A Little Rant Over The Why I Consider That Bakugou Katsuki Is Autistic

A little rant over the why I consider that Bakugou Katsuki is autistic

Disclaimer: This is just one of my many mha theories. I would rather if people didn't attack me for this. If you don't like it, just ignore it!. Also, I believe he probably has PTSD as well, but that’s for a different post. This post HAS manga spoilers!

I added pictures this time!

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Special interest

I believe Katsuki has two special interests. Becoming a hero, and All Might. He is a person that constantly feels the need to mask, which leads to him hiding and minimising his special interest in All Might despite being an All Might fan basically his entire life. A clear proof of this, is keeping hidden his All Might limited edition card despite always carrying it in his pocket. The reason why he doesn’t mask his special interest in becoming a hero as much, is because it’s an interest that he has been praised for through all his life after his quirk manifested. (Which I find quite interesting, taking into account how this gives us more insight about how their society works, quirk and quirkless discrimination, and the way society praises and treats heroes as gods).

Low empathy and emotional dysregulation 

He has trouble identifying and expressing his own emotions, despite feeling them very intensely, which I believe leads him to mask by displaying anger. Because of this, he struggles with vulnerability as well, wanting to maintain his reputation and image of strength and victory, and hiding all of his potential “weakness”, including, his autistic traits. 

He also struggles with emotional regulation, causing him to have sudden “outbursts” since he suppresses his emotions, until they explode. (no pun intended). 

This is something shown in his fight against Midoriya, and how the only way he knew to express his emotions, was through fighting, and being angry at himself, and at the world. 

He struggles to recognize the feelings of other people, he is unable to relate personally to others' feelings, and doesn’t know how to show empathy, especially verbally. (This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care for the people around him. He is actually a very kind and caring person. He helps Kirishima study, he defends his classmates, he trains with Izuku. The first thing he asked after waking up from a severe injury was how Todoroki and Midoriya were. In the manga, we see him taking into account Shouto’s past, and actually listen to him when they were dealing with the kids. He clearly cares for the Todoroki’s too). 

He needs routine

He has a very specific routine, and always goes to bed at the same hour. This could also be because he needs to spend some alone time after a long day of socialising and dealing with sensory input in order to calm down and relax, and actually be able to sleep. 

He needs to have time to recharge

Apart from what I just explained about his routine, this is also something we see after he has a panic attack during the Battle trial Arc. He leaves early, making Deku and All Might worry that he was going to drop out, when in reality, he just needed time for himself. 

Has a different way to view the world

During the sports festival arc, when he was analysing one of the fights, we got to see a little bit of the way he methodically analyses and understands things, and it’s shown that one of the things he does to take things apart, is thinking about it like a videogame! (Which I find really cute by the way, especially because he doesn't strike me as a videogame person). 

Sensory issues

His sensory issues focus on physical touch, as we see him avoid physical contact with others multiple times, for example, when he struggled with the hug that Endeavor gave him and Natsuo and practically ran away. He also struggles with tight clothes, and it’s probably one of the reasons why he uses oversized clothing, and hates the school uniform tie. 

I believe that in the sports festival he felt overstimulated by the restraints, and that, in addition to his PTSD, and trauma related to the sludge villain, lead him to having a meltdown. 

(Also, what the fuck with U.A, why would they put RESTRAINS on a child, and then HUMILLIATE him in public, and in television??)

He also has a surprisingly high pain tolerance, which means that he has difficulty processing pain stimuli.

Stimming

He very often grits his teeth, which can be interpreted as a stim, and his way of dealing with the stress and struggle of daily life.

I believe he uses his insults, and curses, not only to avoid having to interact with others, but also, as a vocal stim. Especially curse words. And his iconic ‘Tch’.

Another example of a stim, can be his habit of creating mini explosions with his quirk when he's under stress. 

He also has a very atypical posture, which is just a small thing that I would like to mention.

Struggles with social cues and understanding how to behave and adjust depending on the context

This is something that in my opinion, can be seen mostly when interacts with class 1-B, and on the first episode, especially on his discussion with Iida. He overcompensates his lack of understanding of his own body language through his (sort of) aggressive and ‘exaggerated’  movements.

As I already mentioned earlier, I believe he uses the curse words as a vocal stim, however, I also consider that the way he casually throws around the world ‘die’, is him not understanding social cues, and the fact that this is usually considered something bad. He probably understood this later and just didn’t care though. 

He avoids maintaining eye contact for too long with others, and stares at the floor very often.

He is also a very ‘blunt’ and direct person, and won’t hesitate to call people out, even if it’s seen as rude. For example, he was not afraid to call the Todoroki’s out in their diner, and also didn’t hesitate to question All Might when they were observing as Izuku train. 

He is a very observant and detail oriented person

People underestimate how analytic and observant Bakugou is because of his impulsive facade, however, in my opinion he is one of the most observant people in class 1-A. This is something that shines mostly when it comes to battle, for example in the final exam, and in the ‘Futari no hero’ movie, where he was able to quickly pick up how the quirk of one of the villains worked, and on the joint training arc with class 1-B as well. 

Strong sense of justice and rigid thinking

His way of thinking is very ‘black and white’. An example of this is his difficulty changing his mind about Izuku being useless. (We also know that this is deeply rooted in his insecurities, but I believe this also has an impact on it). 

His ‘win to save’ mindset, and determination to defeat every villain no matter what, in my opinion is an example of his strong sense of justice.

Speaking differences/struggles 

He very evidently has difficulty with volume control of his voice, causing him to scream most of the time mostly by accident. 

Other little details that I want to mention

He has a difficulty remembering names and faces, causing him to rely at the beginning on his nicknames. Which if you think about it, usually has something to do with the physical appearance of the person. Kirishima’s hair, Uraraka’s facial structure, Todoroki’s hair (and quirk), Momo’s hairstyle, Iida’s glasses, Sero’s ‘plain appearance’ (I don’t know how else to describe it, don’t hate me, I love Sero), etc.

His skull t-shirts that basically grew up with him. He probably likes them because of the familiarity they bring, being an item that he had worn through his life. 

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In conclusion: He is autistic and very heavily misunderstood. I love Bakugou, I think he is an amazing, and very complex character, and I love it when people analyse him, so if anyone has anything to add, or a different perspective, please do comment on it. 

Thank you for reading my one AM rant. Sleep? I don't know her!