My Hero Academia: New Order’s Limitations, Explained

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Key Takeaways

  • New Order has a limit – Star and Stripe can only keep two rules active at a time.
  • The target’s sense of self must be clear to activate New Order – posing a challenge.
  • New Order requires immediate contact – revealing a short-range disadvantage.

As a seasoned fan of anime and manga, I have watched countless characters wielding extraordinary powers that defy the laws of nature. However, none have left me as captivated as the enigmatic Star and Stripe, whose god-like quirk, New Order, has proven to be as complex as it is powerful.

In the later stages of “My Hero Academia,” an array of potent abilities known as quirks keep getting introduced. The newest addition to this impressive roster is New Order, a divinity-like quirk held by Star and Stripe, America’s top hero. By establishing a rule on any item, whether it’s alive or inanimate, Star and Stripe have the extraordinary power to manipulate nature at their command.

Despite appearing almost invincible with few apparent countermeasures, New Order indeed possesses numerous limitations and disadvantages, which are vividly demonstrated in the battle between Star, Stripe, and Shigaraki. The defeat of Star and Stripe at the hands of the villain underscores these weaknesses. Although these drawbacks do not detract from New Order’s divine attributes, they do highlight the skillful power balancing within My Hero Academia.

New Order’s Limited Number of Rules

Star and Stripe Can Only Keep Two Rules Active At a Time

First Appearance My Hero Academia Season 7, Episode 1 “In the Nick of Time! A Big-Time Maverick from the West!”
Air Date May 4, 2024

In simpler terms, the main downside of using “New Order” is that it only allows two rules for Star and Stripe to be active at once. This means that in order to apply a new rule, an old one must be released first. This constraint significantly reduces the versatility of New Order, especially since Star and Stripe always have one rule constantly active on them, which gives them superhuman strength.

During Star and Stripe’s fight against Shigaraki in season 7 of “My Hero Academia”, it was evident that her ability had a restriction – she could only activate two rules at once. This constraint forced her to abandon the lasers holding down Shigaraki in order to use another rule on the missiles targeting him. In that brief instant, Shigaraki utilized Decay to burrow himself deep into the earth, escaping the impact of a missile similar to a catastrophic weapon.

The Target’s Sense of Self Must be Clear to the User

Star and Stripe Must Have a Solid Understanding of the Target’s Identity

To activate New Order, Star and Stripe need to explicitly identify the target, whether it’s animate or inanimate. For humans, this often means knowing their name. But for complex cases like Tomura Shigaraki who struggles with his identity as he cannot distinguish himself from All For One, New Order becomes ineffective.

When she calls someone with a sense of self by their name, they have to identify as that person.

This observation indicates that the influence of New Order is stronger on non-living items because Star and Stripe’s perception of the object’s identity is sufficient to trigger the quirk. However, human beings, being complex entities with intricate senses of self, can be challenging to comprehend. Moreover, for those experiencing internal conflicts, the impact of New Order diminishes even more.

New Order’s Rules Are Not Omnipotent

New Order’s Effects Have a Limit

Theoretically, New Order appears as powerful as a deity, able to shape nature according to its laws. Yet, the storyline in My Hero Academia demonstrates that even a mighty power like New Order has its own ceiling. Every restriction set by Star and Stripe on this ability is bound by a specific limit, with the most apparent example being the maximum increase in their physical strength. Despite granting Star and Stripe strength unmatched by many, including All Might, New Order cannot surpass a certain threshold.

As a gamer, I’ve come to understand that there’s a ceiling to what this game mechanic can do, as it’s tied to the peak potential of a human. It’s important to note that this rule, like the rest of New Order’s guidelines, works differently depending on its target. If the focus is an inanimate object, the impact of New Order’s rules intensifies significantly. However, when it comes to living beings, especially us humans, the influence of New Order weakens noticeably, whether it’s her or another player.

Your god-like quirk has rules of its own.

New Order Requires Immediate Contact

Star and Stripe Must Be In Direct Contact With the Target

The all-encompassing capability of New Order seems limitless, but its use demands direct interaction with the subject. This could be manageable for inanimate objects, however, it presents challenges when dealing with humans. This characteristic of New Order classifies it as a short-range power, implying that Star and Stripe must expose herself to danger to activate her quirk on human targets directly.

In their fight with Shigaraki, Star and Stripe’s vulnerability turned out to be critical, as it allowed the quirk-stealing villain to get closer and ultimately use his Decay ability. Although Star and Stripe didn’t die because of this weakness, there were instances where Shigaraki could have exploited their proximity to harm the American hero with Decay.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Prime Video.

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2024-12-02 05:04