Deku VS Asta

Deku VS Asta is the 170th episode of Death Battle, featuring Izuku Midoriya from the My Hero Academia series and Asta from the Black Clover series in a battle between zero-to-hero anime protagonists. Deku was voiced by Jose Estrada and Asta was voiced by Michael Kovach.
==Interlude==
Wiz: Deku, My Hero Academia's super student straight out of U.A. High.
Boomstick: Asta, the Anti-Magical ass kicker from Black Clover.
Wiz: Though you may be born bereft of the same gifts as your peers, there is nothing stopping you from achieving your dreams.
Boomstick: As long as you're a fictional character in a fantasy world. Ha ha! Ah... I mean, as long as you've got your friends by your side, you'll pack a hell of a punch.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
==Izuku Midoriya==
Wiz: Izuku Midoriya wanted only one thing from life: to be a beacon of hope just like his idol, the No. 1 ranked superhero in Japan, All Might.
Boomstick: Too bad he was born a freak with no powers. You heard right, this is like a reverse X-Men thing, where 80% of the population gets rad superpowers, or Quirks as they're called, while the remaining fifth are stuck as basic bitches, or as his spiky-haired bully Bakugo called him "Deku".
Wiz: That's a pun on the Japanese word "dekunobou", meaning "good for nothing".
Boomstick: Persevering despite his basic bitch-edness, Midoriya got the chance to prove his Quirkless heroic mettle against this giant sludge monster. Much to the surprise of one particular almighty onlooker.
Wiz: His body secretly decaying from a horrific injury, All Might needed to find the one who would inherit his all-powerful Quirk.
Boomstick: And All Might didn't want just anybody. The hero world was filled with glory seekers in it for fame and money. All Might wanted someone whose body moved on its own to save someone.
Wiz: He saw exactly that in young Midoriya, and gave him one of the most powerful Quirks in the world: One For All.
Boomstick: That was the problem. Even after bulkin' up from lad to chad, the recoil from even one punch would shatter all the bones in his arm. So he trained to be able to handle his gift at the superhero school of his dreams, U.A. High.
Wiz: And that's when he decided to own the name used as a cudgel against him for so many years. Turns out "Deku" can also be an abbreviation for "dekiru", someone who can do anything.
Boomstick: Exactly the opposite of "dekunobou". One For All allows Deku to release absolutely absurd amounts of strength from different parts of his body, with super moves named after U.S. cities and states.
Wiz: Deku still can't access all of his power safely, though. Using 100% will quickly destroy his body, which is why he learned to distribute his strength evenly across his body, a technique known as Full Cowling. This lets him increase his speed and durability as well, making him more all-rounded and shifting focus to his own interpretation of One For All inspired by his pal Iida: Shoot Style.
Boomstick: Where he pulls out a Glock and blows your brains out! ...Okay, not really, but in keeping with One For All's rabbit theme, he trades All Might's signature punches for kicks. Eh, my version's better. You ev- you ever seen rabbit versus gun? I have, and I know how it plays out.
Wiz: Considering the much higher muscle mass of a human's legs, Shoot Style allowed Deku to output even more power while giving his arms a break. A break from... a break.
Boomstick: And despite being a classic melee build, Deku can fight at range by punching powerful gusts of air, and even precisely aim them with specially designed gloves.
Wiz: Deku has an encyclopedic knowledge of Quirks and is always analyzing their strengths and weaknesses mid-battle, even if he does sound a little weird.
Boomstick: Despite only barely getting accepted in the first place, Deku quickly became one of Class 1-A's most dependable fighters. Because, yeah, somehow these students are constantly getting drafted into literal wars against murderous supervillains.
Wiz: Midoriya's successes in battle against ruthless criminals like Stain, Muscular, and Overhaul came much to his old bully's chagrin; where Bakugo was a child prodigy, he now found himself overshadowed by his hard-working rival, and the two would use their mutual respect and animosity to motivate each other to get stronger.
Boomstick: Classic frenemies. They're only solvin' their problems by poundin' the livin' tar out of each other.
