KiriBaku

KiriBaku is the slash ship between Katsuki Bakugou and Eijiro Kirishima from the My Hero Academia fandom.

Canon
Kirishima thinks of Bakugou as "manly", which is the biggest sign of respect from him. Furthermore there’s kanji in Kirishima’s omake profile that refers to him as a “Kouha”, which is a type of Japanese school delinquent who’s into men.

Season 1= Quirk Apprehension Test Arc Early on, the scores from the entrance exam are shown, letting us see that Bakugou and Kirishima scored 1st and 2nd place(s) respectively. Katsuki scored 77 villain points from defeating robotic rivals, while Eijiro scored 74 points, only 39 of which from the robots as opposed to Katsuki. Their equivalence, which becomes a large role in their relationship but starts here.

The quirk apprehension tests are held the first day of school. The first test is throwing a ball with the usage of one’s quirk. Katsuki’s explosive throw measured a recorded distance of 705.2 meters, which visibly awes Eijiro. He loses any and all shreds of nervousness upon viewing this feat.

Battle Trial Arc “Sensei, please put a stop to this! That Bakugou kid’s gone mental, at this rate he’ll kill him!” - Eijiro Kirishima to Toshinori Yagi

The boys still don’t interact (directly) in this arc, but however, Eijiro begins to build a first, meaningful thought on Katsuki after seeing his behavior towards Izuku. He comments plentifully on just about every move Katsuki makes, although this is mainly for the worse.

The first comment he makes is after the fight begins, as he sees Katsuki leap out to attack Izuku and Ochako in what he dubs a surprise attack. He states that it “isn’t manly at all.”

He soon becomes confused on why Katsuki is so unjustifiably angry and aggressive. Questioning no one in particular, he states "Geez…what was Bakugou saying? Can't tell with the cameras in a fixed position and no sound.." with a concerned expression.

Towards the end of the fight, Katsuki begins to use his howitzer, rendering Izuku almost immobile. He yells to All Might that Bakugou is mental, and pleads for him to end the fight, worrying that Katsuki will go far as to literally kill Izuku.

As the fight tides over, Eijiro is left with an obvious disdain for Katsuki’s unsportsmanlike, or rather, “unmanly” nature.

USJ Arc “Well if you’re talking about flashy and strong, it’s gotta be Todoroki and Bakugou!” - Eijiro Kirishima to Class 1-A

Eijiro and Katsuki finally share their first major interactions in this arc, starting on the bus ride to the USJ. The class discusses each other’s strengths in brief conversation; Eijiro deprecates his quirk, upset that it’s dull in his eyes, but then moves to compliment the quirks of Katsuki and Shoto, saying they’re “flashy and strong”. He makes sure to lock eyes with Katsuki as he says this, smiling admiringly. Katsuki then huffs, and turns away in what almost appears to have been a flustered manner.

The class quickly finds themselves under attack by the LoV for the first time upon arriving at the USJ. Katsuki and Eijiro prove to be an exceptional team from the beginning as they jump to attack Kurogiri side-by-side, landing powerful, unpracticed blows. As the smoke from Katsuki’s explosion dissipates, the two can be seen grinning next to one another.

Unfortunately, Kurogiri manages to warp the students through the building. Katsuki and Eijiro are warped to the Collapse Zone together, where they’re greeted by a mass wave of (low-tier) villains. With their shared power, it takes them no time at all to fight their way to safety. Upon deciding that their work was complete in that area, they begin to argue about their next task: Eijiro wants to find and help out their classmates, while Katsuki wants to attack Kurogiri.

In the moment they argue, a chameleon-like villain takes the opportunity to jump at them, but Katsuki manages to stop him one handedly. Eijiro praises his reaction time before noting how calm he is. Katsuki then explains that he knows their classmates don’t need their help, and are capable of taking care of themselves. Eijiro interprets this as him “believing in their buddies”, and says he’ll follow Katsuki wherever he wants to go. Katsuki grins at this before they set off.

They’re later shown having (temporarily) defeated Kurogiri. Katsuki keeps him pinned down, while Eijiro stands protectively near him. Kurogiri attempts to move, but Katsuki catches him and yells, “You try anything funny, and I’ll blow your ass to pieces!!” Eijiro jokes, “Ohhh, that doesn’t sound very heroic!”

At the end of the fight, they lock eyes and run off to knock down more villains. They stand next to each other during the fight cleanup.


 * -|Season 2=Second tab content goes here.
 * -|Season 3=Third tab content goes here.

