Animes, and stories in general, are adored and widely followed because of the characters and the journeys that they embark on resonate with the audience. My Hero Academia (MHA) / Boku No Hero Academia (BnHA) is no exception with its list of impressive, unique, motivational, and well-rounded cast of characters. Most importantly, their relationships with each other is what makes the story and their adventures together more gripping and keeps us, as an audience, invested in their tale.
Disclaimer: Featured image for this post is from YouTube.
Hello my lovely readers! We’re back with another blog post about the 14 Reasons Why Fans Love My Hero Academia / Boku No Hero Academia!
Just to help recap how far we’ve come, here are the first 7 reasons:
- Shounen Trope Killer
- Inspirational Quotes
- Motivational Moments
- Epic Soundtrack/Music
- Multi-Dimensional & Simultaneously Developing Villains
- Rising Stakes as the Series Progresses
- Comedy
You can click on each reason to go to their respective post.
This time we’re going to cover Reason #8: Characters and Relationships.
Animes, and stories in general, are adored and widely followed because of the characters and the journeys that they embark on resonate with the audience. My Hero Academia (MHA) / Boku No Hero Academia (BnHA) is no exception with its list of impressive, unique, motivational, and well-rounded cast of characters. Most importantly, their relationships with each other is what makes the story and their adventures together more gripping and keeps us, as an audience, invested in their tale.
Here are a few notable characters and their relationships with others that make the story more interesting and enjoyable to consume.
Shouta Aizawa (aka Mr. Aizawa / EraserHead)
Image from Boku No Hero Academia Fandom page
This man came off strict, firm, terrifying, indifferent, and unapproachable in the beginning, especially during the Quirk Assessment Tests. Yet, despite that chilly demeanor and his lackluster appearance, Mr. Aizawa, Class 1A’s now beloved homeroom teacher, is an amazing man with a heart of pure gold.
Image from Boku No Hero Academia Fandom page
He really loves, values, and cherishes each and every one of his students, despite his relentless knack for always torturing and trolling them. Beneath that cold exterior, he deeply cares for his students like a real parent teaching their child with tough love. We know as an audience that he cares about every student in Class-1A’s well-being and only wants the best for them. He hopes and wishes that they all succeed, achieve their dreams, strive for their best in every endeavor, and to always be safe.
We know such sentiments are in his heart when he says lines such as the one he spoke to Joke aka Emi Fukukado during the Provisional Hero License Exam about all of his Class 1A students, particularly of Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou.
There’s something I’ve realized after watching my students, in school and in the field. They might not have realized it themselves, but in class 1A, there are two people whose spirits have a big impact. They’re not leaders or the most popular, and the two of them don’t get along at all. Sometimes they seem like polar opposites.
However, before I knew it, their passion had spread to the rest of their peers. It’s strange, but every time there’s some kind of major event, one of them is at the center of it. I’m not worried, Joke. It’s the opposite, actually. I can’t wait to see what they’ll do. Even if those two aren’t physically with the others, their presence raises the standard for the entire class. I’m honored to have them as students, my class 1A.
We also know time and time again just how well he actually and carefully pays attention to and really knows his students and their different personalities. This is especially seen when he repeatedly defends a very complex and often misunderstood student: Bakugou, and his character and reputation without any hesitation.
Image from Comicbook
In the Battle Tournament of the Sports Festival, Aizawa is supposed to be a non-biased judge. However, when Bakugou is fighting against Ochaco Uraraka and is ridiculed and put down for how he was battling a female opponent, Aizawa was the only one who stood up against the entire crowd to shed light on Bakugou’s truth, his respect for Ochaco, his reputation, and his character.
Where is the man who started this uproar? Are you a Pro? Because if you’re being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape. I’d suggest looking into another career. Bakugou’s fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent’s strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far. So he’s making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top.
He also defends the goodness in Bakugou, believing amidst all the doubt from others, specifically the U.A. staff and media reporters, that although the League of Villains had Bakugou in their clutches, there was no need to worry if Bakugou would even be tempted into turning over to the dark side.
