I know Horikoshi has said he regrets how awful Bakugou was in chapter 1 but honestly I think his character development is better for how harsh he was in middle school and I really wouldn’t want a world where his behavior is softened just so he’s easier for readers to like.
also i drew this baby bkdk waaay back in 2017 but back then the number of people who would have found joy with it were my small circle of friends. hope u guys can like them too
Destroys me he caught on how bent AFO was on killing him specifically & there was no way out. He still made a plan even if he had to die, but imagine knowing you're being targeted to intentionally make someone you love suffer & sacrificing yourself anyways
When people want consequences for Katsuki they don’t mean anything narrative, emotional or physical they want a very specific series of things to happen which is for Deku to resent him, tell him off AND cut him out of his life.
Caught something interesting!
So if you don't know, Izuku misinterprets Katsuki's "Don't Come" as prideful/antagonistic even though it's fearful. This is in the anime + manga, but it looks like he actually remembers it right the first time, & the memory gets progressively worse
Tenko and Kacchan - Shigaraki and Bakugou as two misunderstood children 🧵
Now that we’re in the vestige/memory mindscape, and Izuku and Shigaraki are sharing memories, I believe Katsuki’s role in this finale will be as another vital mirror for Shigaraki to look at.
Sharing a theory 🧵
I think by the end of the manga Izuku is going to have created his own 'vestige world'.
Alongside letting go of OFA, the “cursed” power, we'll see the birth of a new society. This will indicate the birth of truly making his power, his heroism, his own.
Katsuki as the Light, Izuku as the Dark;
Love & Harmonious Totality in The New Era 🧵
This meta analysis’ purpose is to make the case for KTDK existing as Light & Dark in e/o’s stories respectively, & explain how this dichotomy challenges black & white thinking in the narrative.
“When Shigaraki stabbed me do you remember what I said?”
“No, I don’t.”
The apology is incredible but this part of the interaction always guts me. Deku, who pays attention everything Katsuki says & does wasn’t even in a state of mind to hear him in the most important for it.
bones is never gonna treat mha right and ive come to peace with that what i HAVENT come to peace with is the fact the anime is MOST people’s way of consuming mha
Nobara died in front of Yuji's eyes, was coping for 5 minutes, thugged it out and came back at 120%.
Now have Ochaco dying in front of Deku and his bitch ass wouldn't stop crying for atleast 20+ chapters
I do think people’s selective memory is funny because sometimes I’ll see people say bkdk haven’t held each other in their arms and I’m just like oh that’s actively not true god bless you?? 😭
I actually do think it’s hilarious Deku has an otaku-like possessiveness and affinity for Kacchan in the way boys want him to have for a girl. I do think it’s funny Kacchan has classical tsundere mannerisms in the way boys want girls to have for them. It’s fantastic, its amazing
Izuku calling Katsuki “Kacchan” does make me blush sometimes because it’s just embarrassing!! The context doesn’t even matter he got everyone confused in life or death scenarios and doesn’t even care! And then Kacchan just responds everytime…? Like what excuse me am I intruding
Hori wrote himself into a hole bc if none of the gay ships are to be taken seriously are we just supposed to presume Ocha is lying abt giving Toga her blood for the rest of her life?Or ignore how Kacchan intends to be the one to take on Izuku’s burdens & his scars represent that?
Okay with Bones knowing the ending, the top gif being pretty much the most poignant added non-manga scene from the Memories episodes, AND right after this we know what Deku walks into and it’s blamed on him…. this storyboard framing is actually legitimately distressing
Thinking about how blackwhip didn’t just unlock it became so uncontrollable and dangerous he needed to be knocked out just to get it to stop and that’s all because MONOMA who shows up if you google the definition of “instigator” said something mean about Kacchan
Testament to Horikoshi’s writing skills that he was able to not only sense an opportunity for development right after Deku vs. Kacchan 1 but to write this character into being one of the most popular Shounen boys in the history of the lineup.