Wiz: Luckily for him, Deku soon learned that living tar-pounding wasn't the only thing he could do. Turns out, One For All did not originate with All Might. It had been passed down eight times until it arrived at Deku, with each inheritance also carrying the previous user's natural Quirk as well.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Like Blackwhip, which lets him manifest crazy long and strong energy tendrils to tie enemies up and swing around the city. Or shoot one out of his mouth, just like our girl Froppy.
Wiz: And Danger Sense, which gives him a minor reactive precognition.
Boomstick: AKA he's Spider-Man! Not even a reach; the mangaka is like, the biggest Spidey fan ever.
Boomstick begins doing some jumping jacks before sparkling and glowing briefly as Wiz talks.
Wiz: He can also produce a smokescreen to mask his presence, float in mid-air, or store up kinetic energy over time with Fa Jin.
As he finishes speaking, Boomstick blitzes forward with a punch that takes him offscreen, surprising Wiz. Boomstick then emerges from the other side, knocking his co-host down and out cold with him. Boomstick then stands up a bit injured.
Boomstick: Oh! Ugh... like that!
We cut back to the analysis.
Boomstick: By storing up enough, he can even match All Might's max power, without any recoil to boot. Strong enough to change the weather and create city block-sized tornadoes with a single punch.
Wiz: And he's even stronger with his newest Quirk, Gearshift, which allows him to increase the speed of an object anytime he touches it. In conjunction with the power of All For One, he can use this to warp reality itself. Deku can go toe to toe with archvillains like Shigaraki, who's fast enough to react to and catch laser beams with his bare hands.
Boomstick: But nothing could prepare him for All Might's arch-enemy: the shadowy leader of the League of Villains, All For One.
Wiz: All Might only ever showed his young pupil kindness and support, but that couldn't change the absolutely crushing pressure Deku felt at every moment.
Boomstick: Even classically-trained dickhead Bakugo came to help his teammate out when he needed it, like when they teamed up to share One For All and punch an island-sized hole in the clouds two dozen miles high!
Wiz: Just goes to show that even One For All isn't a one-man army. Deku's true strength comes from his teamwork between himself and his friends.
Boomstick: And with their help, Deku will surely become that beacon of hope he dreamt about as a child.
Wiz: One hero for all mankind.
==Asta==
Boomstick: Magic! You know it, you love it, and in the world of Black Clover, it doesn't come from a box you bought at a tacky West Hollywood costume shop. Everyone's got it!
Wiz: Mana is the source of all magic, a supernatural energy found in the air and in living beings, except living beings whose names are Asta.
Boomstick: Not only was the young Asta an orphan abandoned by his mother at a church as a baby, he was born with a mutation that prevents him from having any mana to speak of. Well, neither do I, and you don't hear me crying about it.
Wiz: Yes you do, all of the time. But Asta had a dream. Despite his lack of magic, he and his best friend Yuno promised each other one of them would rise to the throne of the greatest military position in the land, the Wizard King... "Wizard King," really guys? Sometimes they call it "Magic Emperor," but... we all know what they mean.
Boomstick: So, he dedicated himself to gettin' swole as all hell! In a world of nerds, he would be its lone jock god shoving every last wizard into a locker until they crowned him king!
Wiz: But huge frightening pectorals on a tiny screaming goblin child weren't enough on its own. He needed something powerful enough to shut down his opponent's magic.
Boomstick: He needed the five-leaf clover grimoire.
Wiz: Essentially a book of spells, a grimoire will choose its user and float beside their wielder at all times.
Boomstick: And Asta was lucky enough to receive the UNO Reverse Card of grimoires. The five-leaf clover can harness the power of Anti Magic, which will literally nullify the effects of other magic spells, almost like wizard Kryptonite. Let the locker stuffing commence! Ha ha, get f**ked, nerds!
Wiz: It wasn't long before Asta was accepted into one of the nine squads of Clover Kingdom's Magic Knights: the Black Bulls. Filled with lazy drunkards, anti-social otakus, and literal sociopaths.
Boomstick: My kind of people! Eh, mostly. But much like with Asta, you shouldn't judge a grimoire by its cover, and soon they were all workin' together and kickin' ass like a family should.
Wiz: Asta harnesses the power of Anti Magic by summoning swords imbued with it from the grimoire. Normally, these swords would quickly drain the mana from anyone foolish enough to wield them, but Asta does not have any mana, turning his greatest weakness into a one-of-a-kind strength.
