Still not a dream daddy post.
Midoriya is far from the only character who gets a lot of mentoring help throughout the BnHA series.
So let’s talk about Bakugou for a(nother) moment, shall we?
I don’t know what it is about middle school in Japan, but it seems to really suck?
In every high school anime I watch, all the drama always happens in middle school, and the teaching staff is highly lax, if not completely irresponsible. They certainly didn’t do much to quell a young Bakugou’s more violent tendencies, or help a young Midoriya with what is very obviously a bullying problem.
It’s fairly safe to say that until he goes to UA, Bakugou basically lacks in authority figures, which is one (not all) of the reasons he got to act as bad as he did.
Since the start of the series, he’s gotten a bit better.
So let’s examine his dads (and one mum).
How to contain an explosion
The first time we see an actual authority figure reign in Bakugou, is when he hits UA.
And in this case you can take that quite literally.
That person is, of course, Aizawa.
Now I friggin love Aizawa because he is one of the most underrated characters in the series and I will shout that to the rooftops for all eternity
but also,
Aizawa is, for his students and specifically for Bakugou, a constant source of lowkey support.
His teaching method is very much hands-off, letting his students make mistakes and figure out solutions for themselves, which seems to be the go-to for all anime mentors everywhere, but his support is definitely there.
Because, and this is important, he looks beyond posing. Beyond attitudes and images.
He has reason to, of course. Aizawa looks and acts like a drunken hobo half the time, but he is actually one of the better teachers and heroes as UA. He knows a thing or two about appearances.
And honestly, it is very much needed.
UA and the entirety of the story are, remember, utterly brutal to Bakugou and his self-esteem. It’s a pretty classic ‘break him down before you can build him up’ sort of theme.
But Aizawa is not part of this.
He restrains the kid exactly twice. Once, when he was about to (possibly) murder Midoriya, and a second time when he was blatantly breaking UA rules.
Aizawa does not belittle Bakugou, he does not fear him and most of all, he does not underestimate him.
He knows him, advises him.
He defends him.
He will scold him, but mostly he has a certain amount of respect for the kid. He trusts him.
I think for Bakugou that is incredibly important. Because Aizawa is someone he respects. Here is a pro hero who has taken the time to get to actually know him.
Aizawa is someone who puts down clear boundaries and then gives him the freedom to stay within them.
Whether out of disinterest or fear, that middle school teacher way back in the first episode wasn’t even trying to stop him from hurting Midoriya. That sort of shit would not fly in Aizawa’s class. But he’s also not going to lay it out for him.
He trusts that Bakugou will, in fact, sort himself out. Once your core is on the right track, the rest will follow.
We are shown, in a very real way, that this is how you get the best results with Bakugou.
Horikoshi does this by showing us how NOT to do it.
For instance, while Best Jeanist certainly has the intentions and the authority as a Pro Hero to mentor him, he goes about it all wrong.
Because what he does is exactly that: micromanage, completely make over the outside, not the inside.
You can’t just expect the kid to change his entire being like that.
Certainly not because it’s fairly clear that Best Jeanist, well-meaning as he is, is not exactly trying to understand Bakugou.
Manga spoilers under the cut
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