Denki Kaminari is the traitor and I can prove this through his character design
I actually wanted to analyze all of the character designs of class 1-A, but this theory has been burning in the back of my head for weeks, so now Iām doing the shortened version with just looking at Denkiās part. Hey-ho letās go.
First off, we have to create an analytical basis. In my opinion, the students of class 1-A can be separated into 4 different categories in regard to their overall āimportanceā to the story (I know that sounds rude and I personally hold all the kids very close and dear to my heart, but from a storytelling perspective you got to admit that there are some characters given less screen time or story beats than others and as a result tend to be less important than characters who have lots of flashbacks etc.). The categorization is based on an objective view of the series and I will try to explain why I put certain characters in certain categories along with naming the categories.
1) prime primary characters (100% not the traitor)
These three are the main focus of the series, the protagonists if you will. They get the most screen time, the most flashbacks, and the most backstory information and are untouchable pillars of the storyās groundwork. All two (or three) of them have their own personal character arcs that span longer than just one story arc (see Bakugou slowly learning not to be an absolute gremlin, Dekuās long journey of becoming the hero he wants to be, Shouto learning to deal with his fatherās abuse and family situation). Even if youād say that i.e. Shouto is not important enough to be counted as one of the protagonists, he is still one of the most recognizable characters of the series and definitely on the forefront when it comes to fleshed out characterization.
2) primary characters (70% not the traitor)
Ochako, Tsuyu, Iida, Kirishima
These four characters are the main group surrounding the protagonists and are fundamental as the supporting cast. These include the first two real friends Deku made at UA, Ochako and Iida, as well as Tsuyu and Kirishima. Ochako is here because of her connection with two characters from the prime primary category: she is one of Dekuās closest friends in addition to being clearly framed as his main love interest, as well as being in one of the more important fights from the Sports Festival against Bakugou. Iida is connected to two characters from prime primary as well: like Ochako heās close friends with Deku, but also shared a lot of spotlight with Shouto during the Stain storyline. Kirishima seems to be only connected to Bakugou at first (being the first one to try to befriend him, reaching out to him during Kamino, being reminded of his strength through Bakugou during his own backstory flashback), but with the recently finished Overhaul arc in the anime he also had his time to shine alongside Deku during that arc. Tsuyu was a bit of a tough case to categorize as she did not have any flashbacks or bigger story arcs for her own (yet), but she is also one of those closest to Deku and did share an emotional moment with him and Shouto after the Bakugou rescue mission. She is also a very recognizable face for the series (so much that my friends who have never touched a piece of BNHA media named her as one of the characters they think are in the series āthereās the protagonist, then this boy with the split hair colours andā¦That weird frog girl, right?ā). Characters in this category have backstory and flashbacks like those from the prime primary category, though these are dealt with and then accepted as a staple in the story, and not ongoing plot structures. Examples for this are the mention of Ochakoās motive for becoming a hero, Iidaās revenge plot and Kirishimaās backstory during the Overhaul arc. These are important story beats that flesh out their characters, but once the arc reaches its end the character growth for the character in question slows down a lot or comes to a halt entirely. Counter example is Bakugouās ongoing character growth throughout the series, which will remain as an arc throughout the whole thing because of his status as prime primary character. If one of these characters were to be the traitor it would not be a series destroying move, though in my opinion itās still very unlikely, since these all have proven themselves to be close friends with the prime primary characters, shared emotional moments with them and gave us all a look into their motivations and backstory to a point, where I just think itād be highly unlikely for one of them to do a 180 and turn out to be āevilā. For those already typing that thatās the point, that we should think the traitor is not this close to the protagonists to then be surprised by the reveal, I have to tell you that that is not how story-telling works. If you put a character in a story, make them best or very good friends with the protagonists, make them save and/or help them during tough situations, make them have flashbacks to their own childhood or develop backstory with the prime primary characters by their side, and then reveal them to have betrayed them the entire time without setting it up beforehand, you are not a good writer. Neither Iida nor Ochako nor Kirishima nor Tsuyu have had a situation in which they did or said questionable things or acted in a way that would make one stop for a moment and think about what just happened. Ā They also all have a very high recognisability for the series and turning one of them ābadā would be way too ground breaking for BNHA. (I know that Hori likes to subvert shounen tropes and such, and I admit that he manages to surprise me a lot, but he still largely follows the main story beats, plot structures and character functions other shounen writers before him did, so I assume that he wonāt pull the reverse Uno card and make for example Tsuyu the traitor, because that simply goes too much against the current of shounen and other media of the type).
3) secondary/support characters (very likely to be the traitor)
Mina, Kaminari, Aoyama, Tokoyami, Jirou, Momo, Sero
These characters are sort of there to fill the classroom, but are designed and set up in a way to potentially have backstory and character growth. These are characters that have had small arcs mostly connected to the prime primary and primary characters that werenāt really that in depth or emotional, but are a great set up for more growth. One of them is most likely to be the traitor in my opinion because they kind of stand in the middle: they are recognizable for the series (see for example Mina, Tokoyami, Jirou) and have had short touches with backstory (see Aoyama talking with Deku about him not being compatible with his quirk, Mina having a small part in Kirishimaās backstory), or character development (see Momo showcasing her skills during Joint Training, the current small arc in the anime of Jirou learning to save people through music), but are ultimately kept in the background. To sum it up, they are very clearly meant and designed to be secondary to the main cast of prime and primary characters.
4) full-picture characters (too unimportant to be the traitor)
Hagakure, Koda, Shouji, Ojiro, Sato, Mineta
These are characters which are in my opinion very clearly designed to ājustā be background characters, or as I call them āfull-pictureā characters (in the sense of them filling empty spaces in a class picture). This does not mean they will never get any development, though they are very likely to stay in the background and act as very minor supporting characters to prime and secondary characters. These characters are designed to be very simple and often have a constant joke that goes with them (see Mineta being a pervert, Ojiro being plain) and are meant to create a basis for interactions between prime and secondary characters. They are literally too unimportant to be the traitor, meaning if it was suddenly revealed to be one of them, thereād be no screen time, no real dialogue and no backstory to back it up (up to now). Characters can move from this category to the secondary character category, though this is currently still unlikely.Ā
Possible spoilers from here on out!