Katsuki And Izuku Are Not Best Friends, Part 1

Katsuki and Izuku are not best friends, part 1

I have seen people refer to Bakugou and Deku as best friends, especially after Bakugou took the hit from Shigaraki for Deku.

I disagree. They are not best friends.

It’s all but explicitly stated, that within class 1-A, Kirishima is Bakugou’s closest bestie, while Iida is Deku’s.

For the majority of the time that they knew each other, Deku and Bakugou were not even on friendly terms. I'd say they would barely qualify as friends - not to mention “best friends” - even now (latest chapters at the time of writing this post).

It has been jarring (and heartbreaking at times) to listen to Deku call a person a friend, while he still had been actively fearful of them. My reading of that is, that Deku mainly refers to Bakugou as a childhood friend, because he has no idea how to describe his relationship to the latter otherwise. The fact that Deku didn't had a single real friend until entering UA might also factor into this.

Even during their childhood "friendship" stage, Bakugou used to treat Deku like a lackey, at best. But never like a true friend, because enjoying to make someone feel miserable, just to feel better about oneself, is not the same as enjoying their company as a friend.

A more charitable interpretation of their early “friendship” instead of leader and lackey, is that of siblings. Bakugou is the older, and Deku the younger brother: His whole life, Deku has looked up to Bakugou. On the other side, for most of his life, to Bakugou, Deku used to be that scary annoying thing that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much he tried to scare it off.

With not much age difference between them, the stage got set for the development of rivalry.

...

Oftentimes, siblings with this type of dynamic end up drifting apart and being rather distant - either for an extended period of time (in many cases until they reach adulthood), or even forever.

As Bakugou and Deku ended up in the same class at UA, the new environment shifted their dynamic instead:

Deku formed connections with other people. While Bakugou and All Might remain the biggest influences on his life, he gained the physical and psychological strength to stand up to Bakugou during key moments and high-stakes situations.

The "From now on, Deku will be the name of a hero!" - moment of awesome, where Deku announced himself unwilling to be Bakugou's shoe mat any longer, was basically the start of his emancipation from the latter

To Bakugou, this declaration from "loser Deku", their new classmates’ warm reception of Deku, and their cool reception of himself - the opposite of what Bakugou had been used to up until this point - made it apparent to him, how up until then, he had been swimming in a very small pond.

Bakugou reacted to his own feelings of inadequacy and the disillusionment that threatened his self-image, like the mature, self-reflecting person that he was:

With more misdirected resentment, and more violence. Alternating between distancing himself from Deku and seeking him out.

Like the mature, self-reflecting person that he was, Bakugou also didn't talk to anyone about those inner turmoils.

Instead, he let them boil over; culminating in him forcing Deku into a nighttime rumble to sort through his own emotional baggage.

The positives that came out of it, were that they reached some sort of a mutual understanding, and Deku gained his own secret keeper. If I had to pinpoint a starting point of their "friendly" terms era, it would be that scene.

But that alteration didn't make them best friends. Neither did other significant "BakuDeku"- moments that followed.

Saying their goodbyes: Shouto, Katsuki

Shouto

Nee-san spoke first, “Please be careful, Shouto. I... I’m so sorry for being such a useless older sister. I wish, I cou-"

"I will. And you're not useless." That felt insufficient. Shouto tried moving his hand over his sister's head, like he had seen Asui doing with some of their classmates when they got upset. "Please teach me how to make soba properly, when I get back."

At this, Fuyumi's eyes turned watery.

Shouto faltered. Then he froze.

Natsu-nii had pulled him into a hug.

Perhaps not wanting their sister and mother to hear, Natsu-nii said into his ear: “Punch him in the face. Pummel his ass." And with an even lower voice, his brother whispered: "And if there's any possibility… please drag him home.”

Shouto flailed. Then he remembered what he did, when okaa-san had asked for his permission to hug him during one of his first visits, and put his hands lightly on Natsu-nii's back. For few seconds, his fingers gripped his older brother's sweater tightly.

Shouto turned to their mother. She had lagged behind his siblings slightly.

He knew that the loss of Touya-nii back then, had completely shattered whatever small parts of their mother had been left, that hadn't already been broken by their father. But Touya-nii had killed so many people. And his flames were so strong, surpassing those of Endeavor's.

Shouto didn't know what to say to his mother. But he had to say something, so he settled on, "Okaa-san, I won’t let our family hurt any more people. I promise.”

“I know. I’m sor…” His mother stopped. Instead, she reached out to wrap his left hand between her own smaller ones. “Thank you, Shouto. I’m grateful for having you.”

Shouto swallowed hard. His hand stayed in between his mother's palms, until the heroes were signaled to move out.

Katsuki

“You will win.”

“What do you take me for?! Of course I will!”

For that, the hag decked him over the head.

Katsuki was about to let his mother know, that she hit like a ninety-year old. But before he could, his old man caught his gaze. Something in his father's eyes made Katsuki close his mouth again.

With her hands on her hips and her chin tilted up, his mother said: “Absolute victory. That's what you've always spouted. And absolute victory requires making it back. Preferably, in one piece. Although I don't expect that - no, I'm not underestimating you. But I'm also not an idiot. And neither are you."

At this, Katsuki averted his eyes. The hero students involvement in the PLW was still kept secret from the public. Aside from Icyhot, none of the students who got hospitalized had been allowed visits from their families.

