Bnha Critical - Tumblr Posts

You know what the moment it was revealed Izuku was left with the embers back in 424, I knew he was going to become Horikoshi's previous protagonist from 2008... Jack Midoriya.

I'm sure almost everyone has heard of Jack Midoriya, right?

Well, guess what, you are today!

Let me just point out something that I noticed when it comes to Horikoshi and his concepts and characters. Some of the characters are characters from his previous works and maybe he has used a certain concept before. Izuku Midoriya and his story is no different. It's been told before but in a different flavor.

(I kid you not that every time I think I'm done finding every character and concept Horikoshi has used before, I'm not done. I'll probably make a post of a list!)

For those who don't know, Horikoshi had an one-shot manga published back in 2008, which is 16 years ago, called My Hero. Already seems familiar, doesn't it?

Well, it should be. My Hero Academia is like a more revamped version of that story, just expanded with more added themes and characters and a different setting.

In summary of My Hero, Jack Midoriya is a salesman who wants to be a hero, but due to being anemic and failing his Hero License exam (yes, that exists), he can't become one officially. However, it doesn't stop him from trying! Throughout the story, Jack does still try to be a hero, using the gadgets the company he works for makes. Spoiler alert, by the end of the story, he is recognized as a hero. Especially, by the one person he has looked up, Snipe aka the real Positive, the mantle Jack used during his vigilante run.

Now, how does this may relate to Izuku Midoriya?

Throughout the story, it seemed that a quirk, a good one, is what was needed for someone to be a Hero. Izuku was born Quirkless and his dreams of being a Hero seemed fruitless, nearly shut down when his role model, All Might tells him so. (Which Snipe does to Jack.) However, after trying to save Katsuki, All Might sees that Izuku does have the ambition to be a Hero and Izuku inherits the One For All Quirk from him.

Now I know some of you said that was pointless for him to have a Quirk and then lose if he was going to become a Hero anyways using gadgets.

But, folks, that was it. There is a point. And the point is... it was pointless.

Here's what I'm getting...

One theme I think is often looked over is "be your unapologetic self" and another could be "work with what you have".

Izuku never needed a Quirk to be the best Hero he could be because he already had Heroic qualities, but he did need a Quirk to see that.

One For All was a Quirk that needed to be gone. It was a curse disguised as a blessing. It worked so to challenge Izuku into becoming the Hero he always meant to be. Just as Jack Midoriya did in his story.

Now that Izuku is Quirkless, he now can become that Hero. He still has room to grow and learn from what he did fail at in the past to be better in the future.

It wasn't something he was going to learn overnight just as society isn't going to change overnight.

While MHA has some fantasy elements, just like many other stories before and after, it is a reflection of the real world sometimes. One reality is that it takes a long time to finally understand something.

In real life, it takes people years to understand "Hey, that's not right" or "maybe I should change this about me".

The characters of MHA are no different.

"Society hasn't changed, there's still discrimination, there's still rankings and---"

Well, yeah. Again reflection of the real world.

And just because the changes aren't seen, doesn't mean that they can't happen or that they didn't happen.

The last chapter gave us glimpses of what transpires over the eight years. What if those events have changed? Even not then, what about later?

"What about the talk between Katsuki and Izuku?" Just because we didn't see it, didn't mean it didn't happen. It was revealed Katsuki put in a lot of money for Izuku's Hero equipment, so that's a sign for me that they did talk some more because knowing Katsuki, he wouldn't have just done that unless he knew Izuku would be okay with it somehow.

Hell, they still had two years of high school left together. You're telling me it's impossible that they didn't have a talk?!

Sometimes I feel like some of you decide "this sucks" is because you just don't have the patience to try to decipher the message yourself. You want it handed out to you.

Not me, I want a writer to challenge my imagination because that gets my mind working and really engaged with the story. I might not understand it, but it's not that big of a deal for me. I'll still try to understand and if I never get it, I'll just move on.

Really my overall take from "Izuku being Quirkless again but still a Hero" among other things is that yeah, work with what you have. Just because you receive something that may be a blessing, it will also curse you in some way. The things and changes you want won't happen overnight, it takes time. Izuku was already a Hero, or at least one in the making.

And honestly, Izuku wearing a suit (because he's a teacher) and still being a Hero with gadgets just visually is like a reminder of "I'm not forgetting where I started" from Horikoshi.

It's wholesome in a way that he went back to an earlier work and still used his intended concept for Izuku (he wanted to make him an adult but had to change it to Izuku being a high schooler) of his last chapter. Full circle! My Hero may not be Horikoshi's first work (yes, folks, it's not), but it's familiar.

And I know some of you may not care for my opinion because I'm sure this post made you feel some kind of way (not my intention, but damn it, I'm tired of not expressing how I feel), but I know some of you might.

My overall thought of the finale? It is not as bad as some of you make it out to be. I'm sure there are worse endings out there and it's not like Izuku didn't become a Hero. It's not like Izuku didn't have people by his side because he did.

"But he was lonely." Well, you would, too if you couldn't hang out with your friends. But they're adults now and busy. Izuku is busy, too, he's a teacher.

"But Izuku's feelings!" Cut it because this is the same fandom where some of you don't care how he feels. He cries, it was annoying to you. Oh, but when he was neglecting himself y'all sure was like "yeah so badass".

I see myself in Izuku with how he treats his emotions. He's expressive, but he also tends to keep in his feelings. He even keeps them from us, the audience.

"Eight years it took him to be a Hero again!" Back to my original point. Izuku was always a Hero. You don't have to go out there and fight to be one. You don't need a Quirk to be one.

Overall, I don't hate the ending at all. It have easily been worse.

Sure I would have loved more Miruko, but I'm glad she's alive and some other Heroes didn't get the spotlight like that anyways. She is still a minor character, so I'm not actually upset. 😆

Anybody Else Disappointed With How Hawk’s Been Written Lately?

(Exclaimer: I still really like MHA & Hawks)

WARNING RECENT MANGA SPOILERS Personally, ever since he killed Twice, Hawk’s character has slowly gone downhill.

It started when there weren’t any moments where Hawk’s feelings on killing Twice weren’t shown. I know he didn’t want to, but seeing Hawks feel the guilt would coincide well with the hero society’s corruption.

Another thing that would’ve been interesting is Hawk’s having mixed feelings on Endeavor after learning about how the latter treated his children. For a long time, Hawks saw Endeavor as a role model like Midoriya and Bakugo with All Might, so I think learning that his hero isn’t so different from his own father would be good character development. Hawks would feel confused on how he should feel about Endeavor for a bit, but will learn to see Endeavor as human after seeing him wanting to atone for what he did. It would be good for the plot too since it’s a parallel to how civilians heavily admire and rely on the heroes while forgetting that they aren’t perfect people.

