#shouto's character arc

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 426 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

1 来なくて大丈夫って言ったのに！ こなくてだいじょうぶっていったのに！ konakute daijoubu tte itta noni! "I told you it's okay if you don't come!"

2 それを言うなら貴方たちもよ冬美　夏雄 それをいうならあなたたちもよふゆみ　なつお sore wo iu nara anata-tachi mo yo Fuyumi Natsuo "If you say that, the same goes for you all, Fuyumi, Natsuo."

3 お母さんでも… おかあさんでも… okaasan demo... "Even you, mom..."

tagline 1 No.426　地獄の轟くん家・FINAL　堀越耕平 ナンバー426　じごくのとどろきくんち・ファイナル　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 426 jigoku no Todoroki-kun-chi・FAINARU  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 426 The Hellish Todoroki Family - Final Kouhei Horikoshi

4 それを言うならおまえもだ冷 それをいうならおまえもだれい sore wo iu nara omae mo da Rei "If you say that, the same goes for you, Rei."

tagline 2 集う轟家の面々向かう先はーー… つどうとどろきけのめんめんむかうさきはーー… tsudou Todoroki-ke no menmen mukau saki wa--... Where are the gathered members of the Todoroki family heading--...?

5 義務感で来たんじゃねぇから！ ぎむかんできたんじゃねぇから！ gimu kan de kitanja nee kara! "It's because I didn't come here out of a sense of duty!"

6 皆そうだろ みんなそうだろ minna sou daro "It's like that for everyone, right?"

1 会話は可能ですが一日に数分が限界です かいわはかのうですがいちにちにすうぶんがげんかいです kaiwa wa kanou desu ga ichinichi ni suubun ga genkai desu "Conversation is possible, but [his] limit is a few minutes a day."

2 緩やかに死へと向かっている… ゆるやかにしへとむかっている… yuruyaka ni shi e to mukatte iru... "Slowly* headed towards death..." (*Note: It's important to note this word for "slowly" does not imply Touya is suffering slowly until he dies but that the wait is a gentle and easy one.)

3 それが今の轟燈矢です それがいまのとどろきとうやです sore ga ima no Todoroki Touya desu "That is Touya Todoroki now."

1 ……………ぞろぞろと ...............zorozoro to "...............One by one."

2 ハハ… 観光名物じゃねぇんだよ……… ハハ… かんこうめいぶつじゃねぇんだよ……… HAHA... kankou meibutsu wa neenda yo......... "Haha... I'm not a tourist attraction........."

3 ゲホッ GEHO (Note: This is a sound effect for a coughing sound.)

4 ガホ GAHO (Note: This is a sound effect for a coughing sound.)

5 燈矢 とうや Touya "Touya."

6 今後の話をしに来たんだ こんごのはなしをしにきたんだ kongo no hanashi wo shi ni kitanda "I came here to talk about the future,"

7 燈矢 とうや Touya "Touya."

8 俺はヒーローを引退するよ おれはヒーローをいんたいするよ ore wa HIIROO wo intai suru yo "I'm retiring from being a hero."

1 元より戦いが終わったらそうするつもりだったが もとよりたたかいがおわったらそうするつもりだったが moto yori tatakai ga owattara sou suru tsumori datta ga "I originally planned to do that after the battle was over."

2 最早自力で立つことすらXXXXX もはやじりきでたつことすらXXXXX mohaya jiriki de tatsu koto sure XXXXX "I can't even stand on my own anymore XXXXX" (Note: This speech bubble is cut off, so I cannot read the full line.)

3 ヒーローエンデヴァーは灼かれて死んだ ヒーローエンデヴァーはやかれてしんだ HIIROO ENDEVAA wa yakarete shinda "The hero Endeavor was burned to death."

4 おまえの炎は おまえのほのおは omaeno honoo wa "Your flames"

5 誰よりも強かった だれよりもつよかった dare yori mo tsuyokatta "were stronger than anyone else's."

6 そっか sokka "That so?"

7 ご愁傷様 ごしゅうしょうさま goshuushousama "My condolences."

8 事が済んでから諂うなよ ことがすんでからへつらうなよ koto ga sunde kara hetsurauna yo "Don't flatter me now that everything has finished."

9 卑怯者… ひきょうもの… hikyou mono... "You coward..."

10 そうだな sou da na "That's right."

11 燈矢は俺のことをよくわかってる… とうやはおれのことをよくわかってる… Touya wa ore no koto wo yoku wakatteru... "You know me very well, Touya..."

12 ずっと見てたんだもんな ずっとみてたんだもんな zutto mitetanda mon na "You've been watching for a long time."

1 XにXてほしかったんだもんな X ni Xte hoshikattanda mon na (Note: Most of this sentence is cut off and thus illegible to me. All I can tell is that he says someone, probably Touya, wanted something.)

2 なのに見なかった… なのにみなかった… nanoni minakatta... "But I didn't see it..."

3 俺はお父さんの子どもなんだから おれはおとうさんのこどもなんだから ore wa otousan no kodomo nanda kara Because I've got you for a father. (Note: This is the official translation of this line from chapter 301.)

4 おまえはエンデヴァーじゃない‼︎ omae wa ENDEVAA ja nai!! You aren't Endeavor!! (Note: This line is from chapter 293.)

5 誰が何と言おうと…… だれがなんといおうと…… dare ga nan to iou to...... "No matter what anyone says......"

6 おまえの炎は俺の「ヘルフレイム」だ おまえのねつはおれの「ヘルフレイム」だ omae no netsu (kanji: honoo) wa ore no 「HERUFUREIMU」 da "Your heat (read as: flames) are my Hellflame."

7 あの告発映像を あのこくはつえいぞうを ano kokuhatsu eizou wo "That accusation video,"

8 毎日見続けている まいにちみつづけている mainichi mitsudzukete iru "I kept watching it everyday."

9 おどおさん odousan Dad,

10 見で みで mide watch me! (Note: The line from speech bubbles 9 & 10 comes from chapter 387.)

11 これからーー… kore kara--... "From here [on out]--..."

1 毎日来る まいにちくる mainichi kuru "I will come [here] everyday."

2 話をしよう はなしをしよう hanashi wo shiyou "Let's have a conversation."

3 あまりに遅すぎたけれど あまりにおそすぎたけれど amari ni oso sugita keredo "It's much too late, but"

4 話そう はなそう hanasou "let's talk."

