#class a1

Kirishima: Okay.

Deku: Okay.

Almost everyone in 1-A, stalking closer: Okay.

this is very long, but i also think it’s very important. please take the time to read!!

ok, here we go.

i’ve been re-reading the manga and this scene is so emotionally charged and so underrated. i’m going to be salty for a bit but stick with me here.

ok, first of all, let’s talk about the details: the baku(rescue)squad’s expressions.

todoroki looks alarmed, shocked to an extent, but mostly confused. the question that todoroki /should/ ask in this situation is “why midoriya?” because technically it’s todoroki’s fault along with kirishima. even though it’s understandable why iida’s upset at midoriya, being upset to the point of punching him (despite the fact that midoriya isn’t responsible for the initiation of the mission) is placing too much of the responsibility on midoriya’s shoulders, and it’s unfair. but, we don’t see any of that in todoroki’s expression. todoroki and iida went through so much together and so did iida and midoriya, which is why it’s uncharacteristic for him to just punch him out of the blue. not to mention that midoriya just got out of the hospital, and everyone was worried, so why would he do that to him? do we see that in todoroki’s face? the answer is no. his expression isn’t accusing at the slightest.

todoroki is alarmed but he’s waiting. he’s waiting for the explanation. todoroki gets his own panel so we can focus on his reaction, but there isn’t much to it, and that’s exactly the point. todoroki is the only one that gives iida the benefit of the doubt, and that’s a good way of showing how much their relationship progressed without touching on the subject at all.

on to yaomomo, who looks really shocked. she looks terrified, and i feel so sorry for her in this situation, especially because she’s the one they’re going thanks to. she just wants everyone to be okay. she’s helping with this because she wants bakugou to come back safe, and she’s accompanying them because she can’t send them off somewhere dangerous without knowing what might happen to them. she wants bakugou to be safe, she wants kirishima to be safe, she wants todoroki and midoriya and iida to be safe, and she’s willing to break the rules to make sure they are. seeing iida acting this way and hurting midoriya must be horrible (especially with her kind of thinking… in the todoroki/aizawa fight she was thinking about her every move, regardless if it was her losing confidence or executing the final plan. she had to ask herself and todoroki if what she’s doing is okay).

and then, kirishima. todo and yaomomo’s expressions can be explained in a way that expresses their feelings towards the punch as a situation more than an interaction: momo looks shocked because she has no idea why iida would act up when midoriya has nothing to do with the decision (and because she’s subconsciously taking the blame for herself), todoroki looks alarmed– because why would iida take out his anger on midoriya when he was the one to initiate? (and he’s also waiting for the rest, because he knows iida too well), but kirishima has no idea who iida is beside the initial impression of a strict, rule-loving class president, and would have no clue as to what’s iida’s reason for punching someone (and especially when that someone is his best friend).

kirishima, looks so disgusted. he looks confused but his brows are pinched in a way that tells us that he’s not okay with this. and why would he be? he wouldn’t, because kirishima is all around a boy that has a strong sense of justice. kirishima is definitely blaming himself for having to rescue bakugou in the first place, and is going against the rules because he feels guilty and thinks he can do something. he wouldn’t endanger his classmates, ask momo for a favor and secrecy, go against the police and the pro’s orders and spend money on this ordeal if he didn’t think he has a shot at succeeding.

from his point of view, i can only imagine that he thinks iida is being dramatic and unnecessarily violent. kirishima wouldn’t suggest an idea like that without having confidence that they can fix this (he had all of that confidence even when it was just him and todoroki), and he knows that (as a person that was there when it happened) it bugs midoriya the most. so he asks midoriya if he wants to come along. kirishima doesn’t know iida that well at all (well momo doesn’t either but kiri is mentally stronger than her, so he thinks about the wrong in what iida is doing instead of overthinking what he himself did wrong) and it makes all of the sense in the world for him to be mad. iida is supposed to be a role model, and that’s why it’s so alarming to see him randomly punching his dearest friend, but kirishima is the only one that shows clear disapproval for his actions. idk i just think it’s neat.

ok, getting to the point now: iida.

iida is a very underrated character, and his development is especially underrated and looked down upon, but this scene is where he grabbed our attention again ever since he “lost” it after the stain arc. you see, if you don’t stan iida, i doubt you pay attention to him. people appreciate his extremely well-written character only when the focus shifts to him, which is not often at all.

try to think how you would react if you were in iida’s shoes. think about the betrayal you’d feel if your best friend went under your nose to do something you specifically asked them not to go do. think about how hurt you’d feel when your friend ignores people who care about them completely to do something reckless that might get them killed. midoriya didn’t take iida’s emotions into consideration at all.

