Bakugo Katsuki

Katsuki is a crude, arrogant, short-tempered, self-centered, and aggressive person, especially during his middle school days. Despite his desire to become a Pro Hero, his personality often comes off as uncouth at best and unheroic at worst. This problematic behavior goes all the way back to his early childhood days, where he gained an inflated ego as a result of being praised excessively for his powerful Explosion Quirk, leading him to bully a young, Quirkless, Izuku Midoriya. He was extremely arrogant and condescending to those around him, often bragging of his Explosion's power, and even boasting that he would take on his entire class. He frequently showed hostility towards Izuku, mainly because of his former Quirkless status, and would constantly put down his dream of becoming a Hero due to him lacking a Quirk, and also gave him the insulting nickname "Deku" (meaning useless and unable to achieve anything). He even threatened Izuku not to apply to U.A. High School and became angry when both of them passed the Entrance Exam, wanting to be the only person from his middle school to make it there; showing that he has no qualms over hurting other people to get what he wants and is, by his own admission, a perfectionist. He further demonstrated himself to be cruel and merciless, obsessed with showing off his power by harming Villains even if they are immobilized.[10][11]

However, after being accepted into U.A. and experiencing several personal defeats, one of them even coming from Izuku, Katsuki has gradually changed into a less antagonistic person, albeit still retaining a lot of his unpleasant traits. While often portrayed negatively, Katsuki's fierce character and competitive drive have actually granted him an important role among Class 1-A, as a sort of inspirational mood-maker.[12]

Katsuki's usual fighting expression. Katsuki's usual fighting expression.

Determined and thirsty for victory, Katsuki smiles eerily when in the middle of a battle. He is incredibly focused on achieving his own authentic victories and has learned to never underestimate his opponents. Katsuki is not only very athletic and talented at fighting, but also very intelligent and extremely perceptive, capable of strategic planning and improvisation. Moreover, Katsuki's grades are among the highest of his class and he already knew how to read perfectly by the age of four, evidence that he treats studying seriously.[13][5] Katsuki also possesses surprising talent in other areas, such as cooking and music, even though he doesn't show a particular interest in them.[14][15] Overall, he is considered a natural-born genius with the potential to be one of the best Pro Heroes around.

Eijiro's first impression of Katsuki. Eijiro's first impression of Katsuki.

While a rather volatile hero-in-training who reacts and snaps more than thinking, Katsuki is smart enough to discern who his enemies and allies are. He is not particularly nice or open with people who are on his side, or anyone else for that matter, but will act less unfriendly and sometimes even kind to those that manage to earn his respect. Because of his attitude and vulgar language, Katsuki's U.A. classmates often react negatively to him, although they have come to appreciate his skills and warm up to his personality.[16] Katsuki matures slowly through his time at U.A., coming to befriend some of his classmates and willingly engaging in social interaction with them, though remaining solitary for the most part.

Like he does with Izuku, Katsuki has a habit of bestowing insulting nicknames upon others, such as calling Tenya Ida "Four Eyes" because of his glasses, Denki Kaminari "Dunce-Face" because of how his Electrification Quirk dulls his thinking, Shoto Todoroki "Half and Half" or "Icy-Hot" because of his dual Quirk and appearance, and so on. He also refers to people he doesn't know as "extras", treating them as little more than fodder or stepping stones to his victory until he faces them head-on. Despite this, he can address others properly when it matters, such as when he's serious or in the heat of battle.

Katsuki trying to intimidate Shoto with Explosion. Katsuki trying to intimidate Shoto with Explosion.

Katsuki tends to disregard the notion that Quirks shouldn't be used in public and will activate his Quirk for a number of reasons, such as to intimidate someone, to punctuate a point, out of frustration, or even if he just feels like showing off. Namely, he repeatedly used it to bully and intimidate Izuku growing up, and revelled in the fear the Quirkless boy showed him. Overall, Katsuki doesn't seem to care very much about what others think of him, barely containing himself from violent behavior (although he avoids other typical delinquent practices like underage smoking).[17] Katsuki values honesty highly and never lies to the point his brash candor is seen by some as rude and insensitive. He is never afraid of speaking his mind and will notice when people are not being truthful to him. This shows that, despite his anti-social habits, Katsuki is an excellent judge of character, making it hard to deceive him.

Katsuki unhappy with his first place at the Sports Festival. Katsuki unhappy with his first place at the Sports Festival.

