Nana Shimura

Name: Nana Shimura

Gender: Female

Quirk (innate): Float

Inherited Quirk: One For All

Personality: Cheerful, optimistic, always smiling

Status: Deceased

Occupation: Pro hero, One For All successor, mentor to Toshinori Yagi

Voice Actress (anime): Miho Sonozaki

Nana Shimura was the seventh successor of One For All and the direct predecessor and mentor of Toshinori Yagi.

Among the known One For All users, she is noted as the only woman in the line of succession.

She fought in secret against the villain All For One, ultimately losing her life to him when Toshinori was about 18 years old.

Although her own battles are rarely shown directly in the main story, her influence on history and on key characters is enormous.

She is an ally of Sorahiko Torino and a central but largely unseen figure whose choices shaped the fates of All For One, Toshinori Yagi, and Tenko Shimura.

Because of this, she can be seen as a “woman who moved history from the shadows.”

Nana is portrayed as bright, intelligent, and emotionally resilient, with a trademark smile even in dire situations.

Her heroic philosophy strongly emphasizes facing fear with a smile and standing tall for others.

Toshinori deeply revered her, calling her “my master,” and many of the words he later passes to Izuku Midoriya are echoes of Nana’s teachings.

In turn, she addressed Toshinori and Sorahiko by their given names, showing warmth, familiarity, and strong social skills.

When Toshinori visited Izuku’s home for a parent meeting, he was reminded of Nana by Midoriya Inko’s maternal strength and resolve.

Nana’s presence lives on not just through her Quirk but through the ideals she planted in her student.

Some of her memorable teachings include encouraging heroes to smile no matter how scared they are, because those who can smile through fear are the strongest.

She also urged Toshinori to remember why he clenches his fists and to rely on his “origin” to push beyond his limits.

Early Involvement with One For All

Before becoming the seventh user, Nana supported the sixth successor of One For All as part of an underground team.

This team formed when the passion of the fifth user, Daigoro Banjo, inspired the sixth user En Tayutai and several allies to continue the fight against All For One.

Members of this group included Sorahiko Torino and Nana’s future husband.

Through them, Nana gradually learned the truth about the hidden war against the “great evil” threatening society.

When her husband died in battle, Nana fully grasped the risks and sacrifices involved in fighting All For One.

She resolved to continue the mission, helping to protect both her comrades and the future of her newborn son, Kotaro.

Becoming the Seventh Successor

As the sixth user En Tayutai suffered fatal injuries, Nana happened to be the person closest to him at that crucial moment.

Because of this, One For All was passed on to Nana, making her the seventh successor.

She accepted One For All knowing that it would demand everything from her.

From then on, she carried both her husband’s will and the hopes of the previous users into the ongoing secret war.

Family and Tragedy

Nana was married and had a son named Kotaro Shimura.

However, her husband was killed, likely due to their involvement in the struggle against All For One.

Fearing that her son would also be dragged into the brutal conflict with villains, Nana made the heartbreaking decision to give Kotaro up for adoption.

She asked Sorahiko Torino and Toshinori Yagi to promise that if anything happened to her, they would not involve themselves with Kotaro’s life.

This decision was driven by love, as she wanted her son to live a peaceful, happy life far from the horrors of the hero–villain war.

In a message to Kotaro, she expressed her deep love and her wish that he would live smiling and be happy, promising to watch over him “from the sky.”

However, her attempt to protect him tragically backfired.

Her grandson, Tenko Shimura, eventually fell under the influence of All For One and became his chosen successor, standing at the center of the villain world.

This ironic twist makes Nana one of the most tragic figures in the series.

Her effort to keep her family away from danger indirectly allowed All For One to corrupt her own descendant.

Death in Battle

Nana ultimately faced All For One in a decisive battle.

Despite her strength and experience, she was defeated and killed by him when Toshinori was around 18.

Her death deeply scarred Toshinori Yagi but also solidified his resolve to embody her ideals.

The fight and its consequences are further detailed in a bonus comic included with the first My Hero Academia movie.

Even after her death, Nana’s memories and remnants live on within One For All.

Her spirit later appears inside the Quirk’s inner world, advising and supporting Izuku Midoriya.

Toshinori Yagi

Toshinori Yagi was Nana’s pupil and the next successor of One For All.

She believed in his potential to become a symbol of peace and trained him with tough love and inspiring words.

He respected her so deeply that he continued to call her “master” long after her death.

