Welcome to Waifu Wednesday, Nicchiban’s new column where we talk about anime characters, their appeal, and a little on their history.

Today on Waifu Wednesday, Mt. Lady from My Hero Academia. While she is only a side character, Mt. Lady has a special place in the hearts of My Hero Academia fans after stealing the show in the very first chapter.

Mt. Lady is a heroine introduced in the very first chapter and episode of My Hero Academia, her appearance is used to give a “charismatic” introduction to the wide potential of the setting’s quirks. In her very first panel, creator Kohei Horikoshi knew exactly what he was doing when he introduced her with an appropriate angle.

Mt. Lady is a professional hero and doesn’t appear too often with the students that most of the series takes place around. However she is given her fair share of scenes when the spotlight is focused on the world at large and the goings-ons of the adult heroes. As a newcomer to professional heroism, her lack of wisdom when it comes to navigating the powerful social dynamics of heroes like Endeavor gives her a lot in common with the younger characters and as an audience she becomes easier to empathize with.

Born as Yu Takeyama in Hokkaido, Mt. Lady’s quirk is Gigantification. She’s able to cause herself to grow to an immense kaiju-like size (or at least taller than most of the buildings in the city My Hero Academia takes place).

Takeyama is also a member of “The Lurkers”, a super hero team involving Kamui Woods and Edgeshot. Minoru Mineta (Grape Juice), Ibara Shiozaki (Vine), Denki Kaminari (Chargebolt), and Hanta Sero (Cellophane) all trained under Mt. Lady and The Lurkers during the Workplace Training Arc.

The appeal of Mt. Lady lies largely in her confident attitude both as a heroine and in her own body. Her very first voice line she makes a pun about her own body while bending her waist and winking.

Her lack of experience, emotional outbursts, and appealing character design are all reasons to draw fans to this well-rounded side character. While she doesn’t have the mature appeal of last week’s Misato, she exemplifies the youthful energy of the character making it easy to get swept up in whatever scene she appears in.