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|characterI = [[Katsuki Bakugou]]
 
|characterI = [[Katsuki Bakugou]]
 
|characterII = [[Izuku Midoriya]]
 
|characterII = [[Izuku Midoriya]]
|canonical = Fanon
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|canonical = Fanon
|status = Rivals/Childhood Friends/Classmates
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|status = Rivals/Classmates/Childhood Friends
|type = Slash
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|type = Slash
|aka = DekuBaku, KatsuDeku, IzuKatsu, Twin Stars, Wonder Duo}}'''BakuDeku''' is the [[Shipping#Slash|slash]] ship between Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya from the ''[[My Hero Academia]]'' fandom.
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|aka = DekuBaku, KatsuDeku, IzuKatsu, Twin Stars, Wonder Duo}}{{Quote|From kindergarten to elementary school, to middle school and high school. The two of us have been together as long as I can remember, and yet... we've never exposed our true feelings and talked things out... not even once.|Izuku Midoriya, Chapter 119.}}
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'''BakuDeku''' is the [[Shipping#Slash|slash]] ship between Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya from the ''[[My Hero Academia]]'' fandom.
   
 
== Canon ==
 
== Canon ==
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Izuku and Katsuki have known each other since a very young age, it being noted many times throughout the series that they are childhood friends. Due to a series of misguided instances, their relationship deteriorated and became strained after many complications from their childhood, including Katsuki pushing Izuku away due to his fear of Izuku's spirit. Gradually, however, their friendship is repairing as they both mature and strive to resolve their issues - Katsuki even beginning to indirectly encourage Izuku to become stronger in some recent chapters. Despite their issues, Izuku continues to admire Katsuki for a multitude of things, especially his strength and ability as a hero, stating that Katsuki is his true "image of victory".
"''From kindergarten to elementary school, to middle school and high school. The two of us have been together as long as I can remember, and yet... we've never exposed our true feelings and talked things out...not even once." ''- Izuku Midoriya, Chapter 119, Manga.
 
   
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Originating from childhood, the pair use nicknames for each other, albeit mainly out of spite on Katsuki's half. Despite his general negativity towards Izuku, Katsuki allows Izuku to call him by the childish nickname "Kacchan", without objection. The suffix "-chan" is considered to be very cutesy and feminine, as it is primarily used to refer to children, close friends, or people with a generally cute appearance, obviously contradicting Katsuki's brash and explosive nature. As shown explicitly throughout the series, especially considering Izuku, if Katsuki has a problem with something or someone he will be the first to make a comment about it; making it questionable why he has no issue with Izuku using the nickname. One theory is that the nickname is one of the small fragments of the pair's childhood that remains untainted, and so Katsuki holds onto it without posing an argument. The other instance where "Kacchan" has been used was by Kaminari in chapter 163, seemingly in a teasing way; to which Katsuki disregards entirely and leaves the room to go to bed. Horikoshi, the creator of the series, also refers to Katsuki as the nickname on occasion as seen throughout his sketches, but has not revealed much on its origin or history.
Izuku and Katsuki have known each other since they were very young, The show and the manga tells us that their relationship goes as far back to when they were both younger than four years of age. Due to a series of misguided instances, their relationship rapidly deteriorated and became practically non-existent after many complications from their childhood. This included an incident from their distant past where Katsuki and his friends including Midoriya were playing heroes and marched across a river over a fallen tree. Katsuki slipped and fell head first into the water. His other friends only look onto the scene while Izuku rushes to help his friend. Due to Bakugou's complex of being praised as strong and powerful viewed this act of 'kindness' as nothing more than contempt or in Katsuki's words 'looked down upon' from Izuku.
 
There were numerous other instances from then on where Bakugou teases Izuku about not being able to do anything like skip stones or read kanji which is when Izuku receives his nickname "Deku" (useless). This can be read from the last part of Midoriya's first name in kanji. 
 
   
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Izuku, on the other hand, receives the nickname "Deku" from Katsuki at a very early point in their relationship, which essentially translates to "someone who is useless", referring to Izuku's Quirkless state. Ironically, this eventually becomes Izuku's hero name through suggestion from his friend and classmate Ochako, who puts a positive spin on the name and tells him that it reminds her of the phrase "''you can do it!''". Katsuki is initially angered at this, internally believing it to be another way of Izuku mocking him, but makes no comment otherwise.
Interestingly enough, Izuku continues to call Katsuki by his childhood nickname, "Kacchan" but receives no objections despite the term 'Chan' is often used to refer to females, close friends or lovers. 'Chan' is a suffix that is used on people who are considered cute or lovable or ''kawaii'' and is a term not often used on someone as brash as Bakugou. Though this term can be applied to male children but only if the name does not fit with the 'Kun' suffix. This cannot be applied to Katsuki as his classmates sometimes address him as Bakugo-kun. In fact, Midoriya seems to be the only person who is allowed to call Bakugou the nickname. In one scene Bakugou goes as far as to throw Kaminari onto the couch when he spoke and addressed him as Kacchan as shown in chapter 163.
 
   
Ever since Izuku made that trip to the doctors and learned that he had failed to develop a Quirk, Katsuki has seen Izuku as weak. Bakugou, above all else despised weakness. To him, strength, the ability to win and always be victorious equivalates to a powerful pro hero and without a quirk, Katsuki had lost all respect for Izuku. He began to fully immerse himself into bullying Deku for spouting out 'nonsense' on wanting to become a hero and went as far as to suicide bait him on one known occasion. Izuku, being used to Bakugou's personality reprimanded him silently on his way home, declaring openly to himself that nothing was going to divert him away from his path into becoming a hero. 
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Ever since Izuku failed to develop a Quirk, Katsuki has seen Izuku as someone below him in terms of ability and general worthiness. This was reinforced as Katsuki developed his own Quirk and was constantly praised by his teachers and classmates for it, whilst Izuku was reprimanded for his lack thereof. Being an easily influenced child at the time, Katsuki noticed this dramatic difference in the way they were both treated, realising that Izuku was essentially a nobody in a world where Quirks so heavily define someone as a person. Holding onto the belief that he was going to be the best, Katsuki continued to view Izuku as nothing but a 'pebble' in his path towards becoming a hero, his intense attachment to victory manifesting itself into somewhat of a superiority complex.
   
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=== Season 1 ===
A little later on Katsuki is captured and taken hostage by the same slug monster that All Might saved Deku from. He thrashed and struggled but was unable to fully activate his quirk to break free. The other heroes and All Might look on in utter despair, seeing his childhood friend in danger Izuku dashed forward, without thinking, throwing his bag and clawing at the monster. He gave Katsuki a few precious seconds to gasp for air and which spurred All Might and the other heroes into action. It is shown that Bakugou has never raised a hand against Izuku after that incident unless it was through training. This is acknowledged by Izuku himself.
 
