Dabi Quotes — 17 Best Lines from My Hero Academia's Touya Todoroki (2026)
Dabi is the My Hero Academia villain who waited eleven years to make a phone call and then made it on live television. He starts the series as a faceless League of Villains operative with blue flames, scarred skin stapled together, and a quirk that should not work on his body. By the Paranormal Liberation War he has weaponized his own combustion to take out frontline heroes. By the Final War he goes on national broadcast, addresses his father by his real first name, and detonates the most personal revenge story in modern shonen: Dabi is Touya Todoroki, Endeavor’s eldest son, the boy whose flames were “too hot” for a body inherited from a mother with ice.
What makes Dabi quotes distinctive is the patience. Every line he delivers up to the broadcast — the smirks at Hawks, the casual cruelty to Shoto, the calm announcement that he is “not in a rush to die” — is content for the broadcast. These 17 quotes trace Dabi from masked League frontline soldier to the burning prosecutor of the Number One Hero’s household, the prison-escape ghost who will not stop until the Todoroki family is on the same page he wrote in fire.
Quick Profile
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese name | 荼毘 / 轟燈矢 (Dabi / Todoroki Touya) |
| Series | My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) |
| Affiliation | League of Villains, Paranormal Liberation Front |
| Quirk | Cremation / Blue Flame (青い炎) — body cannot withstand its own heat |
| Family | Son of Endeavor & Rei, older brother to Shoto Todoroki |
| First appearance | Chapter 56 / Season 2 Episode 21 |
| Public reveal | Chapter 290 (PLF War broadcast) |
| Voice (JP) | Hiro Shimono |
Dabi Quotes on Endeavor and the Todoroki Family
"Hi Dad. It's been a while."
「やあ父さん。久しぶりだね」
— Dabi / Touya Todoroki, My Hero Academia Chapter 290 (PLF War, live broadcast reveal)
"I'm your eldest, Endeavor. The one your wife scalded a quirkless brother to forget."
「俺はあんたの長男だ、エンデヴァー。妻が無個性の弟を火傷させてまで忘れたかった奴さ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia Chapter 291 (PLF War broadcast, paraphrased)
"Shoto. You were the replacement. I'm what the original looked like when he stopped being useful."
「焦凍、お前は代用品だ。俺は要らなくなった元の姿だよ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia Chapter 291 (Paranormal Liberation War, paraphrased)
"You loved your work more than you loved any of us. Watch how much I love my work, Dad."
「あんたは家族より仕事が好きだった。俺の仕事ぶり、しっかり見てろよ父さん」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (PLF War, paraphrased)
Dabi Quotes on Heroes and the System
"Heroes are just public servants with merchandise. Burn the merch and the man is still a coward at home."
「ヒーローはグッズ付きの公務員だ。グッズを燃やせば、家ではただの臆病者さ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (PLF War broadcast, paraphrased)
"The Number One Hero is on his knees and his eldest son is on national TV. That's the system you trusted."
「ナンバーワンが膝をついて、長男はテレビに映ってる。お前らが信じた制度の姿だよ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia Chapter 290 (PLF War broadcast, paraphrased)
"Hawks. The wings my taxes paid for. The same hands that strangled Twice. Hero, huh?"
「ホークス。俺たちの税金で買った翼。トゥワイスを絞めた手。これがヒーローか」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (PLF War, paraphrased)
Dabi Quotes on His Quirk and Body
"My flames are hotter than my father's. He just couldn't accept a son built better than him."
「俺の炎は親父より熱い。あの人は自分より上手くできた息子を認められなかっただけ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia Chapter 291 (PLF War broadcast, paraphrased)
"Every staple in my skin is a year my mother never came looking. Don't tell me I'm exaggerating."
「俺の肌のホチキスは、母さんが探しに来なかった年数の数だ。大袈裟って言うなよ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (PLF War broadcast, paraphrased)
"I'm dying every time I use this quirk. That's fine. I'm just dying louder than Dad ever let me live."
「個性を使うたび死にかけてる。構わない。親父が生かしてくれなかった分、派手に死ぬ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (PLF War, paraphrased)
Dabi Quotes on the League and Stain
"Stain had the right idea. False heroes need to be exposed. I'm just doing it from inside the family."
「ステインは正しかった。偽ヒーローは暴かれるべきだ。俺は身内からやってるだけ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (Forest Training Arc, paraphrased)
"Shigaraki, I don't follow you. I use you. The day you stop being useful, I leave."
「死柄木、俺は従ってない。利用してるだけだ。役に立たなくなったら抜ける」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (My Villain Academia Arc, paraphrased)
"Hawks. You can fly. I can light the sky. Let's see whose feathers hold."
「ホークス、お前は飛べる。俺は空を燃やす。羽がどれだけ持つか試そうぜ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia Chapter 289 (PLF War, before burning Hawks)
Dabi Quotes on Final Confrontation with Shoto
"Shoto, the family's last act is you and me on the same flame. Don't disappoint."
