Hitoshi Shinso Hitoshi Shinso is a relatively tall young man with a lean, athletic build that became noticeably more muscular after the U.A. Sports Festival, reflecting the physical training he underwent to prepare for the Hero Course. He has messy indigo hair that flares outward in large, uneven tufts around his head. His purple eyes have white pupils and are thin, slightly triangular, and angled downward, with no visible eyelashes. His eyes are usually half-lidded, giving him a tired, unimpressed appearance, while dark bags beneath them add to his perpetually exhausted look. He has notably straight teeth and a generally serious expression. Now a member of U.A. High School's Hero Course in Class 1-B, Hitoshi wears a finalized hero costume designed around his Brainwashing Quirk and capture-combat skills. His outfit consists of a short-sleeved black shirt over a fishnet-like undershirt, with four small speaker-like buttons and a belt around his waist. He wears gray shoulder pads, purple elbow pads, fishnet arm sleeves, and fingerless knuckle-guard gloves that leave his index fingers and thumbs exposed. His black pants are fitted for mobility, with purple straps around his thighs and calves and small speaker-like devices attached to his leg equipment. He wears white boots with purple tips and soles. His Artificial Vocal Cords cover his mouth and lower face, while his Capturing Weapon is carried around his neck. Hitoshi is stoic, straightforward, reserved, and usually quiet, but he is more socially capable than his appearance suggests. He can keep conversations going with almost anyone and possesses a sharp understanding of how people think. Rather than relying on brute force, he carefully chooses his words, watches reactions, and looks for openings that allow him to activate his Quirk. He is willing to use psychological tricks, baiting, deception, and underhanded tactics if they give him a path to victory. His fighting style reflects his intelligence: Hitoshi prefers controlling the situation and making opponents defeat themselves rather than charging into a confrontation. His attitude was shaped by the prejudice he experienced because of his Quirk. Brainwashing is commonly associated with villainy, and people often assumed that someone capable of controlling others must have bad intentions. Being judged for something he was born with made Hitoshi resentful toward people whose Quirks were naturally viewed as heroic. He especially disliked the idea that someone with a more traditionally heroic ability could understand his position. Despite this bitterness, Hitoshi never abandoned his dream of becoming a Pro Hero. The discrimination instead strengthened his determination. He wants to prove that a Quirk's reputation does not determine its user's character and that he deserves to stand alongside other aspiring heroes. Hitoshi initially claimed he had no interest in making friends, preferring to keep people at a distance. Despite this, classmates gradually came to respect and care about him. He has formed friendships with Izuku Midoriya, Denki Kaminari, and Neito Monoma. He is not particularly expressive, but he values people who accept him. Training under Shota Aizawa and joining Class 1-B have also helped him become more confident and cooperative. He remains blunt and serious, but he is increasingly willing to trust teammates and contribute to coordinated strategies. Hitoshi's Quirk, Brainwashing, allows him to mentally control anyone who verbally responds to something he says. Once activated, the target enters a state where they are compelled to obey his commands. The ability must be intentionally activated, so people are not accidentally brainwashed whenever they answer him. He can maintain control over multiple people at once, although he can initially activate the Quirk on only one person at a time. Its biggest limitation is the activation condition: the target must respond to Hitoshi's words. Because of this, he deliberately provokes, questions, taunts, or deceives opponents into answering him. Brainwashing does not steal or permanently remove a person's Quirk. It places the target under Hitoshi's mental control while the effect is active. In the past, he had difficulty commanding victims to perform complicated actions requiring advanced thought, such as speaking freely or recalling specific information. Through extensive training, however, he developed greater control and learned to make brainwashed targets repeat his words, giving him far more tactical options. Hitoshi's intelligence makes Brainwashing especially dangerous. He does not need to overpower an opponent physically if he can make them answer a single sentence. During the U.A. Sports Festival, he manipulated opponents into responding to his remarks and even used Brainwashing during the obstacle race to have students carry him forward, conserving his stamina. His ability to identify emotional triggers and predict reactions makes ordinary conversation a potential trap. His Capturing Weapon is a steel-wire scarf woven with carbon nanofibers, used to restrain enemies, grab objects, disrupt attacks, and aid movement. Hitoshi combines it with Brainwashing and Persona Chords, creating a fighting style built around deception, restraint, observation, teamwork, and precise control rather than brute force.