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My Hero Academia is a series known to almost every anime fan. The fandom around this series began early in its serialization and skyrocketed after the anime series debuted. Five seasons in, the hype around My Hero Academia shows no sign of slowing down.
Aside from the unique portrayal of the superhero genre, one of the reasons behind the series’ astounding fame is its fantastic character roaster and the character development they all undergo as the story progresses. Kohei Horikoshi, the author of My Hero Academia, has created a very well-planned and character-driven manga, where even characters other than the protagonist have their fair share of shining moments.
One such character and the protagonist of this Guide is Katsuki Bakugo, aka Kacchan, aka Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight. This “Dynamight” of a character is one of the show’s leading trio and a childhood rival to the protagonist, Izuku Midoriya.
As far as first impressions go, Bakugo seems like an arrogant, short-tempered, and borderline cruel person who would rather die than accept help from anyone. This aggressive and arrogant behavior sprouted in his early childhood, the reason being his early quirk awakening. It even lead him to bully the ones weaker than him, thinking of them as lesser beings. All this continued until Izuku gained his quirk from All Might, and their rivalry began.
Since then, Bakugo has come a long way from what he used to be. He is no longer that cruel boy who thought of quirk less people as inferior to him. Though he still is stubborn and short-tempered. But that’s really ok, cause that’s what we like in the guy. This Guide is meant to take you along Bakugo’s journey, his personality, likes, dislikes, and pretty much every other detail you have to know to fully understand this amazing character.
Bottom Line Up Front
Katsuki Bakugo is one of the show’s leading trio, alongside Izuku Midoriya and Todoroki Shoto. Even as a kid, Bakugo was short-tempered and arrogant, often bullying Izuki for his lack of quirk. His bullying only escalated after his Detonation quirk awakened. He greatly admired All Might, the number 1 hero, and wanted to be just like him one day.
To see his dream come to fruition, Bakugo joins the esteemed UA Hero Academia, Japan’s number 1 hero academy. But to his surprise, Izuku manages to gain a powerful quirk and joins UA alongside him. Thus begins their rivalry, to see who becomes the number 1 Hero.
Who is Katsuki Bakugo?
Katsuki Bakugo is a 17-year-old hero, currently living in the city of Musutafu, Japan. In a world where humans have developed unique abilities known as quirks, Bakugo is considered somewhat of a prodigy. He awakened his quirk, Explosion, at a very early age and was physically much stronger than ordinary boys his age.
His dream was to become the Number 1 Hero, just like All Might. Ever since a kid, Bakugo looked up to All Might and dreamt of one day proving himself to All Might. To do so, he joined the prestigious U.A High, the Number 1 hero school in Japan and where All Might was a teacher.
Much to his surprise, another student from his class also managed to pass the entrance exam and enter U.A High. That kid was none other than Izuku Midoriya, a boy he used to bully in school. Seeing Izuku mysteriously gain a powerful quirk and outshine him, Bakugo expressed quite a displeasure. And thus began his rivalry with Midoriya to reach the number 1 spot.
Early Life
Ever since his childhood, Bakugo has always been considered a child prodigy. Awakening his quirk at a very early age, Bakugo was often complimented and praised by everyone around him, resulting in him forming a self-centered image of himself, believing himself to be better than the rest. His friends, including Midoriya, looked up to Bakugo for his confidence and strength. He became like a leader to them.
One day, while marching through the forest, Bakugo accidentally slips and falls into the river. The rest of the boys aren’t worried for him, but Midoriya rushes down to help. Seeing young Midoriya’s hand stretched out to him, Bakugo somehow gets infuriated at him, thinking he doesn’t need help from a quirk less loser.
This strains their relationship for the years to come, as he now bullies young Midoriya, often calling him a weakling or quirk less loser.
Entrance Exam Arc
On his final day of Junior High, Bakugo is set to attempt the U.A entrance exam. Upon learning that Midoriya too will attempt the exam, despite having no quirk whatsoever, Bakugo is quite irritated and even burns his precious hero notebook.