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During the scene in which Katsuki falls into the river, Izuku runs down to help him. This offends Katsuki because ''Deku'', the quirkless kid who was clearly below him, was supposedly looking down on him. Katsuki bullied Izuku for a number of years after this event, using Izuku as an outlet for his anger towards his strive to become the greatest hero. After finding out that Izuku also wanted to enter U.A's hero course, Katsuki was aggressive and mocked his choice, stating that he had no chance in becoming a hero and should instead "take a swan dive off the roof of the school”. Whilst this was said in an enraged stupor in front of his friends, Izuku still concerns for Katsuki's impulsive actions, stating that Katsuki would’ve gotten into trouble if Izuku had actually jumped off the roof. Later on, when Katsuki and his friends were in an alleyway, one of his friends tell Katsuki that he’d gone a bit too far that time, meaning that was not his usual behavior.
   
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On his way home, Izuku sees an explosion and a crowd surrounding what appears to be another villainous incident, and soon discovers that a boy (Katsuki) had been captured by that same slime monster that All Might had saved Izuku from before. As his limbs were constricted and his mouth was covered, Katsuki struggled desperately to break free. The unbearable pain caused Katsuki stare wide-eyed in despair. Izuku saw this and immediately rushed towards him without a second thought, despite how dangerous it was. With his quick thinking, he threw his backpack at the slime monster. His books flew out and one of them hit slime monster‘s eye, causing it to loosen up a bit and allowed Katsuki to grasp for air. Izuku then proceeded to claw frantically at the slime monster. Katsuki angrily asked why Izuku was there, and Izuku said it was due to his legs “moving on their own”, and that Katsuki looked liked he ”needed to be saved”. This spurs All Might and  the other onlooking Pro Heroes to intervene, saving the pair and defeating the villain.
During their first training session, Katsuki felt betrayed when he saw Deku activating his quirk during the ball throwing portion. He stood there shocked and stared at who he thought was his quirkless childhood friend. Having needed to be restrained by Aizawa while he demanded answers at Deku. The bond between these to individuals is difficult to explain but a part of it is shown after the hero vs villain training session with All Might. Izuku wakes up to find that Katsuki has left the school and rushes to find him. He confronts Bakugou, wanting to tell him that he has never deceived him and tells him his secret, that his quirk was borrowed but that from here on out he'll make it his own and surpass Bakugou. This riles up Katsuki and the past comments from his classmates had finally sunken in causing Bakugou to cry out of frustration. He yells at Deku to buck up and train hard as well because he is going to be number one.
 
   
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After the sludge incident, as Izuku was walking home, Katsuki stopped him in his tracks and stated that he “didn’t need his help” and was “fine on his own”. He also told Izuku not to look down on him. Katsuki then turns and walks away, as Izuku watches him with a glad expression on his face. Upon their next meeting, instead of Katsuki harassing Izuku as per usual, he instead merely threatens him, acknowledging that Izuku's bravery saved his life, and in an indirect way, thanking him.
In [https://bokunoheroacademia.wikia.com/wiki/Izuku_Midoriya_%26_Katsuki_Bakugo_vs._Toshinori_Yagi#cite_note-ch61-1 season 2, episode 37 (Chapters 61-65)], Izuku was paired up with Bakugou for their final exam. Bakugou comes off as more cold-hearted and angry as he recalls Izuku for "stealing" his moves. Izuku follows Bakugou down the street as he desperately tries to suggest that the two should pair up and try to escape and avoid fighting All Might. Bakugou responds by shouting that he'll score higher if he defeats All Might. Obviously, the pair lacks communication, but Izuku still attempts to talk to Bakugou regarding his plan. This resulted in Bakugou smacking Izuku to the ground and angrily demanding Izuku to stop speaking to him. As Bakugou walks away, Izuku asks him to wait and reconsider his plan. Irritated, Bakugou yells at Izuku and says he doesn't need his power to pass the exam and can win it all by himself. Izuku yells back at him and tells him that shouting is why they never have normal conversations.
 
   
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Izuku also mentioned that ever since this incident, Katsuki had never physically harassed him ever again.
All Might then attacks by using "Texas Smash" down the main street, blowing off Izuku and Bakugou away. All Might menacingly walks through the dust towards his students. He warns them to take the exam seriously or else they'll be sorry. Izuku and Katsuki are both surprised at how intimidating their teacher can be. Thus, the fight begins. Although, Izuku and Bakugou were still unable to communicate with one another, causing the two to sloppily attack and, at one point, clash into one another mid-fight. They carry on with the battle, resulting to All Might pinning Izuku down with a fence and gut-punching Bakugou into the air which also caused him to vomit. All Might realizes that Bakugou is infuriated by the massive improvement Izuku has gained, advising him that he still has so much room for him to grow as a hero. Bakugou then says, "If you're saying I gotta rely on ''his ''help, then I'd rather lose."
 
   
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After receiving One for All from All Might, their relationship becomes even more complicated through Katsuki's misunderstandings of the Quirk's origin.
As All Might prepares to crush Bakugou, Izuku breaks away from the fence in anger and punches Bakugou in the face and proceeds to call him a "jerk", following with Izuku saying "You'd rather lose? That doesn't sound like you!" and carries Bakugou away to an alleyway away from All Might and admits he can't think of a plan to pass the exam. Izuku continues to angrily talk to Bakugou, saying "Don't say you're okay losing! You're you because you never give up on winning, right?" this scene follows with a flashback to when the two were younger, showing Bakugou successfully scaring off two fourth graders and claims that he didn't bump into them but that they bumped into him, continuing by saying that "The most amazing hero always wins in the end.". Bakugou, annoyed by being reminded by his own words, blasts the wall next to Izuku's shoulder and saying that in order to escape they have to fight All Might.
 
[[File:Izuku Midoriya uses a Grenadier Bracer(2).gif|thumb|90x90px|Izuku using Bakugou's gauntlets on All Might]]
 
Bakugou then comes up with a plan to use maximum firepower on All Might and then create distance between them. He runs out of an alleyway and distracts All Might. All Might is unimpressed and believes it's a sneak attack. Although, Bakugou then cries out to Deku, yelling for him to "shoot" as Izuku appears behind All Might pointing to him with one of Bakugou's gauntlets. He fires and blasts the gauntlet at All Might, catching him off guard. It appears that the two boys all had it according to plan, that was until All Might appeared and broke both of Bakugou's gauntlets. Another fight with All Might begins, making Bakugou weaker as he progresses into the battle as he uses his quirk without his gauntlets. All Might then uses New Hampshire smash to impactly clash into Izuku's back, making the boy unable to move effectively. Bakugou, in anger, tells Izuku to make the escape. When All Might attempts to stop Izuku, Bakugou comes in to defend his teammate and blasts All Might. All Might avoids this attack and drags Bakugou to the ground, telling him to "go to sleep" and that "As a teacher, it's traumatizing when you destroy your own body to fight."
 
   
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During their first training session, Katsuki felt betrayed when he saw Izuku activating his newfound quirk during the ball throwing portion, believing that Izuku had been keeping his quirk a secret since they were children. He had to be restrained by Aizawa as he understandably charged at and demanded answers from Izuku. Having promised All Might that he would keep One for All a secret, Izuku had to leave Katsuki in the dark about the situation, unknowingly making Katsuki even more upset about being believably mocked and betrayed by his childhood friend.
Izuku could've easily made the escape, but he ran back to save Bakugou. Successfully punching All Might in the face and sweeping up an unconscious Bakugou in his arms and runs to the escape gate where they both, together, passed the exam. This episode/chapter is highly important as it sparks a new view of their relationship and supports the strong foreshadowing of Bakugou and Izuku being a future hero duo.
 
