My Hero Academia Season 6 showed the series take a much darker turn following All For One’s return. Along with Tomura Shigaraki’s terrifying evolution, the sixth season of the anime showed Deku awaken several new quirks as well. The second cour showed the young hero crumble under the burden of wielding One For All as he became AFO’s prime target, prompting him to leave U.A. Academy.
This Vigilante arc revealed the dark side of Deku’s personality to fans. They were relieved when the series’ penultimate episode showed the green haired-hero back to his original self, though the atmosphere remained tense and somber.
#BNHA #ヒロアカ #heroaca_a #MyHeroAcadamia6 #MHA
– My Hero Academia –
season 6 episode 23
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.I LOVR MHA! THIS EPISODE WAS PEAK! Studio Bones and voice actors (Especially Nobuhiko Okamoto – Bakugou va.) did such an amazing job and give justice as that chapter deserve! ❤❤❤ pic.twitter.com/swWDaNGedK
— ☆🍙OnigiriNoKeiji🇵🇱 (@megux45) March 13, 2023
One of the highlights of Deku’s confrontation against Class 1-A was Katsuki Bakugo’s apology to his childhood friend. But their conversation was much more than the Explosion-hero making amends. This article discusses the true significance of his apology in My Hero Academia Season 6.
Disclaimer: This article takes into account the writer’s interpretations and contains spoilers for the My Hero Academia anime and manga.
Understanding how Bakugo’s apology in My Hero Academia Season 6 impacts Deku’s view of himself and his role as a hero
Origin of Izuku Midoriya’s hero name “Deku”
5. i’ve probably talked about it a million times but deku choosing his hero name is definitely my favorite,, just the fact that he hated this name for years because for bakugo it was a way to shame and ridicule him,, it all turned around in a instant when ochako said it pic.twitter.com/RkYCUcZdnA
— scrub 🍁 (@SCRUBADUB_) October 7, 2020
From the very beginning of My Hero Academia, Izuku’s hero name had a negative connotation attached to it. “Deku” was a nickname given to him by Bakugo while they were still kids, making it a constant reminder of him being Quirkless. Despite the word’s original meaning being “useless,” Izuku adopted it as his hero name after Uraraka told him that the nickname seemed to have a can-do attitude associated with it.
Early on in My Hero Academia Season 6, Bakugo commented that OFA was a cursed power, which was forcing Izuku to push himself past his limits with no regard for his well-being. Similar to the Quirk he inherited, the burden of being a hero began weighing down on the green-haired boy and at some point, he seemed to simply become Deku and let his duty consume him.
The true significance of Bakugo’s apology
The second half of My Hero Academia Season 6 showed Deku reveal the secret behind his Quirk and leave U.A., which came about after All For One made it clear that he was targeting the OFA holder. When Bakugo realized that Endeavor and Best Jeanist had let Deku team up with his mentor, he immediately realized that his childhood friend would try to go off on his own, since both All Might and Deku had similar altruistic tendencies.
Class 1-A decided to capture their classmate and bring him back to the school. Despite his friends’ words, Deku continued to resist. But his resolve crumbled after Bakugo apologized to him and called him by his real name for the first time in the series. He confessed that he had always felt that despite being Quirkless, Izuku had always been way ahead of him.
The blonde’s inferiority complex manifested as hostility, leading him to bully the other boy. Their interaction and Izuku’s reaction suggested that hearing Bakugo acknowledge him as simply a person rather than “Deku” allowed him to let go of his previous helplessness and remember that he was not alone in this fight. His body gave into his exhaustion as soon as he relaxed, causing him to collapse.
Bakugo’s words also foreshadowed Ochaco Uraraka’s impassioned speech in My Hero Academia Season 6 Episode 24, tying into the question that defines her role in the series: Who saves the heroes when they need to be protected?
Final thoughts
My Hero Academia established Izuku and Katsuki as rivals from the first season itself, but it had always been an unequal balance. While the former simply wanted the power to become a hero and save people, Bakugo struggled with his insecurities and became a bully.
It was only after the blone broke down during Season 3 during the aftermath of the Kamino Ward incident and figured out the secret behind Izuku’s Quirk that he began trying to understand the green-haired boy, rather than constantly analyzing his strengths and weaknesses.
Working together with All Might further made Bakugo realize that the burden to defeat AFO would eventually bring out the worst of Izuku’s self-destructive tendencies. Without the blonde reminding him that he was not alone, Deku would have continued to refuse going back to U.A. and gone off in his exhausted condition.
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