The biggest problem with BNHA re: abuse and bullying is that both abusers (Bakugou, Endeavour) are given a chance at redemption simply because nobody really knows what they did. They know the WHY - the justification - they know the ‘aftermath’, but they don’t know the gritty details. Neither of the abusive characters have to actually make up for what they did OR suffer any public consequences for their actions BECAUSE no one really knows what they did.
Ex 1) Endeavor gets to live on as someone many people look up to and, despite not earning it the way he wanted to, he gets to be the Number One Hero. He literally gets to achieve his dream. The narrative sets it up like its a punishment, but in reality its a consolation prize. A real punishment would be Endeavour being stripped of his title for uhhhhHHHHHH child and domestic abuse. A real punishment would be Endeavour winding up in a situation similar to Ingenium - why didn’t Endeavour ever have to face a real threat from the Hero Killer or a similar “morals driven” villain who sees him for what he is? A real punishment would be All Might rejecting him as a hero or Shouto flat-out refusing to be near him once and for all with all of his other children. There’s still /some/ hope for this narrative through Dabi and through Shouto’s continued resentment, but honestly I think at worst Endeavour will get a heroic ending considering how things have been framed so far.
Ex 2) Bakugou gets to even become a student at UA when, lets be real, if they knew about his past he likely wouldn’t have been allowed in. Can you imagine if his teachers EVER reported his behaviour towards Midoriya? Then, to make things worse, his classmates never really find out what he’s done to Midoriya because, again lets face it, they wouldn’t be able to maintain their status as heroes in the narrative if they supported Bakugou after hearing about the extent of his actions early on. This goes double for the teachers. All of them know /something/ is wrong, however they have no idea that Bakugou spent a decade intentionally demolishing Midoriya’s dreams, his personal sense of safety, his self-esteem, and then ultimately suicide-baited while also THREATENING him out of going to his dream school. Oh and then continued this pattern of abusive behaviour well into their shared schooling to the point that multiple characters made it Midoriya’s problem to resolve, risking his future because of Bakugou’s resentment. This goes TRIPLE for All Might and Inko. None of the characters /really/ get to call Bakugou out - at most he receives a slap on the wrist and, because that slap effects him deeply due to his insecurities and the fact that he’s clearly the author’s favourite, we are supposed to believe that this is ‘redemption’ or in any way…fair. That it is somehow equivalent to what he’s done. Keep in mind that his slaps on the wrist have been less severe than those experienced by other students for more minor or first time offences.
Redemption for both of these characters means NOTHING as long as the other characters they interact with are unaware of the extent of their actions and as long as they continue to not experience any real PERMANENT consequences for their actions. There’s no real lesson learnt…there’s just a “but they were really heroic deep down and they had to get past their insecurities for their true selves to show” which is kinda messed up when you consider uhhhhhhh their victims? It paints the victims in this scenario as martyrs who, in their acceptance of their abusers, get to make them better people. It essentially makes the heroism of these two the responsibility of their victims. Because it is through their silence that Endeavour and Bakugou got the chance to truly achieve their dreams.
Also, as an extra to really make this hit home: none of the other characters, who ARE good people, are handed nearly as much to them by the narrative. Every single other character has to work HARDER for their positions despite uh…not being terrible people. Endeavour is Number One and so is Bakugou in pretty much every way that counts. They both have countless people supporting them. They have been acknowledged and accepted by the strongest moral pillars of the story despite not deserving it. All of the other characters have flaws that drag them down somehow WORSE than an established abusive past lol. Like imagine…low self-esteem somehow holding you back worse than beating an actual child and your own wife. Shouldn’t the previous abusers have to work harder than everyone else and come from lower than everyone else? Shouldn’t they fall behind in “true” heroics? Have more personal crises? Shouldn’t they be forced, time and again, to come face to face with their past decisions? Because right now it seems like they’re being treated as equal to every other character, if not better, which is bullshit in a hero narrative.
