A talented student and top of the line hero, My Hero Academia’s Katsuki Bakugo is a firecracker of a character, literally. His explosive personality is coupled with a Quirk that allows him to create bomb-like detonations from his hands in any direction he chooses.
But as any fan of the series will tell you, Bakugo is more than just his power. Being Midoriya’s rival as well as one of the show’s main characters means that there’s more to King Explosion Murder than meets the eye. His drive to further himself pushed him to pick up a plethora of talents, and his growth as a person is one of the series’ high points.
9 Use A Variety Of Martial Arts Techniques
While he relies mainly on his powerful Quirk during combat, Bakugo employs quick thinking and martial arts just as much. His punches, throws, and dodges are augmented most of the time, but would still be devastating without the accompanying explosion. His arms are very, very tough after tireless training to better withstand his explosions, so if he happened to lose his Quirk, defending himself would not be an issue.
8 Take More Than A Few Hits
One of Bakugo’s strongest attributes when it comes to combat is his toughness. Even before he made his way into class 1-A Bakugo was taking hits like an absolute champ, as audiences witnessed during the Sludge Villain incident. Not being able to properly breathe for over a minute while basically drowning in slime would be the death of almost any normal person, but Bakugo thrashed and kicked, never giving up as the villain was trying to take him over. Even without his Quirk, there’s no doubt that Bakugo is one of the most tenacious characters in My Hero Academia.
7 Cook Delicious Meals
Another of Bakugo’s useful yet unexpected talents is his ability as a chef. During the Forest Training Camp Arc, class 1-A has to cook their own meals after a long day of arduous Quirk training. To everyone’s surprise, Bakugo is the best cook in the class, chopping ingredients at supersonic speed and just generally being extremely useful.
Of course, when the class expresses their mild shock, Bakugo shouts at them for a moment before good-naturedly getting back to it.
6 Employ Long-Term Combat Strategy
Bakugo, in an ever continuing effort to make himself stronger and more capable, is always analyzing his opponents. Whether it’s trying to find a weak spot, predicting their next move based on prior battles, or simply finding an escape route, Bakugo’s mind is always on high alert in combat.
5 Play The Drums Pretty Dang Well
During the School Festival arc, class 1-A needed to pull together a band, and to everyone’s surprise Bakugo stepped up to the plate. At this point the main cast is fairly used to Bakugo pulling random skills out of thin air, but drumming wasn’t something anyone thought he was good at. He had apparently only done a few lessons, but the guy rocked out like everyone else in the band, needing minimal training to boot.
4 Understand His Peers
Bakugo, subverting most of his classmates’ expectations, is extremely observant. When Midoriya cried after All Might’s victory over All for One, Bakugo was the only one who took note. Instead of just brushing off Midoriya’s increases in strength aside, he came to the only correct conclusion: that Midoriya had All Might’s power.
In another scenario, right when the class moved into the dorms, he was able to lighten the generally dark and depressed mood by making Kaminari go into his silly exhausted mode, causing an outbreak of laughter that got 1-A out of their funk.
3 Climb Mountains
One of Bakugo’s hobbies that the audience never really gets to see is his love of mountain climbing. The first volume of the series claims that this is one of his favorite pastimes, along with eating spicy food, which makes sense considering his love of challenge. Rock climbing is both physically and mentally stressful, a scenario Bakugo would thrive in. It’s assumed that he does this activity without his Quirk, as otherwise he could simply accelerate himself to the top of the mountain.
2 Get Top Grades
While most people who go on and on about how much better they are than others are wrong, Bakugo genuinely is much better than most of U.A.’s finest. He consistently scores high on exams, regularly placing in the top 3.
If he were to lose his Quirk via use of Eri’s powers or by Shigaraki’s hand, it would definitely affect his combat ability, but the extra focus on schoolwork and strategy might give Bakugo a completely different place in the My Hero Academia universe.
1 Grow As A Person
While much of the cast stay fairly static over the course of the show (looking at you, Mineta), Bakugo’s evolution as a person is one of the more notable parts of My Hero Academia‘s second and third seasons. Bakugo quickly shifts from an egotistical boy who thought he could breeze past the competition to a man who understands where he wants to go and respects those around him. Without his powers, Bakugo might be given the chance to develop himself further, and become a different hero entirely.
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