All 5 My Hero Academia High Schools Explained

While most of the protagonists of My Hero Academia are affiliated with U.A. High School, either as staff or students, it’s not the only school in Japan for hero training. U.A. is often touted as the best, but most characters who make that claim are understandably biased. Aside from U.A., however, there are several other schools that appear in both the manga and the anime. The other hero schools haven’t received as much focus, but that doesn’t mean that they’re worse. They’re spread across different parts of the country, and sometimes have slightly different goals than U.A.

Hero schools can be either public or private institutions, although the most prominent ones seem to be public. They also tend to have exceptionally low acceptance rates, such as U.A.’s acceptance rate of under 1%, simply due to the sheer volume of applications they receive each year. As with many competing schools, rivalries have cropped up between the students of these hero schools, and even most graduates who go on to become Pros seem to have a prideful connection to their school. Here’s how each of these schools stack up.

1 Shiketsu High School

After U.A., Shiketsu High School is said to have the best reputation among the hero training schools. Its name is derived from a Japanese word meaning “Hero,” with the kanji characters reversed. Located on the western side of Japan, opposite U.A.’s location in the east, the two schools seem to have a rivalry akin to that of college sports in the U.S. Shiketsu has had the most focus after U.A. as well, with popular characters like Camie Utsushimi, Todoroki’s rival Inasa Yoarashi, and Seiji Shishikura, wielder of the infamously disgusting “meatball” Quirk. As with most of the schools, Shiketsu was first brought up in the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam arc, where students from different schools competed to receive their provisional licenses.

Only two of the five students from Shiketsu received their provisional licenses, although this was in part because of Himiko Toga’s impersonation of Camie that caused her to miss the exam completely. One of these two was Nagamasa Mora, the class rep for the second year students with a hair-based Quirk. Inasa and Camie later appeared in the remedial courses alongside Todoroki and Bakugo, dealing with some out-of-control children with wildly powerful Quirks. Seiji attended the remedial course as an observer, along with an unnamed teacher. Shiketsu students would go on to appear again in the final war arc, fighting alongside pros and students from U.A.

Despite being forced to attend a remedial course, Shiketsu’s students seem to be very well trained, capable of using their Quirks with finesse. Students at Shiketsu are not supposed to have personal relations with other students, making the school exceptionally strict compared to U.A.

2 Ketsubutsu Academy

The next major school is Ketsubutsu Academy (its name reflecting a Japanese word meaning “heroic figure”), which also claims a rivalry with U.A. The rivalry appears much more one-sided than that between U.A. and Shiketsu, however. During the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam, Ketsubutsu’s class of second years was led by Ms. Joke, an acquaintance of Aizawa’s whose Quirk can cause uncontrollable laughter. Students from Ketsubutsu have made a tradition of eliminating U.A.’s provisional license candidates during the exam, taking advantage of U.A.’s televised Sports Festival to gather intel on the Quirks of U.A. students in advance.

Some of the most prominent students of Ketsubutsu Academy include Yo Shindo and Tatami Nakagame, who featured in manga chapters following the Paranormal Liberation War arc. Throughout the exam, they worked closely with two other students; Shikkui Makabe, who has blue skin and an object hardening Quirk; and Itejiro Toteki, who uses a Boomerang Quirk that allows him to influence the trajectory of objects, be they moving through air or even underground. Shindo was responsible for destroying much of the test area during the first phase with his earthquake Quirk, which separated students from their teammates and made maneuvering much more difficult. All four of these students were second-years at the time, and had considerably more experience as a result, making it unsurprising that most passed the exam.

Shindo and Nakagame have appeared a few more times since the exam. They were seen teaming up for their hero work study, and seem to have begun dating at some point. Most recently, the pair were dispatched to help round up civilians and bring them to the fortified Ketsubutsu Academy as an evacuation shelter, which led to a confrontation with escaped villain Muscular. Makabe and Toteki are also briefly seen performing the same duty elsewhere, indicating that they also received provisional licenses. Yo Shindo appeared again in the final war arc, helping to apprehend the villain Skeptic.

3 Seiai Academy

Seiai Academy appears only in the anime, which extended the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam to showcase schools aside from Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu. All students of Seiai Academy shown on screen were female, implying that Seiai may be a women-only hero school. Seiai’s team was led by Saiko Intelli, whose IQ Quirk boosted her intelligence and planning ability after consuming tea. Many of the other students showcased had more support-based Quirks as well, rather than combat-oriented quirks like much of U.A.’s Class 1-A. They executed a devious plan to trap several U.A. students in a building and incapacitate them, but Momo, Jiro, Asui, and Shoji were able to overcome the trap and pass the first phase. Ten students of Seiai were shown, and since the four U.A. students passed, only two of them could possibly have avoided being eliminated. Still, Seiai’s students demonstrated some of the best teamwork seen in the exam, so underestimating them would be a mistake.

4 Seijin High School

Seijin High School, another anime-exclusive, is the least known of the schools mentioned by name. All students of Seijin were seen dressed in ninja garb, indicating that the school may be intended to train students in traditional ninja techniques. As such, none of their faces or names were revealed. Seijin’s students attempted to corner Todoroki in the industrial area of the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam’s arena, but their attack was ill-planned, and he was able to defeat six of them singlehandedly. It’s unknown if there were any other students from the school present, and if so, whether they were able to pass. While their poor showing against Todoroki certainly doesn’t make Seijin look good, the students did seem to demonstrate a solid understanding of their Quirks, and were prepared to take advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses, using tools they knew Todoroki couldn’t melt.

5 Isamu Academy

Isamu Academy students appeared in an OVA (Original Video Animation, essentially a “Direct-to-DVD” anime special) while visiting and touring U.A. High School. It’s known to be another hero school, although its location within Japan isn’t stated. One of the students, Habuko Mongoose, is a friend of Tsuyu Asui’s from their middle school days. Habuko actually appeared in an Asui-themed bonus chapter in the manga, implying that Isamu Academy is indeed canon to both the My Hero Academia anime and manga. Habuko has a snake-like head and possesses a paralyzing glare Quirk, similar to a mythological basilisk. Other students seen in the OVA include Dadan Tadan, who has a sweat-based Quirk like Bakugo, Romero Fujimi, whose Quirk can turn people into zombies, and Kashiko Sekigai, who possesses a Quirk that can map out the surrounding area in impressive detail.

There are many ways that one can become a pro hero, and each of these schools offers a different route to that same ultimate goal. No matter what hero school one attends, intense training will be a big part of the program, both physically and academically, in order to ensure that students are capable of handling whatever comes their way. Given that these students are trusted to work with pros in several situations, the pro heroes must also respect the work that these hero schools do. No matter what My Hero Academia school one goes to, whether it’s U.A. High School or one of these other schools, the end goal will always be to save people in trouble, and that makes them all great.