Class 1-A and 1-B have been friendly rivals ever since season two. We’ve often seen Monoma, dubbed the ‘dark side of U.A.,’ comparing the two classes in the most unhinged, funniest ways possible!
Class B’s strength took me by surprise in Season 5 that I just had to get my hands on the manga! The joint training arc finally let us see all of Class B’s unique quirks in action. The most surprising part was how Class B almost defeated Todoroki and Iida’s team!
Since the protagonist Midoriya is in Class A, it seems natural that Class A is stronger since we spend more time around them. But it looks like these two classes might be in a deadlock just like Kirishima and Tetsutetsu during the sports festival.
In My Hero Academia, Class A is stronger than Class B. They have far more on-hand experience of a life and death situation as heroes than Class B does. However, Class B has more experience with their own quirks and a well-balanced spread of students.
1. Class A vs Class B
Both Class A and Class B have two students that got in through recommendations each– Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, and Shiozaki and Honenuki.
Class A has some offensively weak students like Mineta, Aoyama, Koda, Ojiro, Hagakure, and arguably Jiro, Shoji, Sato, Uraraka, and Asui too. However, we’ve seen each of them get creative with their quirks in sticky situations like Mineta did against Midnight and during the final exam.
Class B’s strongest include Shiozaki, Tetsutetsu, Shishida, Kendo, Honenuki, Monoma. The rest of Class B’s quirks aren’t as impressive in terms of raw power, but they complement each other very well. All of Class B’s students are pretty strong. No one is noticeably weak or overpowered. If one excludes Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya, Class B is narrowly stronger than Class A overall.
Class A’s constant confrontations with villains have been a double-edged sword in some ways. Academics-wise, Class B seems to be doing better than Class A.
In Chapter 195, All Might notes that while Class A has had more experience from getting into trouble with villains, Class B has been consistently growing, working hard, and keeping up with classes and training.
Class B did better in both the final exam and the provisional license exam. Also, only Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, and arguably Asui and Uraraka have proper experience fighting villains. The villains the whole class faced during the USJ attack were relatively weak.
I. U.A. Sports Festival Arc
- During the first round, the obstacle course, Class A, took the lead for the most part. In Chapter 25, All Might and Aizawa noted that the USJ incident had helped Class A not hesitate and increase their reaction time.
- Out of the 42 that made it past the first round, most of Class A was among the top 21, while most of Class B was among the bottom 21. Only Shiozaki, Honenuki, Tetsutetsu, and Awase got a few of the top spots.
- In Chapter 27, Monoma revealed Class B held back during the obstacle course on purpose to learn about their rivals’ quirks. Monoma’s team even inconspicuously grabbed the second spot on the table.
- Class B definitely performed better during round two. However, they were soon at their limits with their quirks and were no match for Class A’s tenacity.
- Class A’s teams were all strategically formed, and Mineta, Asui, and Shoji probably had the most creative strategy of all the students by hiding inside Shoji’s arms like a tank.
- Class B’s quirks and decision-making skills still hadn’t had the time to develop by the Sports Festival Arc.
- Shiozaki defeated Kaminari instantly during the tournament, but she was later outwitted by Iida just as quickly. Tetsutetsu and Kirishima were evenly matched and had to resort to a tiebreaker arm-wrestling match. Thus, it would be fair to say that Class A was stronger during the Sports Festival.
II. Joint Training Arc
The Joint Training Arc was the first time fans got to see Class A and B properly fight each other. Since Shinso was included too, it made for a perfect way to compare the performance of two classes to that during the Sports Festival.
- Class A won the first match but were overwhelmed by Class B’s strength. Asui was the only one who thought of a tactical strategy to counterattack. Class A wouldn’t have won without Shinso’s brainwashing. Class B’s initial strategy was good, but their teamwork and communication fell apart towards the end.
- Class B’s strategy and planning during the second match were phenomenal. They were better prepared and came up with a two-tiered plan. Kendo’s strength and Yaoyorozu’s indecisiveness were highlighted. Although Yaoyorozu’s foresight seemed to give Class A a chance at first, Class B won due to Tokoyami underestimating Komori.
- Honenuki’s flexible plans helped Class B overpower Class A during the third match. Class B was able to outsmart and counter even Todoroki, who made terrible decisions strategy-wise. Class A had no tactical plans and would’ve lost to Class B if it weren’t for Iida. Tsunotori’s quick, rational thinking towards the end got Class B a draw.
- Bakugo surprised us all in match four. Class A wasted no time– they were efficient, supported each other, amplified each other’s strengths, and countered Class B as a smooth functioning unit. Class B’s plan was too rigid and focused solely on ambushing Class A.
- Class B had a good strategy during the fifth match. Monoma’s plan would have worked if Midoriya hadn’t lost control in the middle of the match. Yanagi, Shoda, and Kodai’s quirks worked together very cohesively.In the end, Class A won only due to their quick thinking, teamwork, and a little bit of luck.
III. Paranormal Liberation War Arc
In contrast to the Joint Training Arc, Volume 29 saw the two classes working together against Gigantomachia. The young heroes were forced to fight Gigantomachia as well as the League Of Villains.
- As Midnight fell, she left Yaoyorozu with orders to create an anesthetic to put Gigantomachia to sleep. Yaoyorozu’s indecisiveness was tested, but she rose to the occasion.
- Jiro and Shoji used their quirks to determine how far away Gigantomachia was and the direction from which he was approaching.
- Using Mineta’s sticky balls and Honenuki’s softening, the students managed to trap the giant while Shiozaki restrained him with her vines. Kendo, Sato, and Shishida also worked together to hold him down using cables. Restraining Gigantomachia was no small feat, and both classes have clearly grown in strength since the Joint Training Arc.
- Both classes worked together to attack the villains on Gigantomachia’s back but were blasted away by Dabi and Mr. Compress. Ashido and Kirishima’s teamwork helped the plan to sedate Gigantomachia succeed. The strength of the students that faced Gigantomachia seemed to be on par with each other.
2. Which Class Will Produce The Next Big Three?
While Class B has strong students like Kendo, Shiozaki, and Honenuki, who would make great heroes, Class A has powerhouses like Bakugo, Todoroki, and Iida, who still have the potential to grow.
While Iida did perfectly fine during the provisional license exam, both Todoroki and Bakugo failed it. Since being a hero is more than just strength, if Bakugo fixed his attitude, Class A could definitely provide the next Big Three.
3. Conclusion
Class A and Class B are still forty of the strongest students out of the hundreds that applied to U.A. Both classes have the same lessons, training, and opportunities to grow. Class A’s additional experience doesn’t amount to much and only gave them a head start at the beginning. Since then, Class B has slowly but surely caught up.
4. About My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected in 37 tankōbon volumes as of February 2023.
It follows a quirkless boy Izuku Midoriya and how he backed the greatest Hero alive. Midoriya, a boy who has been admiring heroes and their ventures since the day he was born, came into this world without a quirk, where almost everybody is born with one.
On one fateful day, he meets All Might the greatest Hero of all time and discovers that he was quirkless as well. With his diligent attitude and unwavering spirit about being a hero, Midoriya manages to impress All Might. He is chosen to be the heir to the power of One for All.
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