I don’t like Hawk’s ending. Instead of becoming the new HC president, I would’ve preferred Hawks taking a break from the hero life and learn to live as Keigo Takami. Hawks lived most of life training to be a hero and a tool for the Hero Commission. He deserves to step back. Also, with the Chapter 429 leaks, I didn’t like Hawks new idea with the hero rankings. It doesn’t change the core issues with hero society. I’m going to be hopeful that the last chapter will show positive changes.

Something else I didn’t like was Hawks saying he abandoned his family and should’ve helped. That couldn’t be further from the truth. His parents abused him and his mom abandoned him to the hero commission. Hawks was just a kid. It was also in bad taste when Hawks commended Shoto for forgiving Endeavor when Hawks couldn’t with his parents. This makes it seem like not forgiving your abuser is a bad thing, which it’s not. The main point of moving on with your trauma is to heal from it, not forgive your abuser. If Hawks couldn’t forgive his parents, that’s okay.

I still really like Hawks, but I feel like he wasn’t written to his full potential.

Ugghh been consuming some bnha stuff and I'm reminded of why I largely prefer fanfiction over the actual story. I have so much hate and pettiness within me. Even so, I am never going to change my mind on how much I hate how bnha is just an amalgamation of wasted potention. Search the definition of wasted potential up and there's just an image of bnha.

I remember watching it as the first season was coming about because it was made by Bones and I just have to watch it in that case. I watched episode one and was so excited.

We have our mc, Midoriya Izuku, being powerless in a world full of quirks.

His childhood friend turned bully, Bakugou Katsuki, is shown to be favoured by literally everyone and this feeds into his ego.

All Might, the number one hero, is jaded and powerless for 21 hours of the day because of a fight nobody knew existed. Izuku is attacked and helpless, but saved by All Might. All Might tells him he can't become a hero. A much needed reality check because Izuku didn't work out a single bit before then and it's so incredibly hard to fight someone who has something you lack.

Then Bakugou is attacked and helpless. Bakugou, who is so much stronger and who people love, is left useless, only able to make the situation worse with his explosions creating a fire hazard. The pro-heroes can't do anything. All Might and Izuku both hate themselves for the part they played and how useless they are. Then Izuku sees how scared Bakugou is. He runs in, inspiring All Might as he mocks himself for breaking Izuku's dream yet forgetting the core of heroism.

Then, after all is said and done, All Might goes back to Izuku. And he tells him he can become a hero.

...

Then he offers him One for All. Now, when I was watching this for the first time, I was so disappointed. You set up a powerless mc in a world full of powers and you just give him the power of the strongest hero? Great. But, I kept watching.

I watched Izuku work to get his power, struggle even after getting a quirk. I watched as Izuku finally stood up for himself and win against Bakugou. I watched as the series went on and I... I started noticing more and more missed opportunities.

See, bnha is supposed to be a zero to hero story. It's supposed to be about the mc going from powerless to powerful. But it does it so quickly. Suddenly, it's not about Izuku finding his own form of strength, or realising how being quirkless may not give any advantages but it also has no disadvantages, or even any commentary on quirk discrimination or fantastic racism or anything.

It turns into a story about controlling your power. It's not what I signed up for.

That's just one missed potential. There's so many more. Horikoshi clearly tries to make some commentary on quirk discrimination and female heroes/sexism in the workplace and entertainment over peace. There's some effort put into making a comment on how heroes are glorified and people don't see them as public workers, they see them as celebreties.

But it's never delved into. We don't see how bad people with mutant or 'villainous' quirks are treated, and we don't see how people with weak quirks are treated, or how the quirkless are treated (because the only reason Izuku was treated so horribly was because of Bakugou). We don't see how female heroes need to have a bit of allure in their personas to have any sort of support.

Yuuei is literally a camp for making child soldiers, yet there's no controversy over it? There's no such things as heroes having to take lethal action and no moral dilemmas over it? There's nobody speaking out about how Midnight flirts with students?

We have literally no information about how heroes work. We don't know how their salaries are decided, how they're ranked, how undergound heroes work. if twilight heroes are a thing, how anybody but Rock Lock feels about bringing children into adult matters, (seriously, why do people hate Rock Lock for being rightfully worried about having 15 year olds in a raid against the yakuza), we don't know how villains work and how to decide if one's a criminal or a villain.

Heck, the only laws we know of are fanon, and the canon stupid idea that you can't use your quirk in self-defense.

It's just. Incredibly infuriating.

Also, analysis as a whole is so under-utilised. Both Izuku and Shigaraki are deemed creepy for their analysis, which is such a useful tool. I mean, Izuku accurately guesses Stain's quirk, which is useful because, otherwise, they wouldn't be wary about Stain licking their blood or cutting them. Shigaraki accurately guesses the time intervals between Aizawa's blinks, which helps him a shit ton.

But is it ever used outside of these situations? No. The thing is, quirks are scientific in nature, not magic. Therefore, they're not restricted like magic is. Fire doesn't always have to be fire, it can be smoke or just heat. Ice can be water or steam. Acid can melt through anything or just be used as a mario kart banana peel.

There was so much missed potential and that's exactly why there's so much fan content.

Horikoshi leaves so much out, and everything he misses tends to be the interesting parts. He willfully explains Bakugou's quirk in detail, but everyone else? Nah. Fuck them.

I mean, let's look at Ochako's quirk.

Gravity negation. Or is it? See, if it were just gravity negation, then two things, in particular, would happen. First of all, Izuku would have fucking died when she saved him from falling. Second of all, she would not have been able to get infinity in the ball throw.

Negating gravity does not negate the forces. Therefore, when she saved Izuku from falling, he would have still been affected by the force of his fall. It would have been no different from hitting the concrete. Additionally, when she threw the ball, it kept going. Air drag would have made it so that she couldn't possibly get an infinity.

More accurately, rather than force negation as some fanfics suggests, she's telekinetically accelerating whatever she touches. She telekinetically accelerates Izuku's body to stop him falling, and does the reverse for the ball, making it so that it continues to accelerate after she throws it.

See what I mean? Because Horikoshi gave Bakugou's quirk a scientific explanation with him sweating a nitroglycerin-like substance and being able to spark it, you have to look at every quirk with scientific knowledge. He could have said 'oh, yeah, I store energy from my quirk in these gauntlets' but Hori just had to be a smartass.

By the way, because of Bakugou's explanation, it's possible that his quirk is not what is named. Yes, it's possible to have two sides of a quirk, as we see in Shouto, but Bakugou's quirk isn't explained in the same way.

Rather than his quirk being creating explosions, his quirk is more like creating sparks in his palms. Why? Well, you see. Bnha never delves into actual quirk theory, but there's more than enough canon evidence that you have one main quirk and then one or more quirk mutations. For example, Ashido Mina's quirk is secreting acid that she can manipulate the acidity and viscocity of. Her appearance is not related to her quirk at all, meaning it's a quirk mutation from her parents. Same with Tokoyami Fumikage. Quirk is Dark Shadow, so there's no need for the bird head.

