High School, Izuku's classmate Ochaco Uraraka inspires him to embrace his nickname and he uses it as his hero name.

Izuku has received praise by critics for his character development and personality, and has also made consistent appearances in popularity polls related to the series.

[7] Izuku is first seen in My Hero Academia as a 4-year-old boy about to be beaten up by three other classmates, one of them being Katsuki "Kacchan" Bakugo, who has the ability to create explosions.

Throughout his childhood and into his teen years, Izuku would often be bullied by Katsuki, who would give him the nickname "Deku" (an alternate Kun'yomi reading of his given name's kanji that is homophonous with 木偶, meaning "useless person; good for nothing"; treated as a clipped compound of "Defenseless Izuku" in English translations) to mock his perceived worthlessness in superhero society.

Ten years later, Izuku has a chance encounter with Toshinori Yagi, otherwise known as All Might, and asks him if he too could be a hero, even though he possesses no Quirk.

Later, when an unnamed villain with mud-like liquid abilities attacks Katsuki, Izuku without proper thought, runs up to try and save him, which in turn gives the worn-out All Might (who can only do hero work for about three hours a day due to a fight with All for One that destroyed half of his respiratory system) the motivation to finish off the villain.

Izuku first uses One for All during the practical part of the exam to save fellow competitor Ochaco Uraraka from being squashed by falling rubble.

In honor of his acceptance, his mother Inko fabricates him his very own super-suit, a teal-colored suit based on a sketch Izuku once drew.

Izuku is placed in a class with Katsuki and Ochaco, the latter of whom inspires him to embrace "Deku" as his hero name due to sounding similar to "dekiru" (出来る), which roughly translates to "you can do it."

Throughout the course of the series, Izuku becomes an encouraging influence to his classmates, such as allowing class prodigy Shoto Todoroki to let go of traumas that prevented him from using his powers to its fullest potential, helping Ochaco Uraraka win the hero vs. villain exercise, teaching Fumikage Tokoyami how to use his Quirk for defense purposes and helping Kyoka Jiro organize her notes for the school festival.

After nearly a year of school activities and internships, some of which are intercepted by villain attacks, Izuku learns that All for One's apprentice Tomura Shigaraki has become powerful enough to steal One for All.

successfully, while reminding him about how helpful he was to his class and why they see him as a friend even though he was born Quirkless, as well as Katsuki apologizing for his bullying attitude to Midoriya.

[13] In a crossover promotion with Avengers: Infinity War, Izuku shared a brief conversation with Captain America.

Izuku also appears in Fortnite Battle Royale as one of the crossover characters along with Katsuki Bakugo, Ochaco Uraraka and All Might.

Nick Creamer of Anime News Network called Izuku a "very likeable character" and noting that "he's joined by a rich cast of teachers and classmates who all add their own personality(...).

"[42] Isaac Akers of The Fandom Post found that Izuku is vital when it comes to his personality with the combination of earnestness, kindness, and naivety.

[44] Michelle Smith from Soliloquy in Blue also liked Izuku and noting that "he spent a lot of time analyzing how they handled situations, and he's good at coming up with strategies", which makes him smart.

"[47] While discussing his frequent appearances on My Hero Academia popularity polls, Nerissa Rupnarine of CBR wrote that Midoriya stands out on his own despite following some common shōnen tropes, adding that Izuku's character development "(...) is truly admirable and captivating to watch.