Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead!
For many years, fans ofMy Hero Academiawere wondering about the identity ofthe traitor in U.A. High School that was leaking important information to All For One and the League of Villains. The eventual reveal was one of the most shocking moments in the entire series. Now that this scene has been adapted by the anime, the entire world knows his identity:Yuga Aoyama, also known as Can’t Stop Twinkling.
However, the author of the series, Kohei Horikoshi, dropped a few subtle hints about Yuga Aoyama’s real affiliations throughout the series, so eagle-eyed readers and viewers were not all that shocked by this reveal. The following list contains explanations of how every one of those hints foreshadowed the inevitable reveal of the U.A. Traitor’s identity.
8Aoyama Was Introduced In The Entrance Exam
He Appeared To Be An Important Character From Day 1
Yuga Aoyama first appeared in Chapter 3 of the manga and Episode 4 of the anime. Weirdly enough, he was introduced way before other crucial characters inMy Hero Academia, like Shoto Todoroki or Tomura Shigaraki. Aside from Ochaco Uraraka, he was the only other person in theU.A. Entrance Examwho would also end up becoming one of Deku’s many classmates.
His eccentric personality and his immediate antagonistic relationship towards Izuku made it seem like Aoyama was going to be an important character during the course of the series. However, he ended up fading into the background alongside other minor characters. Nevertheless, his initial impact was suspicious and it made him stand out even more.
7His Absence During The U.S.J. Incident
The Only Member Of Class 1-A Whose Location Was Unknown
TheU.S.J. Incidentwas one of the most important events ofMy Hero Academia’smain plot. Itintroduced the League of Villains, and the class encountered Izuku Midoriya for the first time. Kohei Horikoshi did a solid job at showing the audience where every single member of Class 1-A was during this attack and exactly what they were doing.
The only exception to this was Yuga Aoyama, who seemingly disappeared during the chaotic attack. Audiences never saw what he was doing. He reappeared after the day was saved and everyone else was safe, but nobody seemed to care about his whereabouts. Of course, it was later revealed that Aoyama leaked information about the U.S.J. to the League of Villains, and that he had been hiding during their imminent attack.
6Actions During The Forest Training Camp Attack
Aoyama Hid From The Villains
Something similar happened when the League of Villains attacked U.A. High School’sForest Training Camp. The show’s creators made a big deal about how all the members of both Class 1-A and Clas 1-B were working together in order to fight off the dangerous new villains. This time around, however, the show revealed Aoyama’s whereabouts to the audience: He was hiding in some bushes.
While this behavior can be chalked up to his cowardice, most fans found it suspicious, especially because it seemed like he was already familiar withDabi, despite the fact that he was a recent addition to the League of Villains. Aoyama did perform a heroic action at the end of the arc, when he shoots his beam at Mr. Compress and manages to save Tokoyami from being kidnapped. But the fact that he went into hiding before any villain could see him made a lot of fans suspect him even more.
5His Reaction To All Might’s Battle With All For One
Aoyama And His Mother Were Worried For A Different Reason
During the intense battle betweenAll Might and All For One, numerous important characters were shown reacting to the fight on TV. Naturally, they were all watching the fight with a lot of concern, as the fate of Japan depended on it. However, Yuga Aoyama’s reaction seemed somewhat different.
While characters like Mineta or Tsuyu were worried about All Might, Aoyama’s face seemed absolutely terrified for some reason. On top of that, he was watching the TV alongside his mother, who seemed to be as scared as him. When Aoyama later confessed that he was the traitor, this scene becomes an example of his tragic story. During the fight,both Aoyama and his mom were hoping that All For One was going to be defeated permanently, and that they could have normal lives again.
4Attitude During The Provisional Hero License Exam
Aoyama’s New Heroic Behavior Came Out of Nowhere… Or Did It?
After All For One’s arrest, Yuga Aoyama attended theProvisional Hero License Examwith the rest of Class 1-A.While his cowardice initially made him feel overwhelmed by all the other combatants, a brief conversation with Iida Tenya inspired him enough to take action and pass the first phase of the exam with flying colors.
This new burst of inspiration seemed out of character for Aoyama, especially since he claimed that he felt weak and that he didn’t belong in Class 1-A. At the time, this seemed to be caused by his already established sense of inferiority, and it looked like he was finally getting some much-needed character development. However, it was actually a subtle hint at his real identity, and the crushing guilt that came with it.
3His Odd New Obsession With Izuku Midoriya
A Red Herring To Keep Him Off The Suspect List
At one point, Yuga Aoyama was one of the top choices to be the U.A. traitor among fans ofMy Hero Academia. Just when it seemed more and more obvious that he was All For One’s double agent, he did something even more egregious in the manga: He began acting in a creepy way towardsIzuku Midoriya, like leaving confusing messages for him made with cheese and even spying on him through his room’s window while he slept.
However, Aoyama later confessed that this was his weird way of communicating with Deku because he wanted to get closer to him. Aoyama told Deku thathe could relate with the idea of his quirk not being compatible with his body, since his Navel Laser made his stomach hurt if he didn’t wear his special belt. This was actually a clever red herring, which was most likely written in order to keep attention away from Aoyama for a while, until the inevitable reveal.
2His Quirk Is Not Compatible With His Body
It’s Uncommon For A Quirk To Hurt The User
Since his initial introduction, it was established that Yuga Aoyama’s stomach would hurt a lot if he didn’t wear his Sparkle Belt while using hisNavel Laserquirk, and sometimes the stomachaches continued if he kept shooting his laser continuously. In the world ofMy Hero Academia, all quirks have their own weakness, but nothing like this was seen before or after.
Since most people develop their quirk at a young age, it’s unusual for somebody to have one that is incompatible with their own body. The only exception was the protagonist himself, Izuku Midoriya, who would break his bones when using One For All, a quirk that originally didn’t belong to him. So, when Aoyama told Deku that they were similar,he was actually hinting that he also wielded a power that was granted to him by somebody else (in this case, All For One)and that his body couldn’t adapt to it.
1He Was Always Looking At The Camera
Was He Trying To Tell The Audience Something?
One of Yuga Aoyama’s unique character traits is that he oftenlooks at the camera, meaning that he was directly looking at the audience. This is true for both the anime and the manga, and most fans chalked it up to his over-the-top personality that made him always hungry for attention.
However, with time,people began suspecting him because of this weird breaking of the fourth wall. Was Aoyama just a big attention seeker? Or was he dropping hints about his real villainous identity? Since it was later revealed that he was the U.A. Traitor all along, most fans believe that his constant glimpses at the camera were either a huge hint or cries for help to the audience.
