In ‘My Hero Academia,’ various ‘Quirks’ are introduced. The main character, Izuku Midoriya, has the Quirk of ‘One for all’ , which plays a key role in the story. Furthermore, the concepts of ‘One for all’ and ‘All for one’ are connected to the idea of being a hero.
The origin of ‘All for one, one for all’ can be traced back to the three musketeers story.
The word is from D’Artagnan as a pledge of friendship in The Three Musketeers.
Originally, The meaning seems to be that “individual is for the team” and the whole team moves toward a single goal.(one = goal) However, in Japan, it has been used in a slightly different context due to the popularity of a drama, deviating from its original meaning.
‘One for all’ is translated correctly.(individual is for team)
However, ‘All for one’ is interpreted as ‘team for the individual’.
It is a little different from the original meaning and it has become the idea of forced cooperation within the organization that Japanese like. (Worse, it may eliminates individuality.)
This drama is based on a true story that was broadcast in the 1980s and the name is “School Wars”. The content is about Japanese high school delinquents who grow up in rugby football under a strict coach.
In the drama, the coach used the words of his students when explaining the need for the team to work together to achieve victory
It fits nicely with the Japanese idea of organization and harmony, and is often heard in this context in speeches (especially speeches by company leaders).