Many of his signature beliefs—smiling in the face of danger, acting for the sake of others, and surpassing one’s limits—are direct reflections of Nana’s philosophy.

Sorahiko Torino

Sorahiko Torino was Nana’s long-time ally and comrade.

They bonded in part because both possessed Quirks related to aerial movement, which likely helped them operate well together in battle.

He later trained Toshinori Yagi at Nana’s request and continued to honor her wishes regarding her family.

Nana trusted Sorahiko enough to entrust him with her final wishes for her son.

Kotaro Shimura

Kotaro is Nana’s only son.

She loved him deeply but chose to send him away to keep him safe from heroes and villains.

Her farewell message to him is tender and full of hope, emphasizing her desire that he live a life filled with smiles.

Unfortunately, growing up feeling abandoned by a hero parent severely traumatized Kotaro and made him resent heroes.

Tenko Shimura

Tenko Shimura, later known to the world as a major villain, is Nana’s grandson.

Nana never met him in life, as she died long before his birth and had cut ties to her family to protect them.

Tenko’s eventual corruption by All For One is the ultimate tragedy born from Nana’s attempt to shield her family.

The bloodline of a great hero and the legacy of the greatest villain collide through Tenko, making Nana’s story central to the emotional core of the series.

Nana championed the idea that heroes should smile even when they are terrified.

She believed that those who can smile while facing fear are the strongest, because they reassure others and refuse to be broken.

She passed important words to Toshinori Yagi that later shaped his counsel to Izuku Midoriya.

Among them are three especially notable ideas:

1. When you are scared, tell yourself you are okay and smile, because the ones who keep smiling are the strongest in the world.

2. When you feel like you have hit your limit, remember why you first clenched your fist and chose to fight.

3. Your “origin” is what will carry you just a little beyond your limits and help you move forward.

These lines form a philosophical backbone for the heroes who inherit One For All.

They emphasize motivation, purpose, and the emotional strength needed to go beyond one’s limits.

Innate Quirk – Float

Nana’s natural Quirk is called Float.

As the name suggests, it allows her to levitate herself off the ground.

The Quirk grants sustained levitation, letting her hover in midair.

However, Izuku Midoriya later notes that Float alone does not automatically grant smooth, high-speed movement; it mainly provides the ability to remain airborne.

Because of this, Nana had to rely on her own physical skills and strategy to maneuver effectively while floating.

Her partnership with Sorahiko Torino, who also uses an aerial movement Quirk, was likely reinforced by their shared ability to fight in three dimensions.

Her message to her son about watching him “from the sky” is widely interpreted as a subtle hint at her Float Quirk.

The Quirk later becomes part of the power set accumulated within One For All and is eventually accessible to Izuku Midoriya.

Inherited Quirk – One For All

In addition to Float, Nana inherited One For All from the sixth user, En Tayutai.

One For All is a unique Quirk that stockpiles power and can be passed from one person to another.

By the time it reached Nana, it already contained the wills and power of previous users, including Daigoro Banjo and En Tayutai.

As the seventh user, she further cultivated the Quirk and eventually passed it to Toshinori Yagi.

Her mastery of One For All combined immense physical power with her innate Float, making her a formidable aerial combatant.

Within the inner world of One For All, Nana’s consciousness endures and continues to guide the current successor.

Nana Shimura’s direct on-page screen time is relatively small compared to other characters.

Despite this, the emotional and thematic weight of her actions is massive.

She shaped Toshinori’s identity as the Symbol of Peace more than anyone else.

Her ideals about smiling through fear and fighting for others became foundational to hero society.

Her tragic family history created the circumstances for Tenko Shimura’s rise as a major villain under All For One’s guidance.

Because of that, Nana’s story directly ties together the origins of both the greatest hero and one of the greatest villains.

Even after death, Nana remains a key presence in the narrative through flashbacks, inherited memories, and her role within One For All.

She stands as a symbol of sacrifice, quiet strength, and the high personal cost of standing against overwhelming evil.

Nana’s given name carries layered meaning in Japanese, and fans have speculated about symbolic interpretations of its characters.

One interpretation associates a part of her name with “empty sky” or “without sky,” tying it thematically to her Float ability.

Her characterization as someone who “threw away everything to challenge a great evil” is highlighted in official materials.

She is often described as the master who taught the ever-smiling hero Toshinori Yagi how to embody hope in front of others.

Although early manga appearances sometimes obscured her full facial expressions, the anime reveals her face more clearly from the start.

A special bonus comic released with the first My Hero Academia movie further explores her final battle and last moments.