Class 1-A Band

Class 1-A band

One last band reunion... before they're all shipped of to war.

I have wondered about this group’s dynamic:

Kaminari, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu first established a bond through surviving USJ together.

After that, Yaoyorozu and Jirou are often seen together, and the two of them might be each others closest friend in 1-A.

But Kaminari is probably the only one, who's friends with all of the band members:

I don't think I need to elaborate much on Kaminari and his electric bond with Jirou. Semi-canon shipping aside though, they're definitely friends.

Same with Bakugou. To him, Kaminari's probably the second real friend that he made in his life. (Or rather, Kaminari made himself Bakugou's second real friend.)

Tokoyami and Kaminari apparently got closer to each other through the band. Tokoyami's thoughts during Kaminari's big (that should've could've been more elaborated on) badass scene during the Gunga Mountain raid, outright stated, that he views the latter as a very good friend.

In one of my previous posts, I headcanon that Kaminari is one of Class Mom's favourite children. Canonically, Kaminari and Yaoyorozu are actually depicted as laughing with each other in the background more than a few times. I find KamiMomo to be an underrated background friendship, as I can see them being good for each other: Both are sensitive souls and often try to encourage others.

Kaminari also was the one, who immediately interupted Yaoyorozu, when she attempted to give 1-A and 1-B the "you are not obligated to fight against a lethal opponent with me" - speech. He instead assured Yaoyorozu that she would not face off against Gigantomachia alone.

But the rest of them? Aren't really close to each other.

...

Let's move from the most easy-going to the most difficult 1-A band member. In contrast to Kaminari, I feel like Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami would have a more “normal” reaction to the snappy Pomeranian.

As in, backing away and leaving it tf alone.

Because most people can't/ don't want to put up with unwarranted anger and disrespect repeatedly – understandable, especially if there's little to no positive feedback ever.

After the cultural festival arc, Bakugou and Jirou were put into the same team during the joint training arc. In which they were not shown to interact in any manner, that could be interpreted as significant to the relationship between them. No, I don’t count Bakugou saving Jirou by stepping on her, as a sign for a budding friendship.

I headcanon that Bakugou feels slightly uneasy around Yaoyorozu, ever since her assessment of him at the start of the school year. I don’t think that he held a grudge against her for that. But Bakugou is a very proud individual, even after his extensive character development. Having someone - especially someone who’s not a senior but a peer - rip apart that superior self-image he had of himself with such laser-sharp accuracy and soberness, seemed to have been… kinda traumatic to Bakugou and his gargantuan ego. I feel like he would subconsciously avoid being alone with Yaoyorozu. As in, if they happen to find themselves alone with each other in the common areas of their dorms, he will try to leave quickly.

Beyond each other's battle prowess, I don’t see Bakugou and Tokoyami having much respect for each other. Or to put it more mildly: Neither of them has patience for the other's antics.

Tokoyami is not amused. Funnily enough, in the gag comics, Dark Shadow - in the form of a little girl - made a ranking list of who/what she likes the most: Apparently, Bakugou ranks third, just behind Tokoyami himself, and Todoroki.

In short: Kaminari gels with everyone. Bakugou gels with no one... except those, who just blend out the majority of his verbal abuse.

No surprises here.

What about TokoJirou?

These two don't interact a whole lot, but the drama CDs gave us Tokoyami accompanying Jirou to a haunted house alone (Kaminari chickened out). It includes Jirou asking to hold onto the hem of Tokoyami's uniform and him reassuring her fears. (It's all very cute, go look it up on yt!)

Main media-wise, Tokoyami and Jirou had a moment of joint badassery during the final war. From that sole interaction, I’d say his dramatics and her snark go well with each other - be it directed towards each other, or united against the big bad.

Aside from that, we haven’t gotten much of Tokoyami and Jirou together, unfortunately. However, I believe they get along well. Based on the drama CD, it could even be inferred that they are friends, and most of their friendship just never made it on-screen.

What about TokoMomo?

We know that Yaoyorozu's self-confidence took a critical hit, after she lost against Tokoyami in the sports fest at lightening speed. She seemed to have been very shocked about how the match play out. We could assume, that she had been relatively self-confident previously. But we actually don't know, if it used to be more stable. And while Yaoyorozu's match with Todoroki against Aizawa gave her back some self-confidence; from then on, we're privy to more of her thoughts - most of them centered around self-doubt.

So either she'd never encountered a roadblock before losing against Tokoyami, and their match was to her, what her own assessment of Bakugou was to the latter. Or, Yaoyorozu has always been prone to second-guess herself a lot after encountering setbacks.

While he probably didn't pay half as much mind to his quick victory against Yaoyorozu as she did, we know that Tokoyami can be quite observant. I would have find his thoughts about their match, as well as the resulting consequences for Yaoyorozu's self-confidence, interesting.

How would these two interact, if they were to be alone with each other? How could they become closer friends?

During the festival, Tokoyami called Yaoyorozu "Yaomomo", using the affectionate nickname given to her by their classmates. Albeit not close, this might suggest a warm relationship between them.

