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Why Twice from My Hero Academia Provokes Such Intense and Complex Fan Reactions

Fan reactions to Twice, a villain character from My Hero Academia, have become remarkably intense and contradictory, blending sympathy with fear. This phenomenon reveals how modern anime is reshaping the way audiences engage with antagonist characters, transforming them from simple obstacles into deeply human figures worthy of empathy and analysis.

What Happened

Twice, a major antagonist in My Hero Academia, has generated unusually complex and polarized reactions from the anime’s fanbase. Unlike typical villain characters who are simply opposed by audiences, Twice has inspired a wave of contradictory emotions—fans simultaneously sympathize with his suffering while acknowledging the severity of his actions. This paradoxical response intensified particularly during Season 4 of the anime, when his tragic backstory was revealed in detail.

The character’s struggle centers on his Quirk (individual power), which allows him to create duplicates of himself. However, this ability has fractured his sense of identity to the point where he no longer knows who he truly is. This existential crisis, combined with his history of social rejection, has made him a focal point for fan discussion across social media platforms including Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube.

Why It Matters

Twice’s case represents a significant shift in how contemporary anime portrays antagonists. Rather than presenting villains as one-dimensional obstacles to be defeated, modern anime increasingly explores the psychological depth and humanity of opposing characters. This trend reflects broader changes in storytelling philosophy within the industry.

The intense fan reactions to Twice demonstrate how audiences are now engaging with anime on a more sophisticated level, grappling with moral ambiguity and the question of whether understanding a villain’s suffering obligates viewers to sympathize with them. This phenomenon has implications for how future anime will develop antagonist characters and how audiences will interpret moral complexity in storytelling.

Additionally, Twice’s character resonates with contemporary audiences because his struggle with fractured identity mirrors modern experiences of self-fragmentation in the digital age, where individuals maintain multiple personas across different social platforms and contexts.

Background

My Hero Academia, created by Kohei Horikoshi, began serialization in 2014 and has become one of the most influential anime and manga franchises of the past decade. The series follows Izuku Midoriya (Deku), a protagonist born without a Quirk in a world where nearly everyone possesses superhuman abilities.

Twice was introduced as a member of the League of Villains, initially appearing as a seemingly unhinged antagonist. However, as the narrative progressed, particularly during Season 4 (which aired in 2019-2020), the anime revealed his tragic origin story. Originally a normal boy, Twice’s Quirk manifested uncontrollably, and subsequent social rejection and trauma transformed him into the fractured character audiences encounter in the present timeline.

The anime adaptation, produced by Bones Studio, cast veteran voice actor Hanae Natsuki to portray Twice. Natsuki’s performance is widely credited with bringing nuance to the character, simultaneously conveying both the character’s instability and underlying vulnerability. The Season 4 animation and sound design further emphasized Twice’s psychological deterioration through visual techniques such as screen splitting, distorted backgrounds, and discordant audio effects.

Key Points

• Twice’s fan reactions are remarkably contradictory, combining sympathy with moral disapproval of his actions
• His character represents a departure from traditional one-dimensional villain archetypes in anime
• His tragic backstory and existential crisis regarding identity form the emotional core of his appeal
• The character’s struggle with fractured identity resonates with contemporary experiences of self-fragmentation in digital society
• Twice exemplifies a broader industry trend toward humanizing antagonist characters and exploring moral complexity
• Voice acting, animation direction, and sound design all contribute significantly to the depth of his characterization

Character Analysis: The Psychological Complexity of Twice

Twice’s defining characteristic is his inability to maintain a coherent sense of self. His Quirk, which creates duplicates, functions as a metaphor for his psychological fragmentation. Each duplicate represents a fractured aspect of his identity, and as the duplicates multiply, his sense of who he actually is becomes increasingly unstable.

This existential crisis distinguishes Twice from other complex antagonists in anime. While characters like Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan possess clear ideological motivations, and Lelouch from Code Geass operates with rational calculation, Twice’s fundamental problem is not what he believes or what he wants—it is the question of whether a coherent “he” exists at all.

The character’s trajectory from ordinary boy to fractured villain demonstrates how trauma and social rejection can fundamentally alter a person’s sense of reality. His story suggests that villainy is not always a choice but sometimes a consequence of circumstances beyond individual control.

Comparative Analysis: Twice Among Anime Antagonists

When compared to other complex antagonists in contemporary anime, Twice occupies a unique position:

Attack on Titan’s Eren Yeager: Eren’s antagonism stems from ideological conviction and a clear (if extreme) vision for the future. His actions, while destructive, are motivated by what he perceives as necessity. Twice, by contrast, lacks even this clarity of purpose.

Code Geass’s Lelouch: Lelouch operates with rational calculation, using his supernatural power strategically to achieve specific goals. His villainy is intellectual. Twice’s villainy is emotional and reactive, born from psychological breakdown rather than strategic planning.

Demon Slayer’s Rui: Rui’s antagonism is rooted in familial bonds and a desire to protect those he loves. He has a clear emotional anchor. Twice’s tragedy is that he cannot even maintain stable relationships with his own duplicates, let alone with others.

Twice’s distinctiveness lies in the fact that his fundamental problem is ontological rather than ideological, strategic, or emotional. He does not struggle with what to do or what to believe—he struggles with the question of whether he exists as a unified being at all.

