Crrryy - My Fancies

bakugo rant essay thing #2: his sorely neglected role as a leader

real quick (or not whoops) i wanna point something out that i haven’t rlly talked about or seen talked about that i feel these panels emphasize (even if subconsciously):

here, we see bakugo in the position of follower–he has to let someone else (jiro) lead, and adjust his actions to what they’re doing/they want over what he might want. i’m not going to talk about the pivotal character development showcased, and instead highlight the fact that bakugo is innately a leader.

here we see him frustrated because kaminari (and presumably the others in their band) isn’t following his lead when they rehearse. what does this tell us? that bakugo automatically attempts to assume the or a leadership position within a group.

obviously, bakugo has never played in a band before, and the fact that he tries to take the lead despite jiro being at the helm, tells us that he probably doesn’t understand he’s not inherently the one in charge in a group setting. his confusion when jiro tells him not to add in his improvisations and when he is following her lead at the performance just confirms this: bakugo genuinely does not understand that he sometimes has to follow instead of lead.

the fact that he does not (initially) understand this, which would seem obvious to most people, tells us two things:

1) that bakugo’s desire to lead is instinctual, and his attempts to do so are subconscious.

and,

2) that he has never cognitively assumed the position of follower before.

i said i didn’t want to touch on the character development piece, so i’m not going to, but i want to say that these two things are tremendously important pieces to the puzzle of katsuki bakugo, and that this scene is tremendously important for his development.

that being said, what do these two things, when put together, mean, exactly?

that bakugo is a natural-born leader.

here’s why:

firstly, his will to lead is instinctual. that in itself tells you a lot, because instinct is innate. ie, he was born with it, and has had the instinct his entire life, even if he is not consciously aware of it being there. this checks off the more technical aspect of him being born with it, but when someone is a natural-born leader, it implies that they are a good and frequent leadership figure.

everyone’s criteria for a good leader is different, as everyone values a different set of things. but one thing that i think everyone can agree on, is that a leader has to be someone who others will follow behind easily.

the fact that bakugo has never consciously been a supporter, or has not had to until now, implies that people have followed him his entire life, and most likely not through his own conscious assertion, considering he was confused when he couldn’t do what he normally would–and not because he wasn’t able to lead specifically, because it’s what he’s accustomed to doing. he doesn’t actually think of himself as a leader, despite his aptitude for it.

but the fact that people have followed him his entire life most likely means it’s easy for people to follow him. just like he automatically takes charge, people automatically let him, and thus fall into place behind him without much resistance. when you go back and examine the story so far, this is just proven further:

as a young child, midoriya and their other friends always walked behind him, and revered him as their leader.

as a middle school student, his “friends” were far more like lackeys, willingly submitting to his authority and also standing behind him.

during the cavalry battle at the sports festival, he was the rider of his group, and also very clearly the one in charge, which the other members of the group supported.

kaminari looked to him for direction during their fight with shishikura in the license exam, and naturally followed his lead.

aizawa commented specifically on his (and midoriya’s) ability to inspire, motivate, and generally serve as incentives for their peers.

this is all compounded by the fact that he asserts his role as leader subconsciously. bakugo does not have to think about taking leadership, he does it entirely without knowingly trying–to the point that he himself is not even aware of the skill he possesses in the field or the potential he has. because, to him, it’s just what he feels like doing and is comfortable with doing, so he does it.

hence, he’s a natural-born leader.

the reason i wanted to highlight this, however, was firstly because it’s something i feel is horrendously overlooked about bakugo’s characterization (yes the neglect is in the fandom, not the series), but secondly, because of the implications this has.

even if he has a long way to go presently, bakugo’s potential in this regard is astounding. already he is proficient in the role, and has been for the entirety of his life. people continue to follow him–people want to follow him, despite his uncouth disposition and the various characteristics he has that inhibit him as a leader, and make him unpleasant to work with. no matter how much he does wrong, he does enough right that his skill is still there, and is recognized (subconsciously or otherwise) by those around him.

i could specify what exactly he does right, but this is very long, and so i’m going to close with why you should stop sleeping on all this:

this aptitude for leadership bakugo possesses is eventually going to blossom into an invaluable asset both to himself, his peers, his partner (deku), and his brand as a hero.

aka,

while deku will be who the world looks to for hope, inspiration, and a guardian, kacchan will be who the world looks to for guidance, structure, and a leader.

A comic about 40-year-old Sanji meeting 19-year-old Sanji (and Zoro) and the rest of the crew on the Merry, heavily inspired by/based on this comic by sixpaw_pawsix on Twitter (please go check it out, it’s so good)!

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