Aaaaa I Wish I Could Make Some Art To Accompany This Post, But I Can't Do So In The Moment And I Really

Katsuki Bakugo: A Semi-Comprehensive Character Analysis (and Why I Will Never Consider Him a Hero)

I’ve written on Bakugo before, hurriedly (within about 24 hours) and messily, but he’s a character that I feel so strongly about that I need to give this another go. Before we begin I have a few disclaimers that I’d like everyone to keep in mind:

1. You’re always allowed to like fictional characters, for any reason. Deconstructing why a character’s behavior is problematic is in no way a personal attack on those who like them in spite of (or even because of) those actions. Is Bakugo your fave? Awesome! I’m glad you’re enjoying him in the series. Feel free to read this if you’re interested in differing opinions, but to be honest this is probably more geared towards those who already don’t like him. “Don’t like, don’t read” remains a staple of fandom for a reason, so please stick to it. 

2. I’ll be writing this up through Chapter 190, hence “semi” comprehensive. Maybe I’ll do a part two once the series is finished. I’m not sure yet. Also, keep in mind that every translation is slightly different. The one I used can be found here. 

3. I’ve already decided that I won’t be responding to any comments on this post. Not because I don’t enjoy a good debate (boy do I ever), but I’ve got a lot of important Real Life writing to do and really can’t afford to get distracted. That is, any more distracted than I’ve already been with this meta and to be frank, charged conversations about this character is not what I’m looking for right now. I wanted to say my piece and now I have. But feel free to chat among yourselves—respectfully!

4. This meta is long. I mean it’s really long. You think you know how long it is? You’re wrong. It’s longer. This is my magnum opus of metas and honestly I have no regrets. Just keep length in mind if you think, “Oh, I’ll give this a quick read through!” You won’t. That’s not possible. And I’m so very sorry.  

Okay, that’s the boring stuff out of the way. Let’s dive in.

There’s something to be said for the argument that the most important part of a story is its beginning. The start of a tale either grabs us or leaves us cold. It sets up all our expectations and, whether the author is consciously aware of it or not, has a strong impact on the ending. Stories don’t exist without their beginnings (for obvious reasons) and it’s worth giving them some extra attention. Boku No Hero Academia starts with this:

We don’t know these people yet, but it’s easy enough to figure out their role in this tale; who’s the hero and who’s the villain. We learn a lot in just five panels. Bakugo has been beating up on another, weaker kid and he’s “already made him cry.” This is significant because it sets up Bakugo’s empathy—or lack thereof. His first victim is not Izuku, the “friend” who we later learn infuriates and at times even intimidates Bakugo. As horrible as it is, we can explain some of his violence towards Izuku, though we certainly can’t justify it. But this is different. Bakugo appears to be beating on a random kid simply because he can. Because he enjoys it. Though we’re only in the first panel, the crux of Bakugo’s characterization is laid out for us to see. It emphasizes my primary argument and the reason why I don’t think he can ever be a hero, no matter how much Horikoshi wants us to root for him.

Bakugo lacks empathy for other people. 

Keep reading

More drawings of the sillies and this is a very specific headcanon

So it's canon that Mitsuri was awfully shy when she became a Hashira so I like to think that since Kyojuro was literally the only person he knew there she clings onto him like if it was her life LMAO

Bonus meme THATS GUESS WHAT I COOKED 🔥🔥🔥, Capcut keyframes were so fucking hidden and for what reason istg 😭

The opportunity presented itself to try a sake bath recently, which I did, in Douma's honor. I didn't notice the fragrance unless I was looking for it, and my skin was a little flushed afterward and I found myself a bit light-headed, probably more from the extra warmth than the small amount of alcohol. Anyway, please enjoy all the chaotic energy this wound up having.

Older and Wiser

Do you know who hate women more than men?

Women that ship a (non canon)gay couple and there’s also a girl in the picture(the canon girlfriend/wife/love interest of one of the male characters).

