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This Shonen Rival was Headlined on August 2024.

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In the end it doesn't change what I have to do.. I'll become a hero that surpasses even you, Deku!

Katsuki Bakugo to All Might after being defeated by Deku for the first time in a training exercise.

Katsuki Bakugo is one of the two deuteragonists of My Hero Academia.

He is voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto in Japanese and by Clifford Chapin in the English dub.

What Makes Him a Shonen Rival?[]

• Anti-Heroic: Bakugo plays a big role as a superhero-in-training with the goal of protecting civilians from villains, even if it's for self-serving and contradictory reasons like getting the fame and glory as "the number one hero" and be tougher than anyone else without caring much about saving people or protecting those who are weak (which does contradict the role of a hero).
• Honorable: He vowed to keep One For All a secret, and is now one of the initially few people who knew about the true power of said Quirk.
• Intelligent: While he does rely on his explosion quirk and brute force into his combat and is sometimes a butthead who does things by acting on his impulses rather than thinking things through (and isn't as socially intelligent as Midoryia and Todoroki are), yet Bakugo is often academically smart, has the third best grades in his class, is capable at analyzing his opponents' strengths and weaknesses, can be incredibly perceptive and can come up with strategies of his own.
• Naturally Talented: Unlike Midoryia, who was Quirkless, Bakugo was born with a very powerful Explosion Quirk that has helped him remain victorious in many fights and festivals (and otherwise a skilled fighter).
• Arrogant/Jerkish: Throughout the series, a large portion of his personality has him always being brash, arrogant, unfriendly, condescending, conceited, cocky, abrasive, crude, self-centered, very full of himself, and frequently acts like an insensitive jerk who tends to look down towards many people in the academy by calling them all "extras" to show he expresses his belief that all UA students are weak compared to him.
• Pursues a Big-End Goal: Bakugo wants to surpass All Might and Deku and become the No. 1 Hero in Japan.
  1. While he's still working at accomplishing his original goal, he also had more goals such as defeating the League of Villains, and some of the goals he's achieved so far was saving, helping and protecting Izuku from All For One, Shigaraki and the League of Villains (as well as making amends with Izuku for the way he badly treated him in the past) and killing All For One.
• Pessimistic: Bakugo has become aloof and does show much less than idealistic heroic behavior, yet his determination to be a hero is true due being inspired by how All Might would win ever since his youth.
• Irritable: He will usually be the first to get grouchy and snap over the smallest of things before even speaking rationally.
• Cynical: Despite his optimism, Bakugo will always be the first to remain skeptical of a person's intentions, beliefs and actions with a blunt, openly disrespectful way of expressing it.
• Persistent: He's shown to put as much energy into being the best hero ever, even if it means resorting to extremes.
• Believes in the Power of Individual Strength: Bakugo always believes in the power of his explosion Quirk and acts like a lone wolf who thinks he doesn't need any help or support from anyone because of this belief, especially since it's often powerful and useful in the right hands.
• Redemption Arc: While he isn't a villain, he acted villainous and started off as an unheroic bully to Izuku, Bakugo did (eventually) make up with Deku for the mistreatment he gave to him as a child.
• Short-Tempered: He possesses a hair-trigger temper as a core part of his explosive personality, has serious anger issues, and so ill-tempered that he can get enraged way too easily to the point of being childish (which can also lead to him being violent sometimes towards anyone regardless of age or gender, even lashing his anger at helpless pedestrians he needed to save for no good reason).
• Spiky Hair: Bakugo has spiky blond hair (which can explode if he gets seriously mad even if he got a new haircut).
• Born into Privilege: Bakugo has a privileged family with rich parents, was born with an incredibly powerful Quirk that he has spent 14 years mastering, and lives in a rather wealthy lifestyle with a large house.
