One of the standout aspects of My Hero Academia is its diverse cast of characters. From the hotheaded Bakugo to more layered heroes like Todoroki and Hitoshi, the cast is full of recognizable heroes who are all coming of age. The anime for MHA helps to bring one of these heroes into the spotlight: Nejire. Being a part of U.A.’s “Big Three”, the manga depicts her as a curious, carefree hero who mostly provides support to her classmates Mirio and Tamaki.
The anime mostly carries over this depiction but adds a lot more detail and attention to her backstory that was previously unseen in the manga. Both versions of MHA’s story are still the same at their core. However, the anime showcases small details that go a long way into establishing Nejire as a key supporting character. She may not always be the focus of an arc, but Studio Bones’ adaptation of MHA fleshes out her desire to become a hero in a few key ways.
Nejire’s Backstory Got More Focus in My Hero Academia Season 7
Featured in Episode 149: Light Fades to Rain
Before becoming one of the most powerful students at U.A., Nejire was an inquisitive girl who would ask about her different classmates’ quirks when she was attending middle school. Nejire’s attempts to socialize with her classmates quickly backfired, as many of the students were jealous of her powerful quirk, the ability to control sound waves. This caused Nejire to become more distant from her peers, gaining a reputation for being hard to talk to. It wasn’t until she encountered Tamaki and Mirio for the first time that Nejire slowly opened up again. From then on, the three became inseparable, with all three becoming dependable heroes in their own right.
While the manga covers this backstory, the anime goes more in-depth into Nejire’s struggles. Not only does it cover her struggles with making friends, but both her English and Japanese VAs show Nejire’s curiosity from an early age. In the anime’s flashback version, we see a younger Nejire playfully hanging around her peers, making faces at them, and acting silly. The manga only shows brief images of when Nejire was more socially withdrawn from no one wanting to talk to her in school. It still informs readers about the character somewhat, but the anime does a much better job of exploring the finer details of Nejire’s past.
These details may seem like a minor addition, but they do so much to add to Nejire as a character. These minor touch-ups add more personality to the Big Three members, ensuring that viewers grow more attached to Nejire and want to see her succeed. While the manga tugged on readers’ heartstrings when Nejire’s backstory was first revealed, the anime adaptation added even more details that made Nejire stand out from her peers.
Nejire Makes a Better First Impression in the MHA Anime
Featured in Episode 62: A Season for Encounters
When fans see her for the first time in the anime and manga, Nejire is as bubbly and curious as ever. Her first appearance in the Rise of Villains saga has Nejire ask Class 1-A various questions about themselves, like why Todoroki has a scar on his face. The manga’s depiction of this scene was already funny.
Still, the voice acting by Lindsay Haydel and Kiyono Yasuno, Nejire’s English and Japanese voice actors, respectively, helps elevate Nejire’s inquisitiveness to a new level. The scene where she interacts with Class 1-A for the first time has her vividly zipping around the room as she asks the students of Class 1-A questions. It gives off the impression that Nejire is more energetic right off the bat, which isn’t conveyed as well by the paneling of the MHA manga.
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The anime also helps to convey Nejire’s personality much better throughout the arc. Nejire does a great job of showing Ocacho and Tsuyu the ins and outs of interning with Pro Heroes and the enthusiasm in her voice sells this very well. When battling against Rikka Katsukame, the anime does a good job of showing how competent Nejire is as a hero too. She outlasts the Eight Bullets members, showcasing how she can think more tactfully to take down villains. This contrasts with the manga, where the same events still occur, but Nejire’s cheeriness isn’t displayed to its fullest, unlike in the anime.
She also has plenty of moments to shine, supporting her peers. Nejire may appear an airhead because of her inquisitiveness. That being said, the anime dedicates plenty of time to showing how she supports her friends and peers. The anime devotes plenty of time to Nejire, thoughtfully encouraging Mirio, Tamaki, and Class 1-A students like Mina to do their best. It’s not a mystery why many consider her to be one of MHA‘s most underrated characters.
Nejire Shines in the U. A. Beauty Pageant
Featured in Episode 86: Let It Flow! School Festival!
Nejire’s personality is further explored in the anime’s depiction of the U.A. School Festival Arc. Most of her time is spent getting ready for the U.A. Beauty Pageant, where she competes against Bibimi Kenranzaki. The anime takes the time to show Nejire supporting Tamaki in preparing for the Beauty Pageant. Once it’s Nejire’s turn to perform, the anime showcases her unique powers by floating up into the sky using her shockwaves and smiling at her friends in the crowd. The display is truly dazzling compared to the version we see in the manga, where there are only a few panels dedicated to capturing Nejire’s performance.
MHA‘s anime adaptation also helps take a lot of Nejire’s brief moments to talk to other students in the manga and expand on them. The manga still depicts Nejire being as curious as always, but the anime does a better job of showing how energetic she can be. The anime does a better job of showing how excited Nejire is to take part in the pageant, encouraging her friends, and showing her rivalry with Bibimi. After the tense encounters with Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai, it’s nice to see one of the Big Three enjoy herself in a more casual environment.
Nejire’s Plays a Bigger Part in MHA’s Final War
Featured in Episode 149: Light Fades to Rain
The Final War arc marks the culmination of the struggles of the U.A. students to take down the villains. In the final battle against each other, Nejire plays a big role in the struggle to come. In the ensuing battle, she reconnects with the other members of the Big Three to fight against Shigaraki. The ensuing battle is nothing short of intense in the anime. The animation and music are utterly fantastic, adding to the high stakes of the fight.
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The teamwork of the other Big Three members is also better shown off in their battle. In a desperate team-up attack, Nejire allows Tamaki to absorb enough energy from her shockwave to power his Plasma Cannon. Unfortunately, the attack has no effect, and the expressions of shock on Nejire’s face in the anime drive home how desperate the situation has become. With MHA‘s final season of the anime being announced for April 2025, it will be exciting to see how Nejire’s story continues into the anime’s final batch of episodes.
My Hero Academia
Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life—a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.
- Release Date
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April 3, 2016
- Seasons
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7
- Studio
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Bones
- Franchise
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My Hero Academia
- Creator
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Kōhei Horikoshi
- Distributor
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FUNimation Entertainment
- Number of Episodes
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159
- Based On
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Manga
