The Big 3 is the moniker given to three third-year students at U.A. High School who stand at the top of the entire student body in terms of strength.[1]
After the Final War, all three members have graduated, becoming full-fledged Pro Heroes, and all rank in the Top 20 Heroes in Japan.
History#
U.A.'s Big Three represent the top Hero candidates in all of Japan: Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado were the three at the time of the series. Mirio and Tamaki were also childhood friends, and they both met Nejire upon getting accepted into U.A.
All three initially had very poor control of their abilities, best represented by how they did not rank well in their U.A. Sports Festival a year prior to the events of the series, and their strange personalities leave a strong impression on most people.[2] However, each member of the trio possesses an extremely powerful and versatile Quirk, and within a year, they worked hard to master them. During their third year, Nejire and Tamaki were the first to gain recognition throughout Japan. Mirio was the last of the three to be recognized as a top Hero candidate, but quickly became seen as higher-ranked than the other two. In fact, unbeknownst to him, Mirio was considered to be a top candidate to become the ninth wielder of One For All, but was passed over.
The Big 3 were highly sought after for Hero Work-Studies. Mirio would join the Nighteye Agency, Tamaki the Fat Gum Agency, and Nejire the Ryukyu Agency.
Synopsis#
The Big 3 is first introduced to Class 1-A by the first year's homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa, following the second term orientation. They are brought in to explain the Hero Work-Studies that students participate in on their own merit. Mirio decides to teach Class 1-A through experience, fighting and defeating almost the entire class by himself. Mirio dominates them and explains how the Hero Work-Studies helped him improve to become the best student at U.A. High, leaving the class impressed.[2]
Following this, the Big 3 were highly pursued by the class to be taken in for Hero Work-Studies. Eventually, Mirio would invite Izuku Midoriya, Tamaki would invite Eijiro Kirishima, and Nejire would invite Ochaco Uraraka and Tsuyu Asui. Not long afterwards, the Big 3 played major roles in the Shie Hassaikai Raid along with the four Class 1-A Students, each one managing to fend off against powerful members of the Shie Hassaikai, including their leader Kai Chisaki, but at the cost of Mirio losing his Quirk. Despite the loss of Mirio's Quirk, they prove to be a very versatile powerhouse as shown during Class 1-A's hypothetical emergency drill, even without Mirio's Quirk.
In the Final War, following the restoration of Mirio's powers by Eri, the Big 3 reunite for the first time in months to deal with the new, fully complete Tomura Shigaraki, despite the villain being immensely more powerful than all three of them.
After the war concluded, the Big 3 graduated from U.A. High School in June.[3] While not an official group any longer, the three remain in close contact.[4]
Strength#
The Big 3 are widely known as the strongest three Hero students in all of Japan. Thanks to Hero Work-Studies, the three of them have honed their skills and mastered their powerful Quirks at a young age. Even as high-schoolers, they were considered to be above the level of the majority of Pro Heroes already and destined to become Top Pro Heroes once they graduated.
Nejire has a very powerful, ranged-type Quirk with various applications. She has a good enough handle on it that she can easily overpower top-tier villains on her own.
Tamaki has been stated to have potential exceeding that of the majority of Pro Heroes. His personality holds him back, but his Quirk's versatility and his practical application of its powers can't be denied. He is also capable of outclassing most villains he comes into contact with. His mentor, The BMI Hero: Fat Gum, even said that he was more capable than anyone else attending the raid. This includes himself, his fellow friends in the Big Three, and even Ryukyu, ranked Number 9 at that point in time.
Mirio is extremely strong, despite the fact that he used to struggle to control his Quirk and nearly gave up on becoming a Hero. After training with Sir Nighteye, Mirio learned to master his Quirk and became the very best student at U.A. High School. He effortlessly overpowered Class 1-A, who are considered to be prodigy students by first-year standards, on par with Class 1-B. Mirio was even considered to be the top candidate for the No. 1 Hero Spot, implying that he's even more inspiring than Endeavor and Hawks, the top two Heroes at the time.[2] This later holds up when Mirio became No. 1 in the years following the Final War.