As the former Symbol of Peace, All Might occupies a unique position in My Hero Academia where he is simultaneously one of the series' most beloved characters and also one of its most controversial. While it is undeniable that his decades-long crusade resulted in record-low crime rates, one could also argue that his suppression of the problem, not elimination, was indirectly responsible for the increased villain threat plaguing the entirety of Japan.
Though he never intended to, All Might’s drive to mold Midoriya Izuku into a worthy successor of One For All has given off the impression that he doesn’t particularly care for his student as a person. Just like the big-picture effects of his time as the Symbol of Peace tends to overshadow the individual effects All Might had on certain people, it’s easy to forget how he shows his love and appreciation for Deku in the smaller moments.
10 When All Might Scolded Deku For Abandoning The American Dream Plan
To prepare Deku's body to inherit One For All, All Might created a grueling workout plan he called the American Dream Plan. That would tone Deku's body enough to allow him to take in One For All right before his UA entrance exam. Unfortunately, that timeline was far too lenient for Deku. Deku supplemented All Might's plan with workouts of his own, going the extra mile since.
Deku only realized how mistaken he was when he collapsed while on a workout supervised by All Might. All Might instantly realized that Deku hadn't been following his prescribed plan and chastised him, but he couldn't fault Deku's reasoning. Instead of simply redirecting him back to the old plan, All Might decided to prepare a new one taking Deku's concerns into consideration while making sure his protégé still had enough rest.
9 When All Might Personally Narrated Deku's Acceptance Letter
During their first meeting, Deku had poured his heart out to All Might, letting his hero know just how much he had meant to him. All Might knew how much of an inspiration he was to Deku, even if he didn't understand the extent, so it made his narration of Deku's acceptance letter to his dream high school even more meaningful. Deku had been skeptical of his chances of getting accepted into UA since he technically failed the exam.
Fortunately for Deku, his burst of heroism near the end against a "worthless" opponent had been exactly the quality the event was meant to unearth. All Might told him just as much in a holographic projection, along with the fact that Ochaco Uraraka had vouched for him. Hearing that his actions had earned him a place in UA and having All Might personally welcome him there was enough to drive Deku to tears.
8 When All Might Supported Deku During The Sports Festival
The main goal of UA's Sports Festival was for students to attract Pro-Heroes for them to intern under, but All Might had a secondary task for Deku. He intended for him to announce that he would be the next All Might through his performance—without divulging the secret of One For All, of course. All Might's suggestion lit a fire underneath Deku that ended up having negative consequences, but his performance in earlier events was exceptional.
Without relying on One For All, Deku managed to beat his classmates in an obstacle course even though they had full use of their Quirks, and his team was among those who qualified in the cavalry battle. Unfortunately, Deku took his charge too far while fighting Shoto Todoroki, but that was triggered more by his personal vendetta with his classmate than by a need to please his mentor.
7 When All Might Helped Deku To Find An Internship
As impressive as Deku's showing at the Sports Festival was, his apparent lack of self-preservation and crazed appearance ended up scaring potential Pro-Hero sponsors away. Most of Deku's classmates had received offers and were already looking forward to interning under different Pro Heroes. When offered a list of Pro-Heroes who accepted UA students, Deku was still having trouble deciding until All Might showed up.
All Might had previously written to Gran Torino about Deku but was only just informing him about the opportunity to train under his former master. Under Gran Torino's harsh tutelage, Deku was forced to rethink how he was using One For All and this led to him developing his Full Cowling super move, the base for every feat of super-strength he's performed. Deku's internship ended up giving him the most dramatic improvement in Class 1-A over the week.
6 When All Might Told Deku About All For One
When passing One For All on to Deku, All Might knew that the Quirk came with a lot of responsibility, but he believed that he had already handled the worst of it. The Quirk was made to defeat All For One, but the villain had been dormant since their final fight and was assumed dead. Unfortunately, several tell-tale warning signs began to convince All Might that his old nemesis could be resuming his villain activities once again.