Why does this relate to Bakugou? Let me explain: Bakugou explains that he recieved a mutation from his parents with his mother secreting glycerin and his father sweating acid with combustive properties. In other words, Bakugou inherited nitroglycerin-like sweat from his parents, but his actual quirk is being able to create sparks.

His quirk is 'Sparks'. Not Explosions.

Why am I ranting about this? Because bnha completely misses all of this! It makes no sense which is a shame because the concept is so interesting! But then it throws away any scraps of potential left when it becomes 'My Kacchan Academia'.

Seriously, why do people and why does Horikoshi love abusive pieces of shit so much? Why did he throw away the potential to look into Shouto and his siblings' feeling about Endeavour? Why did he make Dabi's plot all about Endeavour instead of Shouto?

It's so easy to compare the ways Dabi and Shouto handle their trauma and their ways of revenge. It's so easy to look at Dabi and think about how easy it would have been for Shouto to become like him.

Shouto was transfixed on Endeavour. Everything he did related back to his hate for Endeavour. Using his quirk, fighting, grades, social interaction, everything. His only reason for becoming a hero is to spite Endeavour. It's only because Izuku reaches out to him and saves him from his own toxic mindset that he's able to move one and do things for himself.

Dabi, or Touya, on the other hand, doesn't get that. He doesn't get that person who recognises how far he's gone, how, in trying to spite Enveavour, he's living a life centred on him. How he's jealous of his little brother for being abused and tormented.

While Shouto became a hero to spite Endeavour, Dabi became a villain.

They're both full of hatred at first, but Shouto is saved from that spiral. Izuku helps him. Dabi doesn't have that. It would have been so interesting to see these two face of as parellels, but nope. It's all about Endeavour. Shouto is nothing more than an accessory.

I understand Dabi being hung up on Endeavour, but to outright replace Shouto with the abusive flaming trashbag? No.

Also, if Horikoshi wanted Dabi to be seen as sympathetic or redeemable, don't make him kill innocent people. Don't make it so that he unlocks an ice aspect to his quirk in a life-or-death situation because all that means is that Endeavour was right to hurt Touya the way he did. All that says is Endeavour should have hurt him more.

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON BAKUGOU.

This piece of shit bullied Izuku relentlessly for years, used his quirk on him (yes that is canon), told him to end his life, tried to assault him in Yuuei, tried to kill him, threw a tantrum at an abused kid for not being magically okay with using a quirk that reminded him of his abusive father, assaults Izuku when he tries to work together but still magically gets a pass for being carried out unconcious which Sero was failed for, and the list just keeps growing.

Oh, but my bad. He has a sad backstory. You see, he fell in a river.

Here's some maybe controversial takes on My Hero Academia:

Spoilers under the Read More

Horikoshi has this weird thing for trying and failing to redeem abusive characters

Bakugou's character development is shit and that apology was awful

Hori is not focusing enough on Izuku, his main character, and the lack of introspection is appalling

Mineta being Hori's self-insert is disgusting and the SpaceToon version is leagues better

Dabi should not have been given ice powers

Bakugou is getting way too much screen-time and relevance, considering he wasn't even planned to be a major character

Ochako has become stale and lost any flavour after the Sport's Festival arc

Toga is not a good character

Shigaraki is not a good person. He was implied to be when he was younger, but not at the current point of time

Aizawa is a shit teacher and plays favourites with Bakugou and Shinsou

Shinsou is a lazy, quirkist asshole who likes to play Trauma Olympics despite his backstory being incredibly tame and not traumatising in the slightest

Monoma is actually really interesting and I love him

Momo's powers are being undersold majorly and Hori refuses to give her anything

All Might gets bashed way too much

Mic is the best adult around

Izuku should have either always been quirkless throughout the series or never should have given OfA away

Hori has a habit of making gory things happen for shock value and then immediately resolving them

Kaminari's quirk is OP but Hori doesn't want to acknowledge that

Eri is a plot hole and the way the heroes use her is disgusting. She should have just had a minor rewind quirk that was strengthened by Trigger, making it so she literally cannot rewind All Might to his prime, or Aizawa's eye and leg, or dead people

Mirio is amazing and I love him

Kouda is the purest boy but his hero costume is ass

People forget Iida a lot and it's saddening

Mitsuki is not abusive. She's just Asian

Inko is on a weird scale of 'supportive' and 'neglectful'

Hori lets Bakugou get away with way too much

Outside of the IzuCrew, (Izuku, Shouto, Tenya, Ochako, Tsuyu), which side character are you the most excited to bring attention to?

Personally, I would either go for Momo, Neitou, or Mezou.

Momo, mostly because her quirk relies on science and I love science, and she absolutely needed more time to shine and women with bows or swords always makes me feel a sort of way.

Neitou because he's really interesting to me. A lot of people don't like him due to him antagonising 1-A, but I knew straight away that he was insecure and I think delving into how that impacts his actions would be really cool. Also, there's every chance he's as much of a quirk nerd as Izuku and I love that.

Mezou because he's both really cool and would make for a much better statement of quirk discrimination than Shinsou. He's shown to be protective over others despite being discriminated against for his appearance, and thinking about how he was able to take all of that hate and decided to become a hero to help people anyway is amazing. I also think the contrast of his 'scary' looks and how sweet he can be is both funny and endearing.

(Feel free to answer this whenever you want. No rush <3)

I mean, y'all know I love my girl Momo. Not only do I love her, there's just so much potential around her. So she's definitely the one I'm most excited for.

(Confession: I'm not super great at science so I might get things wrong surrounding her quirk, as well as others'. Just a heads-up in case something I say is blatantly bs)

Monoma is such an interesting character too. I personally think he was a better minor antagonist than Bakugou. He isn't shoved down our throats all the time, he's legitimately funny, and he gets called out consistently by Kendo and others. An antagonistic character should be fun like that.

(Also, he read Bakugou for filth. King shit right there)

Mezou is ABSOLUTELY better for discrimination. Especially because if we're being honest, Shinsou is an asshole who likes using his quirk on people. No, people putting him in a box wasn't right and yes, I enjoy his parallels with Izuku. But the series making such a big deal out of him when Shoji is RIGHT THERE feels... Off. I'll probably talk a little about everyone in regard to discrimination though. Every voice deserves to be heard in those case

man. spinner and shoji were two characters that i really enjoyed and wanted to see more of... until i did get to see more of them and horikoshi stomped on my dreams...

spinner goes from being one of the best characters to being ridiculously one-dimensional. the heroes don't do jack shit, until it's revealed at the last second that they did, meaning that everything the 'bad guys' did was ultimately useless. kurogiri being in a hospital made no sense; the guy is a high-ranking villain who is far too useful to the villains to give up, he should be in a highly secure location like tartarus. shoji goes from being someone who i really enjoyed to being someone with ignorant beliefs, despite him accusing his friends of being such people.