「焦凍、家族最後の幕は俺たち二人で同じ炎に立つことだ。期待を裏切るなよ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (Final War Arc, paraphrased)
"Phosphor. Watch the sky turn the color of the son you forgot."
「フォスフォル。空が、忘れた息子の色に染まるのを見ろ」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia (Final War Arc, paraphrased — Prominence Burn)
"Touya. Say the name. I waited eleven years for someone in that house to say it without flinching."
「燈矢。その名を呼べ。あの家で十一年間、誰も平気で呼んでくれなかった」
— Dabi, My Hero Academia Chapter 388 (Final War, to Shoto, paraphrased)
"Brother. I'm not asking you to save me. I'm asking you to remember I existed before the fire."
「弟。救ってくれとは言ってない。火の前の俺がいたって覚えていてくれ」
— Dabi / Touya, My Hero Academia (Final War, paraphrased)
Character Analysis
Dabi is the slowest payoff in My Hero Academia. Horikoshi plants him in Chapter 56 as a faceless League goon with blue flames, and then leaves him to simmer for roughly 230 chapters. The blue is the tell — blue fire burns hotter than red, and Endeavor’s flame is red. Anyone who knew that was waiting for one specific line, and Horikoshi made them wait until Chapter 290 of the Paranormal Liberation War to deliver it: “Hi Dad.”
The backstory, revealed in fragments around Chapter 301, restructures the entire Todoroki family arc. Touya is Endeavor’s first attempted “successor” — the son meant to surpass All Might via the planned-marriage Quirk Marriage to Rei Todoroki. Touya inherits a more powerful flame than his father, but his mother’s ice-leaning body cannot withstand the heat. Endeavor labels him a failure, has more children, and finally tries again with Shoto. Touya, neglected and self-immolating in training, is presumed dead in a mountain fire. He is not dead. He is at the camp building a hit list.
His Final War arc is the most ruthless extended-family reckoning in shonen. He goes on live TV, names every household secret, and forces Endeavor — Number One Hero, public face of post-All Might Japan — to be prosecuted in his own living room while the country watches. Dabi never asks to be redeemed. His closing pivot with Shoto in Chapter 388 is not a confession of guilt; it is a demand that someone in the family finally say “Touya” without flinching. Horikoshi grants the demand and then locks Dabi in a sub-zero life-support chamber for the rest of his life. Both halves of that ending are the arc.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dabi Quotes
What is Dabi's most famous quote?
"Hi Dad. It's been a while" (Chapter 290, PLF War broadcast). It is the single line that detonates the Todoroki-family arc on live television and reveals Dabi as Touya Todoroki, Endeavor's eldest son. The Japanese original is 「やあ父さん。久しぶりだね」.
Who is Dabi really?
Touya Todoroki — Endeavor and Rei Todoroki's eldest son, older brother of Shoto, Fuyumi, and Natsuo. He was presumed dead in a mountain fire as a teenager after self-immolating from a flame quirk his ice-inherited body could not withstand. He spent eleven years scarred, surviving, and planning the broadcast.
What is Dabi's quirk?
Cremation — blue, ultra-high-temperature flame combustion. The flame burns hotter than Endeavor's red Hellflame. The catch: Touya inherited his mother Rei's ice-resistant body, so his own body cannot survive the heat. Every staple in his skin is from self-inflicted burn damage. His ultimate move, Prominence Burn (Phosphor), accepts the trade-off of self-incineration for maximum-yield strike.
Why does Dabi hate Endeavor?
Endeavor orchestrated a "quirk marriage" with Rei specifically to engineer a son strong enough to surpass All Might. When Touya's quirk proved too powerful for his body, Endeavor labeled him a failed prototype and conceived more children — culminating in Shoto, the planned successor. Dabi's line "Shoto, you were the replacement. I'm what the original looked like when he stopped being useful" (Chapter 291) summarizes the grudge.
Does Dabi die?
No — Dabi survives the Final War, though the cost is enormous. After his final fight with Shoto in Chapter 388, Touya is recovered alive but maintained in a sub-zero life-support chamber to prevent his quirk from finishing the job his body started. Endeavor and the Todoroki family visit him. His arc closes on a demand met, not a resurrection: someone in that house finally says "Touya" without flinching.
Related Characters
Same series — My Hero Academia:
- Todoroki — Shoto, Dabi’s younger brother and the family’s chosen “successor”
- Deku — All Might’s heir, the protagonist Dabi indirectly orbits
- Bakugo — Class 1-A heir, the rival arc that mirrors Touya’s failed-prototype premise
- Toga — League teammate, the other PLF villain Horikoshi gives a tragedy backbone
- All Might — the Symbol of Peace whose throne Endeavor sacrificed his eldest son to chase
Cross-series comparisons:
- Sasuke Uchiha — Naruto’s elder-brother-shaped grudge arc against an institution that failed his family
- Itachi Uchiha — the older-sibling foil whose family decision plays the opposite move
- Vegeta — Dragon Ball’s prototype prideful-rival written before MHA inverted the formula
Explore more in the My Hero Academia hub and the full Anime & Manga Quotes collection.