His [Bakugou’s] actions at the Sports Festival originate in what he considers ‘ideal strength.’ He is trying harder than anyone in his pursuit of becoming the ‘top hero.’ If the villains saw that and thought they had an opening, then I believe they are being short-sighted.
Image from Tumblr
We see this careful attention to detail again when re-watching the series and noting that after the Battle Trials had wrapped up that Aizawa tells Bakugou not to pout after his failure.
Decent work on yesterday’s combat training, you guys. I saw the video feeds and went over each of your team’s results. Bakugou. You’re talented, so don’t sulk like a child about your loss, okay? And Midoriya, I see the only way you won the match was by messing up your arm again. Work harder. And don’t give me the excuse that you don’t have control over your quirk. That line’s already getting old. You can’t keep breaking your body while training here. But your quirk will be really useful if you can get a handle on it. So show a little urgency, huh?
Season 1 Episode 9
Image from Tumblr
Another example of just how much this incredible homeroom teacher loves his students is when he risked his life to save them, single-handedly battling all the League of Villains thugs when they invaded the USJ and threatened his class’s safety. In addition, while he is being restrained by the Nomu, he uses his quirk to save Tsuyu Asui’s life, resulting in his face being immediately smashed into the ground and becoming injured to the point where his eyes are damaged.
And this is how he looked after:
Image from MilkCanAnime
Image from GeekGirlAuthority
Because THIS happened:
Video from YouTube
Poor man.
Although you could say he has some resemblance to Kakashi Hatake from Naruto, Shouta Aizawa is extraordinary that in spite of his serious, non-boisterous demeanor, he has a soft spot for his students and a pair of keen eyes. 🙂
Katsuki Bakugou
Image from Twitter
😍 Ah, my favorite hottie 😍
If you have not read my Katsuki Bakugou post, you should click on the link (his name) and check it out. It is definitely one of my personal favorites and my most popular article on this blog.
Bakugou is an interesting character in that his personality is immensely moving, complicated, multi-layered, and often misunderstood; his ambitious drive is respectable and inspiring; and his character is definitely one in a million. I love that in order for him to remember your name, you have to be worthy in his eyes by displaying something that challenges his world view or by showing him something about you he will secretly admire you for, but never, ever openly tell you. There’s something lovable about a tough guy like him who develops relationships with other characters in such a idiosyncratic way.
Cast of Lovable Characters
Image from Reddit
Class 1A‘s 20 students are all lovable in their own adorable ways. And what’s very brilliant and remarkable about each of them is the different dynamics they have with each other that Kohei Horikoshi, the creator, has developed for each of them.
Kyoka Jirou and Denki Kaminari
Image from Boku No Hero Academia Fandom page
I ship them.
Period.
Even if they’ll never be official, you have to admit these two are cute together. Jirou is a tough, cool, badass girl and when she makes fun of Kaminari’s clumsiness and stupidity during his fried brain state, we can’t help but laugh along with her and gush at how friggin’ adorable these two are together and how they are meant to just be.
Kirishima, Sero, Mina, and Kaminari
Image from Pinterest
These four (ignore Rikido Sato (the tallest character) in the back of the image above) are the cutest bunch in Class 1A. They are ALWAYS positive, motivational, and encouraging to the spirits of the other students, even if all four of them didn’t do well on the Final Exams and had to take Remedial Lessons during the Summer Training Camp.
The perfect cherry on top is that Horikoshi makes these four happy souls and darlings part of the Bakugou Squad and their positivity balances out Bakugou’s infamous negativity, nastiness, and grouchiness. I cannot find the interview, but I read somewhere that these precious four are the glue of the class and are the cheerleaders for their classmates.
Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
Bakugou, you didn’t do your job and save your friends/squad from failing their Exams, you jerk/genius.
Image from Boku No Hero Academia Fandom page
Toru Hagakure and Mashirao Ojirou
Image from Boku No Hero Academia Fandom page
There’s something cute about a girl who feels that she’s not noticed and always telling a certain boy that she’s going to do something stunning to make sure she receives attention for it this time. This is Hagakure and Ojirou’s relationship.
Sure, they could be just really close friends, but it’s so sweet that each time Hagakure tries to make an impression to finally get any recognition for something, she always tells Ojirou and they have this inside joke about her invisibility quirk. It’s quite endearing and I know that deep down, some of you kind of hope they won’t stay platonic forever.