Bakugo easily scores the most hit points at the exam, thanks to his destructive powers. Even though he doesn’t score any rescue points, his attack points alone are enough to impress every teacher at U.A, guaranteeing his admission to the academy.
By this time, Midoriya has gained All Mighty’s quirk, and he too manages to get into U.A, much to Bakugo’s displeasure. He even corners Midoriya, asking him what tricks he used to pass the exam.
Quirk Apprehension Test Arc
On his first day at U.A, Bakugo immediately gets into an argument with Tenya Ida over putting his leg on his desk. Shoto Aizawa, Class 1-A’s teacher, enters and takes the class to the ground. There he takes a quirk apprehension test to gauge everyone’s quirks.
Bakugo easily dominates the race, using his versatile quirk to propel himself forward at high speed. When it comes to throwing a ball, Bakugo again uses his quirk to blast the ball. The explosive toss sends the ball at a whopping distance of 705.2 meters.
He is pretty confident about his quirk’s superiority as compared to others. But when it’s Midoriya’s turn to throw the ball, he uses a tiny portion of his quirk and manages to toss the ball at a distance of 705.3 meters, surpassing Bakugo. Irritated, Bakugo dashes towards Midoriya for answers but is subdued by their teacher, Aizawa.
Battle Trial Arc
The next day, All Might appears in class and provides them with their very own hero costumes. Excited, everyone gets ready for a trial battle amongst themselves. Bakugo and Iida are placed on one team, while Midoriya and Uraraka are on the other team. Team Bakugo’s task is to guard a fake bomb, while team Midoriya’s task is to capture it.
Just as the battle begins, Bakugo rushes to fight Midoriya, to once and for all prove his superiority against him. Upon face-off, Bakugo disregards Iida’s plan and goes into a full-on rage mode on Midoriya. However, Midoriya wasn’t slacking all these years. He studied Bakugo’s and other quirks, and using that knowledge, he counters Bakugo’s every move.
Enraged at Midoriya, Bakugo uses his gauntlet to launch and massive blast that destroys a significant portion of the building. All Might advises him to refrain from using such destructive attacks against comrades. Bakugo again gains the upper hand in close combat, where he uses his blasts to make unpredictable patterns for Deku to follow.
The two get into an emotional argument when Deku expresses how he has always looked up to Bakugo, and so he won’t lose no matter what. Both charge at each other, but at the last moment, Deku redirects his punch towards the ceiling, creating a giant hole, which enables Uraraka to capture the bomb.
In disbelief of his loss to Deku, Bakugo starts to panic but All Might steps in and consoles the fallen champ. After the battles, Deku catches up to Bakugo and reveals that he got his quirk from someone else. However, he doesn’t admit that it’s All Might’s quirk. Bakugo accepts his defeat, coming to tears in the process. He acknowledges that Shoto and Midoriya are better than him, but vows to surpass them. All Might again arrives to console Bakugo, but this time he tells him off, saying that he’ll surpass even All Might. That’s the spirit.
U.S.J. Arc
The next Day, Aizawa reveals that they’ll be undergoing yet another training exercise. But this time, it’ll be rescue training and held at a separate facility. Bakugo, along with the rest of Class 1-A, arrives at the facility. But, before they can begin their training, dozens of villains led by Shigaraki enter the facility through a portal and cease control. Bakugo and Midoriya try to attack Shigaraki but are teleported elsewhere by Kurogiri’s teleportation quirk.
Bakugo and Kirishima take on several minor villains, who Bakugo quickly pulverizes. After dealing with his villains, Bakugo rushes to help Midoriya against the nomu but is quite unmatched against its sheer strength. Just when everything seems at a loss, All Might appears and takes down the nomu with his unrivaled brute strength, saving the day once again.
U.A. Sports Festival Arc
After the entire U.S.J incident dies down, comes the long-awaited U.A Sports Festival. Before the competitions begin, Bakugo is called on stage by the coordinator, Midnight, but he just starts with “I’ll win,” seriously pissing off the other classes.
