#sssshshshhhhshshshhhhhh

[pikahlua]

I saw some opinions of MHA fans about Katsuki's development in the manga (they were former pro-Katsuki until the Deku be Bakugou part 2). They said how Katsuki's development always tied with Izuku until it became his arc. Many disliked his arc when he doesn't have any consequences for Izuku's bullying and does not focus too on his development as a hero. The latter is the most prominent complaint I saw and Katsuki not fixing his attitude towards civilians to save (after he got his license happen)

I have literally never heard of a person who stopped liking Katsuki as a result of Deku vs Kacchan Part 2 lol what is this

I don’t know what was specifically said by such people, but to address your provided examples:

1. “Katsuki doesn’t have any consequences for bullying Izuku.”

Whenever I hear/read anyone give this opinion, what they usually mean is, “Katsuki hasn’t had the consequences I wanted him to have for bullying Izuku.” (Specifically, they usually mean, “I want authority figures in high school to vindictively punish Katsuki for the bullying he perpetrated in elementary and middle school,” which is its own brand of problematic.) He’s suffered plenty of consequences, including but not limited to:

The lack of behavior correction setting him up for teasing and social difficulties in high school

Stunted development towards his goal of becoming a top hero

The inability to have a good, healthy, long-term friendship with Izuku before these issues are addressed

Prolonged self-hatred and guilt

All the cosmic and dramatic ironies he’s suffered from the story as one of its characters, which are numerous and extensive (but if there’s one that’s relevant above all others, it’s how Katsuki mouths off to Izuku after being saved from the sludge villain right before All Might chooses Izuku--not Katsuki--as his successor)

The lack of closure he might have gotten from being able to apologize to Izuku that was impossible because he knew Izuku would not hold him properly accountable for his actions

The time and energy spent on atonement to get himself to a level of self-worth where he could finally, sincerely apologize to Izuku at all

And yes, these things are consequences, so long as you start from the perspective that Katsuki is a flawed but well-intentioned, fundamentally good, still-growing adolescent aspiring to be a true hero.

2. “Katsuki’s arc does not focus on his development as a hero.”

?

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I can’t believe I have to explain this again. For anyone who doesn’t see the story focus placed on Katsuki’s hero development: open your damn eyes.

The beginning establishes very clearly that Katsuki hardly has anything combat-related he still needs to develop. His issues are entirely in the rescue/save/self-sacrifice department.

Katsuki’s problem is that he doesn’t recognize any training that isn’t combat-related as worthy development for him to focus on.

It’s all baked into the irony of why Best Jeanist was actually the perfect mentor for him to pick in order to introduce him to the areas of professional heroism in which he sorely lacks: communication.

Katsuki perceives his sports festival gold medal as a huge loss, and the story supports his perspective. Everything Katsuki does before his match with Shouto indicates he’s competing with Izuku to be the one to “save” Shouto. Izuku got Shouto to use his fire--and Katsuki wants to do the same.

Katsuki gets hung up on those flashbacks of his childhood with Izuku not just because remembering them pisses him off but because he’s competing with that image of Izuku as a savior in this moment. This match is his opportunity to face off with Izuku in the realm of what Katsuki thinks is Izuku’s greatest strength. That’s why he screams this in the match proper:

And the fact that he loses in this competition with Izuku is the proof that he still has a long way to go.

What’s it say about Katsuki that an injured Izuku tried to create an opening for Katsuki to get a hit in on All Might but Katsuki unexpectedly flubbed it because he went in to save Izuku instead?

It says he wants to save but doesn’t know how.

And when that becomes clear to Katsuki, he rises to the challenge.

And suddenly his insights to relate to others become unsettling...

...and his perceptions of others’ feelings become uncanny...

...and his ability to inspire his team as a leader...

...and command their complete trust becomes unrivaled.

2b. “Katsuki has not fixed his attitude towards civilians to save.”

What, you want Katsuki to stop being Katsuki?

I find it bizarre how people expect provisionally-licensed Katsuki to, like, have a good bedside manner. That’s never what the supplementary training course was supposed to be about. It was to correct their insufficiencies. Note how those who passed the exam did not get perfect scores. They were allowed to skirt by with their problems unaddressed--because what they proved during the exam was how they knew how to prioritize based on their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Katsuki was never asked to become a caring, soft-mannered person to save civilians. He was asked to connect with their hearts. If Katsuki doesn’t think he’s the best for coddling others, well, he should leave it for someone else to do. And Katsuki actually always demonstrates a knack for treating people equally (if he equally treats them a little rudely), because he doesn’t underestimate people. His harshness is actually a form of kindness in that he respects people enough to chastise them for doing less than what they’re capable of. It’s just not softness, because that’s not his strong suit (uh, until he wakes up in the hospital, I guess).

In the above panels, Katsuki’s tone is appropriate for an admonition. That civilian put herself in danger, and her negligence thus put All Might in danger, and that distracted Katsuki from his dangerous-as-shit task of capturing a violent criminal. She deserves to be scolded! With any luck, it will keep her from doing something so reckless again.

The above panel admittedly sounds bad until I inform you that Katsuki’s tone is...well, relatively accurate here actually, but there are some word choices that are a bit harsher than what was actually said. In Japanese, he just calls the extras...“extras.” That’s it. He doesn’t call them nobodies. And yeah, you can whine about how that’s still inappropriate. I’d care if Katsuki wasn’t technically right, because this is a manga and those people are actually extras. It’s a joke, you absolute plebes.

But nothing demonstrates Katsuki’s development in this regard more than these two moments.

Katsuki calls back to recognizing All Might as the tallest wall in the world. That is, he’s the greatest hero alive. And Katsuki acknowledges that the only way to scale such a wall is to fulfill the requirements of “winning and saving”--but together as a team (because All Might was such a solitary figure to his own detriment). It’s all in there. Just read it.

The moral of the story is: politeness is not the same thing as kindness or respect, and Katsuki doesn’t have to be perfect at literally everything even if he is to be a good hero.

Wait.

Was I even asked a question?