Kirishima is often shown trying to befriend Bakugou and inviting him to class outings. Bakugou respects Kirishima and calls him by his name. When Bakugou was kidnapped by the Villain Alliance, Kirishima initiated his rescue, along with Todoroki, and gives a heartfelt speech, saying he would be less than a man he didn't do anything. It's been shown that Bakugou tutors Kirishima instead of Yaoyorozu like the rest of the class. It is interesting to note that students in Japan wouldn’t normally study in a group of two unless they wanted to mess around with their significant other in private. Kirishima is the one Bakugou sees as an equal and, according to Midoriya, the only one who could save him without his pride being hurt.

After Bakugou's return, he pays back Kirishima for the night vision goggles he bought for the rescue mission. Despite Bakugou's unfriendly personality, it is clear that he cares about Kirishima quite a lot. Bakugou has made several active efforts to cheer Eijirou up when he was sad or doubting, these being the first times for him to be seen truly caring for another character. Bakugou inspired Kirishima to create one of his power moves: Unbreakable.

"If you refuse to go down, it means you're stupidly strong." - Bakugou to Kirishima, Chapter 133

The class turns to Kirishima when they look for Bakugou, implying they often hang out together. The two have neighboring dorms on campus. Both Kirishima and Bakugou have cheered each other on more than once.

Season 3's first episode expands their relationship, as it shows them coming together late to the pool. Later in the same episode, they are shown going back home together under the sunset and Bakugou telling Kirishima he had to get stronger if he wanted to surpass All Might.

When Bakugou was announced to be a target for the League of Villains in the Forest Training Camp Arc, Kirishima showed a look of worry on his face and asked for permission to find him (though he was denied). While explaining his plan to save Bakugou, Midoriya said that Kirishima was the key to the plan and that Bakugou would only allow himself to be rescued by Kirishima.

"It's gotta be you, Kirishima. I can't do it, or Todoroki, or Ida, or Yaoyorozu. Ever since school started, you've built a relationship with him as equals. So, if it's you, his friend, who calls to him... then..!" - Midoriya, Season 3 Episode 10/Chapter 90

Bakugou grabbed Kirishima's hand, and almost seemed relieved. Bakugou is smiling when he grabs Kirishima's hand. He then squeezed Kirishima's hand while he's talking. Right after saving Bakugou, Kirishima tried to hold his hand again, but got rejected. Bakugou withdrew his own money to pay back Kirishima for the night vision goggles. After seeing Kirishima's sad expression after being told off for rescuing Bakugou, he drags Kaminari off and makes him activate his quirk. This could be interpreted as an attempt to cheer Kirishima up. He approaches him whilst the rest of the class are distracted and tells him to keep on being an idiot as always, showing that he cares for him.

Midoriya's hero notes stress the fact they are good friends and consider each other as equals. According to the festival clothing promotional art, it's shown that Bakugou gave Kirishima his jacket as Kirishima wasn't wearing a shirt. On top of this, it's hinted that it was a romantic gesture, as the caption for Bakugou's outfit stated "...Maybe he gave it to a girl passing by who looked cold?" while Kirishima is the one wearing his jacket.

Kirishima calls Bakugou "Blasty McSplode" and "Explosion Boy." Bakugou calls Kirishima "Shitty Hair" and "Weird Hair." Todoroki has mentioned to Bakugou in one of the CD Dramas that he seems very close to Kirishima, to which he replied "Just where are you looking?"

During the Provincial License Exam, Kirishima pushes Bakugou out of the way to save him from Shishikura's quirk.

In Kirishima’s chapter from the vol. 4 light novel, he talks about Bakugou to Fat Gum, musing how he has calmed down ever since his fight with Deku, and he smiles brightly while talking about Bakugou. Fat Gum smiles back at Kirishima and says, “Ah, youth...” Fat Gum then asks Tamaki if he’s fought before with Mirio, and Tamaki says they’ve never fought. Kirishima then smiles at Tamaki while saying, “Bakugou is the type to explode easily, but he’s just very honest to himself.” Tamaki and Fat Gum listen to Kirishima talking happily about Bakugou and just smile back at him.

In the obstacle course part of another chapter, Kirishima gets Bakugou a candied fruit (not a crepe) but Bakugou says he doesn’t want it. Later, Bakugou challenges Deku to the obstacle course, but Kirishima teases Bakugou, saying he couldn’t beat All Might’s top score. Bakugou then says, “Don’t say unnecessary things like that, dammit!” before nudging Kirishima. Kirishima is depicted leaning on/putting his arm around Bakugou on multiple occasions, when nobody else seems to be able to do this.

