero-point villain. When the exam starts, Midoriya is completely unable to score any points, because he doesn't know whether or not he's inherited the Quirk at all. Eventually, the examinees are attacked by the giant zero-point villain bot. Midoriya tries to run, but then he hears the cries of a girl - a friendly young lady whom he encountered at the gate - trapped in rubble and in danger of death. Once again, Izuku makes a heroic dash, but this time, he launches himself in the air with the power of One For All and destroys the villain bot with a single punch, while everyone else looks on in awe. This new power, however, hasn't come without a caveat - this move broke both his legs and his right arm, and he falls helplessly to what seems to be certain death. He's only saved by the timely intervention of the aforementioned girl, who uses her gravity-manipulating Quirk to break his fall in time. As time runs out, the injured students are healed by Recovery Girl, the school nurse.

Seven days later, Midoriya receives a letter from U.A., which actually contains a holographic projector - to his surprise, All Might is the one being projected. The Hero reveals that he was hired by U.A. to become a teacher, but chose to keep it a secret until the school year had begun. All Might notes that Midoriya has scored zero points on the practical exam, but then plays a video: it shows the girl Midoriya saved, later found to be named Ochako Uraraka, pleading with Present Mic to lend some of her points to the boy who saved her. Mic says it can't be done, but also that there's no need for it. All Might reveals that the entrance exam was also graded on rescue points - earned by helping and saving fellow examinees - and that Izuku's leap earned him a total of 60, which is more than enough to pass. All Might encourages Midoriya, who sheds tears of joy and whose life has changed forever.

This arc contains examples of:

