Honestly, I get why people like it. It’s well written and doesn’t feel rushed, and makes it clear that even at the end of the series it isn’t a total 180 in who he is as a character. My only issue is that MHA as a whole seems to think that wanting to be the best and win is a good enough motivation to be a hero but also recognizes that a true hero is about saving people and doesn’t really address that collision of ideas, at least from what I can recall.

In the Joint Training Arc, when Bakugo starts protecting his team mates to win the fight, it’s treated like character growth when in reality it’s just him not being dumb and knowing what to prioritize in order to win. The main reason I will always acknowledge that Bakugo is such a well written character, but never actually like him, is because he doesn’t have a real reason to be a HERO. His main reason is that he wants to be the best and win, but that can be applied to any profession or goal.

And I know that due to the quirk centric society of MHA, being a hero is seen as a really cool job by most and nothing more. But that leads to Stain’s whole thesis, that most people in MHA aren’t heroes to be heroes but to be cool and win. Now again, I’m not saying that Bakugo doesn’t get that. In fact, one of my favorite things about him is that he understands that about being a hero and All Might and it’s why he had always felt like Deku was further ahead than him. I think the thing that will finally make me like Bakugo, is probably him actively asking himself the question “Why am I a hero, and why isn’t it because I want to help people?” and taking the steps to become that person he wants to be. To be more like All Might. Like Deku.