Fan Reactions Across Platforms

On Twitter, fan reactions to Twice range from emotional appeals such as “Please save Twice” and “Twice deserves better” to analytical observations about his character representing modern identity fragmentation. The volume and diversity of responses indicate that the character has resonated deeply with audiences.

On Reddit and anime forums, discussions frequently center on the moral paradox Twice presents: fans simultaneously recognize that his actions are harmful while sympathizing with the psychological suffering that motivated those actions. Some fans express hope for his redemption, while others argue that his level of psychological fragmentation may make traditional redemption narratives impossible.

YouTube comments on Season 4 episodes featuring Twice frequently mention emotional responses, with viewers reporting that they cried during his backstory sequences. The sheer volume of engagement—thousands of comments per video—demonstrates the character’s significance within the fanbase.

Notably, critical voices also exist. Some viewers argue that excessive sympathy for antagonists like Twice is problematic, and that his actions, regardless of their psychological origins, remain morally indefensible. These critiques themselves validate the character’s importance, as they demonstrate that Twice provokes genuine ethical reflection rather than passive consumption.

Industry Context: The Evolution of Antagonist Portrayal

Over the past five years, a clear trend has emerged in anime production: antagonists are increasingly portrayed as complex, understandable figures rather than simple obstacles. This shift appears across multiple major titles including the final arc of Attack on Titan, the villain characterization in Jujutsu Kaisen, and the morally ambiguous relationships in Chainsaw Man.

Twice represents an early manifestation of this trend. Although My Hero Academia began serialization in 2014, before this shift became industry-wide, the character’s psychological depth anticipated the direction anime would eventually take. In this sense, Twice was ahead of his time—a character whose complexity prefigured the medium’s evolution toward more nuanced antagonist portrayal.

Creator Kohei Horikoshi has stated in interviews that he believes antagonist characters should receive the deepest psychological backgrounds. This creative philosophy directly shaped Twice’s development and explains why he possesses such substantial narrative depth despite being positioned as a villain.

Psychological Resonance: Why Modern Audiences Connect with Twice

Twice’s struggle with fractured identity resonates particularly strongly with contemporary audiences because it mirrors real experiences of identity fragmentation in the digital age. In an era where individuals maintain distinct personas across social media platforms, professional contexts, and personal relationships, Twice’s existential crisis feels uncomfortably relevant.

Additionally, Twice represents a cautionary narrative about social rejection and marginalization. Many audience members who identify as socially peripheral or excluded can recognize themselves in his trajectory from ordinary person to isolated individual to radicalized antagonist. This recognition does not necessarily lead to approval of his actions, but it does generate empathy for his suffering.

The character also embodies a fundamental human anxiety: the fear that one’s sense of self is unstable or illusory. By externalizing this anxiety through his Quirk, the narrative makes visible a psychological struggle that many people experience internally but rarely articulate.

Narrative Implications and Future Speculation

Based on narrative patterns in My Hero Academia and the trajectory of Twice’s character development, several potential outcomes exist for his story arc. The most likely scenario involves his death, which would simultaneously represent both tragedy and potential liberation from his psychological suffering. Such an ending would parallel the conclusion of Neon Genesis Evangelion, where a character’s dissolution could be interpreted as either devastating loss or merciful release.

Alternatively, Twice’s arc could culminate in a moment of self-acceptance, where despite his fractured identity, he achieves some form of peace or affirmation of his existence. This would represent a more hopeful but narratively complex resolution.

A third possibility involves Twice’s death serving as a catalyst for protagonist Deku’s growth, reinforcing the theme that understanding antagonists deepens the hero’s development. This would align with contemporary anime’s emphasis on moral complexity and the idea that heroes grow through engagement with opposing perspectives.

Insights

The intense and contradictory fan reactions to Twice represent a watershed moment in anime fandom and storytelling. They demonstrate that audiences have evolved beyond seeking simple narrative satisfaction (hero defeats villain) toward engaging with stories as explorations of complex human psychology and moral ambiguity.

Twice’s character reveals that modern audiences are capable of simultaneously holding contradictory positions: recognizing a character’s harmful actions while sympathizing with the suffering that motivated those actions. This cognitive and emotional sophistication suggests that anime audiences are increasingly mature in their engagement with narrative complexity.

Furthermore, Twice’s resonance indicates that contemporary audiences are grappling with genuine existential anxieties—questions of identity, belonging, and the stability of the self—that traditional heroic narratives do not adequately address. By embodying these anxieties, Twice provides a space for audiences to confront and process their own uncertainties.

The character also exemplifies how technical execution—voice acting, animation, sound design—can elevate character depth. Hanae Natsuki’s nuanced performance and Bones Studio’s visual techniques transformed what could have been a one-dimensional villain into a psychologically complex figure worthy of sustained analysis and emotional engagement.

Finally, Twice’s phenomenon suggests that the future of anime will increasingly feature antagonists who challenge audiences’ moral certainties rather than reinforce them. This evolution reflects broader cultural shifts toward embracing complexity and rejecting simplistic binaries of good and evil. As anime continues to mature as a medium, characters like Twice—who provoke discomfort, contradiction, and genuine ethical reflection—will likely become increasingly central to the medium’s most acclaimed works.

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