Summary
- Bakugo and Deku's childhood friendship is tested by their contrasting personalities and society's norms.
- Bakugo shows growth in understanding and compassion towards Deku, while Deku takes on burdens for society.
- Deku's admiration for Bakugo leads him to emulate his rival's strong and confident personality in battles.
Throughout the My Hero Academia series, Bakugo can be easily recognized by his explosive, stern, and abrasive personality. In contrast, Deku could be seen as the series sweetheart with a heart of gold, reaching out to anyone who needs it. However, these two childhood best friends have been plagued by misunderstandings and conceptions of their current society.
As more villains come out to play, their strength will be tested, and their friendship and rivalry will be given another look. As rivals, they consistently analyze one another, so it's not too far off that Bakugo will lose some of the malice in his words, and Deku will grow confident in emulating his rival.
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Bakugo and Deku’s early life
Bakugo’s explosive attitude and Deku’s meek yet assertive personality
At the beginning of the My Hero Academia series, when first introduced to the main characters, Midoriya Izuku or Deku is introduced as the meek, observant main character. While he may not have much confidence at this time due to the discrimination he has faced for being Quirkless, he is still calm and assertive when duty calls.
However, Bakugo Katsuki, is the explosive childhood best friend with a rough and tough personality, all thanks to his powerful Quirk. Due to the Hero Society, those with powerful Quirks are often put on a pedestal and frequently admired. This gives Bakugo a massive ego boost, as he only cares for himself, and others are just extras in the way of his success.
At the start of the series, these two childhood friends stand at opposite ends of Quirk society. Deku is determined to make his dream come true despite being Quirkless, and Bakugo fails to comprehend how someone without a Quirk could take on powerful villains without anything to back them up.
At this time, Bakugo is seen sketched out roughly, first to symbolize his explosive personality, confidence, and intellectual abilities. Second, it symbolizes his Quirk Explosion, which directly influences his personality as it is his Quirk that gives him confidence. While it may also be the animation style, in various sequences in which Bakugo is shown, he is seen as a menace, with a grumpy face and constantly yelling.
This starkly contrasts Deku, who is shown to be slim with little muscle on his body. Additionally, Deku frequently holds his arms in a defense position around his head when he is embarrassed or needs to protect himself. To reiterate, Deku has shown the determination and assertiveness needed to be confident; however, given his Quirkless nature at this time, he could be seen as a pebble against a flurry of vicious waves.
Bakugo Becomes Slightly More Understanding
Character development is in the works for Bakugo
Bakugo becomes much angrier as the series progresses, given that he has known Deku for their entire lives after discovering Deku’s Quirk. To Bakugo, Deku having a much more powerful Quirk is a blow to his pride and the breakdown of what he thought to be true his entire life: Bakugo being on top and Deku being Quirkless.
At this time, Bakugo believed he was only acting in what he thought was right. Bakugo saw the version of All Might that he felt inspired by, the boisterous, number one Hero. To follow All Might's footsteps, Bakugo believed he had to act similarly, and when All Might retired, this is when Bakugo mentally broke down in front of Deku. He felt guilty for being the person who “ended All Might” and had his pride crushed by Deku’s growing power.
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It was during Season 3 that Bakugo learned of Deku’s secret, the power of One For All, and that Deku was chosen as All Might's successor. During this Season, we see the rough edges of Bakugo’s personality slowly begging to chip away, revealing a more attentive and sensitive Bakugo Katsuki. However, this is also the beginning of Deku’s journey, the revelation of a darker force at work and overarching enemies on the horizon.
Deku Emulates Bakugo To give Himself More Confidence
Deku finds power in Bakugo’s actions
One thing remains consistent throughout the series: Deku’s admiration for Katsuki. To Deku, Bakugo was an amazing and inspiring person who was much closer to him than All Might. Deku could see all the hard work Bakugo put into his journey to become a Hero despite Bakugo’s abrasive personality.
Thanks to this closeness, Deku begins to emulate Bakugo, from his personality to his attack moves. There are a few reasons why he does this. Emulating Bakugo’s personality in battle with villains is a means to give him the confidence needed and a scare tactic. Heroes are often judged by their mannerisms, and during the Hero ranking, they could face some backlash. However, using this type of explosive personality trait against villains could scare them into submission and weaken their resolve.
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The history of Quirks is stained with blood, discrimination, and a battle for survival. How did Quirks become known as they are today?
While Deku may be blessed with the One For All Quirk, he has been Quirkless for his entire life until this point in My Hero Academia. By this point, Quirk users already have a feeling for what their Quirk is capable of and how to use it to the best of their abilities. However, Deku did not have the same privilege. Often, one could see Deku using similar attacks to those of All Might and reimagined versions of Bakugo’s attacks.
As Bakugo was the closest to him then, Deku often looked closely at how his Quirk worked. However, as Deku obtained more Quirks, he requested the assistance of his classmates, thus acquiring Froppy Style and learning how to fight with his legs like Iida with Full Cowl, Shoot Style.
Bakugo Mellows Out, and Deku Takes All the Burden On His Shoulders
Bakugo still has his explosive personality, while Deku's hardens
Bakugo’s character development finally shows his true feelings. While Bakugo still retains his explosive personality, he now places his life on the line for Deku. Throughout the series, Bakugo is shown with harsh edges and a dismissive attitude. However, after risking his life for Deku, Bakugo is shown to have more compassion and understanding. To show this, his face has become softer, symbolizing the turn from the gremlin personality he used to have.
In contrast, Deku experiences his own burdens, as seen during the Dark Hero Arc. He dislikes the state of Hero society and the discrimination that citizens have been forced to face. Additionally, Deku isolates himself from others, believing this would protect them from All For One. Unfortunately, this only makes matters worse for Deku himself; fighting villains that have broken out from Tartarus has taken a toll on his body.
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This is also when Deku becomes much angrier at All For One, seeing innocents destructed and others manipulated. All For One has truly destroyed the lives of many civilians. However, although Deku strives to stop Tomura and All For One, he still has compassion for Tomura, wanting to save him in his final moments.
However, Deku does not stay angry for long. While this greatly helps him gain a backbone and take his battles more seriously, Deku is still the compassionate teen we met at the beginning of the series. In the same tone, Bakugo has certainly gotten some serious and much-needed character development; however, he is still faithful to his explosive personality.
My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
- Directors
- Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano
Cast
-
Daiki YamashitaIzuku Midoriya (voice) -
Kaito IshikawaManga Fukidashi (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 8
- Number of Episodes
- 159
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu, Crunchyroll