Boomstick: He's got his classic Demon-Slayer, an enormous greatsword which cuts through spells with its edge, and deflects them with its flat, or the Demon-Dweller, which can also absorb and copy magic, then toss it back to sender.
Wiz: I think my personal favorite is the more complex Demon-Destroyer, which severs the relationship between a spell's cause and effect, countering the effects of its magic. This could result in anything from healing a village that was inflicted with poison to preventing reincarnation.
Boomstick: Yeah, okay, some of these can get a little heady. I personally prefer keepin' it simple, like using Anti Magic telekinesis to surf on your sword through the sky.
Wiz: It's worth noting that these swords are made specifically for countering magical attacks and sources of mana. The swords will act as though blunted when striking non-magical foes, more akin to giant clubs than actual blades. Not entirely inconsistent with real-life greatswords.
Boomstick: But none of that's even close to as cool as his deadliest sword: the Demon-Slasher. A katana as black as the pits of Hell and twice as badass!
Wiz: This one actually does cut like a sword, but it's complicated. It lets Asta actually select what he does and does not want to cut, only affecting his target while leaving anything else unharmed.
Boomstick: Okay, at this point, isn't that just magic?
Wiz: Uh, magic with a loophole. 
Boomstick: And he's studied the blade long enough to become a master swordsman to boot. Not in the real-life sense, in the anime sense!
Wiz: He can spin himself like a tornado to deflect magic spells, thrust forward at top speed like a charging bull, launch a barrage of Anti Magic projectiles, and even channel Anti Magic into his swords to vastly increase their size.
Boomstick: Well, while he may be no good with mana, he has learned to detect ki, because of course.
Wiz: The life force existing in all things. Asta can detect hidden opponents and even predict their movements ahead of time, as long as he's fast enough to react.
Boomstick: With such crazy powers, Asta was takin' on threats like the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the devil Zagred, and the Dark Triad. So many nerds, never enough lockers. Too bad for Asta though, he had one serious inner demon.
We cut to Wiz, who has the five-leaf clover grimoire floating in front of him.
Wiz: Literally! Housed within the five-leaf clover grimoire was Liebe, a demon exiled from Hell for completely lacking magical powers. And who just so happened to get adopted by Asta's mother.
Boomstick grabs the grimoire and brings it to his side.
Boomstick: Until he got possessed by a different demon and killed her. Vowing vengeance on all demonkind, Liebe manifested Anti Magic from his hatred as a way to kick their asses! Which gave him and Asta a lot of common ground. Despite the whole, y'know, mom murder thing.
Sneaking from below, Wiz grabs the grimoire and takes it back to his side.
Wiz: In fact, the two became true brothers and formed an unstoppable duo. Liebe can actually fully merge with Asta for a massive power boost that lasts up to five minutes, at the cost of leaving Asta nearly powerless for the next half hour.
Boomstick attempts to take the grimoire again, and he and Wiz engage in a tug of war with it.
Boomstick: C'mon, I want it!
Wiz: It's mine!
Boomstick: Gah, I mean, I'll take it if I get to be strong enough to slice buildings to pieces, obliterate huge chunks of earth and, tear the most powerful demons apart, gimme the goddamn book!
Wiz: I'm the book boy, okay?!
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Even characters earlier in the series like Patolli had magic capable of completely vaporizing the entire Clover Kingdom in a single attack, and demons that Asta has fought since then like Dante and Lucifero are leagues stronger.
Boomstick: Hell, screw all these demon forms and Anti Magic powers! Asta's body is so incredibly well-trained, he dodged a beam of light while sleeping! As in, he was asleep, and the force of his sneeze pushed his head out of the way of a beam of light. Lightspeed sneezes, everyone!
Wiz: And despite his headstrong and... irritating personality-
Boomstick: AKA screaming at the top of his lungs as often as possible!
Wiz: Asta's an intelligent fighter who has leveraged his skill against far more experienced foes.
Boomstick: But he wouldn't be anywhere without the ragtag band of deviants he calls friends. With them at his side, there's no way he won't climb the ranks to take the Wizard King's throne, especially with Yuno pushin' them both to get stronger.