   
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Later on, after the Hero vs. Villain fight with All Might, Izuku wakes up at the nurse's room and returns to his classroom to find that Katsuki had left and rushes to find him, despite his friends telling him to wait. Izuku confronts him, assuring that he has never deceived him and spills the fact that his quirk is a ”borrowed power”, deciding not to mention All Might's involvement just yet. He states that he will however make this borrowed power his own and eventually surpass Katsuki by becoming stronger. This causes Katsuki, despite not understanding exactly what Izuku meant, to cry out in frustration, tears forming in his eyes as he yells at Izuku to buck up and train hard as well, determined that he will be number one. This is the first time we see Katsuki emotionally open up to Izuku despite their tainted past, and this theme continues under the influence of One For All.
Despite their relationship had become strained due to various misunderstandings, Izuku still admires Bakugou for his strong quirk, natural combat capabilities, his tenacity, confidence, and ability to win. Izuku strives for the day when he is able to stand on Bakugo's level. It was stated in the show and manga that to Izuku the image of victory is and always has been Katsuki. Bakugou often pushed Izuku away and greatly feared his spirit and heart, which led both of them to drift away from each other. However, after the manga’s 119th chapter, Kacchan vs Deku 2, it has been strongly foreshadowed that both of them will eventually work as a hero duo.
 
   
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=== Season 2 ===
In season three, Izuku pulls together a quick team after a harrowing fight with Muscular that left both of his arms shattered and furiously pursued the villain Compressor, who was holding onto the compressed forms of both Tokoyami and Bakugou. They rescue Tokoyami but a portal opens up and pulls Katsuki in and Izuku desperately tries to reach him. He falls short with the portal closing and Bakugou's broken words being "Don't come, Deku." Deku falls to the ground and lets out a loud scream of anguish before passing out.
 
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In season 2, episode 37 (Chapters 61-65), Izuku is paired up with Katsuki for their final exam, much to each other's dismay. At the start, Katsuki decides to take the lead and ignore Izuku's suggestions of pairing up and avoiding a fight with All Might, well aware of the true extent of his power. Disregarding the idea of backing down from a fight, Katsuki responds by saying that he'll score higher if he defeats All Might; reinforcing his desire to win. Izuku continues to argue against this, to which Katsuki angrily lashes out and punches him, resulting in Izuku landing backwards. As Katsuki walks away, demanding Izuku to not speak to him, Izuku tries once more to make him reconsider; resulting in them shouting at each other, Izuku angrily yelling that this is why they can never have "normal conversations."
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[[File:81D46E22-1257-4FF5-A030-89B2BBFCA7C2.jpeg|thumb|250x250px|Ending panel of Season 3 Ep 17: Class 1A’s “Twin Stars”]]
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All Might then appears, using a Texas Smash down the main street, causing the pair to be blown away. Acting as the villain, All Might menacingly states that the two should take the exam seriously, causing them to react by attacking haphazardly in any way they can. As the exam relies on teamwork, it goes badly for the two of them as the fight progresses, All Might easily managing to outsmart and attack both students without bother.
   
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After All Might pins Izuku under a fence and delivers a punch to Katsuki's gut, All Might tells Katsuki that he has much room for him to grow as a hero, understanding that he is infuriated by Izuku's sudden immense improvement upon gaining his Quirk. Weakly, Katsuki replies: "''If you're saying I have to rely on [Izuku's] help, then I'd rather lose.''"
At the hospital, Deku regains consciousness and begins to cry at how he couldn't reach him in time. Deku and a few other classmates sneak out to go rescue Bakugou. While they are actually performing the rescue, Deku seems to understand how Bakugou felt about the situation and was able to construct a plan that worked perfectly.
 
   
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As All Might prepares to finish off Katsuki, Izuku breaks away from the fence in anger and punches Katsuki in the face, saying "''Don't '''you''' say you'd rather lose!''" He carries Katsuki away to an alleyway whilst All Might is distracted and admits to himself that he can't come up with a plan to pass the exam. As Katsuki is being carried, his mind repeats the words Izuku said to him, triggering a flashback to when the two when they were younger in which Katsuki is scaring away two older children after they caused trouble with him. Obviously scuffed up from the encounter, he scoffs that "''the most amazing hero always wins in the end''," as Izuku watches on in awe from behind a tree.
The episode "Deku Vs. Kacchan 2" revolves around Bakugou confronting Deku about his quirk and how he got it from All Might. He then attempts to fight Deku, who refused to resort to violence until he sees that he's "the only one who can accept Kacchan's feelings". During the battle, Izuku becomes aware of how Bakugou has felt all this time when he sees Bakugou cry and screaming out his feelings and the burden he had been holding, how he saw Izuku looking down on him and exposing how weak he truly was. To Izuku It's 'the first time the two have had an honest conversation' in a long time. The battle also included flashbacks to when the pair were younger, giving the viewer an understanding of their relationship in the past. The two battle for the rest of the episode, ending in Bakugou's victory and All Might interfering afterwards. He tells Bakugou about the origins of one for all and his successor is Izuku and Bakugou promises to stay quiet. This becomes a secret the three of them share. All Might proclaims that the two have now become proper rivals after they've sorted out their feelings. Katsuki even gives advice to Izuku after he asks how his shoot style was. The bond between them slowly rekindling.
 
   
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Back in the present day, Katsuki yells at Izuku to put him down, blasting out of his grasp. Annoyed at being reminded by his own words, he blasts the wall next to Izuku's shoulder in a kabedon-esque manner (anime only), stating that in order to escape they have to fight All Might.
In the [https://bokunoheroacademia.wikia.com/wiki/My_Hero_Academia:_Two_Heroes My Hero Academia: Two Heroes] movie, we get the usual Bakugou screaming in Izuku's face when he firsts encounters Izuku. However, towards the end of the movie after the final fight, Bakugou can be seen looking at Izuku and smiling without even realizing it. This was immediately noticed by Todoroki, where Bakugou scoffed in response as he looked away.
 
   
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Katsuki comes up with a plan to use maximum firepower on All Might in order to create distance between them. He firstly runs out of the alleyway and distracts All Might, who is initially unimpressed and believes it to be a sneak attack. Katsuki then cries out to Izuku, yelling for him to "shoot" as Izuku appears behind All Might and points at him with one of Katsuki's gauntlets. He fires the gauntlet at All Might, apologizing as he does so, catching him off guard. It appears that the plan had worked, seeing no trace of All Might after the collision, until he reappears unharmed and breaks both of Katsuki's gauntlets.
In [https://bokunoheroacademia.wikia.com/wiki/My_Hero_Academia_Smash!! My Hero Academia Smash!] , one little comic showed the Bakugou family and gave us another insight into Katsuki's relationship with his family. Katsuki and Mitsuki are having an argument, which resulted in fighting. Katsuki then turns to his father and asks why he married his mother. Katsuki's father claims that "She (Mitsuki) approached me to fiercely, I didn't realize we were on the track to getting married.." which follows with Katsuki's reply of "So you just weren't able to reject her."
 
