‘My Hero Academia’ Redefines Bakugo, Izuku’s Relationship

The latest episode of My Hero Academia provided a much needed rematch between Midoriya and Bakugo as the two had plenty to get off of their chests from three seasons of turmoil and growth.

While the fight was fierce, and the two had plenty to say, the two of them reached a new stage of their rivalry in this fight as they now understand where the other is coming from.

When Bakugo first called out Midoriya after the Hero License Exam, fans were wondering what was bothering him. Many assumed it was his inferiority complex, and it turns out to be sort of the case. Bakugo had felt guilty that All Might lost all of his power due to rescuing him, and this was compounded by the fact that All Might actually passed on his power to someone he thought was inferior.

He and Midoriya both worshipped All Might, and both wanted to become a hero just like him. But Bakugo had become frustrated by the fact that Midoriya actually seems to be making headway toward this goal, and even has a close relationship with All Might (while All Might acts distant toward Bakugo instead).

As for Midoriya, he became frustrated because Bakugo disliked him so much. All he wanted was to achieve the kind of power and victory that he always saw in Bakugo, and it was muddied by how terribly Bakugo had treated him in recent years. But the battle between the two had them fight at full power, with the eventual result being Bakugo winning in the end.

Bakugo winning the fight puts him on a literal and figurative equal footing with Midoriya, as they both have won and lost a fight with one another. But through this fight, their rivalry has morphed into something less toxic as the two are finally able to openly challenge one another.

The respect they show each other after the fight reveals that their rivalry has entered a more civil stage, and now the two of them are free to chase their own paths rather than continually chase after one another.

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has super powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he’s eventually scouted by the world’s best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been collected into 19 volumes so far, and has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.