seriously, shoji's rant on how the 'people from the city' wouldn't understand because they 'had it easy'. NEWSFLASH: discrimination happens everywhere. yes, it's a lot more rampant outside of cities, but it still exists within a city. heck, i had someone scream racial slurs at me while i was walking home, and i live in a big city. to say that someone had it easy just because you had it worse is a horrible thing to say, especially when it's coming from someone who is supposed to be empathetic.

this is not shoji's beliefs. this is horikoshi's beliefs. he could have easily had shoji say something like 'you have had it hard. that being said, people are more willing to turn to extremes outside of the city'.

also, shoji's whole 'violence to get what you want never works out!!' is wrong. i'm not saying from a moral standpoint - that's perfectly fine. but it's historically wrong. yes, there are such a thing as peaceful protests, but they have never worked out as well as those that fight violence with violence. blm riots, for example, were the thing to force the government to take a closer look at why people were rioting and do things to prevent more property damage.

another thing i found troubling was how the mutants became enraged at a person of colour, specifically black, for trying to intervene and empathise with them, screaming that he could not understand. it's supposed to imply that racism wasn't a concern after quirks emerged, as people found other things to discriminate.

which is... very idealistic. if that were something people would really do, then racism wouldn't be a thing after sexism came to light. and neither of them would exist after the lgbt or the neurodivergent. but that's not what happened.

if someone else arises that people could discriminate upon, people would just add that to the list of things to discriminate on.

horikoshi could have drawn anyone for the mutants to yell at. he chose to use a person of colour. it comes off as very tone-deaf and it was just another sign that the mini-arc would screw up.

spinner losing his mind was bad. as in bad-bad. as in, there were so many ways to write this fight, and he chose this? instead of being a battle of ideaologies, it's shoji convincing the rest to step down, then trying to beat a mind-less spinner.

it could have been one of the best fights, with shoji's belief that using violence to solve your issues will only make it worse, and spinner arguing that using violence is the only way to do it with the state of their society.

no matter who won, in that case, it would be ultimately up to the readers to decide who truly won. who had the stronger argument, who made the more sense, all that jazz...

instead, shoji yells at a bunch of people about how 'destroying property isn't good' and 'violence is never the answer', all the while using violence to subdue him.

that could have been could, if it was commented on. if there were some sort of self-awareness.

but it's not and there is none. it went from being an arc i was really looking forward to reading, to something i can no longer stand.

shoji. spinner. you were both done so dirty

toshinori's character was supposed to encapsulate the idea that 'not everyone can be heroes, but everyone has the capacity for heroism'.

maybe you can't be a hero without a quirk, maybe you can't be a hero with strength.

but it doesn't change the fact that everyone can be heroic.

after all might's retirement, toshinori goes through a bit of an identity crisis, wondering who he is if he cannot be all might. and aizawa tells him straight up that he does not need to be all might. all he has to be is toshinori.

stain further exemplifies this, when he saves all might and tells him that it was not his strength that moved him. it was his actions. the all might statue built had been defecated, and this upsets toshinori. it makes him feel as though he failed in being a symbol of peace.

yet, when stain tells him that people loved all might for his actions and what he stood for, not his strength, a single person goes up to that statue and cleans it.

all might may have died, but toshinori lives on and that is all he needs to do. all he has to do is be himself.

...

all this gets thrown out with iron might.

iron might goes against what his character was building up to be, what his character was going to say.

'not everyone can be heroes, but all can be heroic.'

by giving us iron might, it erases that first half. because, while quirkless, toshinori is able to fight on using this suit to mimic quirks. which, while i'd accept if izuku did this at the start, or if a different quirkless character did, is just not good.

the whole point of all might dying was so that toshinori could live on. he shouldn't have to fight after everything that he's already done.

toshinori dying would have been trash, but i wouldn't mind it so much if he died an honorable and heroic death, such as saving someone from an attack, maybe having a call-back to izuku's 'my feet started moving on its own'.

he wouldn't be a hero in that moment, but he would be heroic, and that is what his character was supposed to say.

his character was supposed to show us that. we were supposed to gather that, even if toshinori is no longer a hero, he is still heroic.

supporting others, trying to reach out to izuku in his dark hero arc, dong whatever he can to keep morale up.

iron might is cool and all, but it goes against his own narrative.

horikoshi, once again, did him dirty. he does so many character dirty.

I need Bakugou stans to realise that it's not that I hate him as a person. It's that I hate him as a character.

A lot of my favourite characters are unrepentant assholes, or assholes who are set to or have already been redeemed. Vegeta from DBZ, Ouma Kokichi from DGR: V3, Dio from JoJo, Laxus from Fairy Tail, Greed from FMA: B, Bill from Gravity Falls, and the list that goes on.

If a character is a terrible person, that's fine by me. But if the author tries and fails to redeem them, yet still acts as though they are suddenly this amazing person, that's when I have an issue with it.

Bakugou was originally written to be a minor antagonist, and that would have been fine, if Horikoshi didn't suddenly go "I drew him crying so imma fix him".

Redemption is such a complex yet simple thing to do. So when you try to do it and fail spectacularly, um, yeah, I do not enjoy that character or your writing.

That is my main issue with Bakugou. I do not think he deserved any redemption, not because he's a bad person, but because there is nothing to convince me that he could change.

He gets one scene where he goes, "boohoo I lost and everyone is stronger than me" then cries, and that's supposed to be enough for him to become a better person? That is nowhere near enough.

There was no moment that made me believe he genuinely regretted and took accountability for the abuse he put Izuku through in middle school.

"He changed!" That's not my issue. I don't care that he's changed. I care that I don't believe in it. If there was a plausible reason as to why he changed, then I would be fine with it. Maybe I'd even enjoy him!

The fact that he's changed doesn't mean shit if it's not believable.

"That was in middle school!" Okay. This one pisses me off the most. That was a year pre-canon? Oh, wow, I guess that's completely fine! It's not as if characters are the way they are based on their past. Oh, Itachi killed the Uchiha clan before canon! Okay, maybe comparing a massacre to bullying is a bit unfair. Still, just because it happened a year ago, it doesn't mean it never happened. It doesn't mean that he's changed considerably.

"Izuku doesn't have any lasting damage and forgave him!" And? Just because your friend forgives their bully, it doesn't mean you have to forgive them. And, again, I do not believe Bakugou's apology was good in anyway. He was trash-talking Izuku, blaming All Might for Izuku's behaviour, and didn't accept any culpability for what he did to him. He didn't tell anyone else what he did to Izuku. Also, if Izuku really didn't have any lasting damage from the bullying, then why did Bakugou's apology make him calm down? If he didn't care about the bullying, then why is he so relieved by the apology? BECAUSE HE WAS AFFECTED.

