In My Hero Academia, nearly everyone has some kind of superpower, also known as a quirk. And because of these meta abilities, people have become more than what a human can be.

Now, all of them come in a wide variety but there are certain categories on a few bases to identify them in a better manner. The basis can range from what they do, how they function, or do they require a trigger to activate?

The thing is, it’s a multivariate phenomenon i.e. it has various factors and those different aspects lays the groundwork for commonality.

But hey, it doesn’t only end there, the type of quirk one possesses also signifies how powerful they are/can be.

It can be genetic or something like OFA/AFO that is transferable; to be honest, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s dominating other types. 

However, it’s not like every quirk would be the same or else it would lose the essence of its translation i.e. individuality. Most of the quirks share some broad similarities, categorizing them under three basic categories.

So, what are these classifications, and what each one of them holds? Is there a type of quirk that can be deemed as the strongest? Let’s find out.

Also, we have addressed some burning question related to quirks in a different blog; click here to read it!

1. Emitters:

Known Emitter Quirks: Aizawa’s Erasure, Endeavor’s Hellfalme, Chisaki’s Overhaul, Stain’s Bloodcurdle and Shigaraki’s Decay to name a few.

Let’s start with the most common one, that way it is easy to understand and it also covers the majority of the users.

Also known as Operatives, Emitter-Type Quirks are superpowers that grant its user to control or manipulate things in certain ways.

Although it requires a conscious effort to activate the power, depending upon the ability and its user. 

For example, Aizawa’s Erasure requires a great amount of concentration to be in action for a certain period of time. Meanwhile, Shoto’s Half Cold Half Hot does require focus but not as much as that of Aizawa’s.

Basically, the intensity to focus in order to activate the quirk and keep it running varies from person to person. 

The Emitter-Type Quirk users also have various ranges. While some quirks like Zero Gravity require physical contact to use them, some others like Navel Laser have no restrictions like that.

In other words, the emissions of Emitter Quirk Users can have a lot of variations in their abilities. 

There are some Emitter-Type Quirks that cause its wielder’s body to undergo a temporary change. Although the stimulus is an external factor here i.e. a different resource is required in order to activate the quirk.

The best example for this would be Rikido’s Sugar Rush – where he needs to ingest sugar in his body to become more powerful.

The overwhelming variety in the properties of the quirks that are in a way similar to each other makes the Emitter class the most common type of quirk.

2. Transformation:

The next one on the list is Transformation-Type Quirk users.

Known Transformation Quirks: Edgeshot’s Foldabody, Amajiki’s Manifest, Mirio’s Permeation, Redestro’s Stress and Kirishima’s Hardening.

As the name suggests, this class of abilities causes the user to go under a temporary change that sometimes enhances, removes the existing features, or adds new features in the body altogether.

.They generally affect the users exclusively i.e. to have some kind of change in the body. 

For Transformation-Types, they also need a conscious effort to activate the quirk though it can be done through training. With lots of practice and after fully understanding one’s quirk they can activate it in an instant with great precision.

The best example for this would be the Number 4 Pro Hero – Edgeshot. He can transform himself into a razor-sharp string and that transformation exceeds the speed of sound itself. 

This type of quirk varies a lot when it comes to the degree of transformation. To explain it clearly, take the examples of Mount Lady and Himiko Toga.

Mount Lady’s quirk i.e. Gigantification allows her to exponentially grow like a colossal.

On the other hand, Toga’s quirk Transform allows her to mould herself into a physical look-alike of another individual. But this can happen only if she has the blood sample of the person she wants to transform into.

In the given cases, the degree of transformation is quite clear. Along with that, there are times when the transformation can’t occur without a catalyst.

This was the case with Toga – her catalyst was the blood of the person whom she wanted to be transformed into.

Oh, did I ever tell you that this Transformation Quirk is the type of quirk that seems to be the least common one? If not then yes, Kirishima’s Hardening is one of a kind and we should all adore that boy. 

3. Heteromorphic or Mutant Type quirks:

Heteromorphic or in simple words the Mutant-Type Quirk is the type of quirk that permanently alters a person’s body.

Known Heteromorphic Quirks: Spinner’s Gecko, Shiozaki’s Vines, Hawks’ Fierce Wings, Shoji’s Dupli-Arms and Mirko’s Rabbit.

Now, the degree of alteration depends upon the quirk and person but it is usually something that’s not human-like. These irregularities in the user’s bodily features generally have some sort of purpose to them.

In addition to that, mutant-type quirks channel certain aspects of itself through its user similar to Emitter-Type users. One example of this would be Kyouka Jirou’s Earphone Jack. 

Now, onto the next question – what are these permanent irregularities in this type of quirk?

Well, in most of the cases the users have some sort of animal-esque appearance that might or might not be in direct relation with their quirk.

Be it Ojiro’s tail, Tsuyu’s frog tongue, or Tokoyami’s bird-like face, the alterations we have seen/read mostly consist of animal-like traits.

And all of these characteristics are always active to some extent, making it some sort of a permanent change in the user’s body.

