Summary

• Fans adore the IzuMomo ship in My Hero Academia, but many argue that the pairing lacks compatibility and interaction between the characters.
• Midoriya & Yaoyorozu's respective insecurities and people-pleasing tendencies may hinder a successful relationship between them.
• While IzuMomo shippers support the couple, evidence suggests Midoriya & Yaoyorozu may have better chemistry with other classmates.

Shipping has become part of every fandom culture. Imagining romances between characters is the norm for many franchises, but it’s especially potent among My Hero Academia fans. This is particularly true for the IzuMomo ship or a relationship pairing between Izuku Midoriya and Momo Yaoyorozu. While many enjoy this ship for its wholesomeness, others believe that it’s an overall bad pairing.

Fans cite many reasons for their dislike of the IzuMomo ship. However, some of the biggest concerns are that they are incompatible and hardly interact. Fans also enjoy shipping Midoriya and Yaoyorozu with other, more compatible people, rather than pairing them together. This divisive ship isn’t the worst romance to come out of the fandom, but it is one of the least likely and least liked.

Why Are Midoriya & Yaoyorozu Not a Good Match?

Midoriya & Yaoyorozu Are Too Similar in Terms of Personality

Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are both sweet characters. However, this often delves into people-pleasing for both of them. They both want others to think highly of them, and they will sometimes go to extreme lengths to do so. Examples of this occur when Yaoyorozu invites her classmates to her family’s mansion and Midoriya turns his back on his friends to become a vigilante under the guise of protecting them.

Yaoyorozu and Midoriya often put themselves last, which could lead to problems in any potential relationship. Always putting the other person first can sometimes lead to resentment and an unequal power dynamic. If both of them forever give in to the other, they may never truly get to know each other. Thankfully, Yaoyorozu has moved away from this character trait somewhat. She finally believes in how powerful she is. Midoriya hasn’t been so lucky yet.

Finally, both Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are unsure of themselves. Both characters have made strides toward being more confident, but their insecurities shine through more often than most of the other students. Yaoyorozu is so paralyzed by her lack of confidence that she even freezes during a training fight against Aizawa. She also holds back in fights at the beginning of the series. Meanwhile, Midoriya never truly feels satisfied with all he’s accomplished. He is constantly moving toward the next goal, believing that he still isn’t good enough to be a proper hero.

Mutual insecurities are a red flag in any fan pairing. There will never be a feeling that they are truly happy because they are both too anxious about what the other person thinks all the time. As the saying goes, “opposites attract”. Unfortunately, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are just similar enough that this mantra will never properly fit.

Are Midoriya & Yaoyarozu More Compatible with Other People?

Deku & Uraraka Make More Sense, & so do Yaoyarozu and Kyoka Jiro

Since Midoriya is the protagonist, fans are more entrenched in their chosen ships for him, meaning that any deviation from their favorite could lead to fandom hostility. This is particularly why the IzuMomo ship is so contentious. However, audiences who dislike the IzuMomo ship have both canon and personality dynamic evidence against it. Because Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are so similar, many fans feel that they would make better matches for some of their other classmates.

One of the most popular (and most likely) romances in My Hero Academia is between Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka. Not only did the two have a significant Meet Cute before they entered U.A., but Uraraka’s feelings for Midoriya have been canon for a long time. Likewise, Midoriya is often seen blushing and flustered whenever Uraraka is around. Even when they briefly talk on the phone, Midoriya becomes more than a little twitterpated. IzuChaco is another romance option where both the characters are sweet. Yet, Uraraka is more assertive than either Midoriya or Yaoyorozu and isn’t easily deterred in times of crisis.

Yaoyorozu’s most significant and probable pairing is with Shoto Todoroki. Both students come from affluent backgrounds, and they were both given special entry into U.A. Todoroki is much more self-involved than Yaoyorozu, but they are a timeless “good girl, troubled boy” pairing. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu are more on the same plane intellectually as well, since they share a penchant for literal thinking. Like the IzuMomo ship, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu aren’t seen together often either, but their fight against Aizawa certainly solidifies a connection that many fans can’t seem to shake.

Meanwhile, one of the most popular non-canon Midoriya ships is BakuDeku. This purports that famed frenemies Katsuki Bakugo and Midoriya would make for a compelling romance. Not only do the two boys share history, but they act as each other’s foils in the series. They are the perfect “opposites attract” couple, which viewers find appealing. Fans also believe that the reason Bakugo treats Midoriya so poorly is due to his potentially misplaced feelings. Whether or not this ship has standing, many agree that a BakuDeku relationship would make for a bombastic, drama-filled romance.

Finally, the most popular ship for Yaoyorozu besides Todoroki is between her and Kyoka Jiro. Yaoyorozu and Jiro are similar because they are both fairly introverted. However, where Yaoyorozu is the bright, studious one, Jiro is the emo artist. This is another time-honored shipping dynamic that is popular among fans of any series. Plus, Jiro and Yaoyorozu are arguably together more often than any of the other aforementioned pairings. They are also shown to have a friendship, which makes their pairing somewhat logistically established. Jiro’s steadfast convictions accompanied by Yaoyorozu’s intelligence make for a power couple that many hold in high regard.

Do Midoriya & Yaoyorozu Interact in My Hero Academia?

The Two Characters Barely Have Any On-Screen Time Together in MHA

The biggest issue that fans have with the IzuMomo ship is that Yaoyorozu and Midoriya hardly interact throughout My Hero Academia. They initially become class representatives in the first season, and they speak a few times during Aizawa’s initial tests of everyone’s skills. But they have otherwise not interacted. Midoriya is usually off on harrowing missions with Bakugo and Todoroki, while Yaoyorozu is relegated to the sidelines with the rest of Class 1-A. In the few interactions Midoriya and Yaoyorozu have had, there is always a sense that Yaoyorozu looks down on Midoriya.

She often speaks as if she is clued into information before everyone else. Yet, she most notably shows her disdain for Midoriya when he beats her for Class Representative. Yaoyorozu enjoys showing off her intellect, and it is usually paired with Midoriya saying or doing something wrong. A relationship between them is unlikely if both parties don’t respect each other. Yaoyorozu has shown that, although she admires Midoriya’s heroism, she also believes she is smarter and a better leader than him.

She thinks Midoriya is not her equal and an unequal partnership never works out in the end. Some fans try to defend the IzuMomo ship by saying how friendly they are to one another. However, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are friendly to everyone. They are both kind people and want to make friends. Yaoyorozu is particularly guilty of the latter point. She often goes out of her way to treat her friends to the finer things in life. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu may be cordial to each other most of the time, but romance is not only predicated on the characters being kind towards each other.

It’s a Nice Idea But The IzuMomo Ship Doesn’t Have Merit