Recap / My Hero Academia: Deku vs. Class 1-A Arc

From Class A to OFA

Unwilling and unable to let him continue his lonely path in trying to save the world from All For One, Deku finds himself facing down his former classmates of Class 1-A with the latter wanting to bring him back to U.A. High so they can face everything down together. And both sides are refusing to take "No" for an answer.

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Tropes featured in this Storyline:

• Bittersweet Ending: After endless wandering, rescuing citizens and fending off villains, and ending with a harrowing showdown with his classmates, Deku reconciles with them, including Bakugo, and later All Might. Thanks to Uraraka and a few familiar citizens and friends he met or rescued in the past, the refugees in U.A. get a wake-up call that there are still heroes in and out there who are laying down their lives to protect them, and they have to at least assist them in a way that has them be ready for their next battle. Because of this, they abandon their earlier protests and welcome Midoriya back to his school to finally get cleaned up and well-rested. All Might discovers from Stain, of all people, that there is still hope throughout the country, and receives vital data that indicates that Tomura Shigaraki will be healed soon and he and All For One will make their move, prompting them to plan a counterattack. Elsewhere, after receiving a personal request from All Might himself to assist in Japan's time of need, world delegates debate how they can best deploy their own heroes... only for the USA's Number One Hero, Star and Stripe, to heed the call ahead of them.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Neither side is wrong about the other.
  • On Deku’s side, he’d wished that his classmates did not follow him because AFO is in pursuit of him and refused to allow anyone else in harm’s way.
  • On the rest of Class 1-A’s side, AFO might target U.A. anyway in order to lure Midoriya into a trap, all the while genuinely concerned for his welfare.
  • This also applies to the citizens who don't want Deku to stay at UA to recover. They know that Shigaraki is after Deku and they don't want their last refuge to turn into a battlefield. On the other side, the teachers, the pros and the students argue that since Deku is the one that is doomed to fight the League, he needs their support if they want to win.
• Bystander Syndrome: Addressed when the mob is outside of U.A., as a man who witnessed the original fight between Deku and the Sludge villain points out that they, the people who simply witness what the heroes do, are starting to become more like spectators than actual help. This gets the rest of the mob to realize that the role of hero needs to be carried out by both sides, and not just by the actual heroes. It remains to be seen whether or not this revelation sticks.
• Call-Back:
  • To the Kamino Arc in the final sequence. The class prepares a strategy to catch up to Izuku by creating an ice ramp from Todoroki’s ice to send someone to catch up to him.
    • They first cover the student in Mina’s protective acid coating to reduce the G-force from the launch, then the class’ strongmen (Sato, Shouji, Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow) push Todoroki and Bakugou for the initial launch stage.
    • Stage 2 has Todoroki use Flashfreeze Heatwave to launch them further.
    • Stage 3 has Uraraka use her Zero Gravity to float Bakugou and the payload to send them higher, and Bakugou proceeds to use Exploding Speed Turbo Cluster for another boost.
    • The 4th and Final stage, Bakugou blasts the student in Mina’s acid away. Then Iida, the student in Mina’s acid activates Recipro Turbo and succeeds in catching up.
  • Uraraka's speech to the citizens has her state that U.A. is Deku's "Hero Academia", a line All Might himself said to the both of them when they were admitted. The speech also moves Deku so much that he kneels and breaks down in tears, just like when All Might told him he could become a hero.
  • Immediately after this, a man from the very first chapter of the Manga also makes a speech to the mob, which finally gets them to accept Deku staying at U.A. and to realize that their Bystander Syndrome habits need to stop now that most of the heroes are either dead or retired and the ones remaining are just trying to fix things.
• Cassandra Truth: Played with. When All Might meets Stain for the first time near his desecrated statue, Stain doesn't believe that this scrawny man is the same hero he looked up to and "permitted" to be killed by. And when All Might briefly showed his heroic form, Stain still calls doubt upon that— because Yagi is no longer acting like All Might, giving him a speech about how All Might was more than a man with a powerful quirk, and even in his powerless state of being, his efforts as a hero weren't All for Nothing. So, while it could be read as Stain showing vehement skepticism or denial, this could, in an odd way, be also read as encouraging Yagi that no matter the physical capabilities, he is still heroic at heart, just in a completely different way from the heroic form itself.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Further deconstructed here. Deku's desire to pull in all the harm and danger to himself has extended to the point where, when his classmates and friends all desire to work with them, he decides to keep pushing them away further and further, constantly scared that All For One will hurt or even kill them.
• Combination Attack: Unable to match Izuku's improved combat skills on their own, as well as the sheer strength and speeds he can reach with his current mastery over OFA, 1A instead combats Izuku with these, using team tactics to take him off-guard or blindside him with prepared strategies, with each classmate working in tandem to combine their abilities to suppress Izuku until he finally listens to reason, even if it's clearly also a losing effort to pin him down for long. When it looks like Izuku succeeds in fleeing using Faux 100%, it takes this to actually catch up to him and grab him from escaping anymore.
• Contrived Coincidence: The tall mutant woman Deku rescued from harassing vigilantes last arc just happens to meet him again in U.A, if only because most of the other shelters she went to have been denying entry for heteromorphs like her despite the ongoing crisis. Deku's school, on the other hand, took her in immediately. Upon learning that he attended here before the aftermath of Jaku City war, she and Kota give him a comforting hug during his breakdown and takes this chance to finally thank her "crybaby hero" in person.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: Izuku is so out of 1A's league that it's almost frightening, despite the fact that he's running on utter fumes and absolutely refuses to truly harm any of of his classmates. Nothing they throw at him slows him for more than few seconds and the only reason they actually managed to get Midoriya to stop and listen to them is his own conflicted feelings about the whole situation.
• David Versus Goliath: The main focus of the Arc is Class 1-A, the Davids, trying to stop the Goliath known as Deku from escaping. Midoriya's holding back, unable to use half of One for All's maximum output and is more interested in fleeing rather than fighting, and his classmates' combined efforts just barely slow him down.
• Dramatic Unmask: During the scuffle, Deku loses the tattered cowl he wore, no longer hiding the face of a scared teen having the fate of the world thrust onto his shoulders.
• Good vs. Good: It's Deku vs his friends, following a fight against another villain. Deku is afraid that if he is around the people that he cares about, they will get hurt; on that note, his 1-A classmates worry that Deku is going to run himself so ragged that by the time he faces All for One, he won't have any chance.
• Go-to-Sleep Ending: After having a bath, Izuku really feels his exhaustion from the nonstop villain hunt, which is not unnoticed by his classmates (especially since Uraraka passed out after giving her Rousing Speech). It's only after he makes amends with Yagi that he falls asleep on the couch, much to Yaoyorozu's relief. Todoroki, noticing this, finds a blanket and places it on him.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Deconstructed. Class 1-A is more than willing to get their hands dirty to help Deku in his endeavors, but he's too stubborn to see reason, thus his friends are going all out to beat this mindset out of him. It's also clearly an attitude that's being Invoked by AFO's mind games with Izuku, as he keeps flashing back to his ominous message of 'You're next' every time his classmates start breaking through his tough-guy facade, and his emotional turmoil from wanting to accept their support, but fearful of the consequences of AFO targeting him make him increasingly desperate to flee the area as soon as possible.
• Jerkass Realization: Thanks to Ochaco and a couple of civilians vouching for Deku, the other refugees have finally realized how ungrateful they have been. While many heroes have left under public scrutiny, there have been those who have been picking up the slack, and all they have done for these heroes, whether they are Pros or students, was give them flack.
• Let's You and Him Fight: The reason why both sides are going at it: Class 1-A wants their dear friend back by their side so that they can face everything together, but Deku's trying to take everything into himself in a misguided attempt to protect his friends.
• Meaningful Echo: Near the start of the series, Midoriya narrates that this focuses on him becoming the "World's Greatest Hero". Fast forward to this arc after Uraraka inspires everyone to support Deku...
  The story of how we all became the greatest Heroes.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: To say that U.A. had undergone some renovations would be a serious understatement. By the time Midoriya comes back, his school has transformed into a giant fortress, keeping the Villains out and the students, families and any refugees in.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Deku realizes that his attempts at driving away his classmates have been doing as much harm as it does good and regrets saying that they can't keep up with him.
• No Name Given: Despite being integral to settling the mob, the tall woman is among the ones who speak out for the heroes not identified by name.
• Obviously Not Fine: Deku desperately insists that he doesn't need any help multiple times to his classmates and himself during their "fight", even when it's glaringly evident that his mental state is all but deteriorating, and he's physically running on fumes from fighting non-stop.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Deku realizes how serious all his friends are about helping him when Katsuki Bakugou of all people is apologizing and asking him to stay.
• The Pig-Pen: Kaminari calls out Deku's unsanitary state when heading after him during the "fight". After the latter is finally convinced to return to U.A., the former is among the boys that give him a bath.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: What the actual "fight" boils down to. Neither Izuku nor his classmates actually want to hurt each other, so Izuku merely tries to use his abilities to flee the area at the earliest opportunity, with every one of 1-A chipping in to Hold the Line and try to talk some sense into Izuku, even if they have to get rough with holding him down. It's telling of how powerful Izuku is now that even with him clearly pulling his punches, his classmate's combined efforts can barely slow him down, and this is with him only able to safely utilize 45% of OFA's full power currently.
• Wham Line: Once Midoriya's classmates finally get him to settle down, Bakugou confesses the reasons why he has been obsessed with trying to be the best and what led him to constantly bully his classmate. It all culminates in two things even Midoriya didn't expect, despite their rivalry improving: being called by his actual name, Izuku, and a sincere apology.
  Bakugo: Izuku… I'm sorry for everything.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Bakugou tears into Endeavour for letting Deku and All Might work together and no one else around to tell them to slow down and rest and not tear themselves apart.
  • The refugees in U.A. does this to the faculty when Deku is brought back, fearing that if he's there, everyone is in danger. Something that Deku himself already knows and actually agrees with, which was why he left in the first place. It takes Ochaco telling them about the good things Deku has done for them through a megaphone to get them to stop. The mob is further quelled when Kota and the tall mutant woman Deku rescued come to comfort him while another civilian asks them how much longer they'll stand off to the side and watch the heroes fix things, making them realize they need to accept the remaining heroes and to actually do something to help them.
• World's Strongest Man: Once again deconstructed as in the last arc. Deku knows that he's the only one who can really stand against All-For-One and that's the reason he wants everyone he loves to stay far away from him, this has the unfortunate side effect of him wearing himself out because he can't allow himself to stop and make himself vulnerable. But the thing about being the strongest is that he's a One-Man Army that no one can stop or try and talk sense into. Even as tired and hurt as he is in this fight, his power is still so extreme that it takes every last member of Class 1A pitching in to even slow him down. On the flip side, Deku is doing everything he can to not hurt his classmates at all because he's also aware of this.
• You Are Not Alone: The big thing Class 1-A is trying to get through to Deku. With Bakugou's above Wham Line, they succeed.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Izuku is shocked when he hears Bakugou call him by his name instead of the "Deku" insult he established since childhood.

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