Wiz: Unlike other classic shōnen rivalries, this one isn't tainted by antagonism; they truly want what's best for each other, even if they're competing for the same throne.
Boomstick: Yuno's gonna need all the luck he can get, 'cause even if Asta never gets mana of his own, his true magic is never givin' up!
==Prelude==
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
==Death Battle==
The applause of a crowd is heard within a battle coliseum as a radio announcer talks through a loudspeaker revealing the main event.
Announcer: Give it up for our 26th World Martial Arts Tournament's semi-final combatants; the superhero from U.A. High, Deku!
The announcer's voice fades out briefly as the camera cuts to Deku, walking in to the arena and mumbling about his first impressions of his foe for his upcoming match.
Deku: A sword that big? He's gotta be crazy strong. I'm gonna have to rely on more than just my power to take him down.
Announcer: And the Black Bulls' Magic Knight, Asta!
On the other side of the field, Asta walks in, his grimoire floating and familiar Liebe floating next to him as he twirls his Demon-Slayer Sword up to his shoulder, with Liebe moving offscreen.
Asta: I just gotta hit him... really hard.
Buildings rise to form an arena around the two.
Announcer: Beeeeegin!!
A headstrong Asta charges forward for the challenge, while a mid-thought Deku shows surprise with his surroundings changing before moving forward for the battle. Asta immediately goes for a stabbing attack to end the fight instantly, but Izuku sidesteps and begins zooming around to leave Asta wary before knocking him down with a charged kick. He is quick to recover and is left swinging at mid-air whilst thinking about his opponent's strength as he takes another hit.
Asta: (thinking) Man, this guy could give even Luck a run for his money!
Briefly tracking Deku's movements, Asta focuses his senses before turning to impale and throw Midoriya away, allowing him to sprint forward while forming and pulling out his Demon-Dweller Sword from his grimoire. He traps Deku into a deadly and frenzied dual blade combo before knocking him back cratering into a building. Deku gets up and notices with confused surprise that he was unaffected with minimal injury.
Deku: Aren't swords supposed to be sharp?
As Asta attempts to smash Izuku with his blades, the latter activates his Smokescreen Quirk and flees, leaving Asta to send rubble flying. Elsewhere, Deku continues strategizing his best plan of action.
Deku: (thinking) His speed isn't slowed by his sword's weight at all. Gotta hamper his movements, and get that book out of his hands!
Izuku's Danger Sense Quirk kicks in and he grows wide-eyed noticing something.
Deku: (thinking) He found me!
He swiftly gets out of the way as Asta appears in the smoke to throw more swings at him, only barely missing. Deku jumps away as Asta summons his Demon-Destroyer Sword and carries it with his mouth before spinning rapidly. The hurricane briefly blinds Deku and allows Asta to close in.
Asta: BLACK METEORITE!
Despite landing a quick and deadly blow, Asta finds himself coming to a stop mid-air and his leg tangled up in Izuku's Blackwhip Quirk.
Deku: Now it's my turn!
With a single pull, Izuku slams Asta hard down to lower ground and lands on a rooftop. Asta is childishly seen attempting to cut at the Blackwhips with his Anti Magic Weapons to no avail, leaving him with a bewildered realization.
Asta: Wait, are you not using magic?! (thinking) (sigh) What kind of Magic Emperor would I be if I can't beat a guy like this?
He grabs his sword's handle with his teeth before getting pulled towards Izuku, who prepares one of his signature smashes.
Deku: Detroit Smash!
Asta blocks the punch with all of his swords, but he finds the attack left Blackwhips on each of them which Deku pulls away, leaving an infuriated Asta to crash through many buildings. As he is briefly left on the ground, Asta pulls out the Demon-Slasher Sword from his grimoire before getting pulled back and subjected to more punches.
Deku: Detroit Smash! Detroit Smash!
Midoriya then uses a prehensile tongue to nab and pull away Asta's grimoire, keeping it within his teeth before jumping at him with a full-force punch.
Deku: (muffled) Detroooittt... SMAAAAASH!!!
Blown away once more, Asta finally cuts off the whip on his leg and crashes back-first into a tall building. As Deku lands on a rooftop, he suddenly finds the grimoire he held in his mouth pulled away to where Asta was, alongside his Anti Magic Swords. With a scream of annoyed anger, Asta cuts apart the building and emerges from an explosion, now having united with Liebe and flying mid-air.