Yuga Aoyama’s Uniqueness
Image from Matsuricon
I talked about Aoyama in my last post, Part 4. However, I want to remind my beautiful readers again how marvelous this character is and how he’s so hilariously charming when you notice him watching you watch MHA/BnHA. His interactions with the other characters are usually silly, too. For instance, when he helps Uraraka realize her feelings for Midoriya.
Video from YouTube
The Perverted Pair: Minoru Mineta and Denki Kaminari
Image from Pinterest
I’m the type of girl who likes sexual jokes 🤷 and I love this duo for their perverted-ness. My favorite part about it is that Mineta, the shortie, is the sort-of “leader” and is more obvious about his perverted-ness while Kaminari is just so angelic and comes off so pure and innocent that being paired with Mineta just makes Mineta seem more tamed and their adventures together more funny and enjoyable.
The Deku Squad
Replace Bakugou with Tsuyu Asui and you got the squad hehehe
Image from WeHeartIt
Made up of Tenya Iida, Ochaco Uraraka, Shoto Todoroki, and sometimes Tsuyu Asui–and of course, the man himself: Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, this squad has a good makeup. You have the orderly Iida, the cheerful Uraraka, the optimistic Deku/Midoriya, the straightforward Asui, and the clueless cutie/hottie Todoroki.
The Bakugou Squad
Image from Tumblr
Sorry, Bakugou isn’t in the image. His ruggedness would ruin the cuteness of his own squad. LOL
Now, this is one of my favorite groups. Bakugou the cranky being surrounded by four patient angels: happy Ashida Mina; blunt Henta Sero; the clumsy, funny, cool Denki Kaminari; and the manly, respectful, honorable, and noble Eijirou Kirishima.
The Three Musketeers: Katsuki Bakugou, Denki Kaminari, and Eijirou Kirishima
Image from ComicBook
This trio was a good group during the Provisional Hero License Exam. When Bakugou and Kirishima were turned into literal human meatballs, Kaminari got his moment in the limelight to show off his new skills and his beliefs in his hard-to-love friend.
Bromance: Katsuki Bakugou and Eijirou Kirishima
Image from Quora
I love a story with awesome brotherhood moments. Bakugou and Kirishima’s relationship and friendship are one of my favorites across all of the animes I have ever watched. The fact that Kirishima is kind to balance Bakugou’s rugged, brash behavior is a perfect little detail of the series that I love so much and appreciate Horikoshi for.
Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugou
Image from QuoteV
Image from Twitter
In contrast to Kirishima, Todoroki being calm and clueless is nicely mixed with Bakugou’s anger and insecurity. This dynamic between this odd pair makes their interactions amusing to watch.
Kyoka Jirou and Momo Yaoyorozu
Image from Shipping Fandom
These two sweethearts are my favorite girl pairing. They have a cheerful and cute dynamic, relationship, and friendship.
Kacchan and Deku
Image from Dot and Line
I love that Kohei Horikoshi created a special, original friendship like the one that Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou have. I like that they were childhood friends who have a complex relationship that has evolved into something complicated over the years. However, the one constant in both their lives are their nicknames.
It’s adorably perfect.
“Deku” is an uplifting name for a boy who originally had no potential, but is now working incredibly hard to prove himself and show the world he wants to become the best Pro-hero. And “Kacchan” is such a sweet and tamed nickname for a very angry tough guy.
We, as an audience, love Class 1A overall, but it’s their unique interactions with each other as mini groups that make My Hero Academia / Boku No Hero Academia a different type of tale than other Shounen series.
That’s it for this post. And for all of you people sighing at how many parts this is, let me tell you: according to my plan, I have two, max three, more parts left that will perfectly wrap up all 14 reasons. If you cannot tell, I love this series and like to be thorough with my adoration and respect for Kohei Horikoshi as a creator and the story as a whole. If you have not already checked out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, you can do so by clicking on the links. Part 6 has now been posted! Thank you to all my fantastic readers who have been keeping up to date with all these posts though. I truly appreciate your love, time, and support. Happy reading (: