As the My Hero Academia manga makes its way toward its conclusion, with the anime following a bit behind with the recent launch of season 7, let’s take a look back at the series’ greatest ships. They all deserve love. Except for Mineta.
10. Nomu x Nomu x Nomu x Nomu
Hear me out. That phrase is often repeated in discussions about the Nomu. Despite their monstrous looks, these chimerical horrors can sometimes be … kinda hot. I mean, just look at the Nomu that All Might fought. His body was absolute tea. Earl Grey. Oolong. Irish Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But while many in the My Hero Aacademia community have attempted to ship Nomu with other characters, it feels wrong for all the reasons. So my solution? Ship them with each other! It’s one massive polyamorous Nomusexual polycule! Any ship with a Nomu is cursed. Why not curse them with each other?
9. Jiro x Kaminari
Now that the thorny question of the Nomu are out of the way, we can move back into wholesome territory. And who could be more wholesome than Jiro and Kaminari? There’s more electricity between this pair than Kaminari has in his whole body! Their banter is constant. They’re always around each other. Sure, if you asked either of them, they’d probably be like “absolutely not,” but you know, sometimes it takes a bird’s eye view to see these things as they are. And Jiro and Kaminari? A little birdy told me it’s a match made in heaven.
8. Toga x Dabi
As far as toxic, cursed, should never see the light of day ships go, Toga x Dabi is relatively tame. I’ve seen HORRORS on My Hero Academia shipping tier lists, the likes of which are so criminally (sometimes actually criminal) wrong that I can’t bear repeating them. Toga and Dabi are bad, nasty people, but even bad, nasty people deserve a little love, right? Maybe not, but these villains would be perfect for one another. They’re already coworkers. They problem solve well together. They compliment each other’s abilities. Their goals are aligned. They’re headed in similar directions in life (jail). These two are practically made for each other, in hell.
7. Momo x Todoroki
Momo and Todoroki could actually happen. The respect is there. The admiration is there. All the pair needs now is a little spark to light things up. C’mon Todoroki, use your quirk to make it happen. Momo has always had a soft spot for Todoroki, and has looked up to him ever since she started training to be a hero. Todoroki has a similar respect for Momo. After all, he was one of the people who voted for her to be class president. Pair that with how well they worked together when partnered up during the exams and you have a fan-favorite ship that is sailing closer and closer to Canon Island.
6. Mina x Kirishima
C’mon. These two are around each other all. The. Time. You’re telling me that all they do is “study” during the copious amounts of time they spend with one another? Sure. Whatever. Mina and Kirishima work well with each other because they motivate each other. Alone, the two of them tend to fall to the bottom of the class and get lost in the shuffle, but these two are able to energize each other into working hard and being the best they can be. What more can you ask for in a partner than someone who is always in your corner? Who pushes you to do more than you think you can? We all need someone like that, and Mina and Kirishima are lucky to have found it in each other.
5. Eraserhead x Present Mic
Eraserhead and Present Mic are less of a black cat/golden retriever pairing and more of a black cat/yappy Pomeranian pairing, but they’re just perfect for one another. Quiet and loud. Extroverted and introverted. Goofy and serious. They’re a great ship because they are just plain FUN to imagine together. Just think of the romantic hi-jinks. Besides, they go WAY back. Best friends for a long time. You don’t think that something might have happened when their hormones were firing on all cylinders in their high school days? I do. The fans do. This ship is S-tier.
4. Ochaco x Tsuyu
The ultimate Sapphic pair. Ochaco is often shipped with Midoriya due to their Main Protagonist/Best Girl relationship. But c’mon. That’s boring. Besides, you can’t tell me that the fires of lesbian loves aren’t slowly igniting in these girls’ hearts. They are ALWAYS together. They just so happen to conveniently get the same work study job? No, something is afoot. Besides, look at how much fun they have together! And they HOLD HANDS while doing it! It’s just gals being pals, lesser minds would say. Not in 2024 it’s not. We know better than that.
3. All Might & Inko
Midoriya needs a dad. All Might has served the young hero as a role model and surrogate father figure, but it’s time that he becomes his REAL father. Inko and All Might have had almost no scenes together, but they are already bonded over their mutual parental love of Midoriya. Besides, how could Inko say no to All Might? He’s irresistible. Heroic. Strong. Kind. Brave. Good. Totally ripped. Someone just needs to set them up, for the sake of Midoriya, the fandom, and the free world.
2. Midoriya x Bakugo x Todoroki
Midoriya x Bakugo is a cursed ship. It doesn’t work. Sure, it’s fun for some enemies-to-lovers fics here and there, but these two could never, ever last in real life—alone, at least. But with Todoroki to offset their turbulent emotions? This could be the ultimate My Hero Academia Power Throuple. Bakugo is the fire to Midoriya’s ice, and Todoroki is a balance of the two! Literally! Sure, it means that Todoroki is gonna have to do the weight of the emotional labor in the relationship, and it will likely all fall apart anyway, but stop thinking like that and start thinking about how cute it would be for the three weeks their relationship would last.
1. Mineta x Absolutely No One
Shipping the cast of My Hero Academia is a complicated task. There are so many options, so many different opinions, but if there’s one opinion we can all agree on, it’s that this little bastard deserves to be shipped with nothing but pain and suffering. Mineta is gross. He’s a total misogynist and is constantly being creepy and condescending towards the girls in his class. While the rest of his cohort spends their time working on developing their abilities, all this kid worries about is developing plans to ogle his classmates’ bodies. Mineta has some serious character growth to do before he’s ready to be in a relationship with anyone, and I don’t think that character growth is gonna happen. Mineta x Being Forever Alone is a God-tier ship.
