My Hero Academia may be coming to an end, but that hasn’t stopped fans from continuing to harsh on one of its most controversial characters. Bakugo Katsuki was the OG, the kindling, and the first horseman for people to hate on when the anime began back in 2016, and ittedly, for a very good reason.

He’s seen as a short-term antagonist who is actively working against Izuku Midoriya in his hopes to become a viable hero at UA, even going so far as to pick fights with him behind the scenes to prove himself over a former friend he thought was quirkless. Bakugo is a very complex character, and his actions throughout the manga and anime aren’t those that can be easily forgiven or explained from the moment he told Deku to jump off a building to not holding back in his fight against Ochaco Uraraka in the Sports Festival.

“Bakugo’s Fight Against Uraraka Was Unfair”

Some MHA Fans Are Still Mystified About How Bakugo Became A Hero

There’s no better way to showcase what kind of hero both Bakugo and Uraraka turn out to be than the original fight during UA’s Sports Festival. It is remarked several times in the show by their fellow classmates and heroes watching the fight that this was an extremely unfair matchup, casting more pity on the gentle and hard-working Uraraka. The one-on-one sparring matches were meant to put the students to the test on how they would handle other superpowered humans in a battle, while also competing to see who was the strongest.

For a majority of the fight, audiences both in and out of the narrative had to witness Uraraka attempt to dodge or tank Bakugo’s explosive quirk head-on. Even without equipment, the literal bombastic character has excellent control over the precision and blast range of his quirk, dealing significant damage to the stadium when it didn’t hit Ochaco, so one could only imagine that when she did get hit, it wasn’t a gentle breeze.

While Bakugo could obviously go on to win the UA Sports Festival, he would receive backlash both in the story and outside of it. Some fans were at their wits' end with this supposed hero since he not only soundly defeated Uraraka, but would then go on to complain about his win against Shoto Todoroki. There seemed to be nothing good about his character. My Hero Academia, however, does see fit to punish him by not only showcasing how the audience was disgusted by his actions, and displaying him as a demon on the winning stage.

Bakugo and Uraraka Prepared and Acted Accordingly

In a Matchup That Challenged Both of Them, The MHA Students Made the Right Call

Almost immediately, all complaints and judgments cast towards Bakugo are silenced by their homeroom teacher and veteran hero, Shota Aizawa, or Eraserhead, telling the audience that if they saw anything wrong with his students' fight, then they aren’t true pro heroes and misunderstand Katsuki being on guard. Uraraka herself says in the midst of the fight that she’s thankful to Bakugo that he’s taking her as seriously as he would any other opponent. Although he initially blames Deku for teaching her strange tactics, he later learns that she didn’t take up any advice offered by the mumbling tactician of Class 1-A.

The only way that Bakugo was going to win against Uraraka was if he kept her at bay and made sure she never got close to touching him. Doing so would mean his instant elimination. For Uraraka, winning against the class's toughest student was always going to be an insurmountable challenge, but she devised a strategy to take him out by using the amount of destruction he leaves behind against him. If she couldn’t him directly, she’d use what she could reach and strike him down with bits of the arena.

By Criticizing Bakugo in the Sports Festival, Uraraka’s Efforts Are Undermined

Ochaco Put up a Fight Worthy of Being Acknowledged by the Strongest in Her Class

What ultimately settled the fight was the difference in tolerance and stamina between their quirks. Bakugo had better training and time perfecting his control, and despite Uraraka wanting to continue the fight, the meteor shower had completely drained her. Her determination to fight, utilizing strategies against him, and being unwilling to give in despite what was said around her won Uraraka Bakugo’s respect.

Where do you see ‘fragile’?

Bakugo was more excited for the challenge presented in Uraraka’s battle than in Todoroki’s, given how the latter’s exhaustion wore him out. She was fighting on a physical and mental level that could compete against Bakugo, and yet when audiences see only a petite girl taking blow after blow, it just kills how momentous this scene was for both of the students' developments. Uraraka displayed momentous courage and wit to combat Dynamite McGee, it’s a shame the show doesn’t give her much development in later arcs where these two could have seen each other on equal or respectable grounds.

Katsuki Bakugo is always on the short end of the stick, and rightfully so, in some instances, but he doesn’t go unpunished for his more dastardly actions. He’s acknowledged for his strength but rebuked for his personality. In his quest to become a hero, he claws his way to the top, which fans respect in Deku’s journey, yet criticize in Bakugo’s. My Hero Academia nailed a lot of character development arcs, with Kacchan’s being at the forefront, acknowledging Uraraka at the Sports Festival for seeing her as a valid opponent with the quiet statement, "Where do you see ‘fragile?’"