5 心拍数上昇これ以上は負担が しんぱくすうじょうしょうこれいじょうはふたんが shinpaku suujoushou kore ijou wa futan ga "His heart rate is increased. The burden from any more than this [would be too much]..."

6 冷 れい Rei "Rei,"

7 夏雄　冬美 なつお　ふゆみ Natsuo Fuyumi "Natsuo, Fuyumi,"

8 焦凍が… しょうとが… Shouto ga... "and Shouto..."

9 残してくれた時間で話X のこしてくれたじかんではなX nokoshite kureta jikan de hanaX "With the time we have left, let's talk*." (*Note: This line is cut off at the end, but it would just determine what conjugation the verb "talk" would be, so I'm assuming the conjugation will be "let's talk.")

1 憎いなら…憎いと にくいなら…にくいと nikui nara...nikui to "If you hate [me]...[tell me] you hate [me]."

2 なんでもいい nan demo ii "Anything is fine."

3 ぶつけてくれ…！ butsukete kure...! "Vent to me...!"

4 燈矢兄い私も…！ とうやにいわたしも…！ Touya-nii watashi mo...! "Touya-nii*, me too...!" (*Note: This suffix is an honorific to refer to one's older brother.)

5 話たい事たくさんあるの はなしたいことたくさんあるの hanashitai koto takusan aru no "There are so many things I want to talk about."

6 今日は止めにしましょう‼︎ きょうはやめにしましょう‼︎ kyou wa yame ni shimashou!! "Let's stop for today!!"

7 また明日にでも… またあすにでも… mata asu ni demo... "But again tomorrow [is fine]..."

8 最後に一ついいですか さいごにひとついいですか saigo ni hitotsu ii desu ka "Is one last thing okay?"

9 聞きたかったことあるんだ ききたかったことあるんだ kikitakatta koto arunda "There's something I wanted to ask you."

1 燈矢兄 とうやにい Touya-nii "Touya-nii*," (*Note: Again, this is the suffix that denotes an honorific for one's older brother.)

2 好きな食べ物何？ すきなたべものなに？ suki na tabemono nani? "what food do you like?"

3 ……体力の限界ですね ……たいりょくのげんかいですね ......tairyoku no genkai desu ne "......[Seems like] that's the limit of his physical strength."

4 今日は眠らせてまた… きょうはねむらせてまた… kyou wa nemurasete mata... "Let him rest today, then again [tomorrow]..."

5 蕎麦 そば soba "Soba."

1 おんなじだ onnaji da "[Mine is] the same." (Note: This line is spoken with a younger affectation, which adds a bit of charm to this line. It emphasizes that Shouto is the adorable younger sibling here. Thank you @bakuhatsufallinlove for the note!)

2 これ以上は平行線だ これいじょうはへいこうせんだ kore ijou wa heikousen da Running in parallel, but forever apart! (Note: The lines from speech bubbles 2-4 are from chapter 352. I've mixed the official translations from Viz with the official subtitles for the anime episode release.)

3 交わるよ まじわるよ majiwaru yo Our paths will cross,

4 無理にでも むりにでも muri ni demo even if it's forced.

1 焦凍… しょうと… Shouto... "Shouto..."

2 ごめんな… gomen na... "I'm sorry..."

3 俺はここまでだわ おれはここまでだわ ore wa koko made da wa "This is as far as I go."

4 悪いけど気持ち変わんない わるいけどきもちかわんない warui kedo kimochi kawannai "Sorry, but my feelings won't change."

5 俺はもう付き合わなX おれはもうつきあわなX ore wa mou tsukiawana- "I won't associate with you anymore." (Note: This line is cut off, but I believe I have inferred the entire message.)

6 ああ aa "Right."

1 彼女と籍入れたい かのじょとせきいれたい kanojo to seki iretai "I want to marry my girlfriend."

2 式は挙げない紹介もしない しきはあげないしょうかいもしない shiki wa agenai shoukai mo shinai "I won't have a ceremony, and I won't introduce you."

3 ああ…悪かったな ああ…わるかったな aa...warukatta na "Right...I'm sorry."

4 姉ちゃんは？ ねえちゃんは？ neechan wa? "[What about you,] Neechan*?" (Note: This is an honorific used for one's older sister.)

5 仕事やめたんだろ？ しごとやめたんだろ？ shigoto yametandaro? "You quit your job, right?"

6 うんでも un demo "Yeah, but"

7 生徒のお母さんが新しい職場紹介してくれてねサポートしてくれるって せいとのおかあさんがあたらしいしょくばしょうかいしてくれてねサポートしてくれるって seito no okaasan ga atarashii shokuba shoukai shite kurete ne SAPOOTO shite kureru tte "a student's mother introduced me to a new workplace. She said she'd support* me." (Note: I believe this implication here leans more towards the mother saying she wants to support Fuyumi's job aspirations, not that she's trying to support Fuyumi financially.)

8 ……………正直責任は果たしたと思う ……………しょうじきせきにんははたしたとおもう ...............shoujiki sekinin wa hatashita to omou "...............Honestly, I think you fulfilled your responsibility."

9 罰も受けたと思う…もういいんじゃねーの？ ばつもうけたとおもう…もういいんじゃねーの？ batsu mo uketa to omou...mou iinja nee no? "I think you also received your punishment... Isn't that enough?"

10 犯した罪の賠償と謝罪を一生をかけて続けていく おかしたつみのばいしょうと��ゃざいをいっしょうをかけてつづけていく okashita tsumi no baishou to shazai wo isshou wo kakete tsudzukete iku "I will continue to make reparations and apologize for the sins I commited for the rest of my life."

11 見ていなくていい みていなくていい mite inakute ii "You don't have to watch me."

12 子どもたちに降りかかる火の粉をできる限り俺が受け止める おまえたちにふりかかるひのこをできるかぎりおれがうけとめる omae-tachi (kanji: kodomo-tachi) ni furikakaru hi no ko wo dekiru kagiri ore ga uke tomeru "I will take* the sparks that fall on all of you (read as: you children) as much as I can." (*Note: This word "take" means to "take a blow." In this case, Enji is saying any sparks that fall towards the children he will receive as blows to his body in order to spare them.)

13 生き延びた意味があるとすればそれだけなんだ いきのびたいみがあるとすればそれだけなんだ iki nobita imi ga aru to sureba sore dake nanda "If there's any meaning to that I survived, it's only that."

14 ………地獄だぞ ………じごくだぞ .........jigoku da zo ".........It'll be hell."

1 ああ aa "Yes."