   
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Another fight ensues, chipping away at Katsuki as his ability weakens through use of his Quirk sparing the gauntlets. At one point, All Might even goes as far as to using New Hampshire Smash directly into Izuku's back, causing him immense pain and emphasizing their struggle at this point in the battle. Katsuki, infuriatingly at terms with their current status in the battle, decides his last option is to throw Izuku towards the exit to gain their win. As All Might attempts to stop Izuku, Katsuki comes in to defend his teammate and blasts All Might, who avoids this attack and drags Katsuki to the ground. 
Fans have argued that this is similar to [https://shipping.wikia.com/wiki/Kacchako Kacchako] , seeming as if Ochako is the calmer one and wouldn't be able to reject Bakugou. Although, Bakudeku fans have heavily argued that this is very similar to the duo, providing a panel in Kacchan vs. Deku 2 where Midoriya says to himself, "It's not like I could just go and refuse him (Bakugou). Thinking back, our relationship was always weird."
 
   
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Izuku, aware of Katsuki's state, runs back to rescue him so that they can pass together, successfully delivering an attack to All Might that allows him to sweep an unconscious Katsuki under his arm and aim for the exit. He makes it through and therefore wins them the pass. Although Izuku could have easily gained them the win by making his way there alone, he made the conscious decided to go back for his friend, not wanting to leave him behind. 
== Fanon ==
 
BakuDeku is the most popular ship on the Eastern side of the fan base. In Japan, BakuDeku is widely appreciated and the most popular ship in My Hero Academia.
 
   
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This fight is one of the first major advances in the pair's relationship. It demonstrates their ability to work as a team, the true impact of Izuku's words on Katsuki, and ultimately foreshadows the possibility of them working as a hero duo in the future. 
On April 20th 2018, A fan of the pair bought a whole acre of the moon and named it after Bakugou on his birthday as a present for Horikoshi. Not long after, a star was named after Bakugou too, along with a star named after Izuku. This expressed their title as the "Twin Stars" of the class.
 
   
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=== Season 3 ===
On July 20th 2018, a Twitter announcement on the My Hero Academia: Two Heroes account told all My Hero Academia fans to vote for their favorite pair in the show and the duo that wins will get their character colors shun on the Kyoto tower for promotion to the release of the movie. The poll ended on August 1st, crowning Bakudeku first place with over a whopping one million votes. Izuku's vibrant green and Bakugou's fiery orange lit up Japan's evening sky as their colors proudly glow on Kyoto Tower.
 
 
In season three, Izuku pulls together a quick team after a harrowing fight with Muscular that left both of his arms shattered and furiously pursued the villain Compressor, who was holding onto the compressed forms of both Tokoyami and Katsuki . They rescue Tokoyami but a portal opens up and pulls Katsuki in and Izuku desperately tries to reach him. He falls short with the portal closing and Katsuki's broken words being "Stay back, Deku." Deku falls to the ground and lets out a loud scream of anguish before passing out.
   
 
At the hospital, Izuku regains consciousness and begins to cry at how he couldn't reach him in time. Izuku and a few other classmates sneak out to go rescue Bakugou. While they are actually performing the rescue, Izuku seems to understand how Katsuki felt about the situation and was able to construct a plan that worked perfectly.
In the Western community, it's quite controversial. Many do enjoy this ship, however, there's a big portion of the fandom that believes BakuDeku is a ship derived from bullying and abuse and that it would be a generally toxic relationship for them both. While some argue that those times are over and that Bakugou has learned to respect Deku, others stand by the opinion that Bakugou would still mistreat Midoriya should these two be involved romantically. Even though that's the case, these people do not dislike Bakugou and are often big fans of [[KiriBaku]].
 
   
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The episode "Deku Vs. Kacchan 2" revolves around Katsuki confronting Izuku about his quirk and how he got it from All Might. He then attempts to fight Izuku, who refused to resort to violence until he sees that he's "''the only one who can accept Kacchan's feelings''".
== Trivia ==
 
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[[File:9CC10546-D10F-469D-8897-D468B4836815.png|thumb|300x300px|Izuku, during “Deku Vs. Kacchan 2”, talking about Katsuki, |left]]
* In season 2's second ending, Datte Atashi no Hero or 'Cause You're My Hero (in English), was written by LiSA. LiSA has confirmed the ending to be Izuku‘s feelings towards Katsuki, including lines like "No matter how many fools there are in this world, I'll always be by your foolish side!" and "After all, you're my hero."
 
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During the beginning of battle, as they are fighting, Katsuki reveals to Izuku that he had been burdened by the thought of being the fall of All Might and that even if he wanted to forget about it, it would always come back to him - once again opening up to Izuku emotionally. After officially accepting Katsuki's challenge, Izuku takes a second to compliment Katsuki's strength: "''I know I'm stating the obvious, but you're really getting stronger". ''This triggers Katsuki to believe Izuku was scheming one of his tricks again and reveals that never knows what Izuku is thinking and that his attitude as if he was looking down on him and thinking he was better than him ever since they were kids was unbearable. Izuku realizes that this was how Katsuki had felt this entire time, and understands why he'd bullied him for so long.
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Izuku counters Katsuki's feelings with his own, telling him that "''to the same extent of all your unpleasant traits, your sheer amazingness at everything you do was so brilliant to me, it was blinding!''" He then begins to get a little emotional and charges at Katsuki, "''You, who had so many things that I never had... to''' '''me, you were an amazing, inspiring person, who was even closer to me than All Might!''". And that was the reason he'd always chased after Katsuki. After a few hard kicks and punches, Izuku, in his mind, says "''When my feeling of 'I need to win!' is stronger than my feeling of 'I need to rescue!', I'll carelessly run my mouth and say bad things.''" "''And though that's supposed to be a part of me I rather dislike, in the end, in my mind, you're the image of 'victory'."''' '''''This means that when Izuku's desire to win is stronger than his motive to save, he will begin to act more like Katsuki, because Katsuki is his "image of victory".
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The two battle for the rest of the episode, ending in Katsuki's victory and All Might interfering afterwards. He tells Katsuki about the origins of One For All and his successor is Izuku and Katsuki promises to stay quiet. This becomes a secret the three of them share. All Might proclaims that the two have now become proper rivals after they've sorted out their feelings. Katsuki even gives advice to Izuku after he asks how his shoot style was, evidence of how the bond between them is slowly rekindling.
  +
  +
As children, Izuku and Katsuki are seen sharing an intense interest in Pro Heroes, especially in All Might himself, as they both see him to be a role-model in the way he both wins against villains and rescues those in need, all whilst doing it with a smile. These divided characteristics are what All Might tells Izuku and Katsuki are needed to be the ideal hero, and, if the two can "''recognise each other and honestly raise each other up''", then the pair can "''become the best heroes, who both win and rescue''." 
  +
  +
All Might himself seems to greatly approve of Izuku and Katsuki's friendship, despite the way Katsuki outwardly expresses himself. In chapter 209, after Izuku tells Katsuki he'll catch up to him, All Might says, "that's a good friend you've got," in regards to Katsuki.
  +
  +
=== Two Heroes ===
  +
In ''My Hero Academia: Two Heroes'' movie, although non-canonical, provides one scene where Katsuki is shown to truly care about Izuku's wellbeing. At the end of the final fight, there is a scene where it becomes unclear as to whether Izuku will make it out alive - showing the class onlooking in fear, including Katsuki. Once Izuku is shown to be victorious, we are shown Katsuki smiling as he makes his appearance. Shouto notices this and makes a knowing face towards him, to which Katsuki scoffs in response and looks away, walking off from the rest.
  +
  +
=== Manga ===
  +
In chapter 210, Izuku unlocks the power of the Black Whip quirk as a result of his anger towards Monoma Neito's comment regarding Bakugou: "''If you're [Bakugou's] friend, then tell me this. How can Bakugou-kun smile so confidently? Especially since he's the reason for the demise of the symbol of peace!''". It is suggested later that this quirk manifests itself during an extreme emotional response, further reinforcing just how furious Izuku was at Monoma's attack on Bakugou.
  +
  +
During chapter 217, the two discuss One for All with All Might, with the pair now comfortable enough to sit on the same couch and have a normal conversation. Katsuki and Izuku are also seen training together in order to help Izuku master his newfound Black Whip quirk.
  +
 