Adults Are Useless: Most notably, Midoriya's homeroom teacher in middle school doesn't intervene at all when Bakugo assaults Midoriya right in the middle of class.
Asshole Victim: Given that Bakugo had earlier told Izuku to take a swan dive off the roof, nobody feels sorry for him when he's targeted by the sludge villain.
Big Damn Heroes:
- Both of All Might's rescues are played in this light, because of his grandiose appearance.
- Midoriya's leap to save Uraraka in the entrance exam is played in an equally flashy light and is one of the most iconic scenes from this story.
Blow You Away: This is how All Might defeats the Sludge Villain, both times. He channels the power of One For All through his fist and uses the wind pressure to blow his foe away and split him into tiny pieces.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the manga, Midoriya mentally points out how All Might looks like he's drawn in a completely different art style while he's geeking out over him. This is averted in the anime, where Midoriya merely says All Might looks completely different in person.
The Cameo: Hana Aoi, the heroine from Horikoshi's previous work, Oumagadoki Zoo, has a cameo appearance in the anime's second episode.
Damsel in Distress: When the zero-point villain bot attacks, it leaves a lot of rubble in its wake. Some of the rubble traps Uraraka, which prompts Midoriya to rescue her. The Distress Ball then goes to his hands, as he plummets to certain death, only to be saved by Uraraka in the nick of time.
Down in the Dumps: This is quite literally where Midoriya begins his training. He is granted ten months to clean a beach-turned-junkyard to work out his physique in order to become a suitable carrier of One For All. Here, All Might stresses the importance of being considerate to your community, calling it the roots of heroism.
Establishing Character Moment: As is part and parcel for the beginning of a series, this arc has several:
- Izuku Midoriya: he's first shown standing up for a battered boy, defending him from bullies. This highlights his compassionate, considerate nature and his inability to ignore those in danger.
- Katsuki Bakugo: in his very first scene in middle school, it's made clear that he's as an arrogant, cantankerous douchebag who is especially cruel to Midoriya and sees his aspiration to be a Hero to be a personal attack because Midoriya is Quirkless.
- All Might: in his debut video, the essence of his heroics are on display very clearly: his desire to bring hope and peace to people are reflected in his beaming smile and his words of reassurance.
- Ochako Uraraka: the first thing she does is stop Midoriya from face-planting with her Quirk and wishing him luck on the exam; this goes a long way to show that she's a tender, compassionate young lady.
Eye Scream: The first thing Midoriya does when attacking the Sludge Villain is hurling his schoolbag at his eye to throw him off and give Bakugo an opening to breathe.
Finishing Move: All Might's "Detroit Smash" is so powerful, not only does it completely annihilate the Sludge Villain, but it releases a concussive wind so strong that it changes the clouds, creating a brief shower that douses the flames around him.
Heroes' Frontier Step: Izuku Midoriya takes his step when he dashes in to try and save Bakugo from being killed by the Sludge Villain, despite being Quirkless and scared to tears. This action prompts All Might to leap back into action despite his power limit and later offer Midoriya One For All.
Hidden Purpose Test: The entrance exam. While villain points are a valid source of scoring, the exam is also graded on rescue points, unbeknownst to most of the examinees.
Hypocrisy Nod: All Might acknowledges that he wasn't putting his money where his mouth is when he saves Midoriya a second time, because the boy was risking his life to save Bakugo, while All Might was lamenting his power for the day being spent.
Jaw Drop: This is the collective reaction of everyone on Midoriya's exam ground as he takes down the zero-point villain bot with a single punch of One For All.
Jumped At the Call: Not surprising that this is Midoriya reaction to All Might's offer to train him, given how much he wanted to be a hero.
Kick the Dog: The first thing the Sludge Villain does upon appearing is rob a bank and nearly kill an innocent teenager.
Kill Steal: Downplayed to knockout. When Kamui Woods is about to use his Lacquered Chain Prison technique to restrain the giant villain, Mt. Lady swoops in and knocks said villain out with a kick, then proceeds to pose for the media.
The Klutz: When working up the courage to go to U.A. on the day of his entrance exam, Midoriya manages to trip over his own legs and almost face-plants.
Megaton Punch: Midoriya's first use of One For All is so strong it sends a multi-story villain bot crashing to the ground, with its head completely destroyed.
Mentor Archetype: By virtue of Midoriya accepting his offer of One For All, All Might takes Midoriya on as his pupil, and they've been in this relationship since then.
Muck Monster: The Sludge Villain, which is also the series' first genuine antagonist.
Muscles Are Meaningful: All Might stresses that if he were to be granted One For All in his current Geek Physique, it would destroy him from the inside out. Therefore, Midoriya is put on a 10-month workout regimen and it eventually pays off.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: To nobody's surprise, Bakugo doesn't even say "thank you" to Midoriya for saving his life, and the other pro heroes give him a scolding for taking such a risk.
Nothing but Skin and Bones: When his power limit goes out, All Might goes from a muscle-bound giant with a wide smile to a sickly, emaciated man with messy hair and sunken eyes.
Police Are Useless: All Might discusses and defies this trope, saying that being an officer is a noble line of work for someone who wants to protect people, despite the small amount of credit they receive.
Restored My Faith in Humanity: All Might is a Stepford Smiling cynic and pessimist starting to doubt his own purpose, until Midoriya makes a selfless attempt to save Bakugo from the Sludge Villain.
Secret Test of Character: The entrance exam has one in the form of rescue points, which are unknown to the examinees at the time of the exam and awarded by a jury afterwards.
Secret Keeper: Midoriya becomes one for All Might when he witnesses his true form. All Might beseeches the boy not to write or talk about it to anyone.
Shirtless Scene: When Midoriya finishes his cleanup, he's seen shirtless, screaming at the top of his lungs. To boot, he's now fit as a fiddle.
Skyward Scream: After having cleaned the entirety of Takoba Municipal Beach Park, Midoriya stands atop the pile of rubbish and screams victoriously, having transformed from a skinny "limp noodle", as All Might called him, to a lean, ripped and fit young man.
Suicide Dare: Bakugo outright tells Midoriya to believe he'll be born with a Quirk in his next life and to jump off the roof.
Super Zeroes: A full-on team of specially trained pro-heroes show-up to take down the Sludge Villain, but none of them are able to properly pacify the situation, either because their Quirks are not equipped to handle a Muck Monster, or due to the fire set up by Bakugo's explosions.
Tears of Joy: Three times for Midoriya: the first, when All Might tells him he can become a Hero; the second, when he finishes his training, remarking how blessed he feels; the third is when he learns he passed the entrance exam. All Might occasionally ribs him about how often he cries.
This Cannot Be!: Midoriya is completely taken aback by the fact that his favorite Hero is actually a decrepit, emaciated man.
Training Montage: Midoriya's intense workout is given one, where he does all sorts of exercises to strengthen his physique to inherit One For All.
Training from Hell: The training regimen All Might gives Midoriya seems hellish enough - telling him to clear a beach that has become strewn with decades worth of junk, along with the usual calisthenics and special diet - but Midoriya is so determined to succeed he actually does more than his mentor demands.
Vomit Discretion Shot: Uraraka falls nauseous every time she overuses her Quirk, and she ends up hurling when she saves Midoriya. Fortunately, it's shown only through glitter and rainbows.