Endeavor’s Abuse of Shoto in My Hero Academia: Japanese Dialogue Confirms Severity

Endeavor’s redemption was displayed in the My Hero Academia finale chapter when he made the decision to retire as a hero and spend the rest of his life with Toya. Despite this, the majority of the fandom found his redemption to be unsatisfactory due to his past violent actions towards his children, a sentiment that is reinforced by the Japanese dialogue.

Endeavor’s manner of addressing Shoto was incredibly surprising, as he used kanji typically reserved for addressing baby animals instead of human children. Additionally, the kanji used for Shoto could also be interpreted as being used for objects, although this was not reflected in the English translation.

Endeavor’s Struggle for Redemption in My Hero Academia

Enji and Toya as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Despite his father’s death while protecting a girl during a calamity, Enji Todoroki (Hero Name: Endeavor) was determined to become a hero. He quickly rose to the #2 position, but was unable to advance further due to All Might’s powerful influence. As a result, he made the decision to enter into a quirk marriage and have a child with a unique quirk.

Through a quirk marriage, he was able to wed Rei and over the course of their first few years together, he developed strong feelings for her. Their eldest child, Toya, inherited Endeavor’s flames and as he grew, Endeavor was delighted to see his son’s aspirations to become the top hero. Despite having a less powerful quirk himself, Endeavor’s relentless desire to surpass All Might only intensified with time.

Enji and Natsuo as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Although Fuyumi was the second child in the Todoroki family and only inherited her mother’s frost quirk, Endeavor did not initially worry about her birth. He held onto the hope that Toya would become a powerful hero. However, when it became clear that Toya was unable to fully utilize his quirk, Enji desired more children who could surpass All Might.

The third child of the Todoroki family, Natsuo, was disliked by Endeavor because he too possessed Rei’s quirk, but his utilization of it was unremarkable. Eventually, Shoto was born with a flawless combination of his parents’ quirks, marking two significant moments of change for the Todoroki family.

Endeavor’s primary focus was on training Shoto’s quirks, which quickly turned into a relentless and punishing routine that took a toll on the young boy, both mentally and physically.

Despite Endeavor’s neglect, Toya did not give up on his dream of becoming a hero and continued to push himself, even though his quirk was causing him harm. Unfortunately, this determination, combined with Endeavor’s neglect, ultimately led to the Sekoto Peak incident. As a result, Toya was manipulated by AFO and transformed into Dabi, a villain who sought to avenge his suffering at the hands of his father.

Endeavor beating Rei (Image via Shueisha)

Following what was believed to be Toya’s death, Endeavor completely abandoned any semblance of affection towards his family and instead became fixated on molding Shoto into the top hero through harsh training methods. As his anger and resentment grew, he began to take it out on Rei, causing her to spiral into mental instability and ultimately resulting in Shoto’s scar. Eventually, Rei was separated from the Todoroki household and confined to a mental institution.

In public, Endeavor openly expressed his feelings towards Shoto, which the English translations of the manga and anime were unable to accurately convey. Instead of using the Japanese kanji 子, Endeavor addressed Shoto with 仔.

Endeavor's abuse of Shoto (Image via Bones) — Endeavor’s abuse of Shoto (Image via Bones)

Although both kanji characters are used to address children, the former is typically used for baby animals or objects, while the latter is the appropriate term for human children. This distinction was not reflected in the English translations of My Hero Academia, as English has separate terminology for each aspect. However, the use of kanji allows for a more inclusive way of indicating this difference.

In addition, Endeavor’s use of アレ/あれ (Are) when referring to Shoto is indicative of his belief that Shoto is merely an object rather than a person, as the proper term あの人 (Anohito) would suggest. This demonstrates Endeavor’s view of Shoto as a tool or weapon lacking any sense of autonomy or consciousness.

In My Hero Academia, Endeavor’s treatment of Shoto could be likened to the way racing horses are bred and trained for competition. This may explain why he resorted to using a derogatory term for his own son. It also serves as evidence for why Endeavor’s punishment was ultimately insufficient.