U.A. High School#
Class 1-A#
Katsuki Bakugo#
Eijiro and Katsuki have a mutual friendship.[1] Often referred to as equals, the two have a strong relationship and influence on each other. They are often seen together during class, and despite Katsuki's aggressive behavior, it has been shown that the two of them are friends. Eijiro has described Katsuki as being "manly," a quality that Eijiro is known to favor.
Before getting to know each other, it is suggested that Eijiro did not admire Katsuki, as is seen in the Battle Trial. Eijiro openly criticized Katsuki's fighting tactics as "unmanly," calling his surprise attack cheating, which All Might was quick to explain that it was not. Later on, however, while working together in the U.S.J. arc, the two team up, soon sparking Eijiro's admiration for Katsuki, and what would turn into a friendship in time. Eijiro goes on to describe Katsuki as "manly" on a few occasions, a clear sign of respect for him.
During the Sports Festival, Katsuki called Eijiro "shitty hair", bringing about an irritated Eijiro, who pointed out his similar hairstyle. Eijiro asked Katsuki to let him join him during the cavalry battle after Eijiro couldn't join Shoto Todoroki's team. Regardless, Katsuki accepted Eijiro's proposal after Eijiro mentioned that he'd be an unwavering horse and talked about taking down Izuku Midoriya's team. He later called Eijiro by his last name, showing he has come to respect him. Although Katsuki defeated Eijiro in battle, this only furthered his respect for Katsuki.
Due to his upbeat personality, Eijiro is usually unfazed by Katsuki's abrasive behavior. When Katsuki's divisive attitude arises, Eijiro often makes an effort to subdue it. Eijiro has also been known on occasion to criticize Katsuki's demeanor, as in the Provisional License Exam. During the Quirk Training Camp, Eijiro was exceedingly worried for him when it was announced that the villains were looking specifically for Katsuki. He also initiates the mission to rescue Katsuki after he's kidnapped, stating that how can he expect ot be a hero, much less a man, if he can't even save his own friend after finding out they're being targeted.[2] As noted by Izuku, Eijiro is the only one in their rescue party who can call out to help Katsuki, due to the relationship they have as equals. This was proven true when Katsuki took his hand without hesitation after Eijiro called out to him.[3]
During the Provisional Hero License Exam, Eijiro runs off after Katsuki when he decides to split from the rest of the class. Eijiro ends up sacrificing himself to protect Katsuki from being turned into a meatball by Seiji Shishkura. Denki stated that Katsuki had reduced the power of his explosions to avoid harming Eijiro and himself. Alongside Denki, the two complete their exam together. However, only Eijiro passes.
One day, Eijiro openly voices his self-doubts, and Katsuki reminds him that he had proclaimed himself as an unwavering horse during the Sports Festival and said if Eijiro refuses to go down, that proves how strong he is. These words become Eijiro's main inspiration, and even led to the creation of his ultimate move, Unbreakable. The conversation clearly meant something to Katsuki as well, see as during the Final War against All For One, Katsuki uses his memory of telling Ejiro to stand strong, as his inspiration to stand his ground against All For One, until he disappears for good. Eijiro is also apart of the people Katsuki thinks back to as he tells All for One that this is "our story.", further solidifing Eijiro as one of the people Katsuki's is closest to.
Eijiro asks Katsuki to train with him, to which Katsuki "offers" to shoot him with his Howitzer. The two hang out at the school festival together, even competing in an obstacle course against one another. After Katsuki receives his Provisional License, Eijiro congratulates him alongside Izuku.
During the Joint Training Battle, Eijiro watched Katsuki cooperate with his team and lead them efficiently. He told a shocked Neito Monoma that Katsuki has always been this way, but acknowledges that this is the first time he's seen him be obvious about it.
Despite Eijiro's clear fondness for Katsuki, he still doesn't hesitiate to call out his behavior. As seen when Katsuki throws one of the pieces of his mask at Izuku.
After the war, the two's friendship is clearly as strong as ever, the two quickly reconnecting once classes were back in session, Eijiro even joins Katsuki at physical therapy alonside Izuku, Denki, and Hanta. After graduating, the two can be spotted walking home together.
8 years later, the two are even closer than they were before. Katsuki is seen driving Eijiro and Izuku to Shoto's congratulatory dinner, with Eijiro in the passenger seat. Katsuki even states that the only reason he is even going to the dinner with his classmates, is because Eijiro had threatened to "stab holes in his roof". Eijiro retorts saying that Katsuki is probably glad to be showing off his new ride anyway, as well as asking if Katsuki remembers every single word he says. At the dinner, the two sit across from each other, and end up going home together as well. The two seeming to be neighbors or living close to each other.
Mina Ashido#
Mina and Eijiro went to the same middle school. During their senior year, Eijiro tried to stop two students from bullying an underclassman but did not succeed. Afterwards, Eijiro witnessed Mina step in and solve the issue by getting the student and the two bullies to break dance, diffusing the situation and ending the issue. Eijiro seems to admire Mina but also begins to feel self-conscious of the fact that Mina is exciting and heroic. This is reinforced later when he attempts to stop a a villain but his legs freeze up and Mina stops the villain instead.[4]
Eijiro later apologizes to Mina and her classmates for not being able to do anything to stop the villain. Eventually, he and Mina both take the U.A. Entrance Exam together and pass. On their first day of high school, Eijiro undergoes a complete appearance change, dying his hair red and spiking it up in a style that is inspired by Crimson Riot. His hairstyle also appears to have two little horns. Mina picks up on this and decides to call them horn buddies.
It's at this moment that Eijiro vows to say goodbye to his pathetic old-self to her and swears that he's gonna be the kind of Hero that never has any regrets. The past incident took a toll on Eijiro's self-confidence, as the guilt was eating him alive. Mina realizes this so she teases him and lightens the mood by poking him repeatedly and telling him not to overload himself with pressure. It appears she shows concern for him in her own playful way. Mina then smiles at Eijiro and tells him to tell her when he really does overcome his regrets from the past. He smiles back at her in agreement and apologizes.
The two collaborated together on Team Bakugo during the Sports Festival Arc and seemed to work well together.
She is shown to express concern for him after knowing about Shie Hassaikai Raid, checking to see if he's moved on from his past yet.[5]
In U.A. School Festival, while Class 1-A practiced stage performance, Hanta mentioned Mina is such a demon-coach but Eijiro defended her by telling Hanta, "Because when you love something you can give it your all," showing that Eijiro is aware of how much effort she put into the stage performance.
During the Joint Training Arc, Eijiro praised Mina for her effective attack, he also concerned when she got attacked too.
Before the start of Paranormal Liberation War, Mina unveiled a new defensive Ultimate Move called Acidman. She excitedly tells Eijiro that she created it by imitating his "Unbreakable" move. Eijiro was seemingly flattered that she created a new Ultimate Move inspired by him.[6]
In the Paranormal Liberation War, Eijiro rushed through fire to save Mina from being crushed by Gigantomachia and managed to grab and take her falling 30-liter vial filled with sedative with him, it's later shown that he failed to throw his own vial into Gigantomachia's mouth due to Himiko Toga destroying it by throwing her knife at him so he grabbed Mina's falling vial and threw it into Gigantomachia's mouth while saying he'd carry on her manly spirit. They survived Gigantomachia's destruction and went back to save other injured heroes together.
In the Final War, both of them engage the villain forces in the Jaku hospital ruins. After Mina saves Hitoshi Shinso from the Sludge Villain, she passes out in Kirishima's arms due to dehydration. Kirishima apologizes to her for being a letdown, and she tells him that they're even. Kirishima rebukes this by saying she never owed him anything and that she's always been his hero. They later arrived on the Mt. Fuji battlefield during the final moments of the war alongside the rest of 1A. Together with Fat Gum they blocked a devastating attack from Tomura Shigaraki, allowing the heroes to continue pushing ahead and ultimately defeat the villain.
8 years later, the two seems to be even closer, their relationship described as a firm friendship and sharing friendly rivalry. This could be implying that two see each other often during work, especially since they were being interviewed together.
Denki Kaminari#
Since they happened to be seated behind one another in class, they became friends and often make comments to each other. They were later assigned to work together along with Katsuki for the Provisional License Exam. They have similar, congenial personalities, although Eijiro is more boisterous compared to Denki, who is more mischievous instead.
Proof of this friendship is that Denki is the first one to congratulate Eijiro for his hero debut defeating a villain alone while he was patrolling on his first day of Hero Work-Studies at the Fat Gum Agency, showing everyone the news of his feat.[7]
Izuku Midoriya#
Eijiro is on good terms with Izuku. Even before having formerly met one another, Eijiro heard of Izuku's decision to jump into action against the Sludge Villain despite not recognizing him when they met and respected him immensely for it. In the U.S.J. Incident, when Izuku was wounded from trying to help All Might with Tomura Shigaraki, Eijiro quickly tried to help him.
In U.A. Sports Festival, after Shoto told Izuku that he will defeat him in the festival, Eijiro tried to stop any further arguing, and when Izuku started to talk negatively about himself, Eijiro tried to encourage him. He also told Izuku that he is envious of his Quirk.
He also seems to admire Izuku's growing confidence and appears to be impressed by his quick thinking and logical reasoning. He also seems capable of understanding Izuku's feelings to a certain extent, understanding how he felt when he was unable to rescue Katsuki.
During the Kamino Incident, Eijiro asks Izuku to help him in his plans to rescue Katsuki from the League of Villains, since he knew they were close. In return, Izuku was aware of the bond Eijiro shares with Katsuki, which gave him an idea for Eijiro to be the one to retrieve him and it worked.[3]
Days before the Shie Hassaikai Raid, Eijiro consoled Izuku after he told him, Ochaco, and Tsuyu what happened after meeting with Eri and Overhaul. In the Shie Hassaikai Arc, Eijiro and Izuku are shown to be on even better terms than previously, often interacting in friendly ways.
He participated in the battle to bring Izuku back to U.A. after All For One began hunting him. It is revealed that he was well aware that Izuku once tried to save Katsuki from the Sludge Villain. He compared what the class was doing was similar to how he took action. This showed that he respected his fellow classmate for his bravery.[8]
Hanta Sero#
Eijiro and Hanta are good friends with each other. Hanta, Denki, and Eijiro are often seen hanging out together. The three of them will typically joke around a lot and seem to have a great sense of humor, being the more extroverted members of the class.
The friendship between the two is so strong that, after learning that Eijiro was one of his classmates who had participated in the Shie Hassaikai Raid, Sero was one of those who presented more concern for his friend, slightly annoyed that he had not been told anything about that situation.
Shoto Todoroki#
Eijiro has good relations with Shoto. Previously, they barely interacted and the only significant event was when Eijiro tried to stop Shoto from declaring war on Izuku for the Sports Festival.
They interact more with the kidnapping of Katsuki, as both agreed to go rescue him even though such action would go against the rules. During the rescue mission, they worked together without any problem.
After this, it is seen that their relationship between them improves and they interact more often, supporting each other. For example, after Neito Monoma made fun how two students in 1-A failed the Provisional Hero License Exam, whereas everyone in Class 1-B passed, Shoto apologizes to his classmates for being one of those who failed, but Eijiro tries to make light to comfort him, saying that Neito is turning it into a fake competition.
When Chimera fought the students on Nabu Island for a second time, Eijiro cooperated with Shoto by being his shield for getting close to Chimera while trying to get closer they thought back to the time they went to rescue Katsuki together.[9]
After Shoto's fight with Dabi and his broadcast, Eijiro attempted to comfort him along with his classmates.
Rikido Sato#
They were paired up together in the final exams against Cementoss and they got along.
When the students moved into dorms, Eijiro was jealous at the popularity Rikido was getting for baking a cake. He still enjoyed the cake, though.[10]
Kyoka Jiro#
Even though both haven't directly interacted on a one on one conversation, both are seen talking with each other in the background with other classmates such as Denki and Hanta, and sometimes Mina, showing a friendly outcome. Eijiro also asked Kyoka to sing when others were also asking and was soon entertained by her voice, showing complete support to his peer.
Minoru Mineta#
Like the rest of his classmates, Eijiro is often disgusted by his perverted behavior. When Minoru was drooling over attending the Quirk Training Camp with the girls from both classes A and B, Eijiro told him to pull himself together. Later on while the boys were bathing in the hot springs, he was clearly embarrassed and grossed out upon seeing Minoru's intention to scale the wall and peek on the girls. Beforehand, when complimenting Momo Yaoyorozu's aptitude, he also yelled at Minoru for ogling her behind.
Yuga Aoyama#
While their interaction is quite minimal, Eijiro cares for Yuga as he does the rest of his classmates. The two competed, along with Minoru, on who would perform the lead vocals during their performance in the U.A. School Festival, only for Kyoka to gain that role after hearing her singing voice.
After Yuga and his parents were revealed to be spies for All For One, Eijiro was greatly shocked and devastated along with the rest of his classmates and he begged for Yuga to say that it was all a lie. Despite this, he later desired to forgive Yuga and help him and his parents break free from All For One's grasp. He also defended Yuga from an angered Katsuki, saying that he would've found it impossible to go against All For One alone and that they never would've blamed him for being Quirkless and enduring his pain in secret.
