Is Thirteen a Boy or Girl and How Old Are They in My Hero Academia? Answered

I have spent a lot of time digging through the official databooks and the final manga chapters to give you the clearest picture possible of the Space Hero, Thirteen. For a long time, this character was one of the biggest mysteries in the series. Because of that bulky white space suit, nobody knew what was going on under the helmet. I remember the massive debates in the fandom about whether we were looking at a man, a woman, or even a literal sentient black hole.

If you are looking for the quick answer, I can tell you right now: Thirteen is a woman named Anan Kurose. But there is a lot more to her story than just a name and a gender. From her age across the various timeskips to the terrifying physics of her power, I have put together the ultimate guide to everything you need to know about U.A. High School’s resident rescue expert.

Is Thirteen a boy or girl in My Hero Academia

The mystery of Thirteen’s gender actually comes down to a mix of character design and some tricky Japanese linguistics. In the original manga, Thirteen refers to herself using the pronoun boku. While this is usually a masculine way to say I, it is actually a common trope for professional or tomboyish female characters in anime to use it. It helps project a sense of professional neutrality or youthful energy.

Because of that pronoun, early English translations often defaulted to using he or him. I noticed that even the English voice actor, Morgan Berry, mentioned being directed to keep the performance androgynous early on. However, the air was finally cleared in the Ultra Analysis databook and later confirmed when her face was revealed in chapter 296. She is a cisgender woman, and the suit is just her professional uniform.

How old is Thirteen throughout the series

Thirteen has been around for some of the biggest events in hero history as the series went on, and her age changes significantly as the story progresses into the epilogue. I have broken down her age based on the different eras of the story:

• When she first appears at the U.S.J. and through the Paranormal Liberation War, she is 28 years old.
• By the time the Final War concludes, she is 29 years old.
• In the series epilogue, which takes place eight years after the war, she has reached the age of 37.

Her birthday is February 3, which is a neat little detail for fans who like to keep track of the U.A. faculty calendar.

What does Thirteen look like without her helmet

We did not get a good look at Anan Kurose for hundreds of chapters, but the reveal was definitely worth the wait. She is actually quite tall, standing at 180 cm or about 5 feet 11 inches. I found her design to be one of the most unique in the faculty because it is covered in space themed metaphors.

• She has navy blue hair with a blonde spiral patch right at the roots, which is designed to look like a spiral galaxy.
• Her hazel eyes have distinct rings around the irises that look like an event horizon.
• Her hands and forearms are covered in a mysterious black substance that seems to be a physical manifestation of her Quirk Factor.
• Her hero suit is actually a high tech containment unit that uses a puffy jacket design to create a safety buffer between her body and the black holes she creates.

How the Black Hole quirk works with math

Thirteen’s power is easily one of the most dangerous in the world. She can create a vacuum from her fingertips that disintegrates matter at an atomic level. I did some digging into the physics of this, and while the show plays it a bit fast and loose, we can actually model it. In the real world, the size of a black hole is determined by the Schwarzschild radius.

The formula for this is Rs = 2GM/C to the power of 2. In this equation, G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass, and C is the speed of light. If Thirteen were to create a black hole the size of her fingertip, about 1 cm, she would technically need the mass of the entire Earth, which is roughly 6.7 x 10 to the power of 24 kg.

Since she is not accidentally crushing the planet every time she uses her power, my analysis suggests her Quirk actually simulates these gravitational effects through a specialized field rather than raw mass. This explains why her pulling force is rated as an A rank in the databooks rather than being theoretically infinite. She uses specialized gloves with fingertips that flip open to control exactly how many black holes she is emitting at once.

Where was Thirteen born and why does it matter

One detail I rarely see mentioned in other guides is that Thirteen was born in Tanegashima, in the Kagoshima Prefecture. This is actually a huge bit of deep lore. Tanegashima is the real world location of Japan’s largest space center. It makes perfect sense that the Space Hero would hail from the very place where Japan launches its rockets. It shows just how much thought goes into the thematic roots of these characters.

How much does a U.A. teacher like Thirteen earn

I find the economics of hero society fascinating. Unlike combat heroes who rely on commission from the Hero Public Safety Commission for capturing villains, Thirteen is a tenured faculty member. This gives her a level of financial stability that many pro heroes lack.

• A senior professor at a prestigious institution in Japan can earn between 12 million and 16 million yen, which is roughly 80,000 to 110,000 dollars.
• Because she also manages the U.S.J., a massive multi billion yen facility, she likely receives additional government grants for disaster management.
• Rescue heroes like Thirteen do not have to worry as much about property damage deductions, which often drain the bank accounts of combat heroes like Mt. Lady.
• She likely has a specialized insurance and maintenance package for her containment suit, which is essentially life support equipment.

What happened to Thirteen in the Final War

Thirteen’s role in the series became much darker and more serious during the war arcs. During the Jaku Hospital raid, her helmet was shattered, and she was caught in a massive decay wave. To save herself, she actually had to use her own Black Hole to eat the decay as it approached her.

I was shocked to see that this resulted in the loss of her right arm. In the final battles, she is seen riding into combat on top of Hound Dog, proving that she is a total warrior despite her injuries. By the end of the series, she is a scarred veteran helping to lead the reconstruction of Japan. She continues to teach at U.A., helping all the heroes understand the weight of using such destructive powers for the sake of human life.