Who does bakugo end up with in the manga

(Spoilers, death related) Why X is going to be fine from BokuNoHeroAcademia

Katsuki Bakugo is one of the main characters of My Hero Academia. Of course, despite his brash behavior, Bakugo’s heart is in the right place because he was always willing enough to be the best hero he could be. But, speaking of his heart, he did lose it quite literally in the battle against Tomura Shigaraki in chapter 362 of the My Hero Academia manga, as fans are now wondering whether or not he would ever come back. This is where his possible connection with One For All comes in. So, is Bakugo connected to One For All, and could that save him?

Bakugo was connected to One For All after Izuku Midoriya supposedly passed the power to him during the events of the Heroes Rising movie. However, the transfer was never completed as Deku still has One For All. But Bakugo’s connection with One For All could be a deciding factor in the character’s fate.

At this point, fans are still wondering whether or not Bakugo’s death is a permanent one or if he would ever come back to life through some sort of a miracle. Regardless of what may happen, it seems like My Hero Academia is setting up a possible event where Bakugo’s connection with One For All could set up a great ending to the climax of the manga. That said, let’s look at what we know.

Is Bakugo Really Dead In My Hero Academia?

The Final War arc of the My Hero Academia manga is continuing to heat up as fans have experienced one of the most surprising moments of the entire storyline during the battle against Tomura Shigaraki, who now possesses the incredibly powerful All For One quirk that the villain of the same name used to possess. And Katsuki Bakugo, who is one of the main characters of the storyline, was in the middle of a battle against one of the strongest characters in My Hero Academia.

Chapter 362 of My Hero Academia allowed us to see Bakugo giving his all against Shigaraki in one of the greatest moments of the character’s entire story. While fighting alongside some of the best pro heroes in the business, Bakugo actually held his own against Shigaraki as they were trying to hold the lines long enough until Izuku Midoriya arrived to tip the scales of battle to their favor. 

Shigaraki, meanwhile, realized that Bakugo was going to give him a lot of trouble, especially when Midoriya arrived, because of the fact that he was quite proficient in the use of his quirk. Knowing that Bakugo was going to be a threat, he entered serious mode and released an attack strong enough to put the young hero out of commission despite Bakugo revealing a new power that we thought was going to be enough to push the villain’s back against the wall.

But the attack injured Midorya. It also seemed like his heart was destroyed, as it is quite possible that perished by the attack. Best Jeanist, one of the most prominent heroes in the series, screamed out about Bakugo being injured. As such, it does seem like Bakugo died in chapter 362 as fans of My Hero Academia have been dealt a fatal blow that was surprising as any other surprise we have seen.

Is Bakugo Connected To One For All?

As it has become apparent that Bakugo died from the attack from Shigaraki in chapter 362 of the manga, we cannot help but think about the fact that this wasn’t the first time that the character was placed in a difficult situation that nearly killed him. In fact, in the Heroes Rising movie, we did see both Bakugo and Midoriya placed in a situation that could have seriously injured both of them had it not been for one of the biggest decisions that Deku made in his life.

In the act of desperation, Deku shared his DNA with Bakugo through the blood on his hand as he passed One For All to his friend so that they could even the odds against Nine, who possessed incredible powers thanks to the fact that he had a version of All For One’s quirks. In that fight, Midoriya thought that it was best if he could make Bakugo the new possessor of One For All while he burned through the embers of the quirk to defeat Nine.

The tactic did indeed work as the combined efforts of two One For All users were able to defeat Nine. But as Midoriya was lying on the ground, he told All Might that he passed the power to Bakugo, who was already out cold after defeating Nine. However, All Might noticed that the power hadn’t been completely transferred to Bakugo, noting that it could have been because he passed out before the transfer could be completed. But he eventually came up with the conclusion that the vestiges of One For All created a miracle that allowed Deku to temporarily allow Bakugo to possess the power.

While neither the anime nor the manga has referenced this event as canon, it isn’t rare for My Hero Academia to make its movies canon. After all, the first movie, Two Heroes, was referenced a few times and is now considered canon. In that regard, there is a good chance that Heroes Rising is indeed canon, depending on what will happen in the next chapters of the manga, as this is where Bakugo’s connection with One For All might enter as a way for the storyline to progress.