My Hero Academia: Stage Play
During curtain call on one of the showings, Kirishima was going down the aisles and spotted Bakugou coming up from behind him. He then smiled widely and made a heart with his hands that he sent out to Bakugou, which Bakugou swatted away?!

When Kirishima asks Bakugou, “What do you want for your birthday?” Bakugou says “something spicy,” Kirishima replies with an additional line “spicy stuff- leave it to me!”

There is a scene “where Kiri is taking off his shirt and he turns to Bakugou who’s taking off his pants. Pauses, stares at Kiri up and down, and Kirishima smiles and flexes at him. Bakugou gets flustered by this and turns away.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
Kirishima held Bakugou back by attempting to wrap his arms around him when he was going to lash out at Todoroki. Kirishima and Bakugou stay in the same hotel room, which closely resembles a honeymoon suite or love hotel based on Japanese hotel standards.

Said hotel room appears to only have 1 bed. Kirishima also brought matching suits for him and Bakugou, implying that he knows Bakugou's exact measurements. The vest that he gives Bakugou has a design with white roses on it. According to the My Hero Academia: Two Heroes light novel, Kirishima brought Bakugou a suit with the hopes that they can attend the dinner banquet together. Bakugou brought Kirishima as his plus one.

Kirishima and Bakugou get lost together while trying to meet up with the others. When they run into some villains, Kirishima is able to calm down Bakugou before he can shout at them. When a villain is about to hurt Kirishima, Bakugou reacts instantly and tries to deflect the villain's attack, but Todoroki is able to create a block of ice to protect Kirishima first. Bakugou then runs to Kirishima's side.

Kirishima jumps in front of a villain to protect Bakugou, and Bakugou calls out his name worriedly. Bakugou later thanks Kirishima for saving him, and Kirishima blushes. Kirishima teases Bakugou, saying “Were you worried?” Bakugou then yells that he wasn’t.

My Hero Academia: Smash!!
Kirishima has been shown in My Hero Academia Smash to not be interested in girls. When the group of U.A. students went shopping (Jirou, Kirishima, Tenya, Tokoyami, Uraraka, Deku, Mina, Mineta, and eventually Bakugou), Jirou had tried flirting with Kirishima (it was the 'in the moment' kinda thing, but who knows lmao), though Kirishima spotted Bakugou from afar and eventually ran over to him to talk, leaving Jirou behind. Kirishima is portrayed as crushing on Bakugou and trying to get closer to him.

When some of class 1-A is turned into animals, Dog! Kirishima gets jealous of Koala! Todoroki hugging onto Bakugou's leg, and tries to pull him off. This scene was actually changed as Horikoshi, as the original scene was supposed to be Kaminari and Midoriya petting Tsuyu. Horikoshi noted that "he didn’t think their character relations worked well in that scene", and so changed it to Kirishima getting jealous over Todoroki hugging Bakugou.

Kirishima had invited Bakugou to go out hiking with him during Christmas, which in Japan, is considered a very romantic holiday. It was a gag with Bakugou rejecting him, though in other pieces of art, it's shown Kirishima and Bakugou going hiking either way.

Kirishima has also attempted to take care of a sick Bakugou.

Kirishima broke those binoculars he got back when Bakugou was kidnapped. As you know, that thing was extremely expensive and seeing it broken made Bakugou feel as if he had to pay for it (again). So, he gets multiple part-time jobs, including underwear modeling/nude modeling and dressing up as a bee for some kids' birthday party. Though, Kirishima thinks he's short on money, so he pulls the entire class together to pile up a bunch of cash to help out Bakugou.

During the USJ attack parallel in Smash!!, Kirishima is seen thinking to himself that he was 'the only one in the world who could fill the role of [Bakugou's] partner.'

In Smash!!, he also dressed up as Red Riding Hood for the Halloween special, carrying a wolf costume. When the others asked him about it, he said he thought it would have been cool if Bakugou dressed up as a wolf, so they could have matching costumes. Horikoshi's twitter banner included them in these costumes for a while.

Bakugou is shown (under the influence of a quirk) saying "You can try to tie me up all you want... but you'll never be able to tie down my heart!" to which Kirishima responds with "Interesting! A challenge to see which one of our hearts submit first!"

Kirishima invites Bakugou to eat lunch with him, before commenting that Bakugou "smells good".

