My Hero Academia: Why Endeavor's Redemption Arc(Sort of) Works

 One of the more controversial aspects of My Hero Academia is Enji "Endeavor" Todoroki's redemption arc, with the controversy boiling down to the question of whether you can forgive a man who abused his wife and children if he is making an honest attempt to change. Having looked at Zuko and Rudeus's redemption arcs as examples of a success and a failure,  This time, it's Endeavor's turn.

Once again, I will point out the three major steps in a redemption arc.

1. The starting point. The character should be a flawed individual, perhaps even a villain, but should have at least some redeeming qualities.
2. The journey. The character should struggle to change for the better despite being held back by their own flaws.
3. The destination. The character should end up as a better person, even if not everything they did has been forgiven and they still must work to overcome their weaknesses.

What follows will be a summary of Endeavor's redemption arc, and a look at how despite having a well-crafted arc, it can still be difficult for many fans to forgive Endeavor.

The Beginning

This section will look at Endeavor from his introduction to All Might's retirement. The only bits of backstory included here are those that were mentioned in this part of the story.

When we first meet Endeavor, he's introduced as the #2 hero, who is deeply jealous of All Might, the hero who ranks above him. Apparently, Endeavor was the only pro hero in the upper echelons who has made a serious effort to challenge All Might, but he knows that he can't surpass All Might. His Hellfame Quirk is extremely powerful, but causes him to overheat if used for too long.

Instead, Endeavor decides to entrust his youngest son Shoto with the task of surpassing All Might, since Shoto has a hybrid Quirk of his father Enji's flames and his mother Rei's ice powers. This leads to Endeavor abusing Shoto by forcing him into intense training, isolating him from his less talented siblings and apparently hitting Rei when she tried to intervene on Shoto's behalf. As a result, Rei had a nervous breakdown and threw boiling water in Shoto's face, giving him his scar. Shoto blames his father for indirectly causing the incident, especially after Endeavor callously mentions that he had Rei sent to a mental hospital for injuring his "masterpiece."

Driven by resentment for his father, Shoto vows to become a great hero without using his father's fire Quirk in order to spite Endeavor. This lasts until Midoriya calls him out for handicapping himself for petty reasons, convinces him that this Quirk is his power and reminds him of why he wanted to become a hero. Surprisingly enough, as unpleasant as Endeavor is, he also makes the legitimate point that Shoto's decision not to use his flames is a childish act of rebellion, but Midoriya's sympathies aren't with Endeavor. After Endeavor says he looks forward to seeing his son defeat All Might's protégé, Midoriya pointedly states that Shoto isn't an extension of him any more than Midoriya is an extension of All Might. Shoto does his work study under his father, but out of the belief that the #2 hero can be a valuable mentor.

Even apart from his poor treatment of his family, Endeavor is not a nice person, being a rather temperamental individual who speaks to most people with some level of condescension or hostility, resulting in him having a less than stellar reputation among the public despite his effectiveness as a hero. All this paints Endeavor as a thoroughly despicable person. His only redeeming quality is being good at his job, but since many heroes are in their line of work for the fame, Endeavor is unlikely to care about those he saves. As a result, some people were fine with the idea of Endeavor being an almost cartoonishly bad person, and thus were not willing to accept him changing for the better.

Turning Over A New Leaf

All Might defeats All For One in Kamino Ward, but at the cost of using up the last of his strength and ending up powerless. Endeavor then becomes the top hero, not because he surpassed All Might, but because All Might is no longer around. Knowing full well of how hollow his triumph is, especially when a good portion of hero fans don't even like him, Endeavor seeks out All Might for advice on what it means to be the Symbol of Peace. Endeavor notes that he didn't just want to win on popularity; he wanted to be stronger than anyone, 

During the Pro Hero Arc, Endeavor does what he can to earn the public's trust as their #1 hero, and wins support by defeating a High-End Nomu. Of course, in the process, he receives a scar on his face, one that is reminiscent of the one inflicted on his son, and almost ends up dying at the hands of the mysterious flame-using villain Dabi, who knows Endeavor's name for reasons that will later be revealed.