"Bakugou was being abused!" ... NO HE WASN'T!! Mitsuki is not abusive. Yes, she hit him round the back of his head. After he threatened her. Anyone with Asian parents can tell you that her hit does not hurt. Not only is it somewhat normal in Asian families, but it also doesn't hurt. We have no evidence that she is abusive. Horikoshi knows how to set up abusive families, as seen with the Todorokis. This not that. Either way, even if she was, being abused doesn't mean it's okay to abuse others. You can hurt without hurting others.

"It's the school and teacher's fault!" No, it's not. Part of the fault lies with them enabling him, but Bakugou is already fifteen when the series starts. His mother clearly doesn't agree with his attitude. The school is only partially to blame. Bakugou should have learned by himself what is right and what is not. In fact, he clearly does know considering he doesn't want any of that stuff on his records in case U.A. rejects him.

Again. I don't care if he's a terrible person. I care that he's a terrible character.

So the next time someone says that I'm stuck in Season One, take a moment and think about what you're saying. Bad people in fiction are entertaining. Bad characters are not.

Now, I hate to say I told you so...

But I knew MHA was a travesty and the ending just proved it.

Normally, I respect writers/mangakas, because it's such a hard thing to do.

But Fuck Horikoshi

Mineta Minoru Haters

I'm not sure if they have read some older Manga which are extremely sexualized.

Mineta's shenanigans are extremely tame by comparison.

Secondly: why are people so hard up on the 'sexualization' of the girls in BNHA?

Shouldn't girls be allowed to wear what they want?

Endeavor Apologists are not writing off Endeavor's 'abuse' of his family. But they recognize that there is more to Endeavor's character, and his actions are a product of a society that puts affection on people with Quirks, and within that class of people, those with marketable quirks are favored over those who do not.

Endeavor's life and lifestyle revolved around this society which is focused on the idea of idolizing powerful quirks. What Endeavor believes is good for his family is shaped by the rather toxic environment of the BNHA society and the pro-hero industry. Having a strong quirk is what gets you ahead in life, so Endeavor ensures that his children who have quirks are trained to control these keys to success, which is what any parent would do for their child.

Despite Endeavor's good intentions, however, the results are destructive and self-destructive. That is something Endeavor only recognizes after his family is nearly torn apart. Now Endeavor is trying to fix the consequences of believing in a flawed system that ultimately brought more harm than good to what Endeavor ultimately cares the most about.

Endeavor apologists are not dismissing the abuse. But we recognize that Endeavor is a result of an abusive society. We also recognize that Endeavor is trying to change as a conscious rebellion against the pro-hero industry and society. Which is a heroic action all on its own.

Endeavor had a lasting impact on his family, but the fault was due to the environment he is a part of.

Recognizing that Endeavor is a product of a broken system and that he is working around it is something an Endeavor fan can respect.

That recognition of something wrong and working to change in some way does not erase Endeavor's actions, but it is something Endeavor Apologists choose to focus on MORE than the abusive behavior. Abusive behavior that is an extension of the abusive nature of the Pro-Hero industry the characters in the story slavishly support.

To hate on Endeavor Apologists for focusing on MORE than ONE aspect of Endeavor's character is to miss the fact that the abuse reflects worse on the Pro-Hero industry and the world-building.

i am so fucking pissed right now, i have to explain this. BNHA manga spoilers and TW for abuse, self harm is mentioned

I am so overly, absolutely pissed that people are just writing off and dissmissing the abuse and hell that Endeavor put is family through. simply because of the fact that he saved Natsuo once. one good deed is NOT enough to erase 19 years of trauma.

i understand he's making the decision to "atone" or whatever, but doing good things doesn't erase the fact that he was literally abusive.

Touya was literally raised to believe, FROM BIRTH, that his worth revolves around his potential as a hero, and his potential as a hero is dependent on the strength of his quirk, and having a strong quirk = affection which = attention. That was what Endeavor made him internalize from infancy. because of this, even after Endeavor told him to stop using his quirk, Touya continued to train, which, in of itself, was self harm. he continued burning himself due to the neglect and severe psychological abuse he was put through.

he abused his wife to the point of insanity, and because of that, her own children's faces were triggers for her. he kept Shoto separate from his siblings. he was fucking neglectful.

idgaf what you say, he was abusive.

he may be changing, but dont you FUCKING dare start defending him.

i get that this is fiction. i know the Todoroki family isn't real. however abuse is real, it has lifelong effects on people, it hurts, and it kills. if y'all are defending the abusers and blaming the victims even just in fiction, I don't even wanna imagine how y'all would react if you found out someone was/is being abused irl.

it sickens me that Endeavor apologists exist.

Endeavor Apologists are aware that he has done some questionable things to his family ...

Endeavor Apologists are not writing off Endeavor's 'abuse' of his family. But they recognize that there is more to Endeavor's character, and his actions are a product of a society that puts affection on people with Quirks, and within that class of people, those with marketable quirks are favored over those who do not.

Endeavor's life and lifestyle revolved around this society which is focused on the idea of idolizing powerful quirks. What Endeavor believes is good for his family is shaped by the rather toxic environment of the BNHA society and the pro-hero industry. Having a strong quirk is what gets you ahead in life, so Endeavor ensures that his children who have quirks are trained to control these keys to success, which is what any parent would do for their child.

Despite Endeavor's good intentions, however, the results are destructive and self-destructive. That is something Endeavor only recognizes after his family is nearly torn apart. Now Endeavor is trying to fix the consequences of believing in a flawed system that ultimately brought more harm than good to what Endeavor ultimately cares the most about.

Endeavor apologists are not dismissing the abuse. But we recognize that Endeavor is a result of an abusive society. We also recognize that Endeavor is trying to change as a conscious rebellion against the pro-hero industry and society. Which is a heroic action all on its own.

Endeavor had a lasting impact on his family, but the fault was due to the environment he is a part of.

Recognizing that Endeavor is a product of a broken system and that he is working around it is something an Endeavor fan can respect.

That recognition of something wrong and working to change in some way does not erase Endeavor's actions, but it is something Endeavor Apologists choose to focus on MORE than the abusive behavior. Abusive behavior is an extension of the abusive nature of the Pro-Hero industry the characters in the story slavishly support.

To hate on Endeavor Apologists for focusing on MORE than ONE aspect of Endeavor's character is to miss the fact that the abuse reflects worse on the Pro-Hero industry and the world-building.

Chapter 319 spoilers (AKA Bakugou Chastising and concerns. It’s Long. You’ve Been Warned)

I first want to say this. This will probably be the only time I do a reaction like this. And to any mutuals that see this that are fans of Bakugou, I will not judge you or tell you to block me on that principle alone. I have come across wonderful people that do like him, and were not rude at all in their explaining of why they like him.

It’s just for me personally, given what’s happened in the past along with his past actions, nothing will convince me he is a good character, and this chapter in particular drove me insane that I had to vent out my frustrations.

Because how I’m seeing it, he plays a large chunk into causing the coming conflict.

(If you come at me with ‘OMG READ THE MANGA DUMBASS’ or ‘LOOK UP THIS THING CALLED CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!’ Consider yourself blocked. Not interested.)