Official Art/Merch
They are usually paired in official merchandises, alongside many heterosexual ships. The two share a combo move in Boku No Hero Academia SMASH Tap (a mobile game, and as far as I know, it's only available in Japan).

The otomedia magazine spread shows Bakugou and Kirishima together, both holding bouquets of roses, and Kirishima is displayed with a small blush. Kirishima's description in Tokyu Hands is that he "loves tough guys".

In PASH Magazine, there was a poster including Bakugou, Kirishima, Deku, and Ida. Deku and Ida are shown talking to each other while Kirishima is obviously reaching for Bakugou's hair, probably comparing it because of the nickname "shitty hair" again.

In one of the newest volumes of BNHA, Bakugou is primarily shown on the cover holding out a hand to a younger version of Deku, and on the very next page is Kirishima, in all his glory, wearing a Red Riot jacket.

- In one of the newest light novels, Team-Up Missions, Kirishima and Bakugou are shown to work together alongside Camie and Todoroki. At one point, Cami uses her illusions to do a play with Kirishima and Bakugou, and at the end, Kirishima and Bakugou are shown shaking hands.

- Kirishima, Bakugou, and Kaminari are shown going skiing together in a recent art piece.

Other Translated Pieces/Parts Of The Light Novels
In the Boku No Hero Academia Season 3 Volume 1-8 DVD Box Set, it is hinted that Kirishima and Bakugou regularly go out together to the arcade, as they were found by Midoriya and the others. Kirishima and Bakugou are shown hiking together in a card.

In an interview about season three, Kirishima and Bakugou are mentioned. It describes that Bakugou is a "very important person" to Kirishima in it, as well as the fact that the two will be able to work together and build up more trust with each other.

In My Hero Academia Vol. 2 light novels, there's an extended version of their study session from the library. It's currently in one of the various links if you want to check it out.

In My Hero Academia Vol. 2 light novels, Kirishima is shown cheering for Bakugou during an arm-wrestling match against Tetsutesutesu, to which Kirishima accepts his support. Again, it's in one of the various links.

It was confirmed through a light novel that Kirishima is Bakugou's dragon in the fantasy AU shown in one of the anime's endings. Kirishima is shown hanging out in Bakugou's room as he unpacks in the light novel. Kirishima eventually meets Bakugou's mom after being kidnapped by a villain, and he basically "admires her explosive personality".

In the light novel, we get to see the two studying together, first at the library and later at a cafe. During their scene in the library, a comment made by Kirishima causes Bakugou to let out a 'genuine, pleasant laugh.' While at the cafe, Kirishima grabs and pays for both of their drinks. Kirishima is asked by one of Bakugou's middle school friends why he hangs out with Bakugou and, after responding defensively at first, he answers with: "Well, he's very sincere, and being with him feels really nice. He's passionate, and I'm sure everyone knows and accepts him for that!" Bakugou asks Kirishima to leave, to which he replies stating that unpacking is easier with two people. While Bakugou denies this statement, he makes no move to kick the other out. The chapter ends with 'A new wind blows into these new dorms to dissipate even the slightest remnants of any unfamiliarity between the two.'

In My Hero Academia Vol. 2 light novels, there's an extended version of their study session from the library. It's currently in one of the various links if you want to check it out. It is notable that in Japan, lovers often study together to get private time one on one without the intrusion of others.

Fanon
Kirishima being Bakugou's dragon was a popular speculation among fans long before the light novel was released. Bakugou's Japanese voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto made a comment in the August 2018 volume of CUT Magazine, saying that "Kirishima is the only one for Bakugou."

In another interview in Newtype September 2018 with Bakugou's voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto and Todoroki's voice actor Yuki Kaji, Okamoto says, "Kirishima is such a good guy- he's really a great guy" and Kaji responds "He even brought a suit for him [in the movie], so he must know his measurements" and Okamoto replies with "Thank you for pointing that out for the fans."

The Kiribaku tag often ranks as one of the most popular and most active ships on Tumblr. In fact, in June 2018, it was the second most popular ship on Tumblr's 'Fandometrics'.

The ship officially gained popularity when it was heavily implied that they were friends in Season 3, episode 39, "Game Start" when Kirishima was the one to bring Bakugou to the pool, and the two of them were later shown walking home together as Kirishima tried to comfort Bakugou after the frustrating end.

Oftentimes, the ship is portrayed as Kirishima being the one to make most of the advances in the relationship while Bakugou is often the "tsundere" type and will not properly express his feelings.

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 * TodoBakuKiriDeku refers to the ship between Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugou, and Eijiro Kirishima

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