Tangent: In contrast, Tokoyami still uses "Asui" instead of "Tsu-chan", despite Asui calling him "Tokoyami-chan". On the other hand, "Yaomomo" doesn't sound as intimate as "Tsu-chan". Thus Tokoyami might feel more comfortable using one nickname, but not the other. - Tangent end.

Why Red Riot is the best fan friend one may have

I was slightly surprised: The night before the Final War began, Iida, Bakugou and Kirishima were hanging out in Todoroki’s room at Troy.

Iida has been one of Todoroki's closest friends since Hosu. Bakugou has gotten closer to Todoroki through attending the remedial course and then working with him under Endeavor together. And getting involved in their family's mess by extension.

Kirishima has admired Todoroki’s skills openly, and the latter’s readiness to go rescue Bakugou in Kamino, has most definitely only elevated Todoroki’s character in Kirishima’s eyes. On his part, Todoroki probably views Kirishima as very dependable. He most likely appreciates the latter's unreserved kindness and openness a lot as well.

D'you still remember how Early-roki brushed of Kirishima's hand during the sports fest? One season later, and he has learned the value of a calming shoulder pat.

These two trust each other, and I certainly enjoyed their teamwork in Movie 2.

Having mentioned Kamino and Movie 2, we don’t have much other significant interactions between Kirishima and Todoroki however.

Still, Kirishima's there...

But why was I even surprised? Because ofc Kirishima would be there:

These snippets are from the TUM manga's. Kirishima doesn't need the full picture. His friend seems regretful and sad. So without making a big deal out of what used to be before, Kirishima's is going to try to do something about that now.

Kirishima was also among those who showed up in Shouto's hospital room after the PLW, when the Todoroki's got swarmed by the press.

He is one of 1-A's emotional cores, always first in line to support his friends, no matter their exact degree of closeness.

Todoroki will have to face his own brother in their all-out war. Of course, Kirishima would come running to offer emotional support to his friend.

Instead of, idk be with his own family, before all of them go into what is essentially war. On the other hand, it’s anime. Where families play no role, if they are irrelevant to the main plot.

Picture this: After they all become pro heroes, Kirishima would show up to as many events of his former classmates, as he could possibly fit into his schedule. His own fansites are full of Red Riot sightings at Chargebolt's handshake events, Shouto's soba eating contests, 1-A band reunions etc. Kirishima would probably be only second to Deku, in regards of how ham he goes on his friends' merch.

What I mean to say is: TodoKiri is one of the underrated relaxed background friendships, and everyone needs a Red Riot in their lives.

Katsuki’s precocious crush

If I were to ship Bakugou with anyone, it would probably be Fuyumi.

To be more precisely, if Bakugou were to develop a crush on anyone, I’d like to headcanon it to be Fuyumi.

Simply because the comedic potential is too great to be ignored:

1. In Fuyumi’s eyes, Bakugou is her baby brother’s friend. A boy, who seems to know and appreciate the labour behind a good meal more than most. A kid, who (kinda) complimented her cooking skills - and then insulted her family's hosting skills within the same breath. A child, whose self-awareness about his own lack of manners, seems to be virtually non-existent.

It is almost comically endearing, because that feature reminds Fuyumi a lot of "her own" kids.

But it's also slightly worrying. Afterall, Shouto insisted that Bakugou Katsuki is his friend. But a refined palate aside: This kid clearly has the rabies.

= Fuyumi wouldn’t notice Bakugou's big fat crush on her for years.

I can see Bakugou (the guy who probably decided that he would surpass All Might when he was still a toddler, and then actually stuck to it) as someone who can harbor an unrequited crush for years. Which is fine, because Bakugou would probably need a good while to come to terms with something as mundane as a crush.

2. Fuyumi is Icy-hot’s sister. Who’s even more clueless. Until Deku accidently points it out to him, that their mutual friend like-likes his sister. Afterwards Icy-hot tries himself at the “protective-brother”-thing. But instead of confronting Bakugou, he does petty stuff to test the latter’s temper endurance, e.g., intentionally repeating sentences over and over again, when Fuyumi’s with them. This theatre lasts for half a day, until Icy-hot decides that he’s ok with Bakugou crushing on his sister. Because deep, deep, deep² down inside, "Baku-bro" ("Stop copying shitty hair!!") is a kind-hearted person.

~Senpai, pay attention to ME! ME!! MEEE!!!~

3. She’s Endeavor’s daughter. Who is Bakugou's mentor-boss. Whom Bakugou finds to be kind of a dick. Which he has told Endeavor to his face. On his very first day of work-study. At what has been their very first face to face meeting. The comedy basically writes itself.

Look at this gremlin, grinning like a little dipshit smiling at a lady for the first time.

Generally, I can see Bakugou developing attraction to either: Someone nurturing and sweet like Fuyumi, or someone who doesn’t take his crap and sasses him for it, e.g. Burnin, Mirko.