== Fanon ==
  +
In the Eastern side of the fan base, BakuDeku is arguably the most popular ship among fans due to their complex and interesting relationship and how their interactions explore the classic rival/childhood friends trope. 
  +
  +
In the Western community, the pairing is still widely appreciated, however some believe the two have an abusive relationship due to Katsuki's personal issues surrounding his inability to express himself without using anger and Izuku's past inability to defend himself. Despite this opinion, the pair are undoubtably gradually repairing their relationship as the story continues, with Bakugou learning to accept Izuku for who he is and being a constant positive presence during the hardships they face.
  +
  +
On AO3, BakuDeku is the most written ship for both Katsuki and Izuku and in the ''My Hero Academia'' tag.
   
 
== Fandom ==
 
== Fandom ==
 
'''FAN FICTION'''
 
'''FAN FICTION'''
:{{AO3/Tags|Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku|Bakugou%20Katsuki*s*Midoriya%20Izuku}}
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:{{AO3/Tags|Izuku/Katsuki|Bakugou%20Katsuki*s*Midoriya%20Izuku}}
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:[https://www.fanfiction.net/anime/My-Hero-Academia-%E5%83%95%E3%81%AE%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%82%A2%E3%82%AB%E3%83%87%E3%83%9F%E3%82%A2/?&srt=1&r=10&c1=126140&c2=126136&pm=1 Izuku/Katsuki] tag on [https://www.fanfiction.net/ FanFiction.net]
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'''TUMBLR'''
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:{{Tumblr/Search|bakudeku|Bakudeku}}
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== Trivia ==
  +
* The term 'Wonder Duo' comes from a mistranslation where All Might calls Izuku and Katsuki the same name before they team up to fight him in chapter 61. It has since become a popular ship name.
 
* There are several instances where the pair have been referenced to as 'stars', mainly in fanon. On April 20th 2018, a fan of the pair purchased an acre of the moon and named it after Bakugou on his birthday as a gift for Horikoshi. Not long after, a star was also named after Bakugou, along with another named after Izuku. In chapter 106 of the manga, a rough translation has the two described as the 'Twin Stars of Class 1-A'.
 
* On July 20th 2018, a Twitter announcement on the ''My Hero Academia: Two Heroes'' account asked all ''My Hero Academia'' fans to vote for their favorite pair in the show, and the duo that wins would get their character colors shone on Kyoto Tower for promotion to the release of the movie. The poll ended on August 1st, crowning BakuDeku first place with over a whopping one million votes. Izuku's vibrant green and Bakugou's fiery orange lit up Japan's evening sky, proudly glowing in unison.
  +
* A Chinese fanmade visual novel was developed by creator Ego and artist [https://twitter.com/ten_heroaca Ten] featuring a plot on Izuku and Katsuki getting together. There are three endings: Normal, Good, and True. Warning: ''The true ending features explicit content.'' There are both English and Chinese versions of this game.
  +
* In a set of official licensed poker cards for the series, Katsuki and Izuku represent the King of Hearts.
  +
* The pair have an instrumental song composed after them titled '<nowiki/>''Katsuki and Izuku''<nowiki/>', which contains a mix of their signature tracks '<nowiki/>''You Say Run''<nowiki/>' and '''Bombing King''<nowiki/>'.
  +
* Season 2's second ending, ''Datte Atashi no Hero'' ('''Because You're My Hero' ''in English), was written by LiSA, who confirmed that the song's lyrics are written to represent Izuku‘s genuine feelings towards Katsuki.
  +
** Some of the song's lines translate to "you give me courage", "when I see those eyes, I can start running too!" and "I want to try and look at the goal that's only yours and mine." The "when I see those eyes" line plays as the ending shows Izuku and Katsuki looking at each other before teaming up to fight, originally against working together; metaphorical for their relationship growing in the series.
  +
* BakuDeku has been featured on Fandometrics' most reblogged ships list several times; it was the eighth most reblogged ship the week ending March 2nd, 2020<ref>[https://fandom.tumblr.com/post/611512901353848832/ships-week-ending-march-2nd-2020-geraskier-geralt Fandometrics March 2 2020]</ref>.
  +
* In the chapter cover page of Chapter 214 featuring the continued medieval spinoff, Katsuki and Izuku are wielding two halves of one sword.
   
 
== Gallery ==
 
== Gallery ==
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<gallery expand="true">
=== Screenshots and Gifs ===
 
<gallery>
 
 
<center>
 
<center>
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BakuDeku Fighting.gif
 
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</center>
 
</center>
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
   
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== References ==
[[pl:KatsuDeku]]
 
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{{reflist}}
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== Navigation ==
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{{Nav/MHA}}
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[[ru:БакуДеку]]

Revision as of 23:31, 30 March 2020

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“From kindergarten to elementary school, to middle school and high school. The two of us have been together as long as I can remember, and yet... we've never exposed our true feelings and talked things out... not even once.”
— Izuku Midoriya, Chapter 119.

BakuDeku is the slash ship between Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya from the My Hero Academia fandom.

Canon

Izuku and Katsuki have known each other since a very young age, it being noted many times throughout the series that they are childhood friends. Due to a series of misguided instances, their relationship deteriorated and became strained after many complications from their childhood, including Katsuki pushing Izuku away due to his fear of Izuku's spirit. Gradually, however, their friendship is repairing as they both mature and strive to resolve their issues - Katsuki even beginning to indirectly encourage Izuku to become stronger in some recent chapters. Despite their issues, Izuku continues to admire Katsuki for a multitude of things, especially his strength and ability as a hero, stating that Katsuki is his true "image of victory".

Originating from childhood, the pair use nicknames for each other, albeit mainly out of spite on Katsuki's half. Despite his general negativity towards Izuku, Katsuki allows Izuku to call him by the childish nickname "Kacchan", without objection. The suffix "-chan" is considered to be very cutesy and feminine, as it is primarily used to refer to children, close friends, or people with a generally cute appearance, obviously contradicting Katsuki's brash and explosive nature. As shown explicitly throughout the series, especially considering Izuku, if Katsuki has a problem with something or someone he will be the first to make a comment about it; making it questionable why he has no issue with Izuku using the nickname. One theory is that the nickname is one of the small fragments of the pair's childhood that remains untainted, and so Katsuki holds onto it without posing an argument. The other instance where "Kacchan" has been used was by Kaminari in chapter 163, seemingly in a teasing way; to which Katsuki disregards entirely and leaves the room to go to bed. Horikoshi, the creator of the series, also refers to Katsuki as the nickname on occasion as seen throughout his sketches, but has not revealed much on its origin or history.