2-3 ダンスの誘いを受けたんでな ダンスのさそいをうけたんでな DANSU no sasoi wo uketande na "I received an invitation to dance." (Note: This is a reference back to Dabi's invitation to Enji that they dance together in hell in chapter 290.)

4 …初めてだよ …はじめてだよ ...hajimete da yo "...This is the first time"

5 お父さんの事 おとうさんのこと otousan no koto "that [I thought] father" (Note: As far as I can tell, this may be the first time in the manga Natsuo has referred to Enji as "father".)

6 かっこいいって思えたの かっこいいっておもえたの kakkoii tte omoeta no "was cool."

7 焦凍は？ しょうとは？ Shouto wa? "What about you, Shouto?"

8 学校戻るんだろ？ がっこうもどるんだろ？ gakkou modorundaro? "You're returning to school, right?"

9 うん un "Yeah."

10 乗ってけよ姉ちゃんも のってけよねえちゃんも notteke yo neechan mo "[I'll give you] a ride. Neechan*, too." (Note: Again, this is an honorific for one's older sister.)

11 ありがとう arigatou "Thanks."

12 親父 おやじ oyaji "Old man,"

13 お母さん おかあさん okaasan "mother,"

14 俺にはA組いるから大丈夫だよ！ おれにはみんないるからだいじょうぶだよ！ ore ni wa minna (kanji: EE-gumi) iru kara daijoubu da yo! "I have everyone (read as: Class A), so I'll be fine!"

15 俺は自分でなりてえようになれるから！ おれはじぶんでなりてえようになれるから！ ore wa jibun de naritee you ni nareru kara! "Because I can become who I want!"

1 地獄…でも じごく…でも jigoku...demo "Hell...but"

2 おーう早かったな‼︎ おーうはやかったな‼︎ oou hayakatta na!! "Wow, that was fast!!"

3 大丈夫だったかあ⁉︎ だいじょうぶだったかあ⁉︎ daijoubu datta kaa!? "Was [he] okay!?"

4 おなかすいた onaka suita "I'm hungry."

5 見てる人がいる みてるひとがいる miteru hito ga iru "we have people watching."

phone text 1 ホークス HOOKUSU Hawks

phone text 2 面会どーでした〜〜〜？ menkai doo deshita~~~? How was the visitation~~~?

phone text 3 なんかメンドーあったら言って下さいネ nanka MENDOO attara itte kudasai NE Please let me know if you have any trouble

6 ええ〜〜〜？出ていいって言われてンのに ええ〜〜〜？でていいっていわれてンのに ee~~~? dete ii tte iwareteN noni "Eh~~~? You were told you could leave though."

7 出ないんスかあ？ でないんスかあ？ denainSU kaa? "You're not coming out?"

8 "まだ"ね"まだ"！ "mada" ne "mada"! "'Not yet,' I said, 'not yet!'"

9 まだシャバはこわいまた利用されて繰り返すかもしれない まだシャバはこわいまたりようされてくりかえすかもしれない mada SHABA wa kowai mata riyou sarete kurikaesu kamo shirenai "The world outside of prison is scary. I might get used all over again."

10 色々助けてほしかったんですけどねーーー いろいろたすけてほしかったんですけどねーーー iroiro tasukete hoshikattandesu kedo ne--- "I did want your help with various things---"

1 あの日緑谷出久が世界に示した"モノ"を あのひみどりやいずくがせかいにしめした"モノ"を ano hi Midoriya Izuku ga sekai ni shimeshita "MONO" wo "The thing Izuku Midoriya showed the world that day"

2 社会はどう受け取って変わるのか…そこを見極めてからだ しゃかいはどううけとってかわるのか…そこをみきわめてからだ shakai wa dou uketotte kawaru no ka...soko wo mikiwamete kara da "and how society will interpret it and change... We've still gotta see that through."

3 もうしばらく税金で飯食わせてもらうわ もうしばらくぜいきんでめしくわせてもらうわ mou shibaraku zeikin de meshi kuwasete morau wa "I'll be able to eat my meals off taxes for a while."

4 敵め ヴィランめ VIRAN-me "You damn villain." (Note: This is sarcasm.)

5 うおおおおお uooooo "Ohhhhhhh!"

6 ラブラバァ RABURABAA "La Bravaaa!"

7 ジェントルゥウウウ！ JENTORUUUUU! "Gentleeeee!”

small text うるせえ urusee Noisy.

8 活躍が認められた形だ達者でやれよ かつやくがみとめられたかたちだたっしゃでやれよ katsuyaku ga mitomerareta katachi da tassha de yare yo "This is a form of recognition for your efforts. Be in good health."

9 ジェントルがかっこよすぎたおかげよ‼︎ JENTORU ga kakkoyo sugita okage yo!! "It's thanks to Gentle being so cool!!"

10 ラブラバがすごかったんだよ‼︎ RABURABA ga sugokattanda yo!! "La Brava, you were amazing!!"

phone text 1 エンデヴァー ENDEVAA Endeavor

phone text 2 ありがとう大丈夫だ arigatou daijoubu da Thanks, we're fine

phone text 3 手を借りたくなったらい te wo karitakunatta rai I wanted to borrow a hand

phone text 4 言う iu Say (Note: The text messages are a bit short and lack context for me to understand completely what is being said. I don't know what this line is supposed to mean.)

1 どう変わるか… どうかわるか… dou kawaru ka... How will it change...

2 気丈〜〜 きじょう〜〜 kijou~~ [What] a strong spirit~~

phone text 5 そっちこそ大変だろう socchi koso taihen darou That must be difficult

phone text 6 新公安委員長 shin-kouan'i inchou New public safety commision chairman

phone text 7 わかくしてみこしになるかくご wakakushite mikoshi ni naru kakugo You're determined to become a warm mikoshi (Note: This line is a bit too vague for me to parse, but my guess is that it's directed at Hawks as a compliment that he wants to travel around and give people warmth. I'm not sure of this. The idiom here refers to a mikoshi, which is a portable shrine carried around town by parades at festivals.)

3 どう変えるか どうかえるか dou kaeru ka How will we change it?

4 あ　もしもし目良さん あ　もしもしめらさん a moshimoshi Mera-san "Ah, hello Mera-san."

5 ガチャ GACHA (Note: This is the sound effect for a door opening.)

tagline 一方、スピナーは… いっぽう、スピナーは… ippou, SUPINAA wa... On the other hand, Spinner is...

