Recently, I have been exploring why such a dislikeable character as Katsuki Bakugou from the series My Hero Academia continues to place first in popularity polls across both Japan and the US. Throughout this expedition of mine, I’ve seen why Bakugou is a fan favorite through the context of cultural, through the context of expectation, and through the context of powerful character effects, but, as you may have guessed by now, there is plenty more to investigate. People can both empathize and feel sympathy towards the character Bakugou because this character displays real-life psychological struggles and hardships. What are these struggles? First, we see Bakugou experience problems faced with being titled as a gifted kid. In My Hero Academia, 80% of the population is born with superpowers known as quirks. Therefore, it is almost a guarantee a person in this universe will develop a quirk, but, most of the time, a person’s superpower will be nothing worthwhile. Bakugou, however, acquires a quirk that immediately garners him praise from his peers and elders alike, all promising Bakugou from a young age that he is bound for greatness. As a result, Bakugou is fooled into believing he is the best, but once he enters UA, a high school filled with many other gifted students, he realizes that he isn’t as perfect as what everybody around him claimed. Bakugou, however, still feels that pressure to be the best and to fulfill those impossibly high expectations that everybody placed on him when he was a child. Consequently, he ties his self-worth to meeting these expectations; he believes that what makes a good hero is one who always wins in the end no matter what, so when he doesn’t win, he views himself as worthless. Lesley Scott, psychologist and practitioner for the National Institute for Learning Development, explains, “Gifted children have high expectations of themselves and others, and can easily become disillusioned and disappointed when expectations are not met.” During this time in a gifted kid’s life, he or she will usually develop what is known as gifted kid burnout, where the gifted kid purposely underachieves to escape the pressure of being exceptional, or gifted kid syndrome, where the gifted kid struggles to adapt and learn helpful study habits. Bakugou, however, doesn’t follow this trend. Unlike the path taken by many gifted children, he doesn’t lose interest in his desire to win. Bakugou refuses to give up and continues working hard to become a hero, no matter how much failure scares him. Maybe not everybody has gone through exactly what this character has faced, but everybody knows what it feels like to lose. This makes Bakugou not only relatable but inspiring, thus, making him likable as well.
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