My Hero Academia Fans Are Heartbroken Over Gentle's Backstory

My Hero Academia is really good at tugging your heart in all the best ways, but the anime isn't afraid to shake up emotions for the worst. The show has its highs and lows, but fans were reminded of how stark its sadder moments can be. After all, netizens were fine disliking the villain Gentle Criminal given his alignment, but all of that changed after the anime detailed the man's tragic backstory.

For those who have seen the most recent episode of My Hero Academia, they were surely torn to bits over Gentle. Izuku found himself respecting the villain a great deal after learning about his opponent, and it is all because the Hero Society failed Gentle when he was in high school.

Back in those days, the villain wanted nothing more than to be a hero known in textbooks for his deeds. Danjuro Tobita, as he was known then, got into an average high school to train but failed miserably at his tests. After failing enough tests, his high school counselor pressured Danjuro into dropping out as he would never cut it as a hero.

With his parents immensely ashamed of their son's failure to become a hero, Danjuro tried to do school the regular way. He was fine until he tried to save a man falling from a window, but his actions got in the way of licensed Pro Heroes. The man was injured because of his interference which forced Danjuro's family to pay debt to the victim and a fine for their son's action. This led the man to be kicked out of his home, and Danjuro finally cracked when he tried to greet an old friend of his from school. The other man had become a top hero by this time, and he refused to give Gentle the time of day since he failed to remember him.

All of this tragedies led Danjuro to become a villain who strove to gain fame while pointing out the injustices behind the Pro Hero system. Izuku admits he understands where Gentle comes from even if he cannot approve of his actions. And by the end of Gentle's anime arc, fans are left rooting for the baddie in tears as you can see in the slides below:

Did this villain's backstory take you by surprise? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Ouch

Gentle’s backstory is so sad. The graffiti in front of his house says “TRASH!” and he had to withdraw from U.A.#BNHAspoilers

— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) March 14, 2020

We Can't.

This backstory from Gentle Criminal is so sad. I gave my full respect to him not just because of what he did as a villain but also for his character overall

— Jec Yorozuya 🙏Silver Soul🙏 (@7jeeeeeeec) March 14, 2020

See Ya

Joker & Harley Quinn can f-ck off. Be Gentle Criminal and La Brava.

— Kajmaster Kajet (@KajmasterKajet) March 14, 2020

A New Favorite

#MHA #BNHA

Gentle Criminal is my favorite villain of all time. He is a unique character with a fantastic backstory and a cool personality also his motivations are so great and nobel.

Basically he is a top tier well-written character and a masterpiece🖤✨

— 𝙼𝚞𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊🖤🥀 (@iRoseBoy) March 15, 2020

Redemption

I might be the only one but I feel bad for gentle criminal and la brava 😭 #MyHeroAcademia

— Kev ⁷🙈 (@kevinhuiman4) March 14, 2020

A Hero in the End

The latest episode of MHA was great

2 villains who has a deep relationship shared their own backstory

Deku respects Gentle by saying he's the one who was harder to fight than anyone else he'd ever fought

Gentle Criminal sacrificed his villainy for the future of La Brava

— Jec Yorozuya 🙏Silver Soul🙏 (@7jeeeeeeec) March 14, 2020

A Masterpiece of Angst

My love for this anime grows even deeper. Deku vs Gentle Criminal, yet another masterpiece by the production team. Although again with the dimming, no worries it was still wonderful. #MyHeroAcademia

— Abdul Zoldyck [SASUKE RETSUDEN MOVIE] (@Abdul_S17) March 14, 2020

Don't Get Us Started

Gentle Criminal is a result of the questionable/unjust hero society in My Hero Academia so people calling him a “filler villian” either aren’t paying attention or don’t understand why his character is so important to the future of this series and I’m 😤

— wisa lallen (@wisalallen) March 15, 2020