Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia is a legendary manga series that focuses primarily on a battle between Heroes and Villains in Japan. That said, this story was set from the very beginning in a high school setting, which meant that elements of romance were impossible for the author to avoid. Kohei Horikoshi himself goes on to state that it would be unjust for him not to tackle elements of romance in his story, which is what eventually led to the release of an extra My Hero Academia chapter with the final volume of the series.
With this extra volume chapter being adapted into Episode 171 on May 2, 2026, My Hero Academia has essentially carved out a new romance plotline for its Hero and Heroine. In doing so, it marked the death of a popular fan couple — Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya. These two have long been pushed to end up together by fans against the norm in shonen stories, but unfortunately, they ended up falling prey to the standard romance trope in the magazine as well.
My Hero Academia Creator Horikoshi Killed The Idea of Bakugo and Deku As A Couple
When it comes to stories set in high school settings, it is no surprise to know that fans all over the world absolutely love the idea of romance. These stories inherently see a lot of students working together and forging important bonds with each other on a daily basis, and as such, it is only natural for them to develop feelings for one another. My Hero Academia author Kohei Horikoshi himself stated that it would be unjust for him not to dabble with the idea of romance, since his story was set in a high school setting. As such, he had to give the fans something, which is why he eventually decided to tackle the concept of love in his extra chapter released with My Hero Academia Volume 42 on December 4, 2024.
Almost two years later, this extra chapter was adapted into My Hero Academia Chapter 1, Episode 171, on May 2, 2026. It finally established the couple of Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka as the two once again reunited and made their feelings of wanting more than just a friendship with each other clear.
Question: Chapter 431 focuses on Deku and Ochako. In My Hero Academia, there wasn’t much focus on romance; was there any reason for that?
Horikoshi: Instead of wanting to portray romance in the story, I just wanted to show the contrast between Ochako and Toga with their views on love. Since romance is a very strong stimulus, as soon as you include it in the story, that’s all anyone is going to talk about, so I deliberately avoided adding it to the story.
However, since the setting of the series is at school after all, it would be rather dishonest to completely ignore romance, so it was pretty hard to think of a balance.
Thankfully, since Deku was always doing other things, he was unaware of any romantic feelings, and it turned out to be a good thing for me [since Horikoshi didn’t want to include romance in the main plot].
However, when Chapter 394 came around, the topics [discussed by Toga and Ochako] did touch upon that stimulus called love, so I knew that it would be strange not to follow up on that point later in the story, which is why I chose to write about it.
I never thought that romance would go well with the theme of the story of My Hero Academia, which is “to save and be saved,” nor would it make sense to include it in “the story of how we all became Heroes.” So that’s why I decided to touch upon it in an epilogue, like a postscript of sorts.
However, rather than depicting romance itself, I wanted to depict love in a form as part of something even greater, but I wonder how it turned out?
— Kohei Horikoshi explains his take on Deku and Ochaco’s romance
Although this episode was beautiful and marked the birth of a new relationship, it was also sad for another set of fans who wanted Izuku Midoriya and Bakugo to end up together desperately. For years, Izuku and Bakugo have developed their bond and forged what can easily be described as the best relationship in the entire series. Kohei Horikoshi has written the bond between these two characters brilliantly and fleshed them both out on a consistent basis, which is something that cannot be said for Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka.
“I’ve been wanting to talk more with you, Uraraka-san! Going forward too, I want more with you!” — Izuku and Ochaco become official, My Hero Academia Chapter #431
It is because of this extra care that many fans ended up shipping these two characters together, but unfortunately, the concept of Izuku and Bakugo as a couple is now confirmed to have died. There was a very low chance of these two characters ending up together to begin with because Shonen Jump, as a series, is aimed at kids, and romance in general is not involved. As such, most fans expected Izuku Midoriya to either not have any romantic implications at the end or end up with Ochaco Uraraka, and it is the latter that ended up happening.
Why Izuku And Ochaco Ended Up Together Instead
Even though Izuku Midoriya and Bakugo were tipped by fans to end up together by the end of My Hero Academia, the author had different ideas right from the get-go. Kohei Horikoshi set up a romance between Izuku and Ochaco from the very beginning of the series. Izuku’s love for Ochaco Uraraka was clear from the get-go, and the love was reciprocated for him quite early on in the series as well. Unlike many other shonen series, couples weren’t randomly formed at the end of the series with no build-up. For Izuku and Ochaco, this build-up was there from the very beginning, so fans cannot complain about this couple being formed at the end of the series in a canonical manner.
Ochaco Uraraka’s entire character arc was tied together with her love for Izuku Midoriya and accepting her own feelings. While Izuku’s primary character arc did not have much to do with Ochaco, his feelings for her were clear for us to see from the very beginning of the series. The two also shared some brilliant moments throughout the run of My Hero Academia. Naturally, given that Horikoshi invested so much in this couple, they eventually became canon with the extra chapter release of the series. In August 2026, Horikoshi’s one-shot chapter focusing on Eri gave us another look at both Izuku and Ochaco once more.
Bakugo And Deku Are Closer Than Ever Before In MHA
While Bakugo and Deku did not end up together in My Hero Academia, their relationship has pushed them closer to each other than ever before. Bakugo Katsuki’s redemption arc has pushed him incredibly close to Izuku, and the two are now the best of friends, always shielding each other’s backs. In fact, it was Bakugo who was primarily responsible for Izuku becoming a Hero again, and that once again goes to show the bond these two share with each other.
Furthermore, Izuku’s return to being a Pro Hero pushed Bakugo to jump from the Number 15 spot in the Hero Billboard Chart to Number 5, just behind his friend and rival. After Bakugo’s redemption journey, these two understand each other on a much deeper level, and their bond couldn’t be better. For what it’s worth, this bond is only going to grow even deeper in the future releases of My Hero Academia and will be developed far more than any other relationship in the series. Regardless of canon labels, Izuku and Bakugo’s relationship will always be special for fans all over the world, no matter which way they interpret it, and that is something no one can ever take away from them.
My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi is available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.