To top all of this, another unique feature of Mutant-Type Quirk is that the physical change is also inheritable. Like, Ojiro getting his tail from one (or both) of his parents or Tokoyami getting his bird-like head from either or both of his parent(s) too. 

As stated already, Mutant-Type Quirks permanently change the features of one’s body. So it’s not like the Emitter-Type or Transformation-Type where the users can change it or turn off the oddities.

This sometimes leads to inconvenience in certain types of situations. Let’s take the case of Ojiro, again; he has a tail quirk which makes it difficult for him to sit down or lie straight.

While the Mutant-Type Quirks aren’t as common as Emitter types, they are the most identifiable.

The Sub-Types of Quirks:

The above three are the main classifications when it comes to categorizing the quirks in general. But there are a few more which either act as an exceptional case or are just the extension of the above three types.

These kinds of quirks fall under the sub-types or as I would like to call it – The Tiny Substrata. Essentially, there are three of them:

1. Accumulation:

Accumulation-Type Quirks are the type of quirks that require the user to store something that is in direct/indirect relation with their quirk ahead of time.

Basically, this is nothing but power-stacking, making a cluster of dominos in form of mass, energy, or a particular resource. The best example of this would be Fat Gum’s Fat Absorption.

His quirk allows him to rack up fat in his body that can be used either for the offensive push or the defensive back.

One For All and AFO also come under this type along with the idea that both of them are transferable as well as Emitter-Type Quirks too.

2. Awakening:

Normally, the quirk manifests at the age of four but that is most probably only the first part of manifestation.

It is possible to undergo the second part of manifestation that allows one to experience Awakening. In other words, quirks evolve on the spot when met with the right catalyst.

More than often, the right catalyst is a life or death situation only that allows the user as well as their quirk to grow exponentially out of the blue. 

Himiko Toga’s quirk evolving at the last minute is a great example of Awakening. She was able to put Uraraka’s Zero Gravity in action when she transformed into her.

One more example would be the evolution of Shigaraki’s Decay when he was fighting against Re-Destro.

3. Miscellaneous:

Poor choice of word? Probably. But did you know that Principal Nezu isn’t a rabbit? So, what is he then? A person with a mutant-type quirk with their whole body like a mouse?

Yes, he’s a mouse or at least has a mouse-like appearance. See, no classification system can be perfect so there always will be that one animal who spontaneously developed a super-intelligent quirk.

Again yes, there are a few animals who were also affected by the contagious phenomenon of quirks. 

This ‘miscellaneous’ type of quirk might have been a result of a mix-up of two or more types of quirks. Or they are something that completely defies the standard human norm.

The bottom line is that they are as strange as the notion of quirks. To make it more miscellaneously strange, Kamui Woods is not an actual person but a tree or nature spirit.

So, that’s why the classification of this type of quirk comes under the Miscellaneous category. 

The Million Dollar Question – What’s The Strongest Type of Quirk?

Drum rolls, the answer is Emitter-Type Quirk Users. 

Let me state out the weaknesses of Mutant-Type and Transformation-Type Quirk users to justify my reason beforehand. 

In the case of Transformation-Types, they generally require a close combat scenario to fully utilize whatever is there at their disposal.

Furthermore, if the user depends upon a particular resource and it gets exhausted during the battle, they might be facing a life or death situation. This happened with Tetsutetsu’s Steel quirk when he was fighting against Shoto in the Joint Training Arc.

The transformation quirks are quite powerful but they often come with a high risk to their user. Obviously, there are a few exceptions, one of them being Mirio’s Permeation. Okay, this is just me being biased.

On the other hand, we have Mutant-Types, their malformations might become a hindrance.

Like in the case of Hawks, if he loses all of his feathers, he’s totally done for. It takes a total of two days for all of them to grow back and I don’t think any villain would wait for that long.

The reason why I took Hawks as an example is because he’s the strongest Mutant-Type user and is the #2 Pro Hero. This gives a general idea of where this type of quirk stands. 

The Real Answer:

So, what else do we have then? That’s right – Emitter-Type Quirks.

The fact that the Number 1 Hero right now is an Emitter only strengthens my statement. Apart from that, you have Shigaraki’s Decay, All For One, Bakugo’s Explosion and let’s not forget Chisaki’s Overhaul.

I don’t think there are many people who will go against them. Although there’s something that can stop them too.

When it comes to the direct effect of the quirks on the bodies of its users, the Emitter ones suffer the most. Aizawa’s Erasure takes a lot of concentration to pull it off and not to mention puts a lot of strain on his eyes.

Bakugo obviously has to control his recoil and needs sweat to activate his quirk in order to go boom boom. In the case of OFA, it takes an immense amount of toll on the user’s body, physically as well as mentally.

This is the biggest and the most obvious drawback of the Emitter types. And it is all thanks to Quirk Singularity. 

That’s It:

It is done, all over. This was everything you need to know about the types of quirks; every major classification and sub-types that is known in My Hero Academia is listed here.

Still, if you’ve a doubt or a fleeting feeling that I missed out on something, do comment and let me know. Till then, read and watch My Hero Academia and praise Kohei Horikoshi.