Midnight announces the preliminaries, which is an obstacle course. The race begins, and Shoto takes an early lead using his ice abilities. Bakugo is not far behind, propelling himself with his quirk. One by one, he keeps overcoming the obstacles in his path, and soon the only obstacle left is a minefield. Bakugo and Shoto are in the lead, rushing to the finish line with blinding speed.
But suddenly, Midoriya makes a crashing entry, and using a mine as his propeller, he instantly takes the lead and finishes first. Shoto takes second place, and Bakugo arrives third. He is pretty enraged at his loss, though he still is more than qualified for the next round. The Cavalry Battle.
For this next battle, three or four-person teams are needed, so Bakugo teams up Kirishima, Mina, and Hanta. The task here is to protect their headband while trying to steal the other team’s headband. The battle begins, and Bakugo immediately tries to blast Deku’s team but is stopped by Fumikage’s mysterious shadow quirk. Before he can attack again, his own headband is snatched by Neito Monoma.
Bakugo immediately goes after him, but he proves to be a difficult opponent with his copying quirk. After many attempts, Bakugo finally manages to take all of Neito’s bands. Even after gaining enough points to advance, Bakugo is still hell-bent on taking down Deku, but runs out of time at the last moment.
The final task of the sports festival is one on one battles. Bakugo swiftly makes his way through the battles, defeating, Uraraka, Kirishima, and Fumikage. His final opponent is Todoroki. As soon as the match begins, both Bakugo and Todoroki launch fierce attacks at one another.
However, Todoroki refuses to use his fire quirk, which enrages Bakugo beyond limit, who believes that Todoroki doesn’t deem him worthy of his flames. Bakugo charges at him with his final move, Howitzer Impact, hoping that Todoroki gives it his all. But Todoroki still doesn’t use his left side and ends up losing the match.
Bakugo feels disgraced at his win and grabs the unconscious Todoroki, screaming at him to use his left side. Even at the awards ceremony, Bakugo is presented with the medal while his body is tied with chains.
Katsuki Bakugo: Personality, Quotes, Appearance, and More
Appearance
Bakugo is a 17-year-old boy of average height, a fair skin tone, and a relatively slim but muscular physique. He has spiky hair, similar to his parents, and is ash-blonde in color. His eyes are a beautiful yet sharp red tone that compliments his entire personality. He also has two scars on his body.
His school uniform includes a white shirt underneath a grey blazer with green stripes, dark green pants, and brown shoes. He usually wears his shirt button undone and his pants saggy. Even though he wears a belt. And, even though a tie is mandatory, he never wears one. To cool for that, ya know.
Coming to his battle attire, it consists of a black, sleeveless tank top with an orange-colored “X” pattern going along the middle. On one side of the orange “X” are two dots representing the company that prepared the suit. Coming down, we have a green and orange belt with extensions that hold his pants.
There is a silver guard on each knee, which is helpful for both defense and attack maneuvers. Following the guards are his knee-high combat boots, consisting of orange and black patterns. His sleeves extend from his gloves and end at his biceps.
Upon each sleeve rest two giant grenade-shaped gauntlets used for his special combat moves. A metallic plate runs across his neck, with a rectangular finish and three dots at each end. Finally, his black mask wraps around his head, with giant flame-like protrusions reaching from each side.
For his regular clothes, he usually wears a black t-shirt, black pants, and white shoes. When it comes to clothes, he prefers the color black. Just fits his personality.
Personality
First impressions aren’t really his forte. Katsuki is quite egotistical, rude, and loud-mouthed. He’d rather die than accept help from anyone. Not very hero-like, is he? Well, this problem of his dates back to his early childhood. He was good at sports and even awakened his quirk at an early age.
The constant applause and praise he received from everyone instilled in him an ego that led him to believe he was better than others. This wasn’t helpful personality-wise cause he turned into a bully. Often bullying Deku for his lack of quirk.