[bubblesxo]

I’m sorry but the flat way that the fandom tackles the Enji Todoroki problem is so blegh. Yes, how he treated them (especially Shouto—we don’t 100% know if Touya’s training was the same, especially because he actually liked his training) was wrong, the way he treated his wife was wrong, the way he ignored his other kids is wrong. HOWEVER, him cutting Touya off from training was NOT 100% wrong. Should he have treated it more delicately? Yes. Should he have been more considerate to his kid? Yes. Should he have gotten him some kind of therapy to help him cope with his obvious mental issues? Also yes. But cutting him off from training when he gets hurt doing so and it’s unavoidable is NOT wrong. He was trying to prevent exactly what happened in the end. Maybe he could have revisited it a few years later when training isn’t all Touya is and looked into support items, idk, but Enji’s approach was the right decision in the wrong way.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

Tbh a huge amount of the issues MHA has could have been fixed had Bakugo just been expelled from UA in the first season or not gotten in at all

[todorokistheories]

Endeavor Is One Of My Favorite Characters

I don't agree with his redemption from a viewer standpoint but heres the thing no one seems to realize.

It's really realistic.

tw: discussion of abuse, toxic masculinity, it's the todorokis what do you expect

I can't count how many middle aged men I've seen realize that what they were told about being a man their entire life was false. They never learned to mature, sit with their feelings, and all they were left with was this anger they never learned how to control.

Now let me make this clear. I am IN NO WAY defending his actions.

Think of those older men you know who are still misogynistic, prideful, greedy. They all think they're better than everyone else because if they don't, they have nothing.

Fathers, uncles, grandfathers, even brothers who were just too proud to sit with the fact that all they've done is hurt have a breaking point. Sometimes that point comes when they're on their deathbed.

Or, like Bakugou he was taught by the ppl around him that he was what everyone wanted to be.

Difference is... he grew up. Endeavor didn't.

He had the great success of his 20s, a loving wife who was bought specially for him, the public's awe, and his first ever prodigy who was going to be even more special than him. He was in the best position he'd ever be in his whole life.

That's why All Might's success messed with him so much.

He was at the highest point of his life and career and he STILL wasn't good enough to become number one.

For a man who only has his pride, that's a huge ego crusher. Unlike bakugou he never sat with this. He became obsessed, deciding that if he couldn't be the best then he'd train his kids so that they were. That way he was still worth something. Because all of his worth was tied to his success.

It didn't matter what stood in his way, because he had two choices: succeed, or admit to himself that he was a failure.

For men who bought into toxic masculinity, yeah that wasn't an option.

And then his worst failure happened. Touya burned.

He died and suddenly those voices that told Enji that he was a failure grew loud enough for him to lash out at everyone who might even hint that they agree. Unfortunately, Rei was in the forefront of that. Every comment about their children turned into a criticism that his ego couldn't handle. It was a personal attack.

And then his second failure happened. Shouto burned.

Suddenly, the shame was too much to handle. So, he sent away the person who would constantly remind him of his inadequacies: Rei. Sent her away to never see the light of day again because he couldn't face it.

He locked everything away and threw away the key, shutting down Shouto verbally and physically just so that he didn't have to think about what he's done. Because he's special, remember? He's better than everyone. He is worth something because he's special.

Then Touya, who he shoved all of this generational trauma onto, turned out to be alive. Not only is he alive, he's the antithesis of what Enji fought his whole life to be.

Suddenly, he couldn't hide anymore. The whole world knew he was a fraud. He's forced to face the jealousy, the embarrassment, the shame, and the feeling of worthlessness that he ruined his life to run away from in the first place.

His career, gone. Image, gone. Youth, gone. His life is over and all he is left with is the shards of a family he broke years ago.

So he embraces it. He accepts the blame for the first time in his life.

And it changes for the better. He can't undo it. He can't fix what he hurt. And he can't truly repair anything. But he can try and that's worth something even if he's not.

This is a scenario that happens daily. This is something that happens in real life. And no one is expected to forgive these people for the harm they've caused. But understanding it is the first step to not repeating it. So yeah, I fucking hate Endeavor but goddamn he's well written.

Horikoshi wrote something very accurate to the experiences thousands of people have and I appreciate that. It's needed in media. There's many things he's done with the Todoroki family that I do not agree with, but the premise of Endeavor's redemption is one that rings true.

[introspectivememories]

i've been reading a lotta todofam fics recently and i think you guys give fuyumi too much shit for wanting a happy family. she's not delusional or blind or anything like that. she's just an abused girl who wants some semblance of a normal family. which is fine!!!! not once in canon does she ever tell natsu or shou that their feelings aren't valid or that they need to forgive enji. all she ever says is, hey. he says he's changing. can you please be civil with him natsu? also, from what i understand about canon, it's not like enji was beating the shit out of his children the minute they came out of the womb??? he was okay-ish those first few years and it's more than likely that fuyumi remembers that enji!!! natsu probably doesn't have any memories of that enji. of course, she wants a happy family. she remembers when enji was okay-ish!!! like do you think she doesn't know about the abuse????? she's the only sibling who still lives in that house!!!! she was there for all of shouto's abuse!!!! all this to say, if you even look at my girl wrong, i will stomp you to death with my hooves.

[andypantsx3]

momo yaoyorozu u are so special to me i think about u every day my angel princess

[oiiikawas]

Hi! I think I saw that you got into bnha recently! Who are your favorites so far?!

hi!!!

okay okay so i started watching it with my best friend and im HOOKED its honestly one of my favorite animes now!!! currently only s5 but im soooo close to getting caught up!!

my favorites is the trio: deku, bakugo, and shouto (he's my all time fave on the show). but i do have gross feelings for shigariki...yeah im not proud of it either. honestly there are only a couple characters from mha that i don't like lol

[cryinonthebusdyinlittlewuss]

He's so slay

POV: YOU ARE AUTISTIC

[grimble9000]

todoroki only using his fire again after izuku tells him to im gonna lose it

[s0fter-sin]

i’m rewatching aot and seeing how fluid and dynamically composed the shots are really makes you feel how stilted and static mha is. i know they’re two completely different shows but especially this season, mha has felt very still, the characters not really moving, the shot not really changing; the only exception really being dabi’s dance and when mirko took out those nomu on the way to the basement

[redphlox]

Shouto's ruined character arc in the epilogue

The epilogue’s toxicity-positivity message about smiling ruined Shouto’s characterization and undoes the growth and purpose of his arc because he’s not allowed to mourn the imminent death of his brother Touya.