My TikTok fyp has been non stop with the jjk x Disney princesses, obvi my fav is Nanami x Tiana, these two just make sense 😍😍

Also I’ve been listening to promise by Laufey recently and been crying myself to sleep lol so that kinda inspired me lol

It was a quick process, I had to get it out, I finished at 2 am lol

Also tw on grammar mistakes lol I was tired and couldn’t bother changing lol

real question,

why do proshippers love rape so much? do you guys want to rape someone irl?

why do you guys love pedophilia/grooming so much? have you ever had thoughts about doing those actions or irl minors?

why do you guys love incest so much? is this just a way for you to vent your frustration cause your sibling(s) /step sibling(s) rejected you for your literal illegal behavior?

why do you guys love all these crimes so much? why do you love it when someone calls sexual and predatory abuse attractive as if it hasn't traumatized billions of people word wide?

this is like a genuine question I'm being deadass

EDIT REAL QUICK LMAO

for the proshippers whining and bitching in my comments abt me getting a hobby just letting you know that I,

play guitar, play volleyball, I read books, write OC lore and my indie show lore (cause I wanna make showns n shit), I thrift, I collect physical media like dvds, vhs, ect, I regularly go to flea/farmers market, I draw regularly, I collect plushies, I make pins and sell them to kids at my school, and as of recently I've been thinking abt making loom bracelets and kandi again!

so how about you hoes find a better comeback and get some hobbies of ur own? thanks 😊🖕

URGENT HELP SAVE THE LIFE OF MY CHILD.

Dear humanity,

Please Help Me – My Son May Die at Any Moment.

I'm Amal, a mother of three children, living under the weight of the genocide taking place in Gaza. 🍉

Here’s my story, and I’m reaching out with a hopeful heart 💔✨, hoping someone will feel what my family and I are going through.

My son is suffering from a severe and life-threatening injury after being shot by Israeli drones. He urgently needs medical treatment outside Gaza.

Time is running out, and we are facing a critical situation. I am asking for your generosity to help us save him either through a donation or by sharing this urgent plea with others

I beg you, i kiss your feet, to help my son. My son may die at any moment.

I lost most of my family. I'm afraid to lose my son too 🥺

Mohammed deserves to live a happy and healthy life, just like every other child on this earth.

So I humbly ask you to donate even a little or at least reblog this appeal.

Please Donate now:👇

https://www.gofundme.com/f/join-us-in-our-struggle-save-our-family-from-war-in-gaza

Donate pls!

it feels so good to know that a lot of people either still hate bkg and/or hate how his redemption was written and dont just suck up to his mediocre writing https://x.com/blar_wolf/status/1915288020376310177?s=46

I will be honest I haven't touched Twitter in a while, but it is finally good to see people waking up and critiquing bakugo's character in masses. From the time I used to be on Twitter, there were a few that would call out Bakugo and his horribly written character arc, but most of it was silenced by bakugo stans and the overwhelming support his character continously received.

I do hope that this behaviour continues and people actually critique mha as a whole based on writing quality of horikoshi and not on fandom. Yes, I believe that the fandom should be criticised for their actions but a lot of people have resorted to defending mha by saying that the show is good but the fandom is bad which is false in my opinion since there are unpleasant things in both the story and fandom!

my thoughts on canon Muzan

For being the main antagonist of this series, there is a reason why people naturally gravitate more towards his Upper Moons, and that is the execution of his characterization. I’m sure many of you have come across posts explaining the references to natural disasters and his philosophy and also his constant claims to godhood, which are aspects that I do think Gotouge intended to share, but it’s not particularly delved into.

I have had complaints before that it was really difficult to relate to Muzan’s character in any way. Now, I realize that was the point Gotouge was intending to make, however this realization didn’t quite satisfy me like it should have. He’s arrogant, stubborn, and sometimes flat out childish, but at no point do we see any strengths. It’s not clear if he has a genuine passion for science. Or for learning in general. He doesn’t have a single likeable trait to contrast his faults, other than he’s charismatic, but we do not see that part of him nearly as much as we should.

His motivations for becoming the perfect Demon don’t have any plans afterwards, either. Like, what was he going to do after he accomplished his goal? We don’t know. And the fact that we really don’t know, when it should have been stated at some point, is not great, since again, this is our main antagonist. In a shounen.

I don’t know, I don’t doubt Gotouge had big ideas for Muzan, but it feels like they really bit off more than they could chew, and the genre that Muzan is placed in being action-focused didn’t do him any favors. I am a firm believer of the idea that he would have fared much better in some Edwardian era science horror where his philosophy and unique outlook on life would have been expected to be properly explored. But, yeah…