This side of his stuck, as even after joining U.A High, he was often seen condescending to Deku and other U.A students, thinking of them as mere obstacles in his path to greatness.
However, his attitude began to shift when he faced a few defeats along the way, some even at the hands of Deku. He finally befriended someone, Kirishima. Working together with the rest of his class, he learned the value of teamwork and was no longer the bully he used to be. Though, he still is hot-headed and loud-mouthed. But that’s really ok, cause that’s what we like in the guy. And besides, what else would Bakugo be, if not absurd.
Quotes
Due to his desire to win, he has some pretty inspiring and amazingly memorable moments. With that said, let’s take a look at some of his more memorable quotes:
- I’ll become the hero that surpasses even you.
- I’ll beat you with an indisputable difference.
- Even if there’s nothing left of me, I will win the way I want to.
- If all you ever do is look down on people, you won’t be able to recognize your own weaknesses.
- No matter who it is, I won’t let them catch up to me, let alone get ahead of me.
- There’s no way I’m gonna be stuck at the bottom with the rest of you losers.
- Shut up. I’ll win. That’s what it means to be a hero.
Damn, that was inspiring! I’ma go fight some villains of my own.
Abilities: Quirk and Fighting Style
Quirk
Bakugo possesses the quirk named Explosion. And just like the name suggests, this quirk allows him to release high-intensity blasts from his palms, which enable him to use a number of strategic and versatile moves.
This quirk is a combination of the quirks passed down from both his parents. Mitsuki’s quirk allows her to secrete glycerin from all her skin pores. Glycerin also acts as a moisturizing agent, giving her very smooth skin. Masaru’s quirk, on the other hand, allows him to secret oxidizing sweat from his body, which has corrosive and combustible tendencies.
When the two quirks combined in the case of Bakugo, it resulted in a more controlled type of quirk. Allowing him to create explosions from his palms. Though, in case of Bakugo, his explosion quirk is limited only to his palms.
Fighting Style
Bakugo has proven on multiple occasions that he is a very formidable opponent when it comes to battle strategies. His fiery attitude may sometimes give the impression that he doesn’t think before he acts, but that definitely isn’t the case when it comes to formulating a plan of action. In fact, he is the third most brilliant student in Class 1-A.
His fighting style mainly consists of head-on attacks. Using the intense bombardments from his palms, he is able to deal heavy damage to his opponents.
Though, he isn’t limited to head-on attacks. By controlling his versatile quirk, he is also able to propel himself forward and backward at very high speeds and is able to navigate his body mid-air. Similar to flying. This allows him to use an unlimited number of quick moves and be very unpredictable in fights.
Special Moves
Like I said before, Bakugo’s quirk is quite versatile when it comes to movements. And combining it with his abnormal battle prowess, it can genuinely be a lethal combination. As the series progress, Bakugo keeps improving on his quirk and keeps on inventing newer and deadlier attacks. Let’s take a look at some of his current most powerful moves:
Howitzer Impact
This move is definitely the most powerful attack in Bakugo’s current arsenal. He first displayed this monstrous attack in his fight against Todoroki at the U.A. Sports Festival.
This move involves him manipulating his explosions to take flight and then using his explosions to propel his body into a circular motion, creating a scorching red tornado. The tornado sucks in surrounding oxygen, which upon contact with the target, acts as fuel for his one final explosion.
X Catapult
This is another signature move of Bakugo’s. This move involves him grabbing hold of his opponent with one arm, and then using his other arm, he creates high-intensity explosions to propel his body into a spinning motion. As if the spinning wasn’t enough to disorient his opponent, his final act takes place when he reaches maximum rotation speed. He uses the momentum from the spin and a final explosion to hurl his opponent into the nearest obstacle at blinding speed.
This move can also be used as a team maneuver, as displayed in the My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising. In his battle against Nine, Bakugo used X Catapult on Izuku and launched him at Nine so that he could deliver a more ferocious St. Louis Smash.
AP Shot
This move allows him to concentrate his blasts into a single point, resulting in a barrage of concentrated blast beams, strong enough to pierce even concrete. He does this by forming a circle with one palm and then placing it in front of his other palm.
