The shipping/pairing thread nobody asked! aka What's your favorite BnHA ship/pair?

Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya are foils of each other.
To clear some questions regarding the usage of the word “foil” here, I’m speaking of the traditional literary term.
A foil in literature is a character that exhibits qualities that highlight and contrast with another character as means of highlighting the traits of that particular character through their personality, actions, etc.
Usually this is the case with the rival of the protagonist, and so forth.
Alright, so. With this in mind…
I value the complexities in character dynamics and the more introspective basis of relationships above everything else when deciding whether or not I ship two characters. So, the contrast between Izuku and Katsuki’s personalities and ambitions are fascinating to me, and as a result, I fell in love with their dynamic as characters outside of the realm of romantic potential.
I’ll get more into the “romantic potential” part later. But, honestly, that part of the context is only the footnote to what I love about these two.
Katsuki and Izuku, despite their differences, are essentially quite similar in what they wish to achieve as characters in their universe.
I’ll go through both characters individually with their bullet point contrasts that I can think of at the moment.

Katsuki Bakugou is…



He is egotistical, yet insecure.
He is reckless, yet he is methodical.
He’s aggressive, yet he’s meticulous.
He appears like a typical delinquent, but he’s undoubtedly very intelligent.
He’s straightforward and brash, yet standoffish and focused.
He is entitled, yet an extremely hard worker.
He’s presumptuous and self-indulgent, and believes his skills and himself are all he needs.
He is, essentially, the most insecure when it comes to Izuku due to their connection and history. His pride is, ultimately, his downfall.

Now, by contrast, we have Izuku.

Izuku Midoriya is…



He is selfless, yet insecure.
He is analytical, yet he, too, can be reckless.
He lacks self-preservation, but sees it as a necessary strength, rather than a roadblock.
He is emotional, yet also quite meticulous.
He is an extremely hard worker, yet doesn’t believe he deserves anything worthy of praise.
He believes his achievements are based on luck rather than skill, and that he can only achieve his dreams based on what others have done for him.
He is too damaging to his own self-confidence for his own good and far too willing to appraise the ego of characters like Katsuki to allow himself room to appreciate his own accomplishments.

Ah. There are many, many more to choose from than just these. I could go on about that particular listing for hours. But, I won’t.
With this all being said, Izuku is constantly chasing after Katsuki in the beginning. He yearns for his approval, for his attention, because of his intense admiration and fondness of his friend. Katsuki, however, could not care less and bullies Izuku on top of saying honestly the most horrible things.
There is one thing I want to make clear about this particular ship. I understand the concerns with the abusive context and I’m never going to defend Katsuki’s actions towards Izuku because they are, most definitely, extreme.
It’s tragic, actually, how Izuku is willing to be patient with Katsuki and still consider him to be a valuable person in his life and even a close friend. Which, at this moment, they are not.
That being said… I find it tragic, but all the more admirable of a character like Izuku to ultimately admit that what Katsuki has said and done is truly horrible (taken in context from both the manga and anime) and that he is willing to acknowledge Katsuki as a “jerk,” but also as someone who is, despite all of that, very talented and driven.
Izuku is, himself, driven and ambitious. His reasonings for becoming a hero and Katsuki wishing to become a hero are on polar opposite ends, yet their drives, their passion, their vigor are so incredibly similar in length that I can hardly see that matched in any way by other character dynamics in this series.
And that’s what I love the most about them in general, romantic context aside.
Now, still, the extremely damaged history is also what makes this ship so incredibly complicated. And I love that about it.
What I want in this ship is to see growth, forgiveness, change, reluctant acceptance, and understanding between two characters who have always been on the same spectrum, but have never acquired the true level of insight to reach that same wavelength.
Katsuki and Izuku could never have a successful relationship at their current age, under their current circumstances, and without any forgiveness or acceptance taking place.
The road to trusting and respecting one another is long, torturous, and riddled with pain and learning. It takes time, it takes energy, and by applying the romantic context to these two characters outside of their already marvelous and fascinating (albeit saddening) dynamic, it allows a new perspective to take place.
This, my friend, is a perspective that requires no easy path.
I love that Izuku has such incredible faith in Katsuki and will always want to protect him or defend him at the drop of a hat. I love that we’re slowly seeing Katsuki’s growing respect and acceptance of Izuku as a person in the series, and the incredibly slow and (dare I say, explosive) build to their potential friendship. I love that we’re able to see the unfolding complexities and hurt and anger and passion that have driven them apart with blinded perspectives on both sides.