• Perpetual Frowner: Was once cocky, smug and sometimes making killer slasher smiles, but nowadays he has become much grumpier and is rarely seen smiling besides a bitter frown, and now often resorting to giving out annoyed scowls on frequent basis.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: He is always shown to have a superiority complex ever since he was a kid, especially since being the strongest and best opponent around is the reason he's been a bully as a child. This starts once Deku started surpassing him in power as well as outsmarting him during the Battle Trail Exam Arc (to the point of Bakugo crying and whining over his loss), also being outsmarted by Todoroki a few times in the episode "Todoroki vs. Bakugo" and his arrogance led to him being even questioned and criticized by others such as Momo Yaoyorozu (as well as getting Bakugo to reflect on himself when after his fight with Midoriya, the latter brings up the fact Bakugo causing All Might to retire; thus making Bakugo realizing this).
  • Bakugo, despite winning fights all the time, started to feel a bit insecure as a result of his broken pride affecting him personally ever since the Battle Trial Exam and decides to take his training more seriously (if a bit too seriously), and he hides these insecurities underneath an irritable attitude and curmudgeonly demeanor for him to lash at others.
  • It's not helping that the time he got captured by The Sludge Villain, was a moment that stings him hard in terms of pride, and clearly shows frustration in the idea of showing a weakness to anyone, especially when Monoma brought this up in "Roaring Sports Festival".
• Is a Blood Knight: Bakugo clearly enjoys fighting villains and taking on anyone he finds worthy to fight and will always be ready for a fight to be had at any time.
• Celibate: Contrasting Todoroki and Midoryia, Bakugo is one of the main characters who is actively shown to have absolutely no interest, concern, attention or care in romance, nor does he happen to show any feelings towards any of the women he encountered in the series (nor would he be worried if he ever came by someone he was aware that was attracted him). In fact, he's quite indifferent and incredibly reclusive since he acts the same disdainful way with women as he does with guys, and he will also show complete indifference and even outright avoid talking to women, especially his teammate Mina Ashido.
• Is a Delinquent: Bakugo spends a lot of his time being a bully, coming to class without a tie and his shirt collar unbuttoned, and his pants sagging down, always has messy hair and gets very angry when one tries to neaten it.
• Calls Out Attacks:
  • DIE!!!!!
  • D*MN IT!!!!
  • HOWITZER IMPACT!!!!!
• Has a Soft Spot for a Shonen Hero: Given his reclusive and grouchy behavior towards anyone, Bakugo (begrudgingly) considers Kirishima to be his best friend and someone Bakugo can soften up with the most.
• Wears Blue/Red/Black: Bakugo's hero outfit is mostly black clothing with some red traces on his boots. the edges of his short sleeves, his gloves and the X mark on his outfit being an orange red.
• Is a Chick Magnet: While he's either loved or hated in-universe by a wide assortment of people, and though not as much of a lady-killer like Todoroki is since Bakugo was initially unwanted by girls because of his aggression intimidating them, but it's shown that after the Final Arc; he managed to get a lot of freshman girls falling heed heels over him, which not only made Bakugo himself disgusted of the fact, but it also made Mineta very jealous of the fact that Bakugo is more popular than him.
• Is a Token Evil Teammate: Out of the overall idealistic students of Class-1A, Bakugo is the most brutal and anti-heroic member since he showed more villainous behaviors despite only being an bully and being the most egotistical of a group of heroes in the beginning when he was an antagonist, specifically when he gave Midoriya and Kirishima death threats, attempted to kill Midoriya with his Quirk in his in-school rivalry and even wanting to inflict torture on a kids' leader by telling kids to tie up their leader, hang him and throw rocks at him as his way of "teaching" kids humility in the Remedial Course Arc.
• Is an Edgelord: Bakugo has grown to have something of an edgy and brooding personality and takes anything a little too seriously.
• Is a Tsundere: Make no mistake, at his core; he remains a loud, hotheaded, temperamental, and emotional character, and while he doesn't have that sort of persona switch, he sometimes shows a softer and more caring side towards his friends on occasion.

External Links[]

• Katsuki Bakugo on the My Hero Academia Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Heroes Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Antagonists Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Base Breaking Character Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Likability Scaling Purgatory Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Conflicting Evil Wiki
• Katsuki Bakugo on the Shonen Heroes Wiki

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