I love how there are references to the alternative Volume 29 covers - so there is no doubt what they mean.
Little Kacchan looking on and feeling that Deku is miles ahead of him. Kacchan still being stuck in the river, unable to get out and close the distance until he apologizes.
And then this panel here - Kacchan finally leaving the river
And catching Deku before he could fall into the same spot Kacchan was trapped in.
One of the biggest ironie to Bakugous growth is like, how he always claimed to become better then All Might, but he was talking about the strength. Now, he is on the way to be better then All Might - but more cause of his mindset and be open letting others help then pure strength.
Yeah, he has refined a lot his idea of victory. It started with beating someone down or getting an undisputed 1st place, then grew into accepting someone's help, into "win to save", and in the JTA into the "perfect victory", which is basically working together while depending on each other, minimizing risks to everyone and without any casualties.
All Might's wins always came at the cost of his own health, carrying the burden up until the very end alone. In his version of victory, the winner stood alone, but also paid a very big price - something Bakugou didn't see until he got to know All Might better.
I've had for a long while been thinking that Bakugou's endgame is developing into a spectacular team leader. He's great at battle tactics, he understands quirks, he can hype people with his charisma and we've seen it in the war arc that he's quick on his feet, making plans with this philosophy of minimizing risks / maximizing success, like when he came up with the combo to get Endeavor to Deku (as opposed to Deku's approach which was to shoulder everything by himself).
And that's honestly who Kacchan is at his purest - he was a natural-born leader before he had a quirk.
His slip into the river is him losing his way as he's marching ahead of "his hero team" - it's all very symbolic. He's stuck there until he re-learns the value of working with others.
And he's clearly somehow the thematic parallel of Nii-chan, who himself is described as the "leader" among the OFA holders.
But Nii-chan's path was dark, because he was willing to sacrifice lives to reach his victory, something that Bakugou is not willing to do.
I think the two times AFO came close to losing was the time of Nii-chan's attack and the time he fought All Might, which is why he fears both hero unity or the emergence of a strong Deku. But they both fell short. At the time of Nii-chan OFA wasn't strong enough yet, so the team probably was not powerful enough. I suspect AFO killed the allies brutally, sending the subsequent OFA-holders towards the lonely path to protect others. And at All Might's time, OFA bloomed into an incredible power, rivalling AFO, but All Might fought alone, while AFO always had allies.
So it seems to me that the way to surpass All Might is to combine Nii-chan's and All Might's way - to unite the OFA-holder and his allies, which is what Bakugou is suggesting.
Because in order to have a perfect victory, something that tops even All Might, they need to work together, and the OFA holder also needs to be protected.
A holiday themed story concept/ faux anime screenshot for fun! hehe It’s about twin bros trained to be future Santa and Krampus. But, one day, the one trained to become Santa ran away from his duty, destroying the balance.. Happy Holidays everyone!!
The Wonder Duo deserves it after so much character development, don't they? You can't just make Posters like these-
-and expect me to survive the pain of not seeing them help each other up. You can give me the best WonderDuo teamwork ever, but nothing will trump this One Moment where Kacchan takes Deku's hand.
It's not much, but it is enough. Please, make it happen. Please,
The Wonder Duo deserves it after so much character development, don't they? You can't just make Posters like these-
-and expect me to survive the pain of not seeing them help each other up. You can give me the best WonderDuo teamwork ever, but nothing will trump this One Moment where Kacchan takes Deku's hand.
It's not much, but it is enough. Please, make it happen. Please,
Bakugo screaming “fuck” and scaring their 1 yr old, startling him into a hilarious jolt in his high chair, and deku completely losing his shit as he nearly topples over in laughter. And bakugo straight yelling “fuck” again to see the effect but just ended up with a screaming, wailing baby and a “s-stop- haha- kacchan! He thinks your mad at him!”
What scene or moment in canon made you start shipping bakudeku?
I watch the anime dubbed, and in the scene when Izuku runs to save Katsuki from the sludge villain Izuku doesn’t say “you looked like you needed saving” like he does in the manga, he says “I couldn’t bear to watch you die” and that was it for me, I’ve shipped it ever since.
probably that phrase is what ground katsuki’s gears. that phrase implies that katsuki was weak that he NEEDED saving. and Izuku was damn smiling at him, to katsuki’s mind it was condescending, not a comforting smile. god, the miscommunication between these two is like a baby koala talking to a baby chipmunk. haha.