Asta: I don't know what "Detroit" is, but I’ve had enough of it!
Deku: I'm ending this quick!!
Deku uses Gearshift to send a fallen structure flying right at Asta, who effortlessly cuts it in half. Flying straight at him, the Liebe-infused Asta yells at Deku to give it his all.
Asta: HIT ME WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT, BECAUSE I'M NEVER GOING DOWN!!!
Charging up kinetic energy, Deku leaps into the real battle as the two begin letting out their true power. Both continue to fight on even terms mid-air, Deku jumping off rubble and Devil Union Asta staying mid-flight, before Deku lands a deadly kick against Asta's cheek, sending him into more architecture.
Quickly recovering, Asta zooms towards Deku and punches him across the face. Izuku forms a Blackwhip to pull himself back up, but Asta barges into his back, sending him bouncing into building pieces like a pinball before he rolls and crashes through more rubble before coming to a stop.
Deku: (thinking) No use not going all-out anymore. I just gotta hit him... really... HARD!!!
Going beyond and boosting himself to 100%, his hair now glowing an aqua color and green electricity sparking from him, Deku jumps up and ricochets off multiple mid-air boulders towards his opponent.
Deku: YOU WANTED MY BEST?!?! HERE IT IS!!! ONE MILLION PERCENT...! PLUUUS ULTRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Taking on all of the might of his forebearers alongside a smiling apparition of his idol teacher, the young Midoriya floats forward with his Ultimate Move. Taking on more of Liebe's inner demonic power as his own, Asta powers up himself and charges at Deku for an impactful clash that destroys the entire arena.
As the smoke clears, a motionless and de-powered Asta falls to the ground, with Yami's katana accompanying him and impaling into the surface. A dying Deku up high, despite a weakened and exhausted voice, a brokenly decimated arm, and his eyes turning to a dead white, relievingly believes he has won the day.
Deku: I... I did it...!
However, a bloodied and gravely wounded Asta gets back on his feet, noticing his foe falling with his three swords floating above him. Not knowing that he is already lifeless, he commands the blades to impale Izuku in the back down to the ground, a red puddle forming from where he crashed. Asta takes a moment to catch his breath as the announcer declares his victory.
Announcer: And the winner is Asta!
Asta: Take that... Detroit...
Keeping himself up on the Demon-Slasher's hilt, a fatigued and strained Asta begins his after-match recovery as the announcer explains more event details.
Announcer: Stick around, folks, for our final round as Asta takes on last year's reigning champion: Misterrr Sataaaaaan!
As his name is announced, an onlooking and shocked Hercule Satan realizes what he is up against, unlike his fight against Dan Hibiki the previous year, and comically flees from the stadium as the screen cuts to black.
==Results==
Boomstick: Aw, poor Deku. He tried his best, but Asta just... ah, shoved him into that great big locker in the sky.
Wiz: Both Deku and Asta were fairly evenly matched melee fighters without any specific abilities to give one an easy edge over the other. Though, to be fair, the variety of Quirks Deku inherited from past users of One For All did make him more versatile and unpredictable.
Boomstick: Plus, Quirks are biological mutations not connected to some supernatural energy source like mana, so Asta's Anti Magic powers were basically useless here.
Wiz: And Deku was generally a smarter and more tactical fighter. But against Asta's incredible might, this time, brawn beat brains.
Boomstick: Leeeetttt's crunch some numbers! Deku's greatest feat of strength was splitting that enormous cloud formation with Bakugo. 
Wiz: By measuring the size of the island and comparing it to the clouds above, we can determine they dispersed over 63 trillion kilograms of water.
Boomstick: That's the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza... 12,000 of them!
Wiz: And required an energy of nearly 80 teratons of TNT per punch.
Boomstick: Let's compare that to Asta. Patolli's spell was going to be strong enough to vaporize a country the size of the Clover Kingdom.
Wiz: We can use to estimate the size of Clover Kingdom to be about 500 kilometers in diameter, about half the length of Great Britain. Vaporizing a country of that size would require an energy of over 480 teratons of TNT, over six times greater than Deku's punch.