Due to the constant praise of his abilities and powerful Quirk, Katsuki has developed a superiority complex, and because of that, he desires to be the first and best at everything. As pointed out by many people, Katsuki loves to win above all else and cannot stand it when he doesn't, leading him to lose his already short temper or, less often, sulk. He is fiercely competitive and will never settle for less than the number one spot, having a compulsive need to always strive for victory and also prove people who doubt him wrong. However, Katsuki also values hard work and fair play, to the point of refusing to acknowledge a winning result if he feels that his victory was not earned by actual merit. Along with that, he detests being pitied or looked down on by others, and will hold contempt towards those that don't take him seriously, while recognizing the effort of those that manage to put up a challenge against him, like, for example, Ochaco Uraraka and Eijiro Kirishima. However, this does not apply to Izuku due to his long-held belief that he should be inferior to him, with Izuku's success instead making him angry and feeling inferior, which he perceived as Izuku mocking him.[18] His ultimate goal is to be the number one hero and hates any indication that he isn't strong enough, or anyone that can rival him, such as Shoto.

Because of his Quirk and talents, Katsuki is very confident and brave to where he is willing to go against anyone who challenges him. He never backs down from a fight and will go out when facing such a powerful opponent. From taking on several villains at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, Katsuki knows when dealing with someone that is out of his league, as he let All Might face off against Nomu. During the First Term Final Exam, Katsuki wasn't afraid to go up against All Might, even though he knew he had a low chance of taking him down head on.

Katsuki saving his allies from danger. Katsuki saving his allies from danger.

Katsuki is immensely prideful and prefers to act alone, as he hates the idea of being protected or having to rely on other people to assist him (which he takes as him being weak, causing him in turn to lash out) unless, in the latter's case, he is recognized as the unquestionable leading figure within a team. At the start of his time at U.A., Katsuki's cooperativeness was nothing short of atrocious, often ignoring his partners' ideas and suggestions for his own very direct approaches. His teamwork skills gradually improves, even if Katsuki keeps coming off as condescending through his usual tone. However, it's clear he now acknowledges their importance, protecting them from harm while expecting them to do the same for him in return. As a leader, Katsuki is a merciless perfectionist, and will only become satisfied with complete, indisputable victories.

Katsuki refusing Izuku's help once more, reflecting their childhood. Katsuki refusing Izuku's help once more, reflecting their childhood.

Katsuki often has difficulty accepting his mistakes and learning from his shortcomings, and will fiercely deny them whenever they are pointed out by others, regardless of who does it. That doesn't mean, however, that Katsuki doesn't listen to advice, having come to realize his faults and how to somewhat improve on them thanks to the words and actions of other people like All Might and Best Jeanist, but he will never outright admit due to his pride. He prefers to self-reflect in silence and solitude, becoming a bit more brooding during those periods. Katsuki's unchecked pride and aggression has cost him victories on numerous occasions, like the Battle Trial or the Provisional Hero License Exam, and it tends to worsen whenever Izuku is involved. Both characters share a sensitive history with each other, with Katsuki, in particular, being unable to completely overcome his issues with Izuku, although this has not stopped them from working together many times.[19]

Katsuki's wounded pride. Katsuki's wounded pride.

Katsuki has a more vulnerable side, having been led to tears due to damaged pride a few times. After the Battle Trial, Katsuki admitted that when he saw Shoto Todoroki's power and Izuku's ability to outsmart him, he couldn't beat him head on and called out how Momo Yaoyorozu was right about how reckless he was during his fight with Izuku. Katsuki has also shown moments of fear and guilt, the latter due to viewing himself and his own weakness as the cause of All Might losing his remaining power and retiring as a hero. Still, due to years of misunderstandings, tension, and pride, Katsuki has difficulty doing the same thing towards Izuku.

By the time of the Remedial Course, Katsuki had started to mature a little to the point that he was able to advise a kid who acted similarly to him, stating that if he continued to look down on others, he would not realize his own mistakes. Despite this growth, he has certain personality traits that he doesn't immediately get over, like joining the Class 1-A band during the U.A. School Festival under the pretense of "beating the other classes through music", or calling his classmates in the Joint Training Battle "underlings". While far less smug than he used to be, his high opinion of himself has remained intact and he can still be partial to boasting whenever he does well or exceeds someone, especially Izuku.