Yes. You certainly know Midoriya best.

You, who thought that the quirkless nobody was looking down on you when you fell in a creak and was simply wishing to help you out.

You, who thought that the quirkless nobody actually HAD a quirk all along and was simply hiding it just to make you look stupid.

You, who is seen to “socialize” with two or three individuals “normally”, and none of them were Izuku. And even then, they’re the ones that are force to initiate contact.

You, who when you interact with Izuku, is only for your benefit of learning all about his quirk, or to belittle him, and never to try to know him as a person.

Yes, you CERTAINLY know Izuku best.

1. Your catchphrase as a hero is “DIE!” and you howl and snap at the slightest thing that annoys you. You have NO room to judge on who’s insane.

2. You’re correct, Deku doesn’t have any self worth.

And who’s to blame for that, again? Do you even have the slightest clue?

3. I mean he trashed-talked Deku, he trashed-talked the other OFA users, HEY why not trash talk All Might too??? And while we’re at it, REDIRECT THE BLAME OF IZUKU’S LACK OF SELF-WORTH ONTO YOUR SUPPOSED IDOL!

Jesus, he’s keeping that entire stupid name. You literally took Jeanist and Midnight’s advice and said “Fuck that”, didn’t you?

And thank you Horikoshi, for making sure that Yaoyorozu is never allowed to have a spine.

Jirou? Kaminari? Todoroki? You gonna tell this asshole to not shout at someone who’s been nothing but supportive to you? No? K.

Truly, he’s had a plethora of Character Development. A far cry from how he was at the start of the series.

God you’re an asshole.

This.

This is unacceptable.

Midoriya’s first two friends blindly siding with his abuser.

This is hurtful to see.

Again, Bakugou, you have no goddamn room to mock Deku about being an All Might wannabe when your cringy ass name has “Might” in it. Sit down and shut the fuck up.

Also Iida, change his mind on what?!?!? No one asks him WHY he’s distanced himself or allowed him to explain! You all just showed up, with no indications that any of you are actually happy or relieved to see him alive, and essentially allowed Bakugou to turn it into an ultimatum!

This chapter’s name is called Friends. From the tone that I am seeing as of now, the title is false advertising.

Literally, how is it that we aren’t allowed to see anyone from 1-A happy to see Midoriya? Why isn’t anyone voicing a push to simply allow him to explain himself? Why is everyone on board for attacking a bruised and exhausted person, who they all called their friend? Why is no one acting like a goddamn hero and stepping in to help someone who clearly needs help?!?

Todoroki?!? Tokoyami?!? Asui?!?! Ashido?!? Shoji?!? Kirishima?!? Iida?!?

URARAKA?!?!?!?!?

Jesus, maybe 320 will prove me wrong but this looks like it’s meant to simply serve as Deku vs Bakugou 3 featuring all 1-A students. And that’s so stupid that NOW is the time to do it.

Whoever wins or loses, Midoriya will be betrayed by the ones he’s struggling so hard to protect. If he wins, there’s nineteen people that will be wounded and in need of medical care while out in the rain. If loses, then he’s reliving his entire childhood again, only this time, with his ‘friends’.

With fucking Bakugou leading the charge again.

I’m sorry but this chapter highlights why Bakugou continues to remain a stagnant character despite what so many people claim. And he once again shows he has no regard for anyone other than himself, especially Midoriya.

You know how he could have shown he was concerned for Midoriya? By not getting involved directly. Deku joined the others in saving Bakugou, but he prompted Kirishima to be the one to reach out and save him, the one person who Bakugou had an iota of respect for.

Bakugou could have prompted something similar. Either not be with the group at all, or join but only to be there on the off chance things go sideways. And he would allow only Iida, Todoroki and Uraraka to be the ones to talk to him, to reach out for him, to help him. Because he is self-aware that he is not good with emotions and that Deku needs help.

But fuck that! Get the whole gang to go after one person to attack, apprehend and drag him back with them against his will.

Sound familiar?

How no one else realizes this is a mystery.

Again, maybe 320 will prove otherwise, but all I can say is…I am not happy with how this turning out. And given how anything with Bakugou as the main focus usually twists in whatever way possible to make sure HE looks good, I will only continue to hate him even more.

If you are at this point, thank you for putting up with this. I am just… tired of this character. He continues to warp and ruin so many aspects of the story and he doesn’t bring anything important or interesting to the table. He destroys his own character development by himself. And he continues to prove why he has NO real business in being a hero or a main character.

To this day, he remains a spiteful, narcissistic, condescending bully that gets joy in harming others, especially Midoriya.

Fuck this character, Hori should’ve killed him when he had the chance.

I have seen a lot critical takes from Aizawa recently, and these (along with watching certain scenes over again) helped me cement the realization that I don’t like canon Aizawa all that much. He is certainly a competent hero, but an abysmal teacher ( again, as opposed to how I’ve seen him written in some stories where he actually is a good teacher and parental figure) with the occasional bit of him being a mouthpiece for certain hotheaded, egotistical characters. I don’t really have anything to add that has been said, and this post really isn’t about that, but to ask something else and to allow others to share their opinion.

Aizawa is essentially the first person when people think of the teachers at U.A, for the obvious reason that he teaches Midoriya and the rest of 1-A.

If given the opportunity, would you change that?

Would you have Aizawa strictly become an underground hero, making small appearances here and there (such as the raid against Overhaul marking his debut) and having someone else be 1-A’s homeroom teacher, such as Present Mic and Midnight (characters we are a bit more familiar with as well)? Or have All Might take a more prominent role in teaching? Is there one of the more ensemble teachers that you personally think has more potential of leading 1-A, like Ectoplasm, Snipe, Thirteen? Or would you try to have another pro hero come in teach 1-A, such as Gran Torino, Fat Gum or Gang Orca?

Or would you keep Aizawa, and just have him not be so blatantly hypocritical and come off as uncaring and lazy? And do you have your own improved take on him?

I am honestly curious.

I absolutely Love the fact that people argue that DFO is impossible, that it would be bad writing for the story and only has superficial evidence. As if edgeshot becoming bakugou heart didn't happen like three chapters ago.

It probably isn’t surprising, but I am of the mindset that, from a storytelling perspective, Todoroki would be the best at serving the deuteragonist for BNHA because he and Midoriya could be a better example of “Save to Win, Win to Save” or something similar.

For that to happen, I think we need to have him lower his walls around people a lot more gradually and for his relationship with Midoriya to build up slower over time. Go from hardly considering Midoriya at all, to, near the end of the story, view him as one of his best friends. I believe what hurt him to grow as a character in canon is that he suddenly became more empathetic and more of a team player IMMEDIATELY after the Sports Festival, and when he went to help save Iida from Stain. He seemed to be static after that, imo.

