One theme in My Hero Academia that often goes under-discussed is that of the older generation passing the torch to their juniors. This manifests in several ways, but especially through the various mentor/mentee pairs in the series.
Whether they be seniors, teachers, or heroes, there are several characters who have shown that they are more than willing to help raise the next generation. The schools even have specific programs to encourage this. Some of the students even go through several mentors over the course of the series, but some combinations end up being much more impactful to the story and the characters themselves.
8 Knuckle Duster & Koichi Haimawari
This pair hasn’t appeared in the main series but instead hails from the prequel series My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. In that story, Koichi Is a young man who failed to get into hero school but decides to moonlight as a vigilante known as The Crawler.
In this new line of work, he meets Knuckle Duster, a grizzled, quirkless vigilante who teaches him some vital battle skills and becomes like a father figure to him. They have a similar relationship to All Might and Deku, and their bond helps Koichi constantly evolve.
7 Endeavour & Shoto Todoroki
While originally a dysfunctional father/son pair, both of them learned to cool down over the course of the series. While they still haven’t fully reconciled after Shoto’s abuse at his father’s hands, they were at least able to come to a place where Shoto was comfortably interning at his father’s hero agency.
Since then, his control over his powers has improved dramatically, almost putting him on the level of his prodigy older brother, Toya. He’s even seen using Endeavour’s attacks, showing that he is now somewhat comfortable being his father’s successor.
6 Eraser Head & Hitoshi Shinso
This is a relationship that few saw coming after Shinso’s first appearance at the UA sports festival. After that, he was briefly seen in the hallway with Eraser, revealing that the two had been working together. The results of that training would become clear during the joint training arc.
Shinso’s return revealed a fighting style based heavily on Eraser’s. From his use of binding cloths to a focus on incapacitating enemies, it’s clear to see how much Shinso took from his mentor. Sadly not much of their relationship is shown on screen, but Eraser clearly has a lot of faith in Shinso’s abilities and potential.
5 Best Jeanist & Katsuki Bakugo
Taming the infamously wrathful Bakugo was never going to be an easy feat. Despite this, Best Jeanist, one of the top heroes in the country, took it upon himself. At first, their relationship was played off as a gag, but it was later shown that Bakugo had taken some of Jeanist’s advice to heart.
With Jeanist missing for a lot of the series, their relationship only developed further when he returned. Till then, Bakugo kept his new hero name a secret from everyone else, showing that he had a lot of respect for Jeanist despite their short time together.
4 Sir Night Eye & Mirio Togata
Mirio’s reveal as the person who All Might was originally going to give One for All to instantly made him one of the most interesting side characters. After watching him decimate most of class 1A, it would be hard to deny his suitability for the role. And his competence is all thanks to Night Eye.
After hearing that Deku received OFA, Night Eye personally trained Mirio to prove that he was the better candidate, creating one of the strongest heroes around. While their relationship was mostly professional, Night Eye’s death forced the two to admit just how much they cared for each other.
3 Fatgum & Suneater
Fatgum is such a positive and encouraging mentor that his relationship with both Suneater and Kirishima is worthy of mention. However, his positivity is arguably a much better force in Suneater’s life.
Despite being one of the strongest students and heroes around, Suneater suffers from chronic pessimism, which often makes him downplay his own abilities. Fatgum is not afraid to tell him off for this behavior, even if it means poking fun at him with others. When push comes to shove, though, the two have total faith in each other.
2 Hawks & Fumikage Tokoyami
As one of the best heroes in Japan and a man involved in a lot of shady activities, Hawks originally didn’t really want an apprentice of any kind. He attempted to scout Todoroki first but ultimately just needed anyone from class 1A to answer some questions. To Tokoyami’s chagrin, he couldn’t even keep up with Hawks on the field.
After proving himself at their next meeting, Tokoyami was able to cement their bond. Hawks taught him how to fly with his quirk, and Tokoyami has regularly shown more concern for Hawks than even his own classmates. Even as the final battle rages on, Hawks is there cheering his student on.
1 All Might & Izuku “Deku” Midoriya
Deku and All Might are the pair that started off the entire series. While All Might originally advise Deku to drop his hero dream, watching the young man charge into action before himself changed his mind, leading to him giving Deku his quirk.
Ever since All Might has been there for his successor, but due to the gap in their aptitude for the quirk, he hasn’t actually been able to help as much as one might expect. After his retirement, though, he’s become much more determined to be of use, even making sure Deku stayed fed during his time as a rogue hero.