So this isn't a chapter relating to the story first and foremost but this revolves around the story.

So I've been told of some issues with Izuku's character and how he's kinda racist. Technically, they aren't wrong. However, this isn't what you should take out of his character. Like Oda does with his characters, I'm trying to do a bit of show not tell which is explaining Izuku's mindset in the entire story. The biggest thing I want to point out is the aspect of morals vs ethics here.

So to start off, let's define both and understand the differences. So a moral is a personal rule and conduct you live by. So to define, not raising a hand to women for men and not talking back to your parents. These are examples of what morals are. It is possible to have bad morals and cause troubles for those around you. This is why it's crucial for parents who tend to be the ones around their children the most, to set moral standards for children as they learn what is right and what is wrong from them as a whole.

Ethics are rules of conduct given to a society or set group to live by. This is able to vary from group to group by area, overall moral codes, and rules instilled into the community. Thanks to these tangents, you see changes in ethics such as in Asian countries who find it immoral to kiss in public and places like the US where it's socially acceptable. Ethics of course are the general moral compass of people and cannot be what you follow by morals. As such, there can be conflicting interests due to this. That however doesn't mean one is initially bad and the other is good. Sometimes one is and one isn't. Sometimes both are bad. And sometimes both are good. It's all more or less a conflict of interests when these two are on opposing sides.

Now you're all probably wondering how this ties with Izuku in this fic? To put it bluntly, Izuku doesn't follow a code of ethics. To him, ethics of the social norm has done nothing for him but caused trouble. When he was a child, he was ridiculed for something he had no control of that morally, people should've denied doing this. However, the abnormality of him being quirkless denied the common code of ethics and thus, people shunned him. When he was sold to the Celestial Dragons, their ethics were anything other than another Celestial Dragon was beneath them. As such, moral compasses didn't tell them otherwise. When he was in the Ryugu kingdom, the morality and ethics aligned right for him, but people stepped on that kindness and stole wealth and people from the kingdom. As such, he follows what he thinks is right by his moral standards, remaining somewhat away from the ethic standards because of this.

Thanks to this, Izuku doesn't want much interaction with humans because he has bad history and is wary to openly trust them. Fishmen due to them going through the same thing as Izuku, makes them both capable of relating to one another. So with this said, does this make Izuku a racist? Well...no completely. Yes Izuku is judgmental towards humans specifically. If we're looking at just that, he is racist. However in context here, this is the same as seeing the absolute worst of a group of people to make that the societal norm and then being told this isn't the norm and you have to trust them saying it isn't. Naturally, you will not be willing to trust this. Adding to the fact Izuku has been exiled from humanity in a sense already, the overall trust he should have that not everyone is bad is shaken and very hard to get back. Even though he is openly accepted by the Ryugu kingdom and his new family, that doesn't mean old wounds are healed.

But even though Izuku has trust issues with humans, his moral code of helping those that are in need still betrays this. As an example, Izuku gains nothing from saying to help Pony and Kendo at the USJ or saving Iida from Stain. He did this because that was the morally right thing to do. So does this make Izuku actually a good person? Well, no. This also doesn't mean he's a bad person either. Overall Izuku is in the gray if we're being honest and he's fine with it. Izuku isn't looking to be a good person or a bad one. He's looking to do what he deems right. Now Izuku does know he can be obnoxious and an ass and he accepts that because he knows Shyarly will put him back in line if he steps too far out for his own good.  The thing with this Izuku is understanding one thing specifically. When something breaks, it can sometimes never be repaired to what it once was. The Izuku shown here is one that is at his core broken and is still trying to heal. It takes time to regain trust when it's lost the way it was for Izuku. That doesn't mean it's completely irredeemable though.

I hope this touched on any loose ends people have had with this story and can respect this Izuku a little better. If there's something I missed that you're still confused on, please leave a comment and I'll try and answer you the best I can.