Deku and Bakugo have one of the most complicated and intense relationships in My Hero Academia. These childhood friends have a difficult dynamic, which stems from a misunderstanding in how they view each other.
Since they enrolled at U.A., it's apparent that Deku has had a positive influence on Bakugo. Their long history and Deku's refusal to give up on Bakugo have helped the latter develop immensely once he was able to get past his own insecurities. Bakugo is fortunate to have someone like Deku in his life who constantly pushes him to be better.
10 Deku Understands Bakugo's Complicated Emotions
The major fight between Bakugo and Deku is one of the most emotionally-charged conflicts in the series. This fight initiated by Bakugo doesn't seem too out of character at first — until it's revealed why he started it in the first place.
Bakugo angrily expresses the immense guilt he's been suppressing over the end of All Might's career and his own weaknesses and failures, telling Deku that he doesn't know how to release these emotions. Deku recognizes that Bakugo is trying to use the fight not just as a way to compare them against each other, but as a way for Bakugo to process the difficult feelings he's been holding in. In this way, Deku helps Bakugo to deal with these emotions and acknowledge what's been holding him back.
9 He Shows Bakugo How To Respect Their Classmates
One way Deku and Bakugo have differed from each other from the beginning is their treatment of their classmates. While Deku has always been kind, Bakugo is more condescending. However, this behavior does change, likely because Deku, someone Bakugo has always looked down on, finally catches up to him.
This development forces Bakugo to recognize that many of his classmates have just as much potential as him in terms of talent and ability. While he still carries the same angry exterior, it's obvious that he comes to respect several of his classmates, which even Deku points out during the Kamino Ward incident. Plus, Bakugo even acknowledges Deku's success later in the series and how he's made his borrowed Quirk his own. In this way, Deku helps him value and respect their classmates in a way Bakugo never had previously.
8 The Young Heroes Share A Complicated But True Friendship
Bakugo and Deku's relationship hasn't been a simple one as they've grown up. Bakugo constantly bullied Deku, going to extreme lengths at points. Even so, Deku has always strived to show him that they're friends.
Deku has always believed in Bakugo, and it's this faith that helps Bakugo get past his own insecurities. Deku's persistence helps Bakugo understand friendship better, allowing him to start developing bonds with other classmates. Despite their rocky past, Deku continues to be a steady presence, standing at his side as Bakugo tries to grow.
7 Bakugo Learns The Healthier Side Of Competition
Throughout the series, Bakugo has always been an extremely competitive person who's obsessed with the idea of a perfect victory. His frustration is clear in the incidents he deems failures or unfair, like his first fight against Deku and his victory over Todoroki at the Sports Festival.
However, as the boys connect again, this often violent and compulsive competitive streak evolves into something much healthier. Instead of obsessing over the need to win, Bakugo becomes more concerned with pushing himself to do better, challenging Deku so they can both become stronger. Fans even get to see Deku and Bakugo taunt each other as friends in the latest season, showing their now-healthier competitiveness.
6 Thanks To Deku, Bakugo Learns To Adapt His Fighting Style
Since his first fight with Deku, Bakugo's go-to attack has always been from his right arm. While he has developed his Quirk into new styles and techniques, that initial move had not really changed until Ground Beta.
At the start of this fight, Deku makes a comment to himself about how Bakugo always starts fights the same way as he watches and prepares for Bakugo to do so — only for Bakugo to feint with his right and attack differently. This shows growth in his fighting style and respect for Deku as an opponent, plus proves that he's been watching Deku just as much as the other watches him. Whereas previously Bakugo was more concerned with just launching flashy attacks and hitting first, this battle demonstrates that Bakugo is learning to respect and adapt to all of his opponents too.
5 Deku Pushes Bakugo To Go Beyond His Limits
While the nature of Bakugo and Deku's relationship has evolved immensely over the years, the two are constantly connected. Deku spent his life following after Bakugo because of his admiration for the other boy, though Bakugo didn't interpret it in the same way.
Deku's persistence, while unwanted when Bakugo didn't understand the real reason, ultimately pushes Bakugo to be better. When Deku reveals that the reason he keeps following Bakugo is that he thinks Bakugo is amazing despite his hateful traits, it makes an impact on Bakugo. Deku's following him forces Bakugo to keep improving to stay ahead, and while it initially is perceived as a more toxic reaction, it does soften to a friendlier influence.
4 Deku Literally Saves Bakugo
Perhaps one of the most important ways Deku helps Bakugo is when he's directly involved in saving Bakugo from the League of Villains. Once they're on scene at Kamino Ward, it's Deku who comes up with the plan that ultimately gets Bakugo away from the villains so that All Might can finish the fight.
If Deku and his friends hadn't done this, then that fight — and Bakugo's future — would have likely taken a very different path. Bakugo could have been stranded with the villains for longer, and while it's clear he couldn't be swayed to their side, he could have met a much worse fate. Bringing Bakugo back to the heroes definitely sets him back on a better path, and also showcases the first time Bakugo accepts helps from others, which is another positive step forward for him.
3 Bakugo Picks Up On Deku's Analysis
Bakugo is well aware of Deku's hobby of analyzing heroes. And while at the beginning of the series we see Bakugo scorning this habit and literally burning up one of Deku's notebooks, Deku's analysis has definitely made an impact on Bakugo.
After their fight at Ground Beta, Bakugo goes so far as to offer his own analysis and critiques on Deku's Quirk and advice for how to improve his fighting technique. This shows not only that he's invested in analysis just as much as Deku, but that he also values Deku enough to share his thoughts.
2 Deku Teaches Him Teamwork
At the start of the series, Bakugo is uncooperative with everyone and scorns those who try to reach a hand out to help him. However, through observing and being partnered with Deku, Bakugo starts to understand that he has to rely on others to accomplish his goals.
This dynamic most obviously begins to shift during Deku and Bakugo's exam with All Might, where, after All Might has easily thwarted them, he realizes he has to cooperate with Deku if they want to win. This teamwork continues to evolve, and is especially evident in the Joint Training Battle when he tells his classmates he'll protect them and expects the same in return.
1 Deku Demonstrates The More Empathetic Side Of Being A Hero
While Bakugo doesn't necessarily learn this from Deku, Deku is the person who best helps Bakugo to understand its meaning. After their fight at Ground Beta, All Might talks to both boys about how each of them embodies a different ideal of being a hero, and they need to balance both ideals to truly be the best.
In this way, Deku teaches Bakugo the importance of saving people, whereas previously Bakugo had only focused on the importance of winning against an enemy. This development is evident in future moments, like when he saves Jiro and All Might instead of focusing on defeating the villains.