Fun Facts About Katsuki Bakugo
Despite his attitude, he still has some exciting things about him. Let’s go over some fun facts about Bakugo that you might not have heard of before:
- In the movie, Hero’s Rising, he briefly possesses the One For All Quirk in his fight against Nine.
- Believe it or not, he’s great with kids.
- According to Horikoshi, Bakugo was initially meant to be a kind and compassionate character. (That would have been fine, but I honestly like this one better).
- He is an exceptional cook.
- You probably know this one, but I’m still gonna say it, his favorite word is “Die.”
- He is musically talented, particularly on the drums. This talent is seen in The Cultural Festival arc.
- Despite not thinking much in situations, his battle prowess is relatively high. His strategies are surprisingly well thought out.
- He likes to show off in front of a crowd.
FAQs
Question: Does Bakugo Have Any Hobbies?
Answer: Yes, quite a few actually. During his free time, when he’s not fighting villains or shouting at Deku, Bakugo enjoys his hobby of mountain climbing. This is actually beneficial for Bakugo in multiple ways, as mountain climbing is a very rigorous sport, and it builds up high endurance. This comes in handy during his fights, as controlling his explosions also requires stamina and focus.
Aside from that, he likes to eat spicy foods, which makes a lot of sense, given his fiery personality. And last but not least he is quite skilled at using musical instruments, drums in particular. At The Cultural Festival, he shows off this hidden talent in front of the entire school.
Question: What Are Bakugo’s Parents Like?
Answer: Bakugo and his mother, Mitsuki, are quite similar when it comes to personalities. Both hot-headed. However, his father, Masaru, is a very calm and composed man.
According to the manga, Masaru worked in the fashion industry, where he met Mitsuki. For Mitsuki, it was love at first sight. She fell for him the moment they met. Mitsuki kept pursuing Masaru, rather aggressively, until he agreed to a date. The feeling of love soon became mutual; they eventually got married and had their son, Katsuki. Happy Ending!
Another fun fact, upon first reveal in the anime, Bakugo’s mother became an instant hit amongst the MHA community. Reason being the combination of her heavenly charms and fiery nature.
Question: Does Bakugo Have A Love Interest?
Answer: Unfortunately, No. Until now, there hasn’t been a clear-cut love Interest for Bakugo. Though, this hasn’t stopped fans from shipping the Explosion God with other My Hero Academia characters. He is often seen shipped with characters like Ochako, Asui, and Toga.
And that’s only the female characters. Bakugo and Midoriya’s rivalry has often been misinterpreted as love by fans and both have been shipped often. Aside from Deku, another male character usually shipped with Bakugo is Kirishima, the one he considers his best friend.
Question: How Is He Able To Fly With His Explosion Quirk?
Answer: Using his explosion quirk, he can create high-intensity and controlled blasts that allow him to navigate his body mid-air. So it’s more like jumping than flying. By jumping and using the recoil from the blasts, he is able to propel his body in the opposite direction. Imitating flight. Either way, looks dope.
Katsuki Bakugo Guide: Final Thoughts
Bakugo is a character often judged too quickly. Some instantly like him for who he is, while some instantly develop a grudge against his rebellious personality. And indeed, a personality such as his isn’t really common amongst the hero line, but at the end of the day, what matters is not whether one talks like a hero or eats like a hero, what truly matters is whether one acts like a hero.
Having a hero’s heart is what really matters. Helping those who cannot protect themselves, getting up even when the odds are against you, going plus ultra for the ones you love, is what makes a hero. And if you ask me, I believe that he has those qualities in him. He has proven himself worthy of the hero title on multiple fronts.
So if you are one of those who disagree with his ideologies, I highly urge you to reconsider. Cause I believe that even with his back stacked against the wall, even when facing an army of foes, he will never back down, he will keep protecting those in need and will keep moving towards his final goal of becoming the Number 1 Hero. “Because being a hero means protecting everyone.”