Shouto partaking in these tone-deaf, festive activities with his friends in chapter 429 feels out of character, feels cheap and shallow, and is a slap in the face to his family. In the past Shouto declined school-related activities and prioritized spending time with his mom at the hospital. Now the narrative is trying to sell the idea that he would NOT spend every remaining minute alongside his family with his dying brother, who he has always wanted to know, the brother he practically begged to confront and said, "Our paths will cross whether you want them to or not" to. Shouto spent all this manga reconciling his feelings about his family and reconnecting to them to just... not be with them when they’re about to experience loss AGAIN? 

I'm not saying I want Shouto to be miserable, but realistically (since readers are so obsessed with realism in this superhero manga), he wouldn’t be wasting the limited time he has left with his brother by going to a farewell party, or any party. Damn, can the author let him mourn? Despite all the celebration the kids are doing, Shouto didn’t get a happy ending. While the rest of their community is rebuilding and making sense of what happened, the Todoroki family is still going through their crisis. It’s not over for them. At least let them cry.

This is a regression for Shouto’s character because the concept of allowing heroes to cry was first presented through Shouto, literally through his own words. The narrative then picks up this concept again during Ochako's speech at the UA shelter civilians, and then... Shouto isn't allowed to cry in the epilogue, and is forced to fake a smile so his friends don’t worry about him.

It’s not like Shouto has cried in this manga. He cried during the sports festival, during the Dabi reveal, and after Dabi escaped to Gunga to go after Endeavor because he knew this meant he had failed to reach his brother -- so no, it doesn’t make sense that he wouldn’t cry now. Instead, he's the one fake smiling, and only Ochako is allowed to be shown crying and being comforted. The double standard and retcon is astounding.

You can literally see the light not reaching his eyes in this panel from 425 when Deku asks if he’s okay. And yes, Shouto is prioritizing his family in this panel, but like I said, Touya doesn't have much time left... why waste it?

Shouto doesn’t want anyone to worry about him, so he’s putting on a brave face. And yet Deku and the other classmates reaching out to Ochako in 429 is selling the opposite message - don’t cry alone, let us be here for you, etc. Why isn’t Shouto granted the same support, especially from these classmates he claims are there for him?

If Horikoshi was aiming for a happy ending where people smile, then Touya’s grimdark, cruel, second and final death doesn't fit because Shouto has to mourn. You can't have both fake smiling and off-screen assumed mourning… it makes no sense for Shouto’s arc, or for the epilogue’s message about reaching out for help or to help. It doesn’t make sense in any context.

Shouto's characterization feels so off in this epilogue. He’s a shell of the person he was becoming. The story starts out by saying that this character is supposed to process the trauma of childhood and a dysfunctional family that he always wished was different, but now he has his found family in his classmates instead. And I'm not saying he can't have both - I'd say the support from his friends is imperative - but, it doesn't make sense that he has seemingly moved on because the fact is, his family situation was his entire start. 

It's not just Shouto that feels off, but his family too. Their once-considered-dead brother/son is alive, but now is dying in front of their eyes for real this time and they just… don’t try to spend as much time with him as possible? Even the sentiment that Shouto gave the family more time to talk falls empty because Touya can only endure a few minutes of conversation at a time, and it’s not like he’s slowly improving and that time will increase. It will only decrease. And yet, the family doesn’t seem too concerned or heartbroken that they’re witnessing someone they love die a second time, this time slowly. He can’t even communicate with them, and he’ll most likely have many things left unsaid when he dies.

The Todoroki family plot was set up to be about reconciliation, but they’re not reconnecting even with Touya’s upcoming death. This scene of Touya and the other siblings kicking a ball while Shoto looked on from the second story of the house begging his father to allow him to play with his siblings has been addressed like four times, and yet in the end he doesn’t get to spend happy moments with his siblings. His reward for his heroism is Touya’s slow march toward death and the knowledge that he has the same favorite food as the brother who his father neglected to death twice. 

Instead of being shown mourning or connecting, the family is acting cold and distant - only Natsuo is acting with a semblance of his normal self. I know some readers attribute the family’s aloofness to Japanese culture not being very affectionate or open with their emotions, but that doesn’t mean Japanese people are devoid of feelings. That’s so fucking racist. We’ve seen parents express love and concern for their children in this manga, and yet the Todoroki family continues to say “we’ll talk, we’ll talk” but we’ve never seen any follow-up. It’s ironic because Shouto’s whole mentality is “actions speak louder than words”.

For a family that became unstable because of misunderstandings about feeling loved and wanted, the family continues to feel devoid of caring. No one comforts Shouto, no one talks about how they feel except for Endeavor. Shouto isn’t allowed to grieve in front of his friends because Ochako takes priority because the narrative is pushing this toxic positivity message about smiling that works on the surface but fails to address any systemic changes. 

This ending doesn't fit the hopeful tone of Shouto's arc.

RIP Shouto’s arc. We loved you. 

[madhbh]

I am absolutely so fucking feral and exhausted from witnessing incredible stories get torn to shreds by their endings.

MHA had a perfect set up for the kids to realize that the hero society is corrupt and for them to end up reforming and changing society and even go as far as to disband heroes altogether.

In the show there are constantly themes surrounding ‘you don’t need to do this to be a hero’ and yet, in the end, after all of the pain and abuse and suffering TLOV went through, displayed in full picture for Shouto, Deku, Bakugou, and more to see, the hero ranking system remains.

What is the point of Touya/Dabi’s character if not a bond for Shouto’s development in realizing the grief hero society causes? Or Toga for Uraraka?

What is the point of giving Izuku a quirkless backstory and revolving the arc of “you don’t need a quirk to be a hero” if not for the message in the end to be “you don’t need to be number one to be a hero”?

Why center so many plots and developments around societal corruption and abuse just for the same said corruption and abuse to win in the end? Touya barely alive, forced to be in the presence of his abuser for all that remains of his insufferable life? Shigaraki dead?

All For One was the villain. The villain that could have united The League and Heroes together and make them realize they are not so different from each other. Because again and again MHA humanizes its villains, and villainizes its heroes so what was the fucking point of it if not to unit the two opposing forces for a common enemy? To defeat the real evil of no redeeming qualities. A man of selfishness, corruption, greed. Not the villains! Not the league who treated each other with fairness and kindness and sought only to reform society and not destroy it!!!

