My Hero Academia's "bisexual Mineta" theory dissected: Does season 6 confirm Mineta's bisexual identity?
My Hero Academia's Minoru Mineta is a polarizing figure, to say the least. This minor character of Class 1-A has garnered a lot of hatred over the series run, and plenty of My Hero Academia fans have decided that they don't like Mineta at all for various reasons.
The idea that Mineta might be bisexual in My Hero Academia's Dark Hero arc took many fans by surprise, given how polarizing he is. The theory that Mineta is bisexual traces itself to a line he said to Deku during Class 1-A's fight against him during the aforementioned arc, after Mineta admitted that he "fell for" the latter.
This may all just be a case of fan interpretation or memes, which is why this article will attempt to decipher whether Minoru Mineta is indeed bisexual or not in My Hero Academia.
Disclaimer: As this article will discuss recent events, heavy spoilers are inbound for My Hero Academia. There are likewise plenty of LGBT topics, including discrimination, and the opinions discussed only reflect those of the fans and the author.
Dissecting the claim of whether or not My Hero Academia's Minoru Mineta is bisexual
Part 1: The scene in question
Mineta has previously shown worry over Deku and others. It's no surprise that he's one of the classmates on the frontlines trying to bring Deku back to the U.A. The scene in question comes with Mineta working with Tsuyu Asui, aka Froppy, to try pinning Izuku down with a combination of their quirks and airing his feelings.
Mineta said that he didn't think much of Deku when they first met. But during the USJ incident, he saw that even though Izuku was sweating and terrified, he still found a way to safety with Mineta and Tsu. Mineta effectively said, alongside everyone else's declarations, that he admired and respected Izuku from there on out.
There are no real romantic connotations with it except for the line reading "I fell for you", which most other fans attribute to the Japanese word 惚れる(Horeru), which does have a romantic context as its primary meaning. However, the secondary definition also describes how someone gains and inspires great admiration and respect from someone else in a position of leadership.
In other words, Mineta admired how Deku took the lead and inspired him and Tsu to keep going even if they were terrified during the villain invasion. It has nothing to do with romance. Further, there's no official word to support that particular claim. This has led to speculation that something was lost in translation.
Part 2: The word choice
There's a huge difference between how the Western and Japanese fandoms took the wording. As some bilingual and Japanese fans have stated, the secondary definition of Horeru, denoting admiration and respect for leadership, was used in various other anime and not in romantic contexts.
Examples include One Piece, where Jinbei mentions how he looks up to Luffy. Likewise, Kozuki Oden is also mentioned to hold many people's respect, and Oda repeatedly used Horeru to describe it. In My Hero Academia's Overhaul arc, Overhaul's boss is mentioned as respectable, with Horeru being used to describe his character and reputation.
In other words, while the primary meaning might be romantic in nature, it is also used in non-romantic contexts. In this context, the secondary definition is being applied. There have been many videos and articles on the subject of the debate over the word, and even tweets speaking to bilingual fans.
People asking me for clarification on Mineta's lines.
Yes, official translation is correct.
No, it doesn't mean Mineta is bi.
Given the context and Mineta's character, the vibe is more like "Man, I love ya, you inspire me, I respect you SO much."
He's just being dramatic. https://t.co/9m9TPhYkuO
The term "fell for you" has romantic connotations in the West because it's normally used by a crush or a romantic interest. However, some fans appear to have either forgotten everything that transpired in My Hero Academia beforehand, seem to be falling for a mistranslation, or are joking around with the usage of the term.
For the record, Mineta never explicitly appears to have romantic feelings for Deku. Nor Bakugo, for whom he cried tears of relief over seeing him alive post-Paranormal Liberation War. This seems to be a case of either a mistranslation or confusion over the word choice, which can stem from cultural differences.
Part 3: Fandom and cultural differences
Gays praying that Mineta being bisexual was a mistranslation https://t.co/bKlPjpsrgW
The Japanese fandom for My Hero Academia is confused by how the Western fandom seems to prioritize their interpretations over canon at times. Plenty of Japanese fansites and articles have been made either poking fun of it or just being curious as to why the Western fandom appears to be pushing this idea without any real canon basis.
The first point of inquiry is the fandom differences. A lot of characters in My Hero Academia tend to get legions of fans, be they heroes or villains. There are differences as to the love-and-hate, or love-to-hate, nature of fans. Bakugo, for example, was hated by most Western fans when the series started, but the Japanese fans loved him. This had died down in the West, given Bakugo's character development out of the bully/hateful rival archetype.
Mineta doesn't get that courtesy in the West, at least not on a wide scale. Though plenty in the Western fandom dislike Mineta, creating the fandom meme 'Nobody Likes Mineta', the Japanese fandom tolerates his presence. The Western fandom has been considerably more negative, citing his various perverted antics as getting too uncomfortable, including flirting with Eri.
Eri, for the record, is seven years old, and Mineta is pushing 16. Another part that irritates the Western fandom is mangaka Kohei Horikoshi's statement that Mineta is his favorite to draw. What mitigates this for a few Western fans, however, is that Mineta’s a teenager, and his antics are a little more tolerable. This is very much unlike the “perverted old man” trope that Master Roshi and Jiraiya embody, which draws a lot more criticism.
This can also come down to cultural differences. Japan is typically conservative with politics, LGBT topics, and romance, unlike the U.S. Though there is some overlap, the typical ideas of flirting and what constitutes being LGBT in both countries are rather different. This causes a degree of friction when approaching subjects like this, leading to speculation about whether or not this particular theory is fan canon (or fanon) or just a meme.
Part 4: Fanon or Meme?
This further raises the question of how seriously some people on websites like Twitter have taken this theory. Is the whole idea of this minor character being bisexual in My Hero Academia fan canon or a meme? While there's no real substantial evidence to support the idea that this is officially canon in either the manga or anime, Kohei Horikoshi has as of yet released no statement confirming or denying anything, which has only further fueled the confusion.
So, considering the aforementioned Nobody Likes Mineta, the idea that anyone can have Mineta as bisexual as their headcanon isn't likely to be taken seriously by many. For the record, having any character be LGBT+ is fine in both canon and headcanon, even for polarizing characters like Mineta.
The problem people have with the idea of Mineta being bisexual is that it would promote the bigoted stereotype of bisexuals being creepy perverts, plus he'd be one of the very few LGBT+ characters in My Hero Academia. The confirmed ones are either background characters (Tiger of the Wild Wild Pussycats) or villains (the late Magne and Himiko Toga). The series already has enough accusations of bigotry without homophobia being added to the list.
That leaves the idea that it was a joke someone took too seriously and decided to meme. From confusing lines to iconic catchphrases, anime memes can be made about almost anything. My Hero Academia has more than a few: All Might's phrases and facial expressions, You Say Run going with everything, and Mineta's phrasing.
The fact that the meme broke fandom containment and has been commented on repeatedly by others as either an example of the mangaka being clueless about LGBT+ issues or just a sign that My Hero Academia is a bad manga is a case that many fans loathe as it overshadows the context and excellence of the series. Regardless, the theory should be considered debunked, but some will always cling onto it for whatever reason.
To conclude this dissection of My Hero Academia's Minoru Mineta's status as bisexual, there is nothing to be concerned about. It was a mistranslation that someone decided to balloon into a meme that others decided to take seriously and never bothered to fact-check.
The context surrounding the scene in My Hero Academia should be obvious to anyone watching the series or reading through it. Unless anything official comes out confirming this, it's safe to call this theory dead. If anyone has any other opinions on the matter in general, readers are encouraged to comment.