Boomstick: While Asta uses Anti Magic, it isn't an automatic counter, and needs to be comparable in strength to the spell it's combatting. And Asta's gotten way stronger since!
Wiz: Asta was also quicker. Sure, scaling to Shigaraki would give Deku roughly lightspeed reaction time.
Boomstick: But Asta could dodge light in his sleep, and that's his base form, even before transforming with Liebe to get way faster!
Wiz: And since Deku and Asta's precognitive abilities more or less matched each other, it was only a matter of time before Asta simply overwhelmed him.
Boomstick: Especially since Deku has struggled in the past against faster opponents. Sure, Deku was smarter, but if he literally didn't have enough time to come up with a plan of attack before gettin' hammered, his brains were wasted.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Deku's tactical brilliance and harum-scarum tenacity definitely gave his opponent a run for his money, but Asta's raw power, blinding speed, and deadlier weaponry spelled the end for All Might's pupil.
Boomstick: Deku gave it his All, and I wish he had "One". Asta la vista.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Asta.
==Comparison==
===Deku===
:+ More tactical
:+ Wider array of powers
:- Slower
:- Can't safely access max power
:- Swords > punches & kicks
===Asta===
:+ Physically stronger
:+ Faster
:+ Better ways to predict movement
:+ More mobile with flight
:- Anti-Magic would not affect Quirks
==Original Track==
Strongest Alive.png|Original Cover
Strongest Alive Cover (Remastered).png|Remastered Version
===Composition===
The track for this fight is "Strongest Alive" by Brandon Yates, with mixing and mastering done by Anthony DiGiacomo. It is a lyrical rock track reflecting the combatants' optimistic and heroic natures. The lyrics contain spins on the choruses from "Mighty" from All Might VS Might Guy and "Marvel For All", a fan-commissioned track for a hypothetical fight between Deku and Ms. Marvel from Marvel Comics, to represent Deku's heroism and role as successor to One For All. The instrumental backing track also slowly riffs on "Conviction - Asta's Theme" from Black Clover.
===Title===
The title refers to how both combatants seek to attain the apex positions of their worlds (the No. 1 Hero and the Wizard King, respectively), which both correlate to being their kind's strongest.
===Cover Arts===
The original cover art done by John Mitchell depicts one of Deku's Air Force Gloves holding Asta's five-leaf clover grimoire as red-glowing silhouettes of Asta's Demon-Slayer, Demon-Dweller, and Demon-Destroyer Swords come out of the book. Nine differently colored sparkles of various sizes are spread throughout the cover with a white line connecting them all, representing One For All and how it's been passed down through the eight past users and eventually to Deku himself to make him the ninth, similar to some scenes in My Hero Academia whenever All Might or Deku power up.
The cover art of the remastered version done by Iuminous_shadow (which was created for the track's remaster following Rooster Teeth's shutdown) depicts Asta in his Devil Union form flying behind his Demon-Slayer Sword embedded into the road of a city street. Behind Asta are Deku's Blackwhip tendrils, while above him are eight of the nine sparkles that represent One For All. Red and green electricity can also be seen cracking around Asta and his Demon-Slayer Sword.
===Lyrics===
==Trivia==
===Production===
*The core connections between Deku and Asta are that they are both modern teenage shōnen protagonists who were born into their worlds without the abilities that most people in their worlds possess (Quirks and mana, respectively), causing them to be looked down upon before eventually receiving abilities that were stronger than others in their worlds from someone else (One For All from All Might and Anti Magic from Liebe, respectively) containing certain entities (One For All's past wielders and Liebe, respectively), with said powers ending up being compatible with their formerly powerless natures (One For All causes accelerated aging to Quirk users, whereas Anti Magic drains the mana of those trying to wield it), but they still had to train extensively to utilize them properly. In addition:
**Both have the goal of achieving their world's greatest heroic title (the No. 1 Hero and the Wizard King, respectively) and have a rivalry with a prodigious childhood friend who shares said goal (Katsuki Bakugo and Yuno Grinberryall, respectively).
**Both are members of a group whose motto is all about surpassing their limits (Class 1-A and the Black Bulls, respectively).
**Despite their enthusiastic personalities and tendency to overreact in many situations, both are known for being tactical fighters who often best their opponents with keen analysis and creative problem-solving.