Katsuki knew from his old man, that his mother had stood in front of the hospital every single day, until they learned that their son had been released and escorted back to his dorm.

During phone calls, he had tried to downplay his injuries. It wasn't because he agreed with the Commission's dumbass decisions.

It had been futile anyways. Katsuki saw from the expression of his mother's face, when she first laid eyes on him after UA's emergency shelters went into effect, that she had guessed the severity of his injuries right away.

His mother combed her hand slowly through his hair. Katsuki fought against the urge to tilt his head towards her.

"So. I expect an absolute victory, where as much of you makes it back as needed... to take the decking that you’ll get for being disrespectful to your mother. Got it?”

“…yeah, yeah. Just watch me.”

The hag gave his hair a slight pull.

And so, Katsuki's schoolmates, teachers, and anyone else in their vincity, got subjected to an encore of the Bakugou-screamo-musical, until it was time for the son to leave.

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.

Shouto and Fumikage: Cold Hams of 1-A

Tokoyami and Todoroki chillin' in the middle of rubble.

In one OVA Todoroki indirectly refers to the relationship between himself and Tokoyami as “friends”.  It may not mean anything deeper than them being classmates, who care about each other’s well-being, but I like to headcanon that they do spend time with each other outside of class - be it in smaller than class-sized gatherings, or even one-on-one hangouts.

A closer look at this dynamic would have been great, because these two angsty drama kings have solid comedic potential together.

They would just repeat one sentence to each other over and over again. No one knows why they're doing this. It drives the rest of 1-A crazy.

Remember Tokoyami’s overdramatic declaration of leaving it in Todoroki's hands to make-up for Tokoyami's own loss against class B? And Todoroki’s confused, almost annoyed, “Why are you telling ME this?”

In the gag comics, Dark Shadow also takes on the form of a little girl. Apparently, on Dark Shadow's "list of likes", Todoroki ranks only second to Tokoyami himself, and she ends up "stalking" Todoroki for a bit. Todoroki doesn't mind this, and even seems to enjoy her company.

In short: We needed more interaction between Todoroki and Tokoyami.

I headcanon, that their comedy duo stage name would be "Cold Hams" - courtesy of Kaminari.

Otherwise Tokoyami would have named them "The Laughing Mad." Which would've still been better than Todoroki's suggestion: "TodoToko."

Why Tapeman is an awesome guy and a great hero

Class 1A-kids: "Sero is an obviously great influence on Todoroki and has a free pass to sass him for the rest of their lives."

I agree.

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class1Akids

ok so i saw the caption ''underrated friendship'' and was like ''oh seroroki'' but at the same time i knew it wasnt gonna be that. and then,

Seroroki is one of the more popular background friendships in 1-A, as it's heartwarming to see socially stunted Todoroki making friends.

However, it should also be popular, because their friendship is proof of what a cool guy Sero is:

Your standoffish, rudish classmate encased you in hundreds of meters of ice, just to unload anger, that had nothing to do with you.

In a world where impressing the crowd is almost essential if you want to make it as a hero, this turns you into a tagline, that will follow you.

You hold absolutely no grudge, you even befriend the guy = You heart is huge and open.

You also make it your duty to tape up the class pervert, in order to keep him from sexually harassing others = Your head is screwed on right.

...

Sero's skills don't fall into the same category of huge offensive fire power houses, like the New B3 have. But he's just as versatile as Asui, who is often held up as a great example.

My favourite examples of Sero's versatility are his team-ups with Uraraka: The two of them working together with Deku during the license exam, and then with Mineta during Movie 2, was really entertaining to watch.

One of my favourite music moments: "All Might with U. A. students" playing in 3x17. The notes were timed perfectly with Sero zooming across and Uraraka following up.

During the joint training with 1-B, praise was heaped upon Bakugou for doing the absolute minimum for team work to be possible.

Sero demonstrated quick and shrewd thinking. He should have deserved some of that praise for his observational and tactical skills.

Sero’s a great asset to have almost in any kind of team, or in any kind of environment. And definitely in any friend group.

Tapeman: Always ready to catch you!

1-A’s most popular girl

Horikoshi may have put an underaged girl into the most inappropriate “hero costume” in BNHA and gotten her tons of... admirers in real-life. Uwabami’s commercial may have gotten Yaoyorozu legions of fans in-universe. But the most popular girl within class 1-A?

This one.

Jirou’s the female classmate who has been seen interacting with the most of 1-A guys:  According to the BNHA wiki, if you pay attention to the background events, Jirou is seen talking and chilling with each, Sero, Ojiro, Satou and Kouda, quite often.

Admittedly, all these guys easy to get along with in general. All of them are also who Bakugou would refer to as extras... but they still count!

I still stand by my previous post about how - except for MomoJirou and KaminarixEveryone - the band members aren't really friends with each other. However, to Bakugou and Tokoyami, two of 1-A’s moodiest kids, Jirou is probably still the female classmate each of them is closest to (well, Ashido might have the same degree of closeness to Bakugou that Jirou has).

Tokoyami's surprised and Bakugou has one of his many grumpy gremlin expressions on. However, both boys don't seem to be in a hurry to escape from her hold.

At the very least, Jirou is comfortable with manhandling these two.

And we all know, how Kaminari feels towards Jirou.

Or at least Tokoyami does.

And now I headcanon Tokoyami as being that person, who's usually the first one to be aware of who's crushing on who.