Shigaraki didn’t want to level a city!!! He wanted societal change!!!! Touya wanted accountability!!! Toga wanted acceptance!!!!! They all wanted love!! Not destruction!!! All they knew was fear and violence so it’s no wonder that’s the only way they behaved! And yet somehow, somehow, Shouto, a kid knowing only the same violence and fear is unable to sympathize with them? To say to Deku, ‘hey maybe my brother has a point’.

For victims of abuse this ending is so heart breaking. The League of Villains deserved love.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

I will never stop screaming about the untapped potential of Shouto and Fuyumi's relationship

[stillness-in-green]

Not-Really Chapter Thoughts BNHA 424

You know, I really think there should be a point at which Deku rushing in with no plan and doing whatever he thinks feels right should become Heroic Malpractice.

Just me?

Because, like, Shouto had a plan. He spent the time between the two war arcs specifically developing a brand-new combat technique that he planned to use to shut down Dabi's combat advantage without killing him. He convinced his dad not to change the plan like Endeavor was hesitantly sounding him out about[1]; he went out and talked and asked questions, and even if they weren't the right words every single time, he did his best and he did it with intention. If Dabi proves to be dead, it won't be because of anything Shouto did to him; it'll be because Dabi himself chose to stand back up, take a warp gate across the country, pick a fight with the guy who doesn't have the power set to shut him down without unduly hurting him, and try to replicate an Ultimate Move specifically tailored for someone with a balanced power set Dabi doesn't have.[2]

And if Dabi lives, it's still going to be because Shouto booked it across the country and used that same technique to stop him again.

1: Dabi surely would have preferred to fight Endeavor from the start, and it probably would have been the more "just" choice if it had to be one or the other, but Shouto is the nominal focal character between the three of them, so, critiques of the broader Hero-side decisions aside, Shouto's arc has to come first. This is one of those places where you can clearly see how much the decision to let Endeavor survive where Horikoshi originally planned for him to die hurts the shape of the later story.

2: Obviously ultimately if Dabi dies, it's going to be because his family and Team Hero made repeated choices to ignore and neglect him, culminating in the entire family swearing to deal with Touya together only to passively accept a battle plan that involved splitting them all and letting the kid who knows Touya the least be the one to fight him. But like, in the context of that fight, Shouto isn't the reason Dabi takes all that hurt.

Uraraka may or may not have had much of a plan, but at least the words she said to Toga reflected that she had been seriously thinking about Toga in the here and now, what Toga's told her, what Toga needs. If Toga dies, it will be because Toga chose to give Uraraka an unsupervised blood transfusion with no intention of stopping it. (With the same general caveats as in Footnote 2.)

But Deku? From the very beginning, Deku has been valorized by the manga for how much he doesn't plan. All Might tells him specifically that it's a sign of greatness shown by future "top Heroes" that, in some crisis situation, their bodies moved before they could think. Bakugou's Rising chapter is defined by him reaching that same state.

Deku claimed he wanted to save Shigaraki; he's sad in the latest chapter that he couldn't save Tenko's[3] life. But did he ever have a real plan to do that? With all the quirks he had at his disposal - both his own and those who would be in the flying coffin with him, or classmates whose presence he could specifically request - did he think hard and come up with a technique that would let him stop Shigaraki without harming him? Did he try to connect with the Shigaraki right in front of him by citing to the future?

3: And I have nothing but scorn for Deku's insistence on that name when "Tenko" goes out very pointedly calling himself Shigaraki Tomura.

Well, no. Deku obstinately yelled at the phantasms in Shigaraki's mindscape that he had no plan whatsoever. The only plans we saw him carry out were ones handed to him by the OFA collective that involved "breaking" Shigaraki's psyche; the only plans he came up with himself involved more efficiently breaking Shigaraki's body.

Way back in Chapter 130, Nighteye harshly scolded Deku by saying that his way of thinking was arrogant. He said, "Go after him haphazardly and he'll slip through our fingers. You're not so special as to be able to save who you want, when you want. (...) This world is not so accommodating that you can act the Hero because you feel like it."

It felt like something that Deku should have taken to heart, a lesson to be learned and applied later, but I never much got the feeling that he did. Nothing he did in that moment, in that arc, or anywhere else in the series afterward indicates that he thought Nighteye was right. He just chose not to talk back, and the arc ended with Nighteye dead and no longer around to pose objections to Deku's mode of heroism.

But Nighteye was right. Three hundred chapters later, Shigaraki is dead because Deku could not be arsed to plan for how he could stop Shigaraki without killing him. Because he let Gran Fucking Torino give him the intellectual out that killing someone could be a means of saving them. Because he followed his gut instincts of prioritizing the phantom Crying Child that he always saw as more valid and real than the human being standing in front of him.

Because he haphazardly acted the Hero and let his body move without thinking.

And he wants to act sad about it now? I hope Nighteye materializes in his bedroom to sneer at him every night for the rest of his life.

--

Incidentally, fuck All Might, seriously. "Wow, Deku and Bakugou, you two are the greatest Heroes ever. Fuck me and everyone else who fought tooth and nail, arm and leg, eye and earjack, life and death, to contribute to the pile of damage that was necessary to kill and/or save Shigaraki and All For One. You two got the last blows in, so you're the only ones who get the credit for it in my eyes. Hero Society is definitely going to be different and better with you two around."

[barid-bel-medar]

(cover art done by @thefruitloop-chan)

A life well lived can make the next hurt worse.

Reincarnation can be cruel.

(additional notes under the cut)

Initial prompts that caused this

Unmentioned anywhere since I could not fit it in, Shouto also actually reincarnated on Gaia; he's Genesis. For those familiar with Genesis you know why this is funny in a fucked up way. Cloudsuki is not aware of it, though Sephiku is (and is simply beyond the point of caring).

Only Cloud, Sephiroth, Zack, Aerith, and Genesis are reincarnations of BNHA characters. Everyone else has a soul native to Gaia

Sephiroth accidentally regained his memories of being Izuku post-Advent Day. He literally fixated so had on Cloud he remembered who they'd used to be (and since being in the Lifestream at the time was able to realize who Zack, Aerith, and Genesis had been). This was added by Katsuki and Izuku's well, own and much healthier, mutual obsession.

For those wondering at the end, the implication you should be taking is that Sephiroth is about to cause the Remake continuity

For those who follow the anime rather than the manga, fairly early on in the ongoing War Arc Katsuki nearly died due to a heart injury and survived due to plot armor and open jeart surgery. Here he didn't get so lucky a second time.