Class 1-B#
Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu#
Eijiro and Tetsutetsu initially had a rocky relationship because of their similar Quirks. During the U.A. Sports Festival, they met when they both survived being crushed by a 0-Point Villain.[11] As the festival progressed, Eijiro resented being constantly compared to Tetsutetsu, like when Present Mic gave them similar intros prior to their match against one another.[12]
Since their Quirks are very similar, the two weren't able to defeat each other during the U.A. Sports Festival, meaning that they had to compete in an arm wrestling match to decide the winner of their one-on-one. Eijiro won[13] and congratulated Tetsutetsu on a battle well fought, starting their eventual friendship. In Eijiro's next match, Tetsutetsu cheered for him to knock Katsuki out.[14]
They both proved to be on good terms with each other when they ended up interning together at Fourth Kind's Hero Agency. They were initially surprised to see each other, but instead of lamenting about comparisons, they friendly greeted each other.[15]
After the Joint Training Battle, where Eijiro played a very poor role while Tetsu was outstanding, Tetsutetsu criticizes Eijiro for presenting a defeatist attitude in front of him when comparing their fights during their respective battles, especially for comparing their respective Quirk. Although in a somewhat rough way, Tetsutetsu cheers up Eijiro, telling him that Hardening and Steel are different Quirks with their own strengths and weaknesses, and reminds Eijiro that his Quirk becomes tougher and tougher when he gets beat, without having a limit as to its hardness. These words make Eijiro recover his mood.[16]
Other schoolmates#
Tamaki Amajiki#
Eijiro and Tamaki have a senpai-kouhai relationship as they were both in an internship under the care of Fat Gum. During his internship, Eijiro develops more closeness with Tamaki and is shown to have a lot of respect for him, as he is seen praising the latter's abilities multiple times and refusing to let go of the criminal who had previously shot Tamaki. He is also grateful to Tamaki because it was Tamaki who invited Eijiro to join the Fat Gum team.[7]
Eijiro cares for him, as after Tamaki was shot, Eijiro stepped in front of him and received the second bullet. Later, in the operation to save Eri, he became concerned when Tamaki was left behind to fight three Yakuza members alone, but after hearing Fat Gum's words, Eijiro expressed confidence in Tamaki's abilities to take over the three enemies.
At some point before the operation, Eijiro and Tamaki patrolled near a food stall together and they talked about relationships with their friends. Fat Gum learns that a suspicious villain was hovering near a festival and asked Eijiro and Tamaki to infiltrate the festival to catch him. After catching the Villain, they continued patrolling together.[17]
In return, Tamaki respects Eijiro and compares him to Mirio saying they both have an "optimist personality".
Pro Heroes#
Crimson Riot#
Eijiro idolizes a retro pro hero called Crimson Riot and desires to become a hero, just like him. Eijiro chose his Hero Name "Red Riot" to pay homage to him.[18]
In his middle school days, when Eijiro was questioning his dream of becoming a hero, it is an old footage of Crimson Riot that reignites his passion for heroism. Eijiro shares many of his values with Crimson Riot, most notably Crimson Riot's high regard for manliness and chivalry.[19]
Fourth Kind#
Eijiro idolizes Fourth Kind and worked under him. He greatly respects Fourth Kind and saw being punished by him as a great honor.
Fat Gum#
Eijiro respects Fat Gum and picked him for his internship, though he admits that he only picked Fat Gum because Fourth Kind was unavailable. Eijiro is impressed by Fat Gum's abilities as a hero and takes every advice he gives him seriously. Eijiro's desire to protect Fat Gum allowed him to go beyond his own self-doubts and fears, meaning he cares greatly for the latter's safety.
Shie Hassaikai#
Kendo Rappa#
Eijiro faced Rappa along with Fat Gum during the Shie Hassaikai Raid. When the enormous force of Rappa's fists managed to destroy his Unbreakable, Eijiro was about to be dominated by his insecurities but when he saw Fat Gum in danger, he managed to overcome and used himself as a shield to protect Fat Gum, which allowed him to defeat Rappa.[20]
That act of courage made Rappa respect Eijiro, to the point of helping him heal himself with the purpose that they could face each other again.[21] That confrontation also made Eijiro respect Rappa, gaining even more motivation to train his Quirk and make him even more resistant.[22]