Shoto Todoroki (Japanese: 轟 焦凍, Hepburn: Todoroki Shōto), also known by the mononym Shoto (ショート, Shōto), is a superhero and one of the main protagonists of the manga series My Hero Academia, created by Kōhei Horikoshi. Being the only child who inherited both Endeavor and Rei's Quirks, Shoto was often separated from his siblings. After witnessing how Endeavor abused his mother, Shoto began to despise Endeavor and refused to use his fire powers as a result, though he began to use them more after a fight with Izuku Midoriya.
Shoto's Quirk is Half-Cold Half-Hot (半冷半燃), which allows him to shoot flames from the left side of his body and freeze things with the right side of his body. However, there are drawbacks to either side's overuse. Shoto has received positive reception by critics, with many praising his character development and origins in the anime.
Creation and conception
Shoto was the fourth student in Class 1-A to be created by Horikoshi, following Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, and Ochaco Uraraka.[1] Originally Horikoshi had intended the UA Sports Festival solely to develop Shoto's character, though later had to expand it to give more characters a chance to be in the spotlight.[2]
Appearances
In My Hero Academia
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Shoto is the youngest of four siblings from Endeavor (Enji Todoroki) and Rei Todoroki. However, unlike his siblings, Shoto was the only one who inherited both Endeavor and Rei's quirks, which was Endeavor's goal with the marriage, as he wanted a successor who could defeat All Might. When Shoto was a child, he was subjugated to harsh physical training by Endeavor, who would beat Shoto up brutally to make him stronger. His mother was also abused by her husband, which resulted of her poured boiling hot water on the left side of his face after she snapped because the left side of shotos face reminded her too much of endeavor, the man who had abused her, causing a scar on the left of his face, around his left eye. This experience negatively affected both Shoto's mental health and his feelings towards his father, alienating himself from his peers. Due to this distaste for his father, he refused to use the fire portion of his Quirk, or socialize with other classmates. After his fight against Izuku Midoriya in the U.A. Sports Festival, Shoto began to be more accepting of his fire powers. Shoto also became more sociable as a result of spending more time with his classmates.
Shoto's Quirk is Half-Cold Half-Hot, which allows him to freeze things with the right side of his body and shoot flames from the left side of his body. After overcoming the reluctance to use his flame powers, he learns different ways to combine both powers effectively. However, overuse of his powers could cause him to suffer from frostbite or heat stroke.
Shoto was added to the crossover video game Jump Force as a DLC character on May 26, 2020.[6] In a crossover promotion with Avengers: Infinity War, Shoto shared a brief conversation with Thor.[7]
Shoto has consistently ranked in the top three in popularity polls for the series alongside Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo.[9][10] In Tumblr's top anime and manga characters, Shoto ranked third behind Izuku and Katsuki in 2019;[11] he was seventh in 2020;[12] and eighth in 2021.[13] In the Animedia Character Awards, he won the "Coolest" award.[14] In the Funimation's Decade of Anime fan poll, he was voted as one of the five recipients for the "Best Boys of the Decade" category.[15]Anime! Anime! did a poll where the readers voted for the most popular hero characters. Shoto ranked as the sixth-most popular hero character in 2021;[16] and eleventh in 2023.[17] In the same website poll, he was voted as the most associated character with a snow/ice powers from 2021 to 2023.[18][19][20] In 2024, in the "World Best Hero" global poll, he was found to be the franchise's third most popular character overall behind Bakugo and Izuku.[21] At the 2nd Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Shoto won the award for Best Boy.[22]
Critical response
Yuki Kaji (left) and David Matranga (right) both received praise for their voice performances as Shoto.
Alex Osborn from IGN praised Shoto and his origins as emotional.[23] Daniel Kurland from Den of Geek also offered some praise, stating that Shoto was one of the coolest characters of the series.[24] The Anime UK News reviewer praised the character, as well as his voice actor in both the original Japanese and English dubbed versions.[25] Princess Weekes and Briana Lawrence of The Mary Sue also offered praise for Shoto, specifically for his character development and personality.[26][27] Brittney Hemmands of Comic Book Resources felt that Shoto became less likeable as the series progressed.[28] Götz Piesbergen from Splash Comics praised the character as unique and enjoyable.[29] Mickaël Géreaume from Planete BD praised Shoto as an endearing character.[30] Columnists from Manga News praised the character development and origin story of Shoto.[31]