Personally, I’m more inclined towards nurturing-sweet. At the very least, Bakugou seems to hold some respect for Fuyumi: Bakugou's indignancy regarding Todoroki's knife skills (Sub, AND dub: "You shamed your sister!"), are among the funniest - and strangely sweetest? - things he's said over the entire series.

Wdym, yellingly demanding your crush to teach you their recipe isn't romantic? That's just Bakugou asking for a date.

Anyway, apparently my brain pictures him going for someone slightly older? He wouldn’t even be on their radar for years. Like, until he’s been well out of school for a while.

... I just like to imagine him suffering like that for some time.

Or idk, if I would want him to suffer a bit less… maybe Utsushimi might work with Bakugou too?

Tenya and the madwoman (or: The madwoman and her literal boy toy)

I ship Class Rep with Mei Hatsume. It's "uptight loves wild"-galore.

I don’t know how well such an extreme dynamic would work out in real-life.

But in fiction? The way to get there would be hella hilarious.

Guy meets girl. Guy is scared shitless of girl... don't all great romances start like this?

I know many anime fans like to shit on dub for sport. Honestly, I'm also not very fond of the majority of dubbed animes - simply because the Japanese do it so well. But in my opinion, MHA is one of those rare ones that has really good English dub.

I just love everything about how J. Michael Tatum had Iida saying: “My quirk is in my legs, you madwoman!”

The palpable indignation in his voice made me choke on my tea in the best way, and convinced me of Iidamei-dynamic immediately.

They have so many comedic possibilities.

And played out in a dramatic fashion? Bunch of misunderstandings, bunch of necessary adjustments to overcome their differences.

Even if they couldn't make it work: He could use some out-of-the-box-thinking himself and she would benefit so much from a bit more structure = so many opportunities for personal growth.

But if they made it work? The world wouldn't be ready for the indomitable Iida-Hatsume union.

Kyouka: Friendzoned and friendzoning

So. Jirou seems to be the female classmate who the majority of 1-A's guys are most comfortable with.

However, contrary to my headcanon about the most popular 1-A guys, I feel like most of them aren't romantically interested in her.

It might sound a bit sad, but I headcanon that her miffedness about Mineta not naming her among those female classmateds that he wanted to perv on, is not entirely unwarranted... although, having Mineta salivating over you, is probably not something that anyone with self-respect should desire.

I can see her having gained some male admirers outside of the hero students, after the cultural festival.

At first sight, it might seem that Hagakure and Ashido are the most romance-focused girls in 1-A. However, supplemental and canon materials have depicted the tomboyish Jirou as being conscious about the male gender, the most:

During 1-A's practice match against Togata, she was the only girl who completely freaked out over his nudity.

In one of the drama CD stories, she made a big deal inside her head about holding onto the hem of Tokoyami's uniform, when they visited a haunted house together.

In one of the gag comics, she thought that Bakugou was self-conscious about holding her a girl's hands, when he wasn't actually. She basically just self-projected onto him.

In several of the gag comics, Jirou has been depicted as being self-conscious around Kirishima: One example has her perving on him in his costume. Another one, that retold 1-A's trip to the mall before Deku got accosted by Shigaraki, has Jirou imagining being on a date with Kirishima, when the kids paired up to look for Deku... and be pissed, when Kirishima dropped her at the first sight of Bakugou.

Ironically enough, she displays none of that awareness around guys who were hinted as having some interest in her: Kaminari (and I think, I've read something somewhere about Kouda liking her since their practical exams?)

Oh Jirou. You're definitely among those 1-A kids, who have the most growing up to do in the romantic department.

...

I just noticed that, except for Togata, all of the examples above include guys with whom Kaminari is explicitly friends with.

And now I headcanon poor Kaminari getting friendzoned by Jirou until at least until graduation.

The irony of 1-A’s resident flirt being canonically the first one out of all of 1-A’s boys who recognizes that he had fallen for someone: The girl, who just goes through successively crushing on all of his close friends... Now who's the flighty one, huh?

Yes, I imagine the unrequited love switcheroo trope, where Jirou won’t be able to recognize and acknowledge her own feelings for Kaminari for a while. She starts to consciously takes notice of him as a romantic prospect - juuust right when he's about to move on from his own feelings for her.

Drama ensues.

Iidachako friendship

Iidachako is a friendship that I like a lot. I understand why the New B3 overtook precedence over the original trio story-wise, but I would have loved to see more the original trio - and also more Iidachako.

Partly because more media portrayals of positive, platonic, and close friendships between guys and girls are always welcome, and mainly because I really liked their dynamic specifically.

In my opinion, Horikoshi could have easily included Uraraka in the Hosu incident.

... WHY DIDN'T YOU, HORIKOSHI?!!

Uraraka could've been there for Iida, just like how Deku had been. I don't think that her being there would have taken anything away from Todoroki bonding with the other two boys. In fact, he could have bonded with her too.

It would have been also interesting to see Uraraka dealing with the inner turmoil of facing a zealot who is so against heroes receiving renumeration for their work.