15 Best Dabi Quotes from ‘My Hero Academia’ Anime & Manga

Undeniably, My Hero Academia is one of the most popular shonen titles of the modern era. This “New Big Three” title combines traditional Japanese narratives with Western superhero tradition, which is why it became globally popular. The characters created in the manga are truly amazing and beloved around the world, which is why we have decided to focus on one of the series’ most important characters, the villain Dabi, whose real name is Toya Todoroki.

The article is going to contain the 15 best quotes by Dabi as they appeared in the My Hero Academia manga and anime. They won’t be listed in any particular order, so please enjoy our selection of the best sentences spoken by Dabi from the series.

1. “This will just be a signal fire. We’ll fill those heroes full of holes… and put them in their place. All for a brighter future.”

Much like Tomura Shigaraki, Dabi was set on destroying the heroes, and he considered their presence a nuisance. This was his principal goal since he simply wanted a time and place where the villains could live freely. But, like Tomura, he never understood the fine line between good and bad in this case, which is why he is the villain in the series, and not a hero.

2. “Is it cuz your students are so precious? Hope you got what it takes to protect them… See ya later.”

Dabi was more furious at the heroes than Tomura. Tomura was a destructive force that wanted to destroy everything because he was furious with the world. Dabi was more focused on their opponents and he taunted the heroes frequently, knowing that the students of the academy are the Pro Heroes’ main weakness.

3. “First thing we have to do, is take away their sense of peace”

This is similar to some of Tomura’s ideas. Dabi understood that one of the principal reasons why the Pro Heroes managed to maintain the status quo is because the people and the heroes themselves had a sense of continuous peace that helped them. If you take away that security, chaos erupts, at least that is what Dabi thought and that is why this was his main goal as a villain.

4. “Quite worthy of being an instructor at U.A. Ain’t that right, hero?”

This is yet another example of Dabi’s taunting. He was such a character, simply, which is befitting of a major villain in any fictional work, but the fact remains that this is a major aspect of his personality and that Dabi simply liked taunting his opponents. He simply loved doing that as that was a form of psychological warfare for him, as he thought that he could defeat his opponents, partially at least, by breaking them.

5. “I’ve seen you in pictures, but I gotta say you’re way grosser in person.”

Knowing what kind of caricatures appeared in the world of My Hero Academia, this remark certainly has a lot of weight. Certainly, you’d have to be extra specific to earn such a remark from Dabi, but knowing his nature, this might have been just another taunt directed towards a hero or someone who looks completely normal but is morally repulsive from Dabi’s villainous point of view.

6. “Heroes are forgettable. They try to save the world… but villains are the ones who change it.”

Well, this one is actually true. On average, people probably know more villains than heroes because villains generally have a great story behind them. Heroes are good, they embody our ideals and their stories are basically the same; they are also boring from time to time. With the villains being what they are, authors are free to explore various ideas and twists, and that usually leads to the creation of such characters that are able to attract the attention of so many fans.

7. “So what you’re saying is basically your’re just an empty cosplayer?”

This is a reply to Spinner from chapter 220 of the manga, so, instead of babbling about it, here is Spinner’s remark so you’ll understand why Dabi said what he did: “I was born in a real backwater place, stuck in the last century. Around there, I was known as the Lizard Freak. And I just accepted It! That whole time, my heart… was totally empty. That is until I learned about Stain’s final stand on the evening news! He was trying to change the world on his own! That was the day I realized how suffocating society really is. I just couldn’t take it anymore! This is the reason I joined up with you people! (…) That’s right! Totally hollow! Which’s why I don’t get why we’re sitting around doing nothing! I was ready to have some new life breathed into me! To be inspired! So answer me, Shigaraki! Where we going?!“

8. “It’s better to have a small group of experienced elites.”

This is how Dabi perceived their plans and ideas. For him, strength was not in numbers, but rather in experience. It was safer to approach a battle with a smaller number of great fighters than to bring an army of useless thugs. Dabi was a villain who thought about such stuff, and he wasn’t really just a brainless villain who did not see anything aside from his own plans.

9. “I have a great name. Call me Toya.”

If you ask us, Toya Todoroki is certainly better than Dabi, and while he, as a true supervillain, has to have a pseudonym under which he will keep fighting on the side of evil, we can only agree that he does indeed have a great real name, and we honestly prefer calling him by his real name rather than this somewhat comical pseudonym.

10. “Why not get cocky? You’re playing right into our hands. The second you lost the initiative signaled your defeat. You’ve got the top hero-training academy, U.A., and the Symbol of Peace, All Might… the two most trusted foundations of our hero-based society. But now one mess after another is shaking that trust… don’t you think that loss of faith will spread like wildfire throughout society?”

The villains of My Hero Academia had a strong philosophical note to them; Dabi had it, Tomura Shigaraki had it, and some others had it as well. They always thought about their fights, their opponents, and the reasons behind it all. The whole point was to give the fight some meaning, and they usually succeeded in that.

11. “If you’re trash, at least burn and be kindling for my flames.”

Narcissism is also something that is present in many villains, and Dabi is, of course, no exception there. This quote illustrates it perfectly, but it is also tied to his inherent conviction, as Dabi’s goal was more important than anything else. The only important thing here was that Dabi achieved his goal and nothing else really mattered.

12. “Gathering a bunch of punks who are just strong will only increase the risk.”

This is actually connected to what we said earlier about Dabi’s planning. He did not really think that strength was in numbers and this quote confirms it explicitly. A group of powerful thugs is a hindrance, honestly, which is why it is definitely better to approach the fight with quality, rather than quantity.

13. “Anyway, I will carry out the will of the hero killer.”

There is always some predestination for such characters, and Dabi seemingly personifies in himself the ideals of his predecessors. Dabi was always a villain with a mission, conviction, with ideals. He never did anything out of pure instinct; he always had a goal in mind. And that was his driving force and also what made him so dangerous.

14. “Think about it… how your careless administration keeps allowing attack after attack… you’re so weak… you couldn’t even stop a criminal organization from abducting your students.”

And a taunt for the penultimate quote on our list. This was Daki at his best. Pinpointing the weakness of his opponents and planting a seed of doubt inside them, tearing them from the inside with a mere sentence. That was Dabi’s modus operandi, which he combined with his exceptional powers, and that is why he was such a dangerous opponent and why no one really wanted to fight him in the series, although it was a necessity.

15. “The League? Shigaraki? I never gave a crap about them. A single person with a single conviction has the power to change the world. There are no true heroes. I plan to make Stain’s will a reality. See ya, Hawks. Your life’s another thing I don’t care about.”

We left this one for last because it is another example of who Dabi was and a great way to end this. Dabi was a villain of conviction, and all he did was out of pure idealism. Sure, that idealism was wicked and twisted, but it was nonetheless idealism. From that perspective, it is understandable why he is such a fan favorite even now.