Them being able to transform their horrible relationship of misunderstandings, grief, and ego, to something filled with devotion, intention, understanding, and strength is at the core of the themes of MHA, and also more than likely, the current themes of Reconstruction.
People who don’t like Katsuki actually hate more that Izuku didn’t do what would’ve felt right to them in his situation more than they hate Bakugou himself. That’s why no amount of development is going to change their minds, who they’re really frustrated with is Izuku.
I know everyone avoids leaning into this too much, because we don’t want to be seen as shallow or fixating on “ships”, but Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship is the ultimate key to reshaping how OFA works (in the same way Kudou and Yoichi together birthed OFA).
Even now I think Tenko and Himiko are fine, but I won’t ask that anyone believe that alongside me. But to explain why before getting into this, two things are true to me:
- As long as OFA is still in play, Tenko’s life is.
- Until we see Himiko’s body, her life is still in play.
This obviously comes with the other things to consider…the final chapter would have to be more than 15 pages and a lot of this theory hinges on Tenko and Himiko being alive. But this is MHA and I am hopepilled until the very end. It hasn’t failed me yet - we’ll see what happens!
I talked about this awhile ago but I wanted to share it on my own post… if you’ve ever seen this image before it was made by me while I was in my freshman year of college…as a bit…LMAO
I think the thing getting me most about this cover is how raw it is… if you’re a volume reader and don’t know Bakugou came back to life, but you picked this up - it’s like he’s screaming and raging even in death, clawing to get back up…
I’ll repeat something I’ve said over and over but basically what people overwhelmingly want a lot of protagonists in stories to represent and embody is this “right” to not forgive people who hurt you. A catharsis in being able to walk away and give up on people.
This current situation aside, bkdktwt has let a lot of racism slide on more than one occasion. Y’all don’t have a concept of how often the POC who like this ship keep quiet when a microagression/racism is floating around. You don’t even comprehend it if you’re not a POC.
Not lost on me that Deku’s fear and anxiety about Bakugou’s sacrifice is the first major character “introspection” we’ve seen from him in some time. Especially when otherwise we’re being pretty shut off 🫣
If you've never seen Deku VS. Kacchan 2 in manga form you absolutely need to, it's the best way the fight looks in my opinion also look at this looney tunes ass run in place Deku does it can't get better than this
Also says more about the themes of what he’s writing about reflecting IRL that readers for years have held Bakugou to a higher moral and personal standard than most other media rivals, love interests, antagonists, and deuteragonists
Izuku didnt even get to enjoy being a hero for a full year because a centuries old legacy became his burden to bear and even though his friends helped him he lost everything in the process.
We’re here, but the other character who’s entire development was centered around properly understanding Izuku - Katsuki - still has the role to play of reaffirming Izuku’s heroism. Because ultimately, he *is* Izuku's success story as far as being a hero is concerned.
If you’ve reposted or cropped Noguchi @/nstime23’s artwork delete it, he is now having to go around and reply to people directly telling them to take it down he shouldn’t have to do that it says reproduction prohibited all over his artwork and on his page.
But which characters are our central “osananajimi” who did have that chance, to know each other? Which characters were fixtures in one another’s lives since childhood, and permanently altered each other’s paths as heroes and people?
I think it was necessary to show Dabi and Spinner were alive because they took the most damage and we’re the characters essentially “most likely” to die - meanwhile a lot of the series has leaned on presumption Himiko and Tenko would be “most likely” to be saved/rehabilitated.
I think its so cool and sexy that everyone in Japan with a platform is sending psychic brain waves to Horikoshi to make bkdk endgame literally every chance they get
Deku and All Might both making a poiny to reinforce his arm is definitely the main reason he’s able to still have it and have a chance at recovery in rehab 😭
It’s not even “more in-character” for Bakugou to tell Deku to give someone hell that’s literally just how shallow y’all see him as even when it’s inaccurate.
OFA has gotten stronger as Katsuki and Izuku’s relationship has grown, and the only barrier to it reaching its full potential has been Izuku’s own self-imposed, habitual, suppression. Izuku’s character, and the readers at this point, have been forced into a corner.