Katsuki also has an honorable side to him. Though he insisted that Izuku was unhelpful in trying to save him from the Sludge Villain, he did stop bullying him for the ten months afterward, only resuming after they both got into U.A. out of anger for "ruining (his) perfect backstory". While he didn't believe about Izuku's Quirk belonging to someone else as well as falsely assuming that Izuku had been hiding it from him the entire time, when he learned of All For One and his Quirk, he started to believe Izuku's words and pieced it together after seeing All Might's true form, confronting the former about his assumption. After All Might confirmed his deduction, Katsuki vowed to keep One For All a secret, being one of the initial few people to know about the true power of the Quirk. Furthermore, when Katsuki realized the true reasons he bullied Izuku, he was remorseful enough to attempt to atone for it by helping him master One For All.

Alongside Izuku, Katsuki shows his undying admiration for All Might by shouting for the him to win. Alongside Izuku, Katsuki shows his undying admiration for All Might by shouting for the him to win.

While his inspiration for becoming a hero was the same as Izuku's, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, their beliefs differ: Katsuki feels a hero should never stop fighting or give up, regardless of the threat they face, and that always winning is the mark of a true hero. Furthermore, various heroes, civilians, and even villains have commented on his arrogance and conceit. However, Katsuki is unwavering in his aspirations of heroism, having outright refused Tomura Shigaraki's proposal for him to join the League of Villains because he views the villains as people who lose and not win like heroes.

It is later revealed that Katsuki decided to help Izuku train One For All to atone for his actions of not helping. During Katsuki's discussion with All Might about his connections to Izuku, Katsuki admitted that he bullied Izuku as an outlet for his own insecurities and how he couldn't understand why Izuku would put others before himself. In truth, Katsuki really cares for Izuku despite how he acts, and wishes for him to continue improving his strength and Quirks, unlike before where he ridiculed Izuku's efforts and told him how he wouldn't amount to anything. His caring and protective side is further proven when he heard that Tomura was targeting One For All, immediately realizing that the villain leader would be going after Izuku and made attempts to keep Tomura away from him.

Finally coming to terms with everything, Katsuki apologizes to Izuku. Finally coming to terms with everything, Katsuki apologizes to Izuku.

After Izuku left U.A. in order to face All For One alone, as well as to protect his friends and family from danger, Katsuki, along with his classmates, departed from the school in order to bring him back. Following a battle to get Izuku to come to his senses, Katsuki genuinely apologizes to the former for his actions and even calls Izuku by his first name, displaying his regret over trying to usurp Izuku's strengths by putting him down and for bullying him in the past. This proves that Katsuki is repentant over his own faults, with him finally being able to face his feelings and the past in order to atone for how he was. Despite this, upon returning to U.A., he makes it clear that his goal of becoming the strongest hero hasn't changed and that Izuku along with the rest of his classmates are still his rivals.

Following the Final War, Katsuki accepts his injuries and shows his willingness to go ahead with rehabilitation, not wishing to have his broken right arm amputated and limit his Quirk. However, Katsuki becomes truly shocked and saddened upon learning that Izuku has been rendered Quirkless after his final battle against Tomura, recalling how he once bullied Izuku and his growth during their time at U.A. High School. This news was enough to reduce Katsuki to tears, with him confessing that he thought he would be competing with Izuku for the rest of their lives, demonstrating how he has come to truly support Izuku from all the years of conflict between them.

Katsuki helps Izuku become a Hero again and invites him to join everyone. Katsuki helps Izuku become a Hero again and invites him to join everyone.

Eight years later, Katsuki has graduated from U.A. High, becoming a notoriously strong Pro Hero. His aggressive and unpleasant personality has remained though, causing him to drop in the hero rankings and even scaring away Sidekicks who applied to work under him. His former teacher Shota Aizawa grumbles that despite his best efforts, he ultimately failed to get Katsuki to watch his mouth in public, with him shouting at and grabbing a civilian who was recording him on duty. Even so, Katsuki's bond with Izuku has remained intact, to the point where he led a funding for Mei Hatsume and Melissa Shield to create a mechanized suit for Izuku, which all of Class A contributed to. With their efforts allowing Izuku to become a hero again, Katsuki is the one to offer his hand to him as they all leap into action together.

While his high temper is still present, Katsuki has also become more humble in his own way, saying that he would be happy to take on any sidekicks if they genuinely wanted to surpass him, while subtly trying to invite Izuku to his agency. He also tells Izuku to think more highly of himself, saying that he will overlook things if he doesn't, and that giving everyone special treatment means that no one is truly special to him, words that later prompt Izuku to reconnect with Ochaco. Izuku's return to heroism is also implied to have boosted Katsuki's focus, allowing him to regain his momentum in the hero rankings back into the Top 5.