Izuku, on the other hand, receives the nickname "Deku" from Katsuki at a very early point in their relationship, which essentially translates to "someone who is useless", referring to Izuku's Quirkless state. Ironically, this eventually becomes Izuku's hero name through suggestion from his friend and classmate Ochako, who puts a positive spin on the name and tells him that it reminds her of the phrase "you can do it!". Katsuki is initially angered at this, internally believing it to be another way of Izuku mocking him, but makes no comment otherwise.

Ever since Izuku failed to develop a Quirk, Katsuki has seen Izuku as someone below him in terms of ability and general worthiness. This was reinforced as Katsuki developed his own Quirk and was constantly praised by his teachers and classmates for it, whilst Izuku was reprimanded for his lack thereof. Being an easily influenced child at the time, Katsuki noticed this dramatic difference in the way they were both treated, realising that Izuku was essentially a nobody in a world where Quirks so heavily define someone as a person. Holding onto the belief that he was going to be the best, Katsuki continued to view Izuku as nothing but a 'pebble' in his path towards becoming a hero, his intense attachment to victory manifesting itself into somewhat of a superiority complex.

Season 1

During the scene in which Katsuki falls into the river, Izuku runs down to help him. This offends Katsuki because Deku, the quirkless kid who was clearly below him, was supposedly looking down on him. Katsuki bullied Izuku for a number of years after this event, using Izuku as an outlet for his anger towards his strive to become the greatest hero. After finding out that Izuku also wanted to enter U.A's hero course, Katsuki was aggressive and mocked his choice, stating that he had no chance in becoming a hero and should instead "take a swan dive off the roof of the school”. Whilst this was said in an enraged stupor in front of his friends, Izuku still concerns for Katsuki's impulsive actions, stating that Katsuki would’ve gotten into trouble if Izuku had actually jumped off the roof. Later on, when Katsuki and his friends were in an alleyway, one of his friends tell Katsuki that he’d gone a bit too far that time, meaning that was not his usual behavior.

On his way home, Izuku sees an explosion and a crowd surrounding what appears to be another villainous incident, and soon discovers that a boy (Katsuki) had been captured by that same slime monster that All Might had saved Izuku from before. As his limbs were constricted and his mouth was covered, Katsuki struggled desperately to break free. The unbearable pain caused Katsuki stare wide-eyed in despair. Izuku saw this and immediately rushed towards him without a second thought, despite how dangerous it was. With his quick thinking, he threw his backpack at the slime monster. His books flew out and one of them hit slime monster‘s eye, causing it to loosen up a bit and allowed Katsuki to grasp for air. Izuku then proceeded to claw frantically at the slime monster. Katsuki angrily asked why Izuku was there, and Izuku said it was due to his legs “moving on their own”, and that Katsuki looked liked he ”needed to be saved”. This spurs All Might and  the other onlooking Pro Heroes to intervene, saving the pair and defeating the villain.

After the sludge incident, as Izuku was walking home, Katsuki stopped him in his tracks and stated that he “didn’t need his help” and was “fine on his own”. He also told Izuku not to look down on him. Katsuki then turns and walks away, as Izuku watches him with a glad expression on his face. Upon their next meeting, instead of Katsuki harassing Izuku as per usual, he instead merely threatens him, acknowledging that Izuku's bravery saved his life, and in an indirect way, thanking him.

Izuku also mentioned that ever since this incident, Katsuki had never physically harassed him ever again.

After receiving One for All from All Might, their relationship becomes even more complicated through Katsuki's misunderstandings of the Quirk's origin.

During their first training session, Katsuki felt betrayed when he saw Izuku activating his newfound quirk during the ball throwing portion, believing that Izuku had been keeping his quirk a secret since they were children. He had to be restrained by Aizawa as he understandably charged at and demanded answers from Izuku. Having promised All Might that he would keep One for All a secret, Izuku had to leave Katsuki in the dark about the situation, unknowingly making Katsuki even more upset about being believably mocked and betrayed by his childhood friend.

Later on, after the Hero vs. Villain fight with All Might, Izuku wakes up at the nurse's room and returns to his classroom to find that Katsuki had left and rushes to find him, despite his friends telling him to wait. Izuku confronts him, assuring that he has never deceived him and spills the fact that his quirk is a ”borrowed power”, deciding not to mention All Might's involvement just yet. He states that he will however make this borrowed power his own and eventually surpass Katsuki by becoming stronger. This causes Katsuki, despite not understanding exactly what Izuku meant, to cry out in frustration, tears forming in his eyes as he yells at Izuku to buck up and train hard as well, determined that he will be number one. This is the first time we see Katsuki emotionally open up to Izuku despite their tainted past, and this theme continues under the influence of One For All.

Season 2

In season 2, episode 37 (Chapters 61-65), Izuku is paired up with Katsuki for their final exam, much to each other's dismay. At the start, Katsuki decides to take the lead and ignore Izuku's suggestions of pairing up and avoiding a fight with All Might, well aware of the true extent of his power. Disregarding the idea of backing down from a fight, Katsuki responds by saying that he'll score higher if he defeats All Might; reinforcing his desire to win. Izuku continues to argue against this, to which Katsuki angrily lashes out and punches him, resulting in Izuku landing backwards. As Katsuki walks away, demanding Izuku to not speak to him, Izuku tries once more to make him reconsider; resulting in them shouting at each other, Izuku angrily yelling that this is why they can never have "normal conversations."

81D46E22-1257-4FF5-A030-89B2BBFCA7C2

Ending panel of Season 3 Ep 17: Class 1A’s “Twin Stars”

All Might then appears, using a Texas Smash down the main street, causing the pair to be blown away. Acting as the villain, All Might menacingly states that the two should take the exam seriously, causing them to react by attacking haphazardly in any way they can. As the exam relies on teamwork, it goes badly for the two of them as the fight progresses, All Might easily managing to outsmart and attack both students without bother.

After All Might pins Izuku under a fence and delivers a punch to Katsuki's gut, All Might tells Katsuki that he has much room for him to grow as a hero, understanding that he is infuriated by Izuku's sudden immense improvement upon gaining his Quirk. Weakly, Katsuki replies: "If you're saying I have to rely on [Izuku's] help, then I'd rather lose."

As All Might prepares to finish off Katsuki, Izuku breaks away from the fence in anger and punches Katsuki in the face, saying "Don't you say you'd rather lose!" He carries Katsuki away to an alleyway whilst All Might is distracted and admits to himself that he can't come up with a plan to pass the exam. As Katsuki is being carried, his mind repeats the words Izuku said to him, triggering a flashback to when the two when they were younger in which Katsuki is scaring away two older children after they caused trouble with him. Obviously scuffed up from the encounter, he scoffs that "the most amazing hero always wins in the end," as Izuku watches on in awe from behind a tree.

