My Hero Academia: Bakugou's nicknames for Class 1-A, explained

One of the most intriguing aspects of My Hero Academia’s Katsuki Bakugo is his seemingly endless supply of nicknames for his classmates in U.A. High School Class 1-A. While him calling Izuku Midoriya “Deku” has been a constant since the series’ first episode, fans enjoyed the process of him slowly coming up with nicknames for the rest of Class 1-A throughout the series.

While not every student in My Hero Academia’s Class 1-A has a nickname, Bakugo certainly gives some good ones to those who receive it. However, fans are certainly curious as to why Bakugo calls some of the students by the nicknames he bestows them with.

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My Hero Academia’s Katsuki Bakugo and his nicknames for classmates range between incredibly simple and well thought-out

First and foremost, Bakugo refers to his My Hero Academia rival-turned-friend, Izuku Midoriya, by many nicknames, such as Deku, “damn nerd,” and other variations of the word “nerd.” The former calls him "Midoriya Deku" because the Japanese kanji in his name can be read as such, with Deku meaning “useless.” Bakugo calls Midoriya variations of nerd because of how hero-obsessed he once was despite being Quirkless at the time.

He calls Ochako Uraraka "round cheeks" and "pink cheeks" for the side effects of her Quirk, which can cause her to throw up, hence rounding her cheeks and turning them pinkish-red. Shoto Todoroki is called "icy-hot" or "half-and-half" due to his hybrid Quirk, with one half of his body able to produce flames and the other, ice.

Bakugo calls one of his closest friends in My Hero Academia, Eiijrio Kirishima, variations of “weird hair,” “dumb hair,” and “hair-for-brains” due to how spiky and obnoxious his hairdo is. He calls Kaminari “dunce face” for his typically vacant expression, and “sparky” as a reference to his electricity-based Quirk. Bakugo calls Mina Ashido “racoon eyes” due to her pitch-black colored sclera in both eyes.

Bakugo calls Hanta Sero “soy sauce face” or “flat face” due to how plain and indistinct Sero’s appearance is. He calls Kyoka Jiro “ears” because of her Quirk, Earjack, which sees headphone-like auxiliary cables hanging from her earlobes. Minoru Mineta is called “small fry” or “little runt” due to his relatively short stature compared to the rest of the class.

Bakugo calls Momo Yaoyorozu, a My Hero Academia fan-favorite, “ponytail girl” because of her trademark ponytail hairdo. Mashirao Ojiro is called “tail” due to his distinctive tail-like appendage given to him via his Quirk. Likewise, Tsuyu Asui is called “filthy toad” due to her Quirk which gives her a frog-like appearance and abilities.

Bakugo calls Tenya Iida “four eyes” due to the glasses he wears, an admittedly uncreative nickname by Bakugo’s standards. Rikido Sato is called “big lips” due to his distinctly oversized lips, another relatively uncreative entry. Likewise, Fumikage Tokoyami is called “bird boy” or “bird brain” for his crow-like appearance, while Koji Koda is called "rock face" for his, for lack of a better term, rock-like looking face.

Finally, for everyone else whom Bakugo doesn’t have a specific nickname for in My Hero Academia, he calls them extras. Likely unintentionally so, this is one of the funniest nicknames he has for his classmates, as it completely reduces them to exactly what they are: extras in the series.

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