The Unique Case of Mina Ashido's Pink Skin in My Hero Academia

The Quirk of Genetics

My Hero Academia has explored a lot of different topics regarding society, and one that has been explored, albeit too late in the manga, is the element of how people with Quirks that change their bodies are treated. This was explored through the character of Spinner in the final War arc, but most fans agree that its inclusion felt forced this late in the game, although it did remind people that a lot of heroes and villains have very unique appearances, such as Mina Ashido.

The My Hero Academia series showed earlier in the manga, through Shoto Todoroki’s discussion with Deku in the Sports Festival arc, that people in that world can inherit traits from their parents’ Quirks, which is why Endeavor wanted Shoto to begin with. This is shown time and time again across the story, with characters not only having similar Quirks to the ones their parents had but also some key physical features. In that regard, Mina Ashido’s pink skin is probably due to one of her parents having that same color, although it is worth pointing out that they have never been shown in the story. That is probably one of the most stand out elements of her character and one that makes her quite different from the rest of Deku’s class, despite the fact that element has never been properly mentioned or discussed beyond her wanting to be called 'Alien Queen' as a hero, ultimately choosing 'Pinky' instead.

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Mina and the Role of Deku’s Class

There is a common grievance among My Hero Academia fans that they would have liked to see a lot more of Mina and other characters of Deku’s class across the series, especially when it came to the fighting side of things. Other than Deku, only Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo had substantial roles during the vast majority of the series, with even Ochako Uraraka having a diminished presence as the story progressed, which was another source of criticism.

This was mostly due to the power creep as Deku got more Quirks, making the bulk of his classmates less useful in the grand scheme of things while the professional heroes, such as All Might, Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist, kept having prominent roles in the story. This is something worth taking into account since it makes the focus of the school a lot less prominent in the story moving forward. That is a very common issue in shonen manga and anime, and one that Horikoshi didn’t manage to avoid as the story went on. Furthermore, it made the arcs somewhat lacking in variety, especially when it came to the fighting side of things, which is something where a lot of these characters, including Mina, would have added something different to the equation.

Final Thoughts

Mina Ashido has pink skin due to her genetics in the My Hero Academia series, which has shown a lot of characters inheriting certain physical traits from their parents. However, it is worth pointing out that Mina’s parents have never been shown in the story.

Mina, when she joined UA (Image via Bones).