Why Katsuki, Izuku make terrible couple

By Ji'Miyriah B.

There are a lot of people who watch anime in Airport High School and who like to make comments about the couplings  between characters. One such pair of characters are Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya, two childhood friends and rivals from the anime My Hero Academia who later become romantically involved.  Some people like Katsuki and Izuku as a couple. I personally do not like it.

First, Katsuki told Izuku to commit suicide. One example is the dialogue from the My Hero Academia Manga from what Katsuki said to Izuku. He told Izuku to ¨Take a swan dive off the roof´. According to the  World Health Organization, over 720,000 people die due to suicide each year, and suicide is a third causing death among 15-29 year olds. Katsuki’s comments to Izuku are therefore problematic for two reasons.  One, it makes light of a serious mental health crisis to joke about killing oneself.  Two, there is the added element of verbal abuse and getting with someone who is verbally abusive, which is another big problem in today’s world. Characters in the film should not set the example that it’s ok to have a romantic relationship with someone who says mean stuff like that to you.  So, it has been shown that Katsuki is verbally abusive to Izuku by telling her to kill herself, and it has been shown that suicide is nothing to joke about or to encourage, as the statistic from WHO demonstrates.  

Second, Katsuki bullied Izuku as they were children. One example is from the My Hero Academia Manga how Katsuki hit Izuku when he fell in the water even though Izuku was trying to help him up when they were 5. According to the  Monique Burr Foundation for Children is that 13 million students get bullied a year. 1 in 3 students get bullied. Like with my previous reason of not liking the pairing of Katsuki and Izuku because it shows that falling in love with an abuser is acceptable, the same logic applies with the bullying. 

Last but not least, Katsuki tried to kill Izuku with his superpower a couple times. One example from the My Hero Academia Manga is when he figured he had a superpower after Izuku did not have a superpower for a little over 10 years. He was trying to force use his superpowers as Izuku did not want to. You should not have a romantic relationship with someone who literally has tried in the past to kill you.

Despite having the reasons on why Katsuki and Izuku are not a good couple, some people might disagree with me and say Katsuki and Izuku are a good couple. They might say that because Katsuki develops good character at the end of the manga and that enemies to lovers also exist. However, Katsuki and Izuku are barely friends as it is but as lovers? They can not just forget the past as they are trying to repair their relationship from that past. At the end of the manga it is obvious they have no intention of being lovers but being friends like they used to be.

I was curious if anyone else at Airport agreed with me. Serena M. is a senior at AHS who has watched a couple anime including this anime and is quoted saying, ¨Izuku got severely bullied by Katsuki and that dynamic is unhealthily romanticized. Which is a common trope in gay couples.¨

Zion P., a freshman at AHS who loves anime and has watched a lot including this one, is quoted as saying, ¨Katsuki and Izuku should have never even been a thought of for a couple. Katsuki has done horrible things to Izuku and I don't understand why they are being shipped. They are better as fighting partners¨.

In conclusion, Katsuki and Izuku will never be a good couple as Katsuki told him to kill himself, then bullied Izuku most of his life, and tried to kill him with his powers. These reasons show that Katsuki and Izuku are better off trying to repair their relationship as friends and not give into stereotypes. You can learn more about My Hero Academia on Crunchyroll.