Will One For All Save Bakugo?

At this point, Heroes Rising is yet to be made canon, and that means that we don’t know whether or not the manga will reference Bakugo as a former possessor of One For All or as a person with a connection to the quirk. Nevertheless, if he indeed becomes a canon possessor of One For All, the power could be used as a turning point.

As of this writing, we already know all but one of the quirks of the previous possessors of One For All, and all of them are offense-oriented. Meanwhile, we know that the main power of One For All is the ability to stockpile energy, and that is why the ones possessing it to have super strength and enhanced muscles due to the fact that the energy stockpiled within the quirk gives the user a massive power boost.

In that regard, we don’t know if any of the powers of One For All are capable of reviving a person from the dead or healing someone. But what we also know is that the quirk of the second user is still unknown. The only thing we know is that it should only be used as a last resort.

The fact that Bakugo used to be a possessor of One For All, as far as the second movie is concerned, could be a way for him to be able to make use of it to keep himself alive or, at the very least, to revive himself. And because the quirk of the second user is supposed to be used as a last resort, there is a possibility that this quirk is something related to reviving the user from death.

This explains why we are yet to see the quirk of the second user, as Midoriya is yet to be placed in a situation wherein he has to use it. And considering that Bakugo has a connection with One For All, he might end up gaining the ability to use the last resort quirk as a way to return from the dead, if ever the quirk does indeed have the ability to do that.

But if Bakugo is indeed dead and will never come back again, fans are now looking at his connection with One For All as a way for Deku to become strong enough to defeat Shigaraki. And this goes back to the fact that Deku has been the only one capable of using the quirks of the previous owners of One For All.

Considering that Bakugo used to be a possessor of One For All and is now dead, there is a good chance that his vestige will appear to Deku in a vision and will allow him to use his Explosion quirk, which we have seen is strong enough to give Shigaraki some problems. And we all saw how strong Bakugo was when he used Explosion together with One For All in the Heroes Rising movie.

So, if Deku does indeed gain the ability to use Explosion, he could shift the tide of battle to his favor. And it is going to be a poetic way for him to pay tribute to his friend, as he could use Bakugo’s quirk to defeat Shigaraki.

Doing so will not only allow Midoriya to give Bakugo the justice he deserves but will also allow him to give his childhood friend the last laugh when it comes to their bet of who is going to become the better hero between the two of them. Defeating Shigaraki with Explosion would be a good way for Deku to recognize Bakugo postmortem as the better hero and as the one who won their bet.

#10. “It’s kinda fun listening to them fight.” 

From: Episode 9 “Yeah, Just do Your Best Iida”

What Happens: On their ride to the USJ, Uraraka seems to be amused by Bakugo’s antics.

Why I Like it: It’s a small moment, but this early on shows that Uraraka mostly finds Bakugo funny and doesn’t take his anger too seriously. She doesn’t seem too nervous about him even before this (Battle Trial, for instance) and pretty much enjoys the wildness of Bakugo’s behavior.

#9. “I want to get stronger” 

From: Season 2 Episode 14 “Time to Pick some Names”

What Happens: Post Sports Fest, Uraraka resolves to go intern with the martial arts hero Gunhead, realizing that she wants to do better and get stronger after their fight.

Why I Like it: This is such a major turning point in Uraraka’s story, so the fact that it came from her match against Bakugo is pretty cool. Fighting Bakugo showed her that she needs to get stronger and do better if she wants to succeed and be a hero. She took something positive out of her defeat and that’s just awesome, and a sign of Bakugo being a good influence on her.

#8. “Did you guys make up?” 

From: Season 3 Episode 23 “Deku vs Kacchan 2”

What Happens: Uraraka, post DVK2, expresses hope that they’ve made up. She also consistently shows an interest in Deku and Kacchan’s eventual reconciliation and encourages it actively.

Why I Like it: Uraraka is so good about helping Deku and Kacchan reconcile. She’s nice about their dynamic and sees right through Bakugo’s defensiveness. She also clearly cares about both characters making up, wanting them to reconcile for both their sakes and not just Deku’s.