**Although both are generally kind and compassionate individuals who are driven by their desire to help others, their headstrong senses of justice have led to them making brash decisions in the past.
**Both receive amplifications in power from feelings of intense rage and animosity.
**Both would eventually obtain more powers as time passed (Izuku acquired more Quirks, while Asta gained possession of multiple different swords), including an ability alerting them of danger (Danger Sense and Ki sensing, respectively).
**During their journies, both almost had their careers cut short due to injuries they received to their arms.
**Both have close relationships with female teammates who developed a crush on them but also put said feelings aside so they could stand strong on their own (Ochako Uraraka and Noelle Silva, respectively), a serious person with glasses who initially had a bad opinion of them (Tenya Iida and Klaus Lunettes, respectively), and a fire-manipulating member of their team from whom they gained respect (Shoto Todoroki and Magna Swing, respectively).
**Both have a few major allies that share Japanese voice actors, namely figures linked to their past who they have a strong but complicated relationship with (Katsuki Bakugo, Izuku's childhood friend and rival, and Liebe, Asta's adoptive brother and combat partner, who are both voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto) and uncouth but highly respected mentor figures who are often critical of them but also goes to great lengths to ensure their growth (Shota Aizawa, Izuku's homeroom teacher, and Yami Sukehiro, Asta's squad captain, who are both voiced by Junichi Suwabe).
**Both are also playable characters in the Shonen Jump crossover game Jump Force.
**Kōhei Horikoshi and Yūki Tabata (the authors of My Hero Academia and Black Clover, respectively), are good friends and have drawn each other's characters before, including Deku and Asta.
*According to a Discord message made by writer Liam Swan, Deku died when his eyes went white after using his 1,000,000% Smash attack against Asta, and thus did not experience the killing blow he took.https://www.reddit.com/r/deathbattle/comments/z78r8e/clarification_on_the_death_in_deku_vs_asta_from/
*As revealed in the April 24th, 2024 Fireside Chat, Deku was originally meant to fight Tanjiro Kamado, but Tanjiro ended up fighting Jonathan Joestar instead while Deku was saved for Asta to make fights that better fit the scale of both series at the time.
*This is the third episode whose track references a previous one (in this case being "Mighty"), after Madara VS Aizen and Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, and with the next four being Gogeta VS Vegito, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Goku VS Superman (2023), and Omni-Man VS Bardock.
**This is also the first episode to reference a fan-commissioned track (in this case being Marvel For All from Vol. 1 of Brandon Yates' "What If?" commission tracks), with the next one being Frieza VS Megatron.
*This is the second episode of Season 9 in which the YouTube version of the episode was uploaded directly and not through an upcoming premiere, after Thor VS Vegeta.
*The 559th word spoken in this episode by either Wiz or Boomstick, "MELEE" (originating from the line "And despite being a classic melee build,"), serves as the key for the first numbered cryptogram of Season 10's cipher.
===Easter Eggs===
*The BetterHelp advertisement in the YouTube version of this episode makes a call-back to Madara VS Aizen, where Boomstick recalls when Wiz collapsed after excitedly explaining Madara Uchiha's Eye of the Moon Plan during his analysis' cutaway.
**This would make this the second episode with a BetterHelp advertisement which calls back to said episode, after Omni-Man VS Homelander.
**Coincidentally, both this episode and Madara VS Aizen were the penultimate episode of their respective seasons.
*The setting of the fight being a World Martial Arts Tournament is a reference to the tournament of the same name in Dragon Ball.
**Furthermore, this is a call-back to Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, which also took place in said tournament. Nick Cramer similarly reprises his role as the announcer from the aforementioned fight. Hercule Satan, who won his fight, even appears at the end of this fight (even wearing the jetpack he used in his fight), with the announcer proclaiming that Asta will fight him in the final round of the World Martial Arts Tournament.
*The purple "ブツ" characters that emit from Deku while he is strategizing at the beginning of the fight are a reference to similar scenes of him overthinking in My Hero Academia.
*A clip of SpongeBob VS Aquaman (specifically the part when Super Friends Aquaman charges up one of his punches with water near the beginning of the fight) can be seen at the top of the screen as the buildings rise from the coliseum floor.
