In the world of My Hero Academia, superpowers are known as Quirks, and they come in all shapes and sizes. What's remarkable is that some Quirks fit their user's personality quite well, while other heroes or villains have a real disconnect between their Quirks and their identities. Mt. Lady, for example, can turn into a giant but is an easygoing goofball most of the time. Katsuki Bakugo, meanwhile, has an explosive, fiery Quirk to match his personality.
Tsuyu Asui has the Frog Quirk, and it grants her all the strengths and weaknesses of a frog. She is a melee fighter, though she falls short of her class rep, Tenya Iida, in physical combat. In fact, it might be argued that Tsuyu is wasted on a Quirk like Frog. She ought to have a different one.
Tsuyu Asui's Case As A Hero
Given her abilities, personality and intelligence, it could be said that Tsuyu is an improved version of Toad, the X-Men villain. Tsuyu is a hero both inside and out, starting with her "big sister" personality (not unlike that of Itsuka Kendo). She is an adolescent like her classmates, but Tsuyu has emotional maturity beyond her years, often acting as a foil to the high-strung or juvenile classmates she's surrounded by. Tsuyu is an emotional rock or an anchor, and that makes her not only easy to like but also highly trustworthy and reliable in public and during a heroic battle.
When villains attack and everyone is panicking in the chaos, a hero like Tsuyu Asui can take control of the situation with maturity and grace, an essential trait for any hero. She is also insightful, clever and forward-thinking, allowing her to act cautiously and formulate the best plan of attack, no matter the odds. That's what she did during the villain attack at U.S.J., not to mention while she was working as an intern with the Pro Hero Selkie.
As for combat and her Quirk, Tsuyu is only mediocre. Her Quirk grants her an affinity for water and humid weather, and she has strong legs that allow her to leap about and kick her enemies. Her long, strong tongue can capture targets or allow her to swing around, and she can even store items in her stomach. However, she is susceptible to cold or dry environments, her physical strength and speed are unremarkable, and she has few ranged options aside from her tongue (which isn't saying a lot). Tsuyu can also lick her eyes, but that is saying very little, and she didn't receive elite combat training the way Izuku and Ochaco did with Gran Torino and Gun Head, respectively. So, once again: perhaps Tsuyu should have had a better Quirk.
A Different Quirk Could Draw Out Tsuyu's Potential
It could easily be said that Tsuyu is a character whose heroic traits and personality don't really match her Quirk at all. If she always dreamed of being a lifeguard or commercial fisher, her Quirk would match better, but that is not the case. By contrast, Izuku has a fierce will to become #1 and save the entire world as an inspirational hero, and he will do anything to climb his way to the top and fight for others. That is why he earned the One For All ability from All Might, and deep down, Tsuyu has that potential, too. Even if she gets passed up for One For All, though, she has other options.
Tsuyu is defined mainly by her ability to think ahead, her caution, emotional maturity/empathy, her leadership skills and her flexible and creative thinking. One ideal Quirk for her would be the Telepath Quirk used by Mandalay, a member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats hero squad. This Quirk is not meant for knocking out villains; instead, it is geared for coordinating a large team during a complex operation, and it can also be used to organize an evacuation effort when natural disasters or villains strike. Given Tsuyu's cool head and analytical skills, she could really stand to use that Quirk.
Then there is Shota Aizawa's Quirk, Erasure, which is perfectly suited for heroes who favor technique and planning over brute force. In practice, Aizawa relies on street smarts, ambush tactics, martial arts and capture tools in tandem with his Quirk to subdue villains who are much stronger than himself, and Tsuyu's sharp mind and natural agility would be a good fit for that Quirk, too. Tsuyu is the patient, analytical type, sizing up the situation before making a carefully-planned move.
As silly as it may sound, Minoru Mineta's Quirk (Pop Off) would also be ideal for Tsuyu, even if Tsuyu can't stand Minoru personally. The Pop Off Quirk isn't about brute force; it is a capture weapon and mobility enhancer, since the spheres will stick objects or people together, while the user can jump off of them for added mobility. This Quirk is ideal for creating traps and capturing villains bloodlessly and can be used for climbing vertical surfaces, too. With Pop Off, Tsuyu could lay traps for unsuspecting villains after maneuvering them into a corner or predicting their movements, and she could easily jump into a battlefield or escape her enemies in an urban environment via those Pop Off spheres. Tsuyu is adept at nimbly maneuvering from one situation to another with her own Quirk, and Mineta's Quirk is rather similar in this regard. The possibilities for it with someone of a more sound mind, such as Tsuyu, could be endless.