From: Season 3 Episode 3 “Kota”

What Happens: At training camp, Uraraka notices Bakugo’s knife skills and compliments them. Bakugo gets super defensive. 

Why I Like it: It’s a brief but cute scene, showing Uraraka thinking Bakugo is cool and complimenting him for his skills. Bakugo getting majorly defensive is also cute, since he does this around other people whose opinions he values as well. It’s also very domestic-fic friendly.

From: Season 2 Episode 9 “Bakugo vs Uraraka”

What Happens: Bakugo, prior to the match, calls Uraraka “round face” and tells her to back out if she’s gonna quit. Uraraka refuses, firmly stating she’s going to succeed.

Why I Like it: Bakugo doesn’t offer this out to anyone else. He also gives Uraraka a relatively cute nickname and tells her firmly that she’d better not expect him to go easy on her. This prompts Uraraka to do her best. I like how we see Bakugo’s Twin Star influence on the class here, like Aizawa says in 3.17, pushing his classmates to go all out to win as Deku pushes them to go all out to rescue.

From: Season 2 Episode 9 Bakugo vs Uraraka”

What Happens: As her fight reaches it’s peak, Uraraka prepares to unleash her ultimate move on Bakugo and thanks him for not letting his guard down. This perplexes him, as she unleashes her full blown attack.

Why I Like it: A key point of this ep and the Sports Fest arc in general is about respecting people who go all out and do their best to win, regardless of who they are. Uraraka was seen as a weak victim by those in the stands, but Bakugo and Aizawa both treat her like a real competitor, someone worth respecting. And she thanks them for it. She wants to be taken seriously.

#4. “Time to get Serious, Uraraka”

From: Season 2 Episode 9 “Bakugo vs Uraraka”

What Happens: Bakugo, after Uraraka’s master move hits him, calls her by her real name as he heads in to fight her, all out this time. He looks upset when she falls over and generally acts like he’s come to respect her after this move, with his shaking hands showing she pushed him to his limit.

Why I Like it: Bakugo rarely calls people by their real names, so calling Uraraka by her name is a mark of how much of his respect she won here. He also looks thrilled to be fighting her and disappointed when he doesn’t get to. This grin is shown in the later montage about how he smiles in the face of a wall (the other walls being Deku and All Might). Uraraka then is someone Kacchan considers worth it. Uraraka for her part really tries so darned hard here too, it’s very touching.

What Happens:  In a possibly canon omake, Uraraka confronts Bakugo about his rage issues post the Final Exams arc. She calls him out for being mean to Deku and asks him to just make up with him, while also calling Bakugo “cool”. Bakugo actually ends up listening to her and calming down a bit.

Why I Like it: Well for one thing it answers a question I’d had about why Bakugo didn’t get upset about Deku saving him during the final exam - he did, he just got confronted by Uraraka here. For another, I like how she calls him “cool” and he actually does listen at least a little to what she says. It’s clear that she understands him pretty well, and they both respect each other as capable fighters.

#2. “Bakugou would find it disgraceful”

From: Season 3 Episode 8 “From Iida to Midoriya”

What Happens: Uraraka is against the idea of going in to save Bakugo. She explains that he would probably find it disgraceful to be rescued by everyone. This is relayed to Midoriya by Kirishima and Todoroki on the bus.

Why I Like it: Uraraka demonstrates a pretty impressive understanding of Bakugo in this scene. She gets him, really does get his pride and how he feels about being rescued, and her words show enough understanding of Bakugo to allow Midoriya to truly save him, with Kirishima’s hand, rather than offending him or hurting his pride. 

Movie savior scene (behold the ultimate OT3):

This isn’t canon or part of the film but it’s a cute edit

#1. Where do you see frail? 

From: Season 2 Episode 9 “Bakugo vs Uraraka”

What Happens: Bakugo’s classmates are describing Uraraka as a “frail girl” and chastising him for not holding back. A disgruntled Bakugo tells them “Where do you see frail?” or something similar depending on the translation.

Why I Like it: I will say this for Kacchako: Bakugo respects Uraraka in a way he hasn’t respected anyone else in class so far. While he has a subconscious respect for Deku, his respect for her is just so out there and honest. He thinks she’s cool, because she went all out. And that’s awesome.