#the day when people realize there is more to rankings than predicted results of 1v1 death matches

[class1akids]

Why are people even having a meltdown about the rankings Lmaoo. They shouldn’t even be there in the first place and plus I don’t even think Katsuki cares. Partly because I truly believe he’s grown past his obsession with the rankings and has a different benchmark for being the ‘best’ and partly cuz Deku wasn’t there competing with him. Pretty sure he spent all his down time obsessing, planning and plotting and saving every penny for that suit

I've seen this "Bakugou won't compete unless Deku is there" kind of take become popular and I have to say, I don't find it convincing.

Bakugou's first redeeming quality revealed at the Sport Festival is how seriously he takes each and every opponent he faces, how he always goes for the maximum, how he always gives his best, how he feels it's utter disrespect not to do the same.

Are you telling me that Mirio, who saved his life is not worth the effort? That he won't show respect to Mt Lady and Kamui Woods? That he'd half-ass it against Todoroki after he spent months begrudging Shouto for half-assing the finals?

To me, that sounds really out of character. Not because of an obsession with the rankings (a la Endeavor), but because the Bakugou I know does not know the meaning of the words "hold back" and would show his respect by giving it his all.

I think it's perfectly plausible he wouldn't be No 1 immediately, what more, I think it is good for his character if he (relatively) struggles (I mean the guy is comfortably Top 10 obviously).

There are many plausible reasons - his arm is still not 100%, there are not so many large-scale fights for him to really stand out (everyone can catch thieves), his quirk is not the best suited to large-scale rescue/disaster scenarios, things from his past can come back (the SF restraint, the kidnapping, but once he becomes a celebrity, it wouldn't be odd to see his MS class mates spill the beans on his bully behavior), he has rough manners and an explosive temper that work against him.

Let him be bad at public relations, and understand and continue to learn the value of intangibles that Mirio has (like being well-spoken, reassuring, funny, likeable) and continue to better himself.

To me, that was always the essence of Bakugou - how he learnt to recognize his own weaknesses and kept at fixing them until he overcame them. I'm sure he'll get to No 1 at some point, but I think it's more interesting if he keeps bumping into walls to overcome, if he has tough competition (not just Deku, but really everyone at that level) and he keeps striving for his goal with all that he's got.