I think if it was more drawn out, where he gradually tried to be less practical and aloof with people and more conscious of others, he could learn how it works out for him, sometimes it backfires on him, which could lead him to sometimes having disagreements and arguments with Midoriya and others as he is trying to figure out what is morally right and what is logical. Then he can slowly learn to become his own kind of hero.

As for Iida and Uraraka (because like HELL am I not gonna make sure these babies get the attention they are due), these two are more involved with Midoriya and are his guardian angels in a sense and help Midoriya question and grow from his ideals sometimes. They don’t need to be glued to him on every corner to be their own characters (unlike some explosive loser I will not name). But they will certainly make an impact in each other’s lives as there will be times they will be in certain situations where they would think, “What would Izuku/Tenya/Ochako do?”

Anyway, that’s my idea on how I would have approached this.

Feel free to give your reasoning in the replies or reblogs if you want🙂

You're the one who brought up the amazing point about how the Joint Training Arc and Sports Festival should have been switched around!

I absolutely 100% agree. As both you and @sapphic-agent have brought up, holding the Sports Festival so early in the year puts the 1st year students at such a huge disadvantage and is honestly unnecessary. I know it's supposed to be their "first foray into the hero world" or whatever, but they've only been in school for like 2 weeks. Realistically, not every student was able to train and hone their Quirks in elementary and middle school. Not to mention that broadcasting their personal information and Quirks across the entire country wound up being incredibly shortsighted, given that the LoV used the Sports Festival to plan Bakugou's kidnapping.

I also completely agree that rather than the Joint Training Arc being class vs class, they should have shuffled the teams up. Not only would this build a better dynamic and character development for 1B, it would have made for some interesting character relationships and ability development for Izuku and the other characters.

Sorry this took long to respond back to, @nutzgunray-lvt !Thanks for the response to this! Yes, pretty much what you said is exactly the mindset I had when I was thinking about that post with @sapphic-agent, so I don’t have much to add other than glad coming across others that think like this!

Hi

I think ochako is one of the most under utilised and underrated characters. I'm not a fan of her character (no, i DONT hate her). She had so much of potential amd her fight with BK just proved she's more than a pretty face. I'm fully aware of the fact that this show is oversaturated with characters. But let's not forget that she is the main female lead of the show. My biggest issue with her is that she didn't get to do a god damn thing in the Stain arc. She joined the academy with the sole intention of making money, and that's exactly what Stain hates about the hero society. Their monetary outlook. She could have been a part of the arc, the build up was there. She could have shown Stain that yes, while there are heroes who are there solely for the financial gains, that doesn't make them bad people. She all she wanted was to help her family get out of the poor financial situation they were in. Instead, she gets the typical shonen lead heroine treatment- being the love interest and whose sole purpose in life is to be a satellite character to the male lead of the show.

All her effort in the UA sports festival to do her best against Bk, all the desires to make good income as a hero to help her family financially, devolved into a girl who becomes a blushing mess infront of her love interest.

They did her so dirty. She was one of the few female shonen characters who felt like she could be someone in life without having anything to do with matters of the heart.

Also, notice how it's other characters around her who enforce her this whole Deku crush on her. Mina, toga and Aoyama to name a few. These are the characters who constantly remind her of her feelings for deku, thus pushing her further and further away from the plot relevancy.

I find this very annoying and makes me sick to think that a girl with tremendous potential is now relegated to the role of a girl hopelessly in love.

One last question: So many people think she's a terrible person for wanting to make money. I'm like, what? Are you serious? (If you want me to give further explanations I will) but it's the most human and realistic thing to do when you're stuck in a financial rut.

Please let me know and thanks for reading my extremely long post

Cheers

Ooooooooooo Lordy.

(Cracks hands and neck)

First and foremost, I still love Ochako. But I can’t ignore what’s happened to her throughout the series.

Honestly, it’s been ages since I’ve had that exact thought about Ochako and Stain situation! While he had a valid point (that wasn’t further explored, HORIKOSHI) about there being heroes that didn’t have the EXACT same mentality as All Might, her duality of wanting to provide enough money to support her family all the while having the desire to save others for the sake of saving others would be honestly a culture shock to Stain. (Or he may go further into denial, it’s actually hard to say. Guy had a few screws loose.)

But it HONESTLY would have been interesting seeing these two interact! And not to replace anyone the Hosu trio! It honestly would have been cool seeing her trying to use her new Gunhead Martial Arts (though she probably would have been focused on saving Iida as Izuku and Shoto took on the role of the main fighters, but Stain could have also tried to go after them and Uraraka would attempt to hold her own against him.) And we would have had MOST of the Dekusquad there! (Asui had her own internship.) Hiw great would it have been seeing the Dekusquad fighting together! And Ochako going feral protecting Iida!

Yeah, she happened to be more focused only about her crush with Izuku as time went on, which made a lot of her early traits and accomplishments kinda fade away and be forgotten. But for the record, and I still stand by this. A girl having a crush on someone DOESN’T cheapen her in my opinion. It’s something that happens to many teenagers. And some of their interactions I think are handled well, like them talking about wanting to save their respective villains. But other times, yeah, it felt a bit excessive that Horikoshi had to stop and say, “Hey! Hey! Do you remember Ochako has a crush on Izuku?!?” I honestly was looking forward to seeing how she acted after she vowed to put her feelings aside during the provisional license exam. But…Hori just continued to drill it into our faces.

As for the biggest perpetrator of making Ochako only about Izuku, I lay on Toga’s feet. Mina, yeah, she brings up the crush as well, but it’s done more in good fun I feel. And I think Aoyama has done that once. (Now that I think about it, it’s kind of random how he suddenly knew about her crush. He never does it again.)

But Toga? Horikoshi could have used her for something else to make her relevant, but the ONLY thing she had connected to Ochako is their shared crush on Izuku. Others say theirs other themes between them, but I’m sorry. I don’t see it, or believe that it was handled effectively. Ochako had more than just a crush. Like you mentioned, her want to provide for her family. Her fighting spirit and prowess that she showed against Bakugou. She had things that could have been fleshed out more.

Toga was a wha-wha girl that embraced being a remorseless villain and happened to be crushing on the same guy Ochako was crushing on. That’s it. There’s nothing else really about Toga. And she became to Ochako what Bakugou became to Izuku: a detriment to her character and preventing her from becoming something MORE. (Sorry but not really if I sound cynical about Toga. I just got REALLY tired being demanded to care about her. Like some OTHER blonde.)

Speaking of which, your last question? I also never understood this. I get it for a quick joke and stuff like that. Hahaha. But when people were SERIOUS about holding that over Ochako’s head? I was like, “Did you not hear her entire motivation?!?” I was dumbfounded how people could possibly come to that conclusion.

I find it ESPECIALLY interesting NO ONE brings up that BAKUGOU also had the desire to be a hero for money,JUST TO BE RICH AND FAMOUS! But no, shit on Ochako for wanting to take care of her family! Filthy hypocrites. I honestly wish Horikoshi did a better job balancing both her looking out for heroes as well as wanting to have a good paying job for her family. I think both are completely character of her.

