Summary
Bakugo’s initial death had a major impact on readers, with diverse and harsh reactions from the fan community. Bakugo’s character development from a bully to a trusted member of Class 1-A makes his death even more tragic. Some fans expressed joy at Bakugo’s death due to his past polarizing and bullying personality, while others expressed disappointment and predicted that he would eventually return.
This article contains MAJOR spoilers for My Hero Academia #403!The My Hero Academy The fan base was shaken when chapter #362 was released, as Katsuki Bakugo was seemingly killed. Although fans now know that death no longer exists, when Bakugo came back to life (if not for good) in chapter #403 of My Hero Academia, the original death had a major impact on readers of manga. Naturally, fans took to social media at the time to express their reactions to the death of the Class 1-A family.
Bakugo is always the perfect shield for Deku. While Midoriya Izuku is humble, respectful and tolerant, Bakugo is cocky, rude and close. Before Deku got his Quirk, Bakugo was one of Midoriya’s main tormentors. In fact, Bakugo was the first to call Midoriya “Deku,” which loosely translates to “worthless.” However, as he matured both personally and in his relationship with Deku, Bakugo underwent a profound change. While retaining his somewhat annoying personality, he eventually developed into one of the most trustworthy and focused Class 1-A members. Of course, that only makes his apparent death at the hands of “Tomura Shigaraki” all the more tragic.
The best reactions to Bakugo’s death in My Hero Academia
With his initial bullying personality and later development, fan reactions to Bakugo’s death were both varied and intense. Indeed, many posts highlight the sadness at the thought of losing arguably the most beloved and hated pre-hero in My Hero Academia, especially with his final image of All Might, for see a rare moment of vulnerability.
While there are plenty of My Hero Academia villains that fans hate, Bakugo also brings up his bad feelings. Not only is he defined as a bully, but he is also a bully with superpowers. Furthermore, there’s also the fact that the main focus of his bullying is Deku, one of the cutest kids around. Since Bakugo is a polarizing hero who doesn’t care about the feelings of others, it’s only natural that some posts expressed joy at the passing of their least favorite character. For this fandom, Bakugo is far from redeemed and has had many taunts regarding other series.
Interestingly, given the manga’s famous tendency to lead fans in one direction with a red herring, only to shock them with a reveal that catches them completely off guard, many fans have spoken out I don’t believe that such an important character could be killed. These fans’ intuition was eventually proven correct, as Bakugo finally got up and returned to the fight in chapter #403. When these posts talked about the moment Bakugo “died,” many readers believed it could be another clever trick by creator Kohei Horikoshi, much like My Hero Academia’s big traitor reveal, intended to lure fans into thinking he was dead only to reveal some other outcome.
Although it was eventually revealed that Bakugo was not dead, the tampering certainly had the desired effect, angering fans and keeping them in suspense for over a year before he returned again. Those who loved Bakugo were deeply hurt at the thought of the young hero dying, while those who disliked his character rejoiced at the thought of his elimination. Of course, some fans have called in and predicted that Bakugo isn’t really gone after all… even if that’s the case. My Hero Academy fans a year to find out they were right.
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