At the earliest signs of trouble, All Might sat Deku down and told him about the threat All For One could still potentially pose and that it was now his responsibility as One For All's wielder to defeat him if he reappeared. While it was definitely a heavy burden to place on a high schooler, All Might's decision to preemptively inform Deku about All For One was a much better and safer strategy for Deku than waiting for All For One to strike first.
5 When All Might Convinced Deku's Mother To Let Him Remain In UA
After the Kamino Incident, the entire school staff decided to introduce a school dormitory that would house the entire student population. Since they understood that Katsuki Bakugo had been taken on their watch, they knew parents might be worried, so they decided to make personal house calls. All Might visited Deku's home only to find Deku's mother staunchly against the idea of Deku joining the dormitory—or returning to UA at all.
Deku's constant injuries and recklessness had begun to eat away at her, and the fact that students had been taken did little to ease her nerves. All Might hadn't planned on doing so, but her genuine concerns led him to reveal that he was training Deku to become his successor. He stressed just how important Deku was to him and his mission, finally winning Inko over with his earnestness.
4 When All Might Agreed To Twist Fate With Deku
Ever since All Might refused to put in a recommendation to Sir Nighteye's agency for his work-study, Deku knew there was something his mentor wasn't telling him. All Might and Sir Nighteye parted ways because of a vision Sir's Foresight Quirk had shown him. The vision foretold All Might's death at the hands of a strange villain if he continued his heroic pursuits, leading Sir Nighteye to refuse to work with All Might as a hero anymore.
Having just overturned a similar prophecy Sir Nighteye made about him, Deku was the best person to reassure All Might about any fears he still harbored concerning the prophecy. He confronted All Might with the secret he had uncovered and was surprised with a heartfelt confession he couldn't have expected. All Might revealed that nurturing Deku and observing his growth had given him a renewed zest for life and that he didn't intend to die that way.
3 When All Might Copied Deku's Notebooks
Before Deku inherited One For All, he still had every intention of becoming a Pro-Hero, even if he would be a Quirkless one. To get around his disadvantage, he studied other heroes and their super moves, recording everything he learned in special notebooks that he called "Hero Analysis for The Future." Deku's notebooks and meticulous note-taking remained with him even after he successfully enrolled in UA.
Deku's note-taking was so infectious that he inspired his classmates. He helped Jiro prepare similar notes for their class concert but was completely oblivious to All Might's adoption of the same strategy. To better prepare Deku for the Quirks that he was soon going to unlock, All Might used Deku's note-taking format to gather all information available about the previous One For All users and their Quirks.
2 When All Might Wanted To Stop Deku's Match
Deku's Blackwhip Quirk manifested in the worst possible manner: going out of control during a Joint Training exercise with Class 1B and wreaking havoc on their training grounds while dragging him along for the ride. While its sudden manifestation confused all who witnessed it, most of them were used to Deku's shenanigans and believed he had a plan that would soon be apparent. All Might was the only one who truly understood the danger.
All Might immediately advised Eraserhead to call off Deku's match on account of his volatile Quirk. His concern was so visible that both Eraserhead and Vlad King instantly set off to subdue Deku, but it turned out they needn't have anyway. Before Eraserhead could erase Blackwhip, Ochaco Uraraka had already come up with and implemented her idea to have Deku brainwashed by Shinso, quelling the rampaging Quirk.
1 When All Might Took Care of Dark Deku
After the Paranormal Liberation War and the societal collapse that followed, Deku began to approach his role as the Symbol of Peace with more fervor than ever before. He left UA to operate as a vigilante in the chaotic outside world. Deku was only concerned with saving other people, but luckily he had someone in his corner. All Might kept up with Deku on his patrols as best as he could and made sure his successor remained in prime condition.
All Might prepared several meals for Deku who had taken to not eating and was a constant voice of reason encouraging him to seek rest while he could. In fact, it was his devotion to Deku during this period that made it all the more heartbreaking when Deku forced his mentor to stop following him around. All Might's hurt reaction alone was enough proof that he genuinely cared about Deku.