Back in the present day, Katsuki yells at Izuku to put him down, blasting out of his grasp. Annoyed at being reminded by his own words, he blasts the wall next to Izuku's shoulder in a kabedon-esque manner (anime only), stating that in order to escape they have to fight All Might.

Katsuki comes up with a plan to use maximum firepower on All Might in order to create distance between them. He firstly runs out of the alleyway and distracts All Might, who is initially unimpressed and believes it to be a sneak attack. Katsuki then cries out to Izuku, yelling for him to "shoot" as Izuku appears behind All Might and points at him with one of Katsuki's gauntlets. He fires the gauntlet at All Might, apologizing as he does so, catching him off guard. It appears that the plan had worked, seeing no trace of All Might after the collision, until he reappears unharmed and breaks both of Katsuki's gauntlets.

Another fight ensues, chipping away at Katsuki as his ability weakens through use of his Quirk sparing the gauntlets. At one point, All Might even goes as far as to using New Hampshire Smash directly into Izuku's back, causing him immense pain and emphasizing their struggle at this point in the battle. Katsuki, infuriatingly at terms with their current status in the battle, decides his last option is to throw Izuku towards the exit to gain their win. As All Might attempts to stop Izuku, Katsuki comes in to defend his teammate and blasts All Might, who avoids this attack and drags Katsuki to the ground. 

Izuku, aware of Katsuki's state, runs back to rescue him so that they can pass together, successfully delivering an attack to All Might that allows him to sweep an unconscious Katsuki under his arm and aim for the exit. He makes it through and therefore wins them the pass. Although Izuku could have easily gained them the win by making his way there alone, he made the conscious decided to go back for his friend, not wanting to leave him behind. 

This fight is one of the first major advances in the pair's relationship. It demonstrates their ability to work as a team, the true impact of Izuku's words on Katsuki, and ultimately foreshadows the possibility of them working as a hero duo in the future. 

Season 3

In season three, Izuku pulls together a quick team after a harrowing fight with Muscular that left both of his arms shattered and furiously pursued the villain Compressor, who was holding onto the compressed forms of both Tokoyami and Katsuki . They rescue Tokoyami but a portal opens up and pulls Katsuki in and Izuku desperately tries to reach him. He falls short with the portal closing and Katsuki's broken words being "Stay back, Deku." Deku falls to the ground and lets out a loud scream of anguish before passing out.

At the hospital, Izuku regains consciousness and begins to cry at how he couldn't reach him in time. Izuku and a few other classmates sneak out to go rescue Bakugou. While they are actually performing the rescue, Izuku seems to understand how Katsuki felt about the situation and was able to construct a plan that worked perfectly.

The episode "Deku Vs. Kacchan 2" revolves around Katsuki confronting Izuku about his quirk and how he got it from All Might. He then attempts to fight Izuku, who refused to resort to violence until he sees that he's "the only one who can accept Kacchan's feelings".

9CC10546-D10F-469D-8897-D468B4836815

Izuku, during “Deku Vs. Kacchan 2”, talking about Katsuki,

During the beginning of battle, as they are fighting, Katsuki reveals to Izuku that he had been burdened by the thought of being the fall of All Might and that even if he wanted to forget about it, it would always come back to him - once again opening up to Izuku emotionally. After officially accepting Katsuki's challenge, Izuku takes a second to compliment Katsuki's strength: "I know I'm stating the obvious, but you're really getting stronger". This triggers Katsuki to believe Izuku was scheming one of his tricks again and reveals that never knows what Izuku is thinking and that his attitude as if he was looking down on him and thinking he was better than him ever since they were kids was unbearable. Izuku realizes that this was how Katsuki had felt this entire time, and understands why he'd bullied him for so long.

Izuku counters Katsuki's feelings with his own, telling him that "to the same extent of all your unpleasant traits, your sheer amazingness at everything you do was so brilliant to me, it was blinding!" He then begins to get a little emotional and charges at Katsuki, "You, who had so many things that I never had... to me, you were an amazing, inspiring person, who was even closer to me than All Might!". And that was the reason he'd always chased after Katsuki. After a few hard kicks and punches, Izuku, in his mind, says "When my feeling of 'I need to win!' is stronger than my feeling of 'I need to rescue!', I'll carelessly run my mouth and say bad things." "And though that's supposed to be a part of me I rather dislike, in the end, in my mind, you're the image of 'victory'." This means that when Izuku's desire to win is stronger than his motive to save, he will begin to act more like Katsuki, because Katsuki is his "image of victory".

The two battle for the rest of the episode, ending in Katsuki's victory and All Might interfering afterwards. He tells Katsuki about the origins of One For All and his successor is Izuku and Katsuki promises to stay quiet. This becomes a secret the three of them share. All Might proclaims that the two have now become proper rivals after they've sorted out their feelings. Katsuki even gives advice to Izuku after he asks how his shoot style was, evidence of how the bond between them is slowly rekindling.

As children, Izuku and Katsuki are seen sharing an intense interest in Pro Heroes, especially in All Might himself, as they both see him to be a role-model in the way he both wins against villains and rescues those in need, all whilst doing it with a smile. These divided characteristics are what All Might tells Izuku and Katsuki are needed to be the ideal hero, and, if the two can "recognise each other and honestly raise each other up", then the pair can "become the best heroes, who both win and rescue." 

All Might himself seems to greatly approve of Izuku and Katsuki's friendship, despite the way Katsuki outwardly expresses himself. In chapter 209, after Izuku tells Katsuki he'll catch up to him, All Might says, "that's a good friend you've got," in regards to Katsuki.

Two Heroes

In My Hero Academia: Two Heroes movie, although non-canonical, provides one scene where Katsuki is shown to truly care about Izuku's wellbeing. At the end of the final fight, there is a scene where it becomes unclear as to whether Izuku will make it out alive - showing the class onlooking in fear, including Katsuki. Once Izuku is shown to be victorious, we are shown Katsuki smiling as he makes his appearance. Shouto notices this and makes a knowing face towards him, to which Katsuki scoffs in response and looks away, walking off from the rest.

Manga

In chapter 210, Izuku unlocks the power of the Black Whip quirk as a result of his anger towards Monoma Neito's comment regarding Bakugou: "If you're [Bakugou's] friend, then tell me this. How can Bakugou-kun smile so confidently? Especially since he's the reason for the demise of the symbol of peace!". It is suggested later that this quirk manifests itself during an extreme emotional response, further reinforcing just how furious Izuku was at Monoma's attack on Bakugou.

During chapter 217, the two discuss One for All with All Might, with the pair now comfortable enough to sit on the same couch and have a normal conversation. Katsuki and Izuku are also seen training together in order to help Izuku master his newfound Black Whip quirk.

Fanon

In the Eastern side of the fan base, BakuDeku is arguably the most popular ship among fans due to their complex and interesting relationship and how their interactions explore the classic rival/childhood friends trope. 

In the Western community, the pairing is still widely appreciated, however some believe the two have an abusive relationship due to Katsuki's personal issues surrounding his inability to express himself without using anger and Izuku's past inability to defend himself. Despite this opinion, the pair are undoubtably gradually repairing their relationship as the story continues, with Bakugou learning to accept Izuku for who he is and being a constant positive presence during the hardships they face.