[pikahlua]

"A deuteragonist has a very different role in the MHA and that is a whole other post ."Can you please write this article? I am tired of Bakugo being constantly downplayed. There are very few people who understand his character and role in the story as well as you do.

Haha I mean hehe it's just hoho I never said fufu that Katsuki is the deuteragonist guffaw shucks haha I mean come on snort why are you putting words in my-

Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist.

Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist

Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist

"Of course you would say that. You're a Katsuki Bakugou stan! You are invested in inflating his importance in the story because you love him." - some people, probably

No. If that were true, I would be arguing Katsuki Bakugou is the protagonist. But I'm not.

Because Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist.

It's not that I love him and therefore assert that he's the deuteragonist. I love him because he's the deuteragonist (plus many other reasons). He is an archetypal familiar shounen hero made interesting in part by the fact that he is NOT the protagonist and deliberately written in the deuteragonist role/function, and I will go into visceral detail about this momentarily.

I promise you I don't go around in other fandoms arguing my favorite non-main character is the deuteragonist. I fully embrace whatever role it is they play in the story. YOU WILL SEE THE EVIDENCE OF THIS VERY SOON, FOR EVERY CHARACTER IN MHA.

What is a deuteragonist?

A deuteragonist is a story archetype. They are the second-most important character in a story (which is a vague as hell definition). They are often known as the "secondary main character."

That's it. Everything else one might say about a deuteragonist is just a sub-archetype.

A deuteragonist can be a sidekick, a love interest, a rival, an antagonist, or even a neutral party. They are often, not always, written as foil characters to the protagonist. They often, not always, provide a different and yet similar outlook to the protagonist's. Their utility in a story can be quite varied. Sometimes they support the protagonist, and sometimes they oppose the protagonist. Often, they are used to help the protagonist complete their character arc.

Sometimes, there can be more than one deuteragonist.

What the hell is a deuteragonist?

The problem is, the function of a deuteragonist can change just depending on the type of story we're talking about. A deuteragonist in an ancient Greek tragedy (theatre), where the term originally came from, won't necessarily function the same way as a deuteragonist in a 2-hour contemporary movie. Things get even more complicated when we're talking about a TV series, a book series, or a comic book series in which the cast becomes so large we're likely to see MULTIPLE deuteragonists.

My Hero Academia, like many long-running shounen manga, has an ensemble cast. Would you be surprised if I told you My Hero Academia not only has multiple deuteragonists, not only has multiple antagonists, but also has multiple protagonists? Because it does!

Sometimes people wanna divide MHA into three or four acts and make the claim that the deuteragonist changes from act to act. I say they aren't going far enough. MHA is divided into arcs, and each arc has its own protagonist and antagonist and sometimes even deuteragonist. This is a STAPLE of ensemble cast shounen manga, where often there will be so many characters they get grouped off into trios (or more) and one among them will be the group's designated protagonist.

Sure, in most MHA arcs, Izuku is the protagonist. But he's not always. Who is the protagonist of the Pro Hero (Endeavor vs Hood) arc? Who is the deuteragonist? It's not Izuku and Katsuki; it's Endeavor and Hawks! What about the protagonist in the My Villain Academia arc? Tomura. The Hero License Supplementary Course arc? Katsuki and Shouto (who can't seem to decide if they're co-protagonists or protagonist and deuteragonist and who is which). The Overhaul arc? Izuku is the protagonist and Mirio is the deuteragonist. Some arcs really play with these roles or make it unclear who is playing which role or if the role even exists.

What is a deuteragonist in My Hero Academia?

So if we have a bunch of protagonists, does that mean the most important one is the series' overarching protagonist and the one second in importance is the deuteragonist? It COULD be, but it's not necessarily true.

There aren't that many arcs where Izuku is not the protagonist. If we look at the number of arcs where someone else is the protagonist, following the above logic, we could end up with All Might or Endeavor as the deuteragonist. Maybe some people would earnestly make the argument Endeavor is the deuteragonist--I don't know, I haven't met those people I guess. The problem with this approach in my eyes is that it entirely discounts the deuteragonists of each arc. Would it not follow that the overarching deuteragonist is the character who has played the deuteragonist in the largest number of arcs? What if that character is different from the character who has played protagonist the second-most number of times? And this is to say nothing about if the protagonist or deuteragonist are the same as the antagonist in a given arc! It's difficult to weight any one character in this fashion particularly when you have an ensemble cast.

This is getting into the question of focus and screentime. How much should we weight this metric? Admittedly this one can also be complicated, especially when it comes to long stories with ensemble casts. The question is how much does screentime actually convey how much a character is the focus of a story, and does that necessarily translate to protagonist and deuteragonist? Because for many the question is: could the deuteragonist be an antagonist in MHA?

It just gets a little harder to argue someone besides Katuski Bakugou is the main deuteragonist the more Katsuki's screentime allocation looks something like this:

Okay, perhaps that exact size of gap is hyperbole. But there is a clear, measurable gap between Katsuki Bakugou and everyone else and I don't think anyone has ever disputed that. Please check out this post by @dekusheroacademia that has compiled some of these statistics (they also make some excellent points about evaluating the elements of a deuteragonist and how various characters fit or don't fit those characteristics).

Still, this is merely supporting evidence, not conclusive. I am well aware of the concept of a false protagonist, where someone appears to be the protagonist until later someone else is revealed to be the story's true protagonist. And while I've never seen a false deuteragonist where someone SEEMS to be the deuteragonist and is later revealed in a twist not to be (as opposed to the deuteragonist just merely changing NOT as a deliberate twist where expectations were set to be otherwise), that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Tangentially related, we could also potentially look at marketing as another piece of supporting evidence. It's not conclusive that just because Katsuki Bakugou is one of the most merchandised characters in the franchise that he is more important to the story than those who aren't, but it's still notable supporting evidence. After all, based on Horikoshi's marketing of his own story i.e. who he draws in which orientations on chapter and tankoban covers, or how he lists characters on character intro pages, we could easily come to the conclusion as casual readers that Izuku is the protagonist. There are many cases where one could conclude Katsuki is the deuteragonist based on such presentations alone. But again, I concede this is not conclusive.

So, if we set aside individual story arc roles, screentime, and marketing, what does that leave us with?

What is THE deuteragonist in My Hero Academia?

Even if we can determine Izuku Midoriya is THE protagonist of MHA based on things like the number of times he's protagonist in story arcs, his screentime, and marketing, I'll set those aside for the deuteragonist and see if there's something else that can help us here.