Atp its not the homophobia that shocks me, its that I genuinely fail to understand what people like you possibly get out of this series if you are just going to speak and behave like the worst of the humanity the story itself explicitly criticizes. What are you even here for.
1) I think whatever conversation Izuku and Katsuki have will change how OFA works. It’ll be emotionally potent enough that Izuku will have finally “made the power his own”, answered the question of what it means to be a hero, and it will complete his character arc.
The big theme of this epilogue since it started has been RECONSTRUCTION w/ a lot of emphasis on civilian and inter-generational outreach. Alongside this, the conversations MHA civilians are having reflect the conversations that we as the audience are having about Shigaraki Tomura
Old manga reader things but I recall one of my first big strikes I had against bones as being when they removed the scene of Bakugou being concerned about Deku after the mall incident w/ Shigaraki… seems like small pickings NOW but back then I was losing my mind
Disclaimer that this is not to defend the epilogue in its entirety, in fact I actually think both
#MHA428
and
#MHA429
are weak for different reasons - but not because of how I think MHA will end overall.
However not only are these emotions misplaced on a character like Bakugou it’s also survived on a stubbornness and unwillingness of people to reframe their own thought process about what forgiveness and growth in a person can look like.
With the lead director of MHA knowing the ending I’m also thinking about Daiki making a point to catch up to the manga + the dinner Hori, Daiki and Nobu recently had…just wondering how many ppl know the ending and how that’ll translate in the animation and voice acting 🥹
Feelings of “was that all for nothing?” and “I’m starting to understand how Katsuki felt”, and “no one was saved, what was the point” are all very much weighing on Izuku’s character too.
I’ve been a reader for a long time, and one thing I’ve picked up on is how Hori writes the manga to be a direct mirror to the readers. In 428 and 429, Ochako and Izuku are speaking directly to our concerns as readers.
Want more people to get that bkdk has always been weird and its not just bc they have that cyclical mutual obsession its because they are considered uniquely childhood friends for some reason despite fully having two other friends their age who were also around for a long time
This isn’t inherently wrong, especially for people like us in the west who live overwhelmingly in a state where we are not protected, heard, or seen in situations where people in power get accountability. The emotions about this create a double down effect on any transgression.
Constant visualizations of them as children, Ochako’s regret that maybe things could have been different had she found Himiko sooner, Shouto’s question towards Touya - just wanting to know his brother’s favorite food… Out of all the characters, Izuku knew his villain the least.
2) Out of everyone, he lost everything and gained nothing. Just based on how frustrated and loud everyone has been with his characterization lately… he has been effectively useless (in our POV and his lol).
However with a character like Katsuki he’s not only a more grounded representation but he’s frustrating to watch if you were already angry and didn’t want to let that anger go. Because It didn’t take him being cornered, forced, or preached at to change. Not all at once anyways.
My thing is Hori’s fixation on Bakugou and Deku’s ties…and being so consistent with how it is - or isn’t - worn by them… if Izuku suddenly walks into the room with a well-done tie on we are going to know who did it immediately lol
Hori said he wanted to answer the question of “what is a hero” in the final chapter. He’s ultimately arrived at the straightforward answer that he believes anyone can be a hero, that a hero is someone who can support others and uplift them.
This is the “reward” for Izuku opening up his heart, being so dedicated to saving the little boy, and Tenko’s opportunity to finally exist in a world that we as readers know is more open to helping him.
Hori has never participated in fujobait, I’ve said this a million times the biggest evidence of it is him not leaning into the other popular gay MHA ships for merch or at the expense of the story. It’s not a stretch to say he’s just a person who actually loves his characters
"The cover is like that bc Horikoshi needed the fujobait money" Horikoshi never baits anyone. Fans would be grateful and buy it even with the standard shonen fighting pose, if he drew them this soft and charming is because he felt like it.
It's not hypothetical for them.
I think people haven’t really considered…just how overpowered OFA can become with an Izuku who is emotionally balanced, and is not dealing with doubts or fears about himself as a hero and a person.