in the stain arc, iida feels bad for midoriya and todoroki’s involvement. they got hurt for him, and almost died for him. not only that, but he caused major trouble to the pro hero he was working with at the time by doing something on his own accord. he knows better than anyone how acting on your feelings can affect someone else. you’d think that midoriya learned that as well, right? but here he goes again, going under the pro’s noses to do something extremely dangerous. not only that, but thanks to yaomomo, the police had a lead and the pro heroes had the situation under control for once lmao. the students shouldn’t have gotten involved because the police already planned out how to approach the situation–it wasn’t being ignored and they had a plan. kirishima and todoroki’s decision to save bakugou was selfish, and it was selfish of them to ask midoriya to join especially because he’s injured (even though midoriya did want to help), and it was selfish of them to ask for yaomomo’s help (and also keep that information from the pros. just to recap: they asked her to give them the location of the villains so they can do something dangerous and reckless when the police had a way to solve the situation, they asked her to not tell anyone and then they asked her to stay put. that’s the worst position a person could be in; knowing they’re out there, getting hurt, while not being able to say or do anything about it–that’s so difficult. todo and kiri are my faves but they were asking for so much, and it was so unfair to momo. no wonder that she joined them. i don’t think she really had a choice). it was selfish of them to do all of that, and tsuyu (+plus uraraka) made that very clear when she confronted them about it later on. 

but to iida, the most selfish thing that happened was midoriya actually going with them. he was going to get himself and other people in trouble. he was going to risk his life doing something pointless. iida knows how much that hurts people. he experienced it first-hand.

iida knows midoriya is frustrated, and he knows how it feels better than anyone else. the difference between the stain arc and the hideout raid arc is that the outside forces could do something about the situation, which is exactly why he has the right to get mad. he knows frustration; it drove him to do something reckless and selfish too. he risked his classmates’ life too, he ran off on his own too. he felt like he was cornered, he had no one to turn to, he was angry and endangered someone else selfishly, and he acted in the most non-heroic way an aspiring hero could act as. after all of that wrong he did, he realized his mistakes after seeing the damage his actions bared with them, and dealt with the consequences the best he could– by changing his attitude and learning from his mistakes.

iida moved on. midoriya was present for all of that; which is why iida is frustrated with him. midoriya acted selfishly too, and caused trouble for others too, and iida thought they learned that lesson together. midoriya said it himself: we were both wrong. let’s make up for it together.

… yet. even though he said all of that, he still repeats the same mistake iida did. the way midoriya planned to go with kirishima and todoroki despite what iida told him is a stab in the back. midoriya didn’t consider iida’s emotions at all. ever since the stain incident passed, iida made sure the class got their act together. he made safer choices and took other people into consideration, and he continued being the best class president a class could ask for. he was trying to make up for his mistakes. he grew and fixed his wrongdoings, and midoriya was supposed to do the same. here he clearly goes against what he said to iida in the panels above. what he said back then changed so much for iida, but it seems like he’s throwing all of that away to go after bakugou in the hideout raid arc. that’s so unfair. that hurts. midoriya went back on his own word (the same words that changed so so much) to do something irresponsible again. in the first panel i showed you, iida says that he worries over everyone, not just bakugou. bakugou didn’t do anything outstanding/likable/rescue worthy, and yet iida worries about him. because of course he would. iida cares for everyone in class 1a, but he didn’t plan to do something reckless (and technically, illegal) for one of them, because it’s not his place. but midoriya did. iida still worried and cared and wanted to do something but didn’t. by totally ignoring iida’s request to step down (and the warning from the other classmates) he disrespected iida’s emotions and incredible self-restraint. iida and the rest of 1a made it clear that it was a bad and selfish idea, but the group still planned to go. that’s so cruel to the rest of the students who worried but restrained themselves. that’s so cruel to iida. midoriya’s supposed to be iida’s best friend but he can’t even understand that.

midoriya, as the person who encouraged iida’s new path when he lost his way, did something kinda heartless. midoriya was so selfish in this arc, it’s honestly amazing. the hideout raid arc is so well-written, and it gives midoriya such a flaw that made me like him so much more as a protagonist. it shows us that despite all of the things he went through, he has so much place to develop. iida is being completely fair in this scene, and midoriya kinda deserves the punch he got. i don’t think he realized how much he hurt iida by sneaking out of the hospital that night.

and of course, regardless of that, iida still joined the group so he can keep an eye on them.