On AO3, BakuDeku is the most written ship for both Katsuki and Izuku and in the My Hero Academia tag.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Izuku/Katsuki tag on AO3
Izuku/Katsuki tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

Bakudeku posts on Tumblr

Trivia

  • The term 'Wonder Duo' comes from a mistranslation where All Might calls Izuku and Katsuki the same name before they team up to fight him in chapter 61. It has since become a popular ship name.
  • There are several instances where the pair have been referenced to as 'stars', mainly in fanon. On April 20th 2018, a fan of the pair purchased an acre of the moon and named it after Bakugou on his birthday as a gift for Horikoshi. Not long after, a star was also named after Bakugou, along with another named after Izuku. In chapter 106 of the manga, a rough translation has the two described as the 'Twin Stars of Class 1-A'.
  • On July 20th 2018, a Twitter announcement on the My Hero Academia: Two Heroes account asked all My Hero Academia fans to vote for their favorite pair in the show, and the duo that wins would get their character colors shone on Kyoto Tower for promotion to the release of the movie. The poll ended on August 1st, crowning BakuDeku first place with over a whopping one million votes. Izuku's vibrant green and Bakugou's fiery orange lit up Japan's evening sky, proudly glowing in unison.
  • A Chinese fanmade visual novel was developed by creator Ego and artist Ten featuring a plot on Izuku and Katsuki getting together. There are three endings: Normal, Good, and True. Warning: The true ending features explicit content. There are both English and Chinese versions of this game.
  • In a set of official licensed poker cards for the series, Katsuki and Izuku represent the King of Hearts.
  • The pair have an instrumental song composed after them titled 'Katsuki and Izuku', which contains a mix of their signature tracks 'You Say Run' and 'Bombing King'.
  • Season 2's second ending, Datte Atashi no Hero ('Because You're My Hero' in English), was written by LiSA, who confirmed that the song's lyrics are written to represent Izuku‘s genuine feelings towards Katsuki.
    • Some of the song's lines translate to "you give me courage", "when I see those eyes, I can start running too!" and "I want to try and look at the goal that's only yours and mine." The "when I see those eyes" line plays as the ending shows Izuku and Katsuki looking at each other before teaming up to fight, originally against working together; metaphorical for their relationship growing in the series.
  • BakuDeku has been featured on Fandometrics' most reblogged ships list several times; it was the eighth most reblogged ship the week ending March 2nd, 2020[1].
  • In the chapter cover page of Chapter 214 featuring the continued medieval spinoff, Katsuki and Izuku are wielding two halves of one sword.

Gallery

References

Navigation

BNHA anime title
SHIPS het AoyaChakoAwaMomoBakuCamieBakuJirouBakuMeiBakuMeliBakuMinaBakuTogaBakuToruCloudNightDabiMagneDekuJirouDekuMeliDekunetteEnjiReiEraserJokeExplosive Hot-HeadsFire&IceGentleBravaGrapeFrogHuwumiIidaCamieIidaKendoIidaMeiIidaMomoIidaOchaIidaTsuyuIzuMeiIzuMinaIzuMomoIzuNezuIzuOchaKacchakoKamiChakoKamiJirouKamiMinaKamiMomoKamiTogaKatsuyuKiriChakoKiriJirouKiriMinaKuroMoriKyoJiLadyHawksMidoTsuyuMinaKojiMinaNetaMinaYamaMiruHawksMomoBakuMomoNetaMonoKendoMt. KamuiNejiMiriNejiTamaOjiToruSatoJirouSeroCamieSeroMinaSetsugouShingameShinMomoShinReiShishiCamieShojiMinaShoJirouSniperHaulTanOchaTenFuyuTetsuKendoTodoCamieTodoChakoTodoMomoTodoNejiTogaDabiTogaDekuTogaWiceTokoMinaTokoTsuyuToshInkoTsubAsui
slash AllMicBakuDekuBakuGaruBakuKamiBakuRakiBakuSeroDabiTenDaveMightDekuLloydDekuNetaDekuYamaEndHawksEraserCloudEraserMicEraserMightGojHawksHanzoNaraHot WingsIidaBakuIidaYamaIiDekuIiShojiInaTodoIzuTanKamiDekuKaminetaKamiSeroKiriBakuKiriDekuKiriKamiKiriSatoKiriSeroKiriTamaKiriTetsuKojiShojiKoSenKudoIchiKuroyamiMiriDekuMiriTamaMonoIidaMonoShinMonowaseOjiKamiOjiSatoOjiShojiRikojiRodyDekuSatoBakuSeroIidaSeroRokiShigaDabiShigaDekuShinBakuShinDekuShinIidaShinKamiShinOjiSirMightSogaDabiSpinarakiTamaBakuTamaDekuTetsugouTetsuJuzoTodoBakuTodoDekuTodoIidaTodoKamiTodoKiriTodoShojiTodoZukoTokoBakuTokoIidaTokoKoudaTokoShojiTokoYamaTwiceHawks
femslash CamieMinaItsuYuiJiroKureJokeNightMeiLissaMeliChakoMinaJirouMinaMomoMinaOchaMinaTsuyuMiruYumiMomochakoMomoJirouMomoKendoMt. NightNejiYuyuNezuchakoOchaMeiRyuNejiSaiMomoTogaMinaTogachakoTogaTsuyuToruMinaTsubukoTsuChakoTsuJirou
poly BakuDekuChakoBakuKiriMiriTamaEndDabiHawksEraserNightMicHimiTsuChakoIiSaiMomoKamiMomoJirouKamiToruYamaKiriBakuKamiKiriBakuMinaKiriDekuBakuOchaHimiDekuOchaIiDekuShinOjiToruThe Big ThreeTodoBakuDekuTodoBakuKiriCamieTodoBakuKiriDekuTodoDekuChakoTodoIiDekuTodoKacchako
friendship Bakugou Rescue SquadBakusquadDekusquadElectric PalsEraserDekuFaTamaFat Gum AgencyGirl PowerIzuEriMiriEriMonoEriRooftop SquadTokoHawksUA Band
family Aizawa FamilyBakugou FamilyDabiTodoDadMightDadzawa & ShinsonDad For OneEndDabiFailed CreationsIida BrothersKaiEriMidoriya FamilyParanormal TwinsSirMillionTenMomoTodoroki FamilyTogaDomaToyatsuoWonder Family
cargoship Dark BirdTamaWall
CHARACTERS male Shota AizawaTamaki AmajikiYuga AoyamaKatsuki BakugouTenya IidaDenki KaminariEijiro KirishimaKoji KodaIzuku MidoriyaMinoru MinetaNeito MonomaMashirao Ojiro‎‎Rikido SatoHanta SeroTomura ShigarakiHitoshi ShinsoMezo ShojiKeigo TakamiMirio TogataEnji TodorokiShoto TodorokiToya TodorokiFumikage TokoyamiToshinori YagiHizashi Yamada
female Mina AshidoTsuyu AsuiEriNejire HadouToru HagakureMei HatsumeKyoka JiroNemuri KayamaItsuka KendoFuyumi TodorokiHimiko TogaOchako UrarakaCamie UtsushimiMomo Yaoyorozu