Katsuki Bakugo

Lore & Background

Katsuki Bakugo's journey is marked by intense rivalry and painful growth. After being kidnapped by the League of Villains, All Might lost his Quirk saving him, making Katsuki blame himself for All Might's retirement, though All Might later reassured him it was not his fault. Katsuki becomes one of the only people who knows the true nature of Izuku's Quirk, as Izuku trusts him with this secret and so did All Might. During the war with the Paranormal Liberation Army, Katsuki watches Izuku about to die to Tomura Shigaraki's piercing attack; in a moment of pure urgency, he awakens a new explosive technique that propels him fast enough to push Izuku out of the way and tank the hits himself. Later, during the Dark Deku Arc, Katsuki gives a big apology speech to Izuku, admitting the reason he had to bully and reject Izuku was because of his jealousy in feeling the Quirkless boy's mindset was more passionate and closer to being a hero than he was. He finishes by saying he is so sorry for everything, and informs Izuku that his path was not ever misguided the moment he gained One for All, which he rightfully deserved.

In Their Own Story

During the final battle, Katsuki faces off against an All For One-possessed Tomura Shigaraki, who gives him a fatal blow to the chest, killing him. After being resurrected by the hero Edgeshot using his 'Zenith' ability, Katsuki returns to battle despite his injuries and uses his powers to battle All For One, whom he manages to kill after he is reverted to an infant before collapsing out of exhaustion. After regaining consciousness and discovering All For One is still alive in Tomura, he uses his explosion powers to shoot himself over to Tomura and Izuku in battle at Mount Fuji, and, with Shoto's help, uses an explosion to kill League member Kurogiri before he is able to teleport Tomura away. With this, Katsuki allows Izuku to land his final punch on Tomura, finally defeating him and the last of All For One. After graduating from U.A., Katsuki becomes one of Japan's top heroes and leads the funding for a new powered suit that allows Izuku to become a hero again.

Reader's Guide

Katsuki begins the series as an intelligent student with aspirations of being the world's greatest hero, but had an arrogant, violent and crude personality. He often bullied Izuku Midoriya during their childhood, giving him the moniker 'Deku' to mock his perceived worthlessness. After Izuku was given One For All, both enter U.A. High School and are enrolled in Class 1-A. Katsuki receives character development, learning the importance of teamwork and co-operation, becoming a leader, accepting help, and how to save others in order to win. He also begins developing a friendship with classmates Eijiro Kirishima and Denki Kaminari. After failing the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam due to his guilt and aggressive attitude, Katsuki takes Izuku out to Testing Ground Gamma, reveals he has put together how Izuku received his Quirk from All Might, and challenges Izuku to a battle to deal with his guilt. After defeating Izuku, All Might arrives, reassures him, and tells him the origins of All For One. Katsuki promises Izuku he will surpass him one day, forming a proper rivalry. This rivalry becomes a quick rekindling of their childhood friendship, and they talk more since the fight, although sometimes playfully antagonistic.

Did You Know?

• In the first draft of the series, Katsuki was a genius with a nice personality, but Horikoshi scrapped this idea because it was too boring.
• Horikoshi originally intended to keep Katsuki with an unempathetic personality, but later decided to give him development into a kinder person as the story went on.
• After the anime premiered, Horikoshi began writing the character with Nobuhiko Okamoto's voice in mind.
• Katsuki's English voice actor Clifford Chapin often has to end recording sessions early due to his voice getting worn out from all the screaming the character does.
• Katsuki was added to the Jump Force video game as a DLC character in August 2019.