Unfortunately for Endeavor, his family is not nearly as forgiving. His wife appreciates that he's reaching out to her in his own way, such as by sending her the kind of flowers she liked (despite only mentioning this once), but is still too traumatized to see him face-to-face. His second son Natsuo wants nothing to do with him and storms out in the middle of a family dinner. Shoto remains conflicted, acknowledging that Endeavor is a great hero despite being unable to forgive his transgressions. Rei is the only person actively willing to forgive him. For his part, Endeavor accepts this, and simply asks those skeptical of him to just watch him.

Of course, at this point, many fans weren't happy with the development, believing that Endeavor would not end up facing any consequences for his actions. After all, he got what he wanted- the rank of #1 Hero- albeit not in the way that he wanted, which is less of a punishment than many people believe he deserves. With this in mind, it's not hard to see why some see this as a failure of a redemption arc, which results in an unlikable individual receiving unearned forgiveness and avoiding punishment.

Seeking Redemption

The Endeavor Agency arc, in which Shoto, Midoriya and Bakugo intern under Endeavor, is a good exploration of what has and has not changed about Endeavor's character. Endeavor is less than thrilled about the idea of taking Midoriya and Bakugo on. He gives them useful advice, he also doesn't coddle them, expecting them to keep up with him while he rushes from one incident to another, and confidently says that even if they fail, it won't adversely affect him. All this goes to show that even if Endeavor regrets his treatment of his family, he isn't nice by any stretch of the imagination.

After another tense family dinner, Natsuo ends up getting kidnapped by one of Endeavor's old enemies, and Midoriya, Shoto and Bakugo save him first. Endeavor listens to Natsuo unload his negative emotions, and says it's fine if he can't forgive him. He arranges to have a house built where his wife and children can live, both to keep them safe from their enemies and as an acknowledgment that perhaps his family is better off without him. This is a positive development in showing that Endeavor realizes contrition may not be enough, even if it doesn't negate what he did.

The Past Never Dies

Throughout much of the series, the public remains blind to how one of their most celebrated heroes mistreated his family, but eventually, they find out in perhaps the worst way possible.

During the Paranormal Liberation War arc, Dabi shows himself before Endeavor again and reveals his true identity- Endeavor's supposedly dead son Toya. He then broadcasts a video manifesto denouncing Endeavor's treatment of his family, which, combined with the massive collateral damage in the battle and several villains escaping, not only ruins Endeavor's reputation but that of professional heroes in general. Not only did Endeavor not receive the #1 Hero rank in the way he hoped for, but the rank itself may never again have the same honor and prestige as it once did.

In the hospital, Endeavor meets with his family to discuss what happened with Toya, finally revealing that while Endeavor was not intentionally abusive, his negligence resulted in Toya's seemingly fatal accident and grudge against the family. Rei kindly but firmly states that all of them bear some responsibility for the person Toya became, before vowing to stop Toya together. Even Natsuo, who's still bitter about Endeavor, accepts some responsibility for the person Toya became.

As of this writing, this subplot has yet to be concluded, but one can assume that Endeavor will do everything he can to defeat Toya, up to and including sacrificing his life, in order to make amends for his misdeeds. Perhaps not everyone will forgive him no matter how deeply he regrets his actions or how much he sacrifices to atone, but this is the least he can do.

Conclusion

Endeavor's redemption arc is highly realistic. It's the story of man who realizes he must change after being given the right inspiration, but struggles to actually do so as he's held back by his own flaws and the understandable reluctance of his victims to forgive him. Rather than resent the people who hold his faults against him or 

The main shortcoming, though, is that Endeavor starts off as a highly despicable person, which means that a good portion of viewers find him to be beyond redemption regardless of how genuine his acts of atonement are. Perhaps this is to be expected, but it also goes to show that not all readers are willing to forgive fictional characters for their transgressions, and a redemption arc can often be a difficult sell.

It may be too soon to judge Endeavor's redemption arc since it has not yet concluded, but while it got off to a rough start, it may be possible for Horikoshi to win over some of his critics, even if some readers will always hate Endeavor... meaning people's views of Endeavor in reality are much like those of the characters. Perhaps in the end, the same phrase applies to judging Endeavor in and out of universe- "Just watch me."