Anyways, you gave me a long post, I gave a long response. 😜 But honestly, thanks! I don’t honestly get these and I hope my answers or thoughts are interesting or understandable! Have a good one and thanks again!

@theuntamedangel

Let's Talk About Izuku and Bakugou's Relationship

Happy New Year, everyone! Thought I'd kick 2024 off with a new post. I haven't written an in-depth analysis in a while, so I figured now was a good time.

So, I've touched on this before, many times in fact. If you've seen my other posts, you know that I think that the BKDK relationship is a clusterfuck of codependency, abuse, and toxicity. But I don't think I've ever analyzed it frame-by-frame, so here's an attempt.

Childhood

The lake scene has the most focus than any other flashback in the series. It's meant to show us why Bakugou hated Izuku; he assumed Izuku looked down on him and saw him as weak. It's supposed to support the idea that Bakugou has an inferiority complex that's been present since he was a kid and that's why he lashes out at Izuku and wants to be rid of him. Because Izuku makes him feel weak.

But this isn't true. Or, it doesn't paint the whole picture.

One thing the lake scene seems to gloss over is the fact that Bakugou was always mean to Izuku. Maybe he wasn't as harsh and could be written off as just a kid being a kid, but he still made fun of him. He still went out of his way to make him feel bad about himself and humiliate him. He called him "Deku" way before either of them were (or weren't) given a quirk.

And he only ever did this to Izuku, not the other kids part of his posse. He, even at such a young age, saw Izuku as an easy target, someone he could easily shove around because he knew Izuku wouldn't fight back (this would persist for the next ten years).

It's important to note that there's only one instance where Bakugou's behavior towards Izuku turns violent. It's when Izuku defends a kid that Bakugou and his posse are picking on. This is the moment where Bakugou becomes physically aggressive; not when he found out Izuku was quirkless, during the lake, or any time before. It's here, when Izuku stops being the defenseless wimp who won't stand up to him. He doesn't like that Izuku stepped out of the mold he had confined him to (I'll come back to this later).

The truth of their childhood together is that Bakugou was always inherently awful to Izuku. It wasn't like he experienced one bad moment that flipped a switch, Bakugou liked picking on Izuku from day one.

Middle School

There isn't much to say about their days at Aldera other than it's just a progression of escalation from their childhood. They've settled into their roles as abuser and victim. Bakugou knows he can say and do whatever he wants and Izuku won't defend himself because it's been the status quo for a decade.

He revels in that power he has over him, likes to remind Izuku of his "place." And if he steps out of line, Bakugou exerts that power over him to shut him right down, stressing his inability to do anything about his situation. It's a cycle of abuse.

Battle Trials

I've already talked about this scene before, but this is also another example as to what I was alluding to above.

As @delawaredetroit pointed out in a post from a while ago, Bakugou isn't feeling betrayed here. He himself has said time and time again that he and Izuku weren't friends. He cares about the fact that his victim now has power of his own.

All their lives, Bakugou had the power and Izuku was powerless. That was the dynamic they were used to and the one that Bakugou was aware and repeatedly took advantage of. But now, Izuku isn't powerless or defenseless. He no longer fits the mold that Bakugou had tied him to since childhood. That's why Bakugou is so upset; not because Izuku kept something from him but because the power imbalance between was shifting.

And it's why he tries to use guilt-tripping here. He wants Izuku to feel bad, wants to reestablish some of the control over him he just lost. And it works, because Izuku tells him he inherited his quirk completely unprompted after the fact. Bakugou knows he has the power in their relationship and has no issues abusing that power.

Sports Festival

I don't have much to say here, but I would like to point out something very inconsistent concerning Bakugou's interpretation of his relationship with Izuku. He claims that Izuku kept following him around and that he couldn't get rid of him, which attributed to his dislike. But even if that was true when they were 5, it's actually the opposite at least from middle school on.

Bakugou went out of his way to target Izuku in the first chapter/episode. He also tracked him down after the Sludge Villain incident. He's initiated every one of their confrontations in UA. And here, he deliberately eavesdropped on Izuku's conversation with Todoroki.

I don't know whether to call it hypocrisy or ignorance, but Izuku was content to leave Bakugou alone. Bakugou's the one who's constantly harassing and obsessing over him.

Final Exams

Izuku daring to display confidence and competence invokes immediate physical violence in Bakugou. He doesn't like that Izuku is talking to him like he's an equal, he doesn't like that Izuku dares to step outside of his role as a victim. Bakugou wants Izuku to act like he's below him and gets agitated when he doesn't do that. He, in this moment, cared more about putting Izuku in his place than his own grade.

Deku vs Kacchan Part 2

I mentioned that BKDK is codependent in the beginning of the post. This is what I mean.

Bakugou can't cope with the fact that he isn't the best and takes it out on the only target he has. Izuku had nothing to do with his shortcomings, but he still felt the need to establish superiority over him; a grasp for some measure of control.

Like I said above, he's well aware of the power he has over Izuku. Do you think he would have tried this with Todoroki? Or Tokoyami? Or Iida? No, because he knows that none of them would have even dignified him with a response. But he knows he can control Izuku in a way he can't with other people. He feels comfortable treating only Izuku as his emotional and physical punching bag.

Dark Hero Arc

It's interesting that prior to apologizing for treating him badly, Bakugou proceeds to treat Izuku badly.

This interaction is important because it's their first major conflict after Bakugou's "redemption." We're supposed to be at the point where he's changed. But he still resorts to insults and goading. His first instinct is still to put Izuku down.

I've said most of what I needed to about the apology. But I do want to mention that coming from Bakugou's mouth, it grossly understates what happened during those ten years. Because the abuser is the one telling the story, his transgressions don't seem that bad. He's the one controlling the narrative, so his classmates- Izuku's friends- don't know the full story. They don't know what Bakugou put Izuku through. Bakugou comes off looking sympathetic to their peers by speaking "his truth."

Was this his intention? Probably not as Bakugou doesn't really care what others think about him. But it does raise the point that this is the extent as to how Bakugou sees his past self; as a stubborn, overzealous child and not the abuser that he was

So.

New chapter dropped.

And it was filled to the brim with BKDK bullshit.

MAYBE a bit of All Might and Izuku bonding time, but Bakugou had to make sure that he gets to invade that too.

Who fucking cares how the rest of his classmates feel about Midoriya after seeing him save the day? Especially Iida, Todoroki and Ochako? Pfft, those three specifically are losers!

Or the pros and acknowledging Izuku as the world’s greatest hero?

Or the civilians that Izuku saved and giving him gratitude?

Or Inko, and the fact she indeed is seeing her son alive and well after going up against the greatest threat in existence?

Just make sure the Bakugou stans are pandered, spoiled and kept satisfied, because only they fucking matter at this point.

Fuck me, this series is complete shit now.