Gentle Criminal

Gentle, formerly known as Gentle Criminal, is a major supporting character and former antagonist from the anime/manga series My Hero Academia. He’s a former criminal and online influencer who would livestream and document his various crimes for his online audience. 
When he was younger, he aspired to be a hero. However, due to his lackluster performance in school, he wasn’t eligible for any prestigious hero academy in the country. So he turned to a life of crime with his partner La Brava. After an attempt to infiltrate UA Academy as a publicity stunt, he encountered Izuku Midoriya, who apprehended him. He was later turned in to the authorities, who offered Gentle another chance at being a hero.
He was voiced by Kōichi Yamadera in Japanese and John Gremillion in English. 
==Biography ==
===Early Life===
In his youth, Danjuro Tobita aspired to become a Pro Hero but struggled academically, preventing him from enrolling in a pristine hero academy. He once tried to save a falling window cleaner but accidentally interfered with another Pro Hero, leading to the victim being severely injured. His parents fell into debt, and he was expelled from school, later working part-time. After a chance encounter with a successful Pro Hero classmate, who didn't recognize him, Tobita abandoned his hero dream, realizing it was unattainable.
===UA Festival Arc===
Over time, Danjuro Tobita resurfaced as a criminal named Gentle and partnered with La Brava, a college student and social reject who was a fan of his online content. They steal from a store, record it, and get lots of views online. Gentle reveals to La Brava his tragic past and informs her he wishes to be taken more seriously. Later, at their hideout, Gentle explains all the crimes he commits are for good reasons. He attacked and robbed the store because they tried selling expired Fluffy Pudding to customers. Gentle plans to infiltrate U.A.'s Cultural Festival as his next publicity stunt and La Brava is pleased with this idea, believing it'll get people to see Gentle for the "criminal mastermind" he is.
Gentle and La Brava cross paths with Izuku Midoriya while in disguise, but Izuku recognizes Gentle. They battle, and Gentle tries to escape but is stopped by Izuku. In the fight, Gentle overpowers Izuku, but he and La Brava are cornered when Izuku gets back up and continues fighting. La Brava powers up Gentle using her quirk. Gentle begins to overpower Izuku once more. When he has him pinned to the ground, he asks Izuku why he wants to be a hero. Izuku responds by saying Gentle is among the strongest opponents he's fought, and he endures the fight because he wants to see a little girl smile. This causes Gentle to reflect on his actions, and he decides to abandon his mission and escape with La Brava.
Izuku catches up however and defeats Gentle. La Brava pleads to Izuku to let him go and not turn him over to the authorities, but Gentle fears that he's corrupted La Brava and thus willingly lets Izuku apprehend him. They're both later arrested by Pro Heroes. 
In jail, Gentle reflects on his past, crimes, and manipulation of La Brava. He thinks back to the moment before he was taken away when he told Izuku to try his best to create a bright future. He's interrogated by an officer, who acknowledges his tragic past and offers him a second shot at becoming a hero. Gentle, not knowing what to say, simply begins crying. 
===Paranormal Liberation War Arc===
After the Paranormal Liberation War, All For One escapes from Tartarus and frees inmates from high-security prisons, one of whom is Gentle. Muscular urges them to be free, but Gentle questions if that's what they truly want, recalling similar words Izuku said to him. Despite being greatly outnumbered, Gentle confronts the villains and inmates, subduing them all.
When the police arrive, they find Gentle with the prisoners under control. Naomasa Tsukauchi offers to help, and Gentle requests to see La Brava and repay his debt.
===Final War Arc===
As the Heroes wage their final battle against the Villains, Gentle and La Brava are kept in reserve with the Police Force. When the U.A. Fortress is hacked and starts falling, La Brava attempts to regain control, while Gentle is sent to the front lines. Gentle, empowered by Lover Mode, La Brava's quirk, uses his own Quirk to prevent the fortress from crashing. He's motivated by thoughts of Izuku and his desire to protect others. After Izuku tackles Tomura out of the fortress, Gentle struggles to hold the falling U.A, briefly calling out to Midoriya as the two fall to the ground.
Business Course students record the events, and Gentle worries for their safety. They believe it's their duty to connect the Heroes and the people, even in difficult times. La Brava hacks their phones, fixing the flight system and broadcasting footage live on the internet, making the fortress lighter for Gentle to hold again. Later, All For One approaches holding a defeated All Might, with Gentle attempting to go save him only to be forced to save UA again when All For One blasts the school. Fortunately, Katsuki Bakugo is revived and manages to save All Might with the help of Midoriya while Gentle manages to safely land UA on the ground, asking Cementoss if he can help before tending to the injured. Later, Gentle is among the heroes who join Midoriya in the final battle against All For One, with him calling out to the boy to "do [his] utmost."
==Personality ==
Living up to his name, Gentle creates a flamboyant gentleman persona for his online videos. He blends his online character with his real-life self and is confident about his criminal activities. He's obsessed with wanting to be remembered and being a part of history, and he rebounds from moments of depression. While Gentle dislikes violence and aims to target "ungentleman-like" people, he may resort to brutality under extreme stress. He still respects those who defeat him, like Izuku Midoriya. 
Gentle is passionate about his dreams but somewhat delusional about his competence to be a hero. He prioritizes his goals over everything else, values loved ones, and bears no ill feelings even when cut off financially. Despite being a criminal, he believes his crimes serve a grand purpose and the greater good. He dislikes extreme villains like Tomura Shigaraki and Stain and fears La Brava becoming worse. His ambition leads him to escalate his crimes, making him more villainous than he intended.
In the end, he respects Izuku's determination, and he becomes emotional when given a chance to reform his life. This leads him to try and reason with the Mikuzu prison inmates, asking them if a path of villain is what they truly desire. Later, he saves UA to repay his debt to Midoriya, being perfectly fine with not being filmed and recorded for his heroics (although the business course students and La Brava filmed it anyways). Gentle was even willing to face All For One to save All Might and later joined the remaining heroes in the final battle to help Midoriya, cheering for the boy to do his utmost.
==Abilities and Powers==
Despite his well-defined appearance and polite nature, Gentle is a powerful fighter. Izuku Midoriya even admitted that out of all his battles, Gentle may be his toughest opponent yet.
*Elasticity: Gentle possesses a Quirk that allows him to bend and manipulate anything he comes in contact with, almost as if they were made out of an elastic substance.
*Lover Mode: Lover Mode is a power-up granted by La Brava's Quirk, boosting his strength, speed, and the power of his Quirk. The more intense her love is, the stronger Gentle becomes.
==Trivia==
*Horikoshi revealed in volume 19's omake that part of creating Gentle was from his hobby of watching YouTube daily.
*Similar to Tomura Shigaraki, Gentle can be seen as a dark reflection of Izuku Midoriya, and is an example of what the boy could have become if he never met All Might and received One For All.
** Midoriya also rushed in to help with an emergency similar to how Gentle did, although thankfully he was only chastised by the other heroes and not charged with reckless endangerment.
*Gentle Criminal is one of the four villains (along with La Brava, Stain and Lady Nagant) to join forces with the heroes in defeating Shigaraki and All For One and putting end to them once and for all.
==External links==
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