Kota Izumi

Kouta (洸汰) is the nephew of Mandalay in Boku no Hero Academia.

Appearance
Kouta is a small boy, comparable in height to Minoru. He wears a buttoned shirt, black shorts and black boots. Kouta has short black hair and wears a hat with horns on the front.

Personality
Kouta has a cynical and jaded view on Heroes. This stems from his parents' deaths as he felt that they chose their jobs over him and abandoned him, which resulted in his negative perspective on Heroism. Kouta's negative view on Heroes has also caused him to despise Quirks and the current society in general, believing that the "corny powers" are responsible for all the misery in the world.

Kouta is shown to be disgusted with indecency as shown with Minoru Mineta's perverted behavior, telling him to learn human decency before aiming to be a Hero; he even pushed him to his fall after catching him attempting to peek on the girls and didn't care that Minoru would get hurt from the fall. However, Kouta himself is seen having a small nosebleed after accidentally getting a quick glance at the girls of Class 1-A at the hot springs.

History
Two years ago before the current story, Kouta's parents sacrificed themselves to save civilians from villains. As a result, they died from a truly heroic death; Kouta's parents were praised and celebrated for their actions befitting true Heroes. However, Kouta became devastated from his parents' deaths because they meant everything to him. Feeling that his parents abandoned him and chose their jobs over him, Kouta started despising Heroes. Afterwards, Kouta joined The Pussycats, a Hero team of which Mandalay, his last known relative, is a part. From then onward, Kouta followed and obeyed Mandalay and Pixiebob's orders without question even though he despises Heroes; this is because he has no other relatives and without The Pussycats, he would have nothing.

School Trip Arc
Kouta appears alongside Mandalay and Pixiebob when they introduce themselves to Class 1-A. After Class 1-A begin traversing the Forest of Magic Beasts, Mandalay tells him that they are heading back. However, Kouta isn't enthusiastic.

Later that day at 5:20 PM after Class 1-A arrive at the facility, Izuku asks about the boy, Kouta and wonders if one of them is his mother. Mandalay explains to Izuku that Kouta is her nephew and asks him to say hello to Class 1-A. Izuku introduces himself to Kouta. Suddenly, Kouta punches Izuku in his crotch and begins walking away. Tenya goes to check on Izuku and admonishes Kouta for his actions. However, Kouta harshly replies that he doesn’t want to be with people who want to become corny Heroes and walks away.

During the evening when Minoru attempts to peek on the females of Class 1-A in the hot springs, Kouta appears and pushes Minoru down, telling Minoru to train in human decency before aiming to be a Hero; Minoru curses Kouta as he begins falling back down. The females of Class 1-A thank Kouta for stopping Minoru; Kouta accidentally looks at the Class 1-A females and falls into the males’ hot springs from shock. Izuku catches Kouta using One For All Full Cowl.

Izuku brings the unconscious Kouta to the facility's office who has passed out from the fear of falling. In the office, Mandalay thanks Izuku for being there to help him. Izuku notes that Kouta doesn't like the concept of Heroes and explains that he along with many others grew up in an environment where they wanted to become Heroes; Izuku is surprised that Kouta has a jaded view on Heroes. Pixiebob explains to Izuku about Kouta's history.

During Class 1-A's training session, Kouta silently watches Izuku train with Tiger. Later that day at 4:00 PM, watching Class 1-A make their own food from afar, Kouta notes that their training is a waste of time and leaves; Izuku sees Kouta while walking back to his class.

On a cliff, Kouta is sitting alone. Suddenly, Izuku approaches Kouta with a bowl of curry, surprising Kouta. Izuku offers the curry to Kouta after surmising that he didn’t have anything to eat. Kouta demands to know how Izuku managed to find his secret base, to which Izuku responds that he followed his footprints. Kouta harshly tells Izuku that he doesn’t want any of his food or company and demands that he leaves. Kouta finds Izuku's training along with everyone else's training to be pathetic because all they want is to brag about their "corny powers". Izuku notes that Kouta’s parents were the water-type Quirk users, the Water Horse; Kouta is infuriated that Izuku knows about his parents and surmises that Mandalay told him. However, Izuku tells Kouta that he knows their names after hearing about them. Izuku offers his condolences, but Kouta doesn't take heed of it. Kouta expresses his contempt for the current society of Heroes and Villains; he is angry that they use their Quirks for violence just to show off and blames Quirks for being responsible for many deaths. Izuku sees that Kouta does not only have hatred for Heroes, but for Quirks and society itself. Izuku remains silent and becomes sympathetic to Kouta's circumstances. Kouta demands that Izuku leave. However, Izuku tells Kouta a story about his "friend" who was born without a Quirk. Izuku explains that his friend desired to be a Hero, but that dream was impossible without a Quirk and he could not accept the reality for a long time, so he tried many different methods to awaken his Quirk. Izuku tells Kouta the moral of the story; if you reject reality harshly, the only person getting hurt is yourself. Enraged, Kouta orders Izuku to leave and starts threatening him. Izuku apologizes to Kouta for not being able to offer any useful advice and leaves the curry on the ground for him. Izuku walks away.