*When Deku leaps around his opponent near the start of the fight, Asta compares his speed and tactics to his teammate Luck Voltia. This could be a nod to how Izuku and Luck are both voiced by Justin Briner in their respective show's English dubs.
*Asta holding his three swords with one in each hand and one in his mouth is similar to Roronoa Zoro's Three Sword Style, even referencing Zoro's Tatsu Maki technique before using Black Meteorite.
*In their final clash, Deku shouts "YOU WANTED MY BEST?!?! HERE IT IS!!!" to Asta, which were the same words All Might shouted at Might Guy before hitting him with the United States of Smash in All Might VS Might Guy.
**All Might himself appears next to Deku as he's preparing his 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash.
*Deku's lifeless, impaled body falls onto the ground in the Family Guy death pose.
**This is the first episode to reference the death pose, with the next two being Phoenix VS Raven and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
===Errors===
*The description for this episode is "My Hero Academia's Quirk-less hero goes up against Black Clover's magic-less mage in an underdog battle for the ages!" However, "Quirkless" is spelled without a hyphen in My Hero Academia.
*Gearshift is mistakenly written as "Gear Shift" in Deku's "Arsenal & Abilities" slide and one of the pop-up boxes in the post-analysis.
*Wiz erroneously states that Deku can use Gearshift in conjunction with All For One to warp reality instead of One For All in Deku's analysis.
*The crowd within the stadium seats mysteriously disappears after Deku and Asta's final colliding attack, and applause is heard when the announcer declares Asta the winner despite no one but Hercule being physically present in the stands.
*In the "Comparison" slide, not only is the "q" in "Quirk" not capitalized, but "Anti Magic" is spelled as "Anti-Magic" with a hyphen, even though Anti Magic is written without it in Black Clover proper.
===Other===
*This is the 16th Anime-themed episode, after Zoro VS Erza, Natsu VS Ace, Lucario VS Renamon, Naruto VS Ichigo, Jotaro VS Kenshiro, Roshi VS Jiraiya, Sasuke VS Hiei, Mob VS Tatsumaki, All Might VS Might Guy, Gray VS Esdeath, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Sanji VS Rock Lee, DIO VS Alucard, Madara VS Aizen, and Tanjiro VS Jonathan Joestar, and with the next five being Gogeta VS Vegito, Killua VS Misaka, Gojo VS Makima, Mahito VS Shigaraki, and Ash VS Yugi.
*This is the 10th Hitotsubashi-themed episode, after Naruto VS Ichigo, Jotaro VS Kenshiro, Roshi VS Jiraiya, Sasuke VS Hiei, Mob VS Tatsumaki, All Might VS Might Guy, Sanji VS Rock Lee, Madara VS Aizen, and Tanjiro VS Jonathan Joestar, and with the next three being Gogeta VS Vegito, Gojo VS Makima, and Mahito VS Shigaraki.
*This episode marks the fifth time in which two vocal tracks were released within consecutive episodes (following Sauron VS Lich King's "One King to Rule Them All"), after the times with All Might VS Might Guy and Miles Morales VS Static, Batman VS Iron Man and Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Thor VS Vegeta and Omni-Man VS Homelander, and Black Adam VS Apocalypse and Trunks VS Silver, with the next two times being with Bill Cipher VS Discord and Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, and Goku VS Superman (2023) and Galactus VS Unicron.
*This is the sixth episode to take place in a tournament arena, after Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Balrog VS TJ Combo, Sora VS Pit, Wario VS King Dedede, and Black Canary VS Sindel.
*This episode reached #3 on YouTube's Trending page.
==References==
Category:Death Battles
Category:Season 9 Episodes
Category:My Hero Academia episodes
Category:Animated Sprite battles
Category:Fights animated by Zack
Category:Fights animated by Kiid
Category:Fights with voice actors
Category:Death Battles with cameo appearances
Category:Death Battles with comparisons
Category:'Protagonists' themed Death Battles
Category:'Heroes' themed Death Battles
Category:'Anime' themed Death Battles
Category:'Company' themed Death Battles
Category:'Mascots' themed Death Battles
Category:'Magic VS Technology' themed Death Battles
Category:'2010s' themed Death Battles
Category:Trending Death Battles