What element are we missing? The overall story.

Sure, we can break down the story into arcs and assign deuteragonists that way, but that's not getting us to THE deuteragonist. So let's start with the protagonist. How do we know Izuku Midoriya is the protagonist of MHA without considering the previous metrics? The way the story focuses on him. It is easy enough for anyone to recognize the characteristics of a protagonist in him from a functional perspective. He is a POV character. We hear his thoughts. He narrates the story. We see the story over the timeline of his character growth. His character arc coincides with the overall story themes.

I've talked many times about how My Hero Academia at its core is a story that explores the question: what is a hero? MANY characters explore this question, but the character who compiles these answers together and rounds them all out and grows and has his perspective change and exemplifies the moral is: Izuku Midoriya.

So let's go back to the functional elements of a deuteragonist. Remember those sub-archetypes? Well, in a shorter story with no ensemble cast, what do a sidekick, a love interest, a rival, an antagonist, and even a neutral party all have in common? They are defined by their relationship to the protagonist.

You see, in a story where all the characters interact with each other and converge on the major theme of the story, ALL characters are defined by their relationship to the protagonist. But in particular, the function of a deuteragonist is to supplement the story with what the protagonist needs FUNCTIONALLY. When is a sidekick the deuteragonist of a story? When the story focuses on the adventures of the protagonist and their sidekick. When is a love interest the deuteragonist of the story? When the story focuses on the developing relationship between the protagonist and the love interest (i.e. the romance genre). CAN a story with a love interest deuteragonist focus on their adventures and individual character development too? Yes, but sometimes the result is that the love interest is ALSO the sidekick...or the rival. When is the rival the deuteragonist? When the story focuses on the clash and growth between the rivals. When is the antagonist the deuteragonist? When the story focuses on the battle between them. NOTE that when I write this, I don't mean it focuses on the protagonist's adventure that culminates in them meeting the antagonist at the end for a battle. I am talking about when the BATTLE ITSELF is the main focus of the story. See stories like Silence of the Lambs or Death Note for a clearer example of what I mean, where the focus of each is on the psychological games the protagonist and antagonist play with each other. The point is, the story on a structural level, on a meta level, has to focus on these sorts of interactions to determine its deuteragonist.

Obviously this gets more complicated with a large story and an ensemble cast because you could have bits of the story where the structure changes and seems to focus on new things. That's why I pointed out that the more immediate protagonist and deuteragonist and antagonist often change in MHA depending on the story arc.

When I try to determine who is THE deuteragonist of the entire story, I have to look at the entire story. I have to ask myself what the story is about. So what is the story about? What is MHA about?

If you said MHA is about Izuku falling in love with Ochako, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

If you said MHA is about Izuku taking on All Might's mantle, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

If you said MHA is about Izuku defeating/saving Tomura, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

If you said MHA is about Izuku rekindling his friendship with Katsuki, I'm sorry but you're wrong.

MHA is about Izuku Midoriya (and most everyone else) learning what it means to be a hero.

It's in the fucking title. MY HERO ACADEMIA. The story is about Izuku's education (as it takes many forms) to learn what it means to be a hero.

So who is the deuteragonist in the story about Izuku Midoriya learning what it means to be a hero? The character who is second-most important in how Izuku Midoriya learns what it means to be a hero.

A lot of characters do teach Izuku Midoriya what it means to be a hero or at least some piece. But who is MOST IMPORTANT?

See, My Hero Academia is LONG. If we just focus on the parts of the story in which Izuku tries to learn from All Might or take on his mantle, we lose ARCS of the story. The same is true if we focus on his love life, or his rivalry with Katsuki, OR EVEN HIS BATTLE WITH TOMURA AND ALL FOR ONE. In the case of the latter, we're basically excluding HALF the story: the school arcs!

MHA is structured such that it alternates between what we colloquially refer to as "school arcs" and "villain arcs." And while exploring the question of "what is a villain?" is an important subset of the main theme, it is not the entire story. You can't just label all the school arcs as "filler" (because they're not) and chuck them out. Each story arc contributes to the lessons Izuku learns and the theme of the main story.

I can think of something every character teaches Izuku with respect to this theme. I can think of a lesson Izuku has taken away from every encounter and every story arc. But who ELSE is present in nearly every story arc? Who represents the foil to Izuku who allows us, the audience, to learn alongside them what it means to be a hero? Who learns the bits Izuku does not need to learn because he already exemplifies those answers in spades? Who represents the other half of the hero equation that Izuku is missing? Who has his own blanks filled in by Izuku himself? Who has played all the sub-archetypes of a deuteragonist for Izuku Midoriya, including antagonist, rival, sidekick, and even arguably love interest (replace with platonic interest for the rekindling friendship angle if you want so we don't have to go into that whole thing here please, I'm talking about the generic structural elements within a story more than anything)?

Izuku Midoriya cannot possibly have learned the fundamental lessons of what it means to be a hero without Katsuki Bakugou's character arc to supplement him. Katsuki Bakugou is an irremovable, integral player in demonstrating the theme of collectivism that informs the main story, not just for Izuku to learn it but for THE AUDIENCE to see it too. He is one half of "win to save, save to win." He is the standard shounen manga archetype who has to learn the value of teamwork/collectivism so that he can teach it to Izuku Midoriya and save him from himself. The story is structured in such a way that it resembles LESSONS for the characters to learn, and Katsuki's "education" in this respect is VITAL to the story, second in importance only to Izuku Midoriya's.

P.S. Is it actually taking away from Katsuki to call someone else THE deuteragonist?

Yes. I know some people don't want to have to say it that way, but it is. Based on a number of metrics, Katsuki Bakugou is most widely recognized as the deuteragonist. If there's a default answer to the question of who is the deuteragonist but you think the deuteragonist is someone else, then in order to be persuasive you must not only argue why you think your chosen character is the deuteragonist but why Katsuki Bakugou is NOT the deuteragonist. If you want to argue someone else is the deuteragonist, you are taking on that onus, that burden of proof. You have to disprove Katsuki Bakugou is the deuteragonist.

Are there other characters who fit the deuteragonist function at times? Yes! There are multiple deuteragonists! But if in spite of the multiple protagonists we're still able to call Izuku Midoriya THE protagonist of My Hero Academia, then we are absolutely able to call Katsuki Bakugou THE deuteragonist as well.

tl;dr MHA is about learning what it means to be a hero and Katsuki Bakugou's story is second-most important to that theme, which makes him the deuteragonist