Pop Off

Pop Off is the Mutant Quirk carried by Minoru Mineta of Class 1-A, rated for medium range. Chapter 14 introduces it, and Episode 10 does the same on screen. The power covers his head in adhesive balls he can pull free painlessly, with a fresh one filling the vacated spot almost immediately. Its Japanese name, Mogimogi, nods to a real Japanese snack, Meiji's Mogi Mogi Fruits gummy candy, and like a handful of other Quirks it carries a signature sound effect, rendered as POP.

The spheres bond to essentially any surface they meet, with a single exception: Minoru himself, off whom they bounce. Soaking them does nothing to weaken the grip. How long that grip lasts is tied to how healthy Minoru is at the time, running from several hours up to a full day when he is in good condition. Harvesting has a cost as well. Ripping too many loose in quick succession leaves his scalp bleeding.

Minoru Mineta is the Quirk's only user, and his creativity is what makes it work. He throws the spheres as projectiles, pins opponents to their own weapons or to the scenery, and builds traps, a role they suit perfectly. Rivals routinely underestimate the ability, so careless ones get caught out. Because the spheres bounce off him, they double as miniature trampolines for clearing ground obstacles, and they let him scale almost any wall. Ahead of his Provisional Hero License Exam, he strung them into a whip and swatted away incoming balls with it.

His named techniques build on that base. Grape Rush has him charge in flinging spheres to pin a target so he can slip past, while Super Grape Rush, from the second film, rains them down from height to wedge an enemy between obstacles. Two came out of the fifth Joint Training Battle bout: Vineyard, which fixes spheres along a rope as a snare, and Grape Buckler, a shield coated so anything striking it sticks, first used against Twin Impact's projectiles. Grape-Pinky Combo Mineta Bounce pairs him with Mina Ashido, who spins via Acid Layback and hurls him across spheres he has laid on floor and walls, letting him ricochet and pelt opponents mid-air while staying hard to hit. Mineta Beads stacks the balls into a long whip for binding adversaries, blocking projectiles, or breaking a fall.