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My Hero Academia is well known for Horikoshi’s portrayal of a hero-obsessed society and its flaws. However, amidst the focus on battle and power, the mangaka manages to give us relationships that are at once both wholesome and inspiring.
There is no shortage of good relationships in My Hero Academia, be it romantic, familial, or platonic. While most of them are beloved and important to their respective characters, very few are particularly interesting or consistently evolving.
Class 1-A and 7 other inspiring relationships in My Hero Academia
This list focuses on platonic relationships and particularly considers those that have evolved over the course of the series. The list is ranked in no particular order.
[This article contains spoilers from My Hero Academia manga and reflects the writer’s opinion.]
1) Class 1-A
The friendship between the students of Class 1-A is not only one of the main tenets in My Hero Academia, but it is also what drives many characters forward. While most students have separate groups, such as Deku’s, or stronger individual friendships, like the one between Kirishima and Bakugo, they care for each other as a team.
They help each other and work brilliantly together, as demonstrated during the Midoriya Retrieval section or when they handled the situation with Aoyama. Their bond with their homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota, is born out of respect and is as deep as their bonds with each other.
2) Todoroki and his family
Out of the My Hero Academia main trio, only Todoroki Shoto has what can be called a turbulent home life. Perhaps that is why the Todorokis mending their bonds with Shoto and each other affects the audience so much.
Excluding the controversial redemption of Todoroki Enji, the siblings re-learning about each other and rebuilding their relationship with their mother are both endearing and cathartic.
Shoto’s relationship with his mother is very different from Deku or Katsuki’s with their respective mothers, but it is no less wholesome. The trauma and hurt that they have had to overcome to get to where they are at the manga is poignant and heart-warming, and serves as a lesson in perseverance.
3) Eri, Mirio, and Deku
Eri was subject to ostracization and abuse throughout her young life due to her Quirk until she met Midoriya Izuku and Togata Mirio. Not only do the two heroes save her from Chisaki and the Shie Hassaikai, but they also show her compassion and kindness for the first time in her life.
The relationship between the three is an example of the "found-family" trope, even more so after Eri is placed in the care of U.A. staff, Aizawa in particular. Not only Mirio and Deku, but the whole of U.A. strives to show her what a normal childhood should be.
Mirio is shown to be the one who takes care of Eri most of the time, while Deku is shown to specially bid farewell to her and Kota when he and his class leave U.A. grounds.
Eri, who struggles with controlling her quirk, Rewind, applied it successfully to Deku during his battle with Chisaki, and to Mirio in order to restore his Quirk, as seen during the Paranormal Liberation War arc.
4) Aizawa, Present Mic, and Oboro Shirakumo
While this might be classified as tragic more than anything else, the friendship between Aizawa Shota, Yamada Hizashi and Shirakumo Oboro was one of the strongest in My Hero Academia. As students, the three were very close, and both Aizawa and Yamada were deeply affected by Shirakumo’s death during a Hero Internship.
After Shirakumo was turned into Kurogiri by All for One and Dr. Garaki, he still responded to Aizawa’s voice, proving that even nomus have memories and a soul to remember those they once loved. Additionally, Aizawa’s hero name was given by Present Mic, and his hero goggles were given to him by Shirakumo.
5) Toga and Twice
[The above video features blood and violence]
Toga Himiko and Bubaigawara Jin are both part of the League of Villains, and later the Paranormal Liberation Front. While it seems like an odd choice to put on this list, the Meta Liberation Front arc has shown why their bond is so heart-warming. Caring for Toga helped Twice overcome his trauma and use Sad Man’s Parade to its fullest.
Later in the My Hero Academia manga, Twice’s death propels Toga to question the point of the hero society. Furthermore, readers later saw Dabi allude to the fact that Toga should be able to mimic Twice’s quirk because she likes Jin. It adds a certain touch of humanity to both characters, one that is not tainted by personal goals or past trauma.
6) All might and Deku
My Hero Academia is not short on caring mentor-mentee relationships, from Hawks and Tokoyami to Best Jeanist and Bakugo and so on. However, the almost filial bond between Deku and All Might is in a league of its own. While most people in the series look up to All Might, Deku’s admiration for him is something else.
All Might also thinks highly of Deku as his successor, and believes in him fiercely. He canonically said that he would devote his life to raising Deku, and as we see in the Tartarus Escapees arc, he does just that. Not only does the hero act as a guide for the student, Deku is equally capable of bringing All Might out of his negative thoughts.
7) Aizawa and Shinsou
Speaking of mentors and mentees, Shinsou Hitoshi’s bond with Aizawa may not be the most obvious of them all, but it is very crucial in both of their character developments. Shinsou, having always looked up to Aizawa, named his attack after Eraser Head following his tutelage under the hero.
During the joint training with class 1-B, Aizawa looked visibly proud of Shinsou’s accomplishments and him joining the hero course. Later, Aizawa brings the latter in to take part in the final battle, and Tsukauchi comments that the teacher further trained his mentee to master his Quirk.
8) Bakugo and Deku
The relationship between Bakugo Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku is one of the focal points of My Hero Academia. While it contributes more to Bakugo’s character development than Deku’s, it is still a driving force behind both of their arcs.
The relationship has gone through a lot of changes throughout the series, from friendship and bullying to grudging acknowledgments and mutual respect.
In the previous manga arc, Bakugo’s sincere apology for everything he has done to Deku moved their friendship towards a more equal ground. It was a turning point for not only the two of them, but also their class as a whole.
Their friendship is a testament to growth and forgiveness, and the personal obstacles that they've both had to overcome to reach a relatively healthier ground.
