I ACTUALLY HAVE NOT ANSWERED AN ASK LIKE THIS BEFORE SO NO WORRIES
i actually haven’t posted why i enjoy Kacchako so much, tho i have spoken with a few friends about it. but OH MAN…. oh gosh where do i even start jkslg;ha;lghkal;ghskal
ok so. a big part of it comes from their relationship in canon. both characters have a large amount of respect for each other. they’ve only interacted a few times (including in the omake), but each time is fairly insightful to the characters, and particularly when said characters comment about each other to other characters.
but it’s also how their relationship has a lot of potential in the narrative to drive both character’s development further really interesting directions.
to start, their fight. their fight at the Sports Festival was the first time Bakugou ever actually noticed Uraraka. before she was just sorta that unnamed girl who hung around Izuku.
Uraraka had noticed Bakugou before, but mostly she just wanted to stay out of his way (like with her line after the class president vote when Bakugou asks who voted for Deku, “I hope he doesn’t find out it was me…”)
but oh man. their fight. their fight is AMAZING on so many levels. it’s not just about Uraraka and Bakugou battling each other, there are many, many layers to it.
for example, the reason why Uraraka is fighting so hard in the first place. she wants to support her parents. her family grew up poor, and the whole reason she’s at UA, trying to become a hero, is because she wants to help support her parents financially. this fight is her proving just how far she’s willing to go in order to fulfill that goal.
she’s willing to go toe-to-toe against Bakugou, who never goes easy on anyone, in order to prove what she’s made of. hell, she even thanks Bakugou for not going easy on her.
and it’s not just that. right before this fight, she realized that she was riding on Izuku’s success without improving herself all that much. she thought she was being friendly, but she realized that she really was just hoping that Izuku would get her through the day again.
she feels shame for it. when Iida said that he wants to prove himself against Izuku, she feels shameful of her own actions.
so she decided to change. she decided to put her all into fighting Bakugou, proving that she can make it to the finals just like Deku. that she can do it by herself. she wanted to prove it to everyone. she wanted to prove it to herself that she could do it.
this fight gave Uraraka so much character development. before this fight, she was still sorta… there. we didn’t have much character motivation, and she was mostly just the happy, bubbly Love Interest/main female character. we heard that she was poor, but this fight put that motivation to the forefront of her character and proved just how much potential she has to grow and develop.
and on Bakugou’s end, it’s really interesting. right from the get-go he warns her that if she’s gonna forfeit she needs to do it now, because he won’t go easy on her. and through out the fight he proves just that–however, despite the pummeling Bakugou gave her over and over again, she continued to come back for more.
she refused to give up. nothing he did could put her down for long. she always got back up on her feet and kept running in for an attack.
Aizawa says it here clearly: by refusing to go easy on her, he’s acknowledging her strength. he’s showing her respect as an opponent. she’s not just a fragile little girl being beaten up by the Big Bad Blasty-guy, they’re equals on the battleground, and Bakugou refuses to let his guard down around her because they’ve both made it this far.
Bakugou lost against Izuku in the first Heroes vs. Villains training arc, and it was largely because he underestimated Izuku, and overestimated himself. Bakugou learned his lesson, and is refusing to do the same thing here.
Uraraka went through the same things he did at UA. she was there during his fight it Izuku, she was there when the villains invaded, she made it through the Sports Festival and met him as an opponent. clearly, she’s not someone to treat lightly.
what’s particularly interesting tho, is that at the end of the fight, Bakugou looks EXTREMELY EXCITED to keep fighting her.
Uraraka landed her final attack, which failed (because Bakugou used his largest blast to blow it away–you can see his hands shaking afterwards). Bakugou is ready to keep going, and rushes at her, with this huge, excited grin on his face, and says her name for the first time.
she surprised him. she impressed him. she shocked him.
Bakugou doesn’t remember people’s names. he can’t be bothered. he calls everyone by degrading nicknames, like Drooly, or Soy-Sauce Face, Raccoon Eyes, Deku, etc. The only characters he calls by name are All Might, Kirishima, and Uraraka.
All Might, because he’s the person Bakugou looks up to the most.
Kirishima is interesting. Bakugou has known Kirishima fairly well since at least the USJ incident. he kept calling him Hair-for-Brains until the cavalry battle at the Sports Festival, which is the first time he calls Kirishima by his name.
Bakugou first met Uraraka at the Sports Festival, and fought her for half an hour, at best. at the beginning, he calls her Round-Face. however, in that time, she impressed him so much that he started calling her by her name mid-fight.
when Bakugou starts calling people by their names, he doesn’t go back from that. he keeps calling them by their names. it’s his personal form of respect, that’s very subtle and understated.
what’s also really interesting about their fight is Bakugou’s reaction after Uraraka falls.
he looks shocked, in a way that we haven’t ever seen before. she impressed him so much, but then she falls and he realizes that she has a limit. someone he admires and wants to fight, actually has a limit.
it’s similar to his shock when All Might’s true form is revealed for the first time.
and after it’s over, Bakugou actually confronts Izuku about Uraraka. he berates Izuku for giving Uraraka that dangerous, self-destructive plan. in other words: in a very backhanded way, he’s saying he cares for Uraraka’s safety and well being.
he’s reprimanding Izuku for giving her a dangerous plan. Bakugou knows Izuku has a notebook full of notes on heroes and the other kids. Izuku mentioned it to Bakugou in their first fight. it would be a no-brainer to figure out that Izuku must’ve come up with a plan for Uraraka. and Bakugou is right, Izuku was willing to let Uraraka use his notes.
except that Uraraka refused to use them.
Izuku tells Bakugou point-blank that all that Uraraka did on the battlefield was her own plan. he had nothing to do with it. It was all Uraraka.
when Kaminari starts nagging on Bakugou for hurting a “harmless little girl” like Uraraka, Bakugou mutters to himself that there isn’t anything fragile about her.
this is the first time Bakugou has ever actually praised or defended anyone. he’s always been very much about himself. in the beginning of the manga, he would go on and on and on about how great he was, and how everyone else (in his own class) were all losers, and this attitude is still fairly prevalent.
he couldn’t even be bothered to remember his own classmate’s quirks. he’s gotten better about being egotistic since his fight with Izuku (and from watching everyone else in the class–he even admits that he didn’t think he could beat Todoroki at one point), but only just.
but he remembered her name. he defended her against Kaminari’s words. he respected her as an equal and as an opponent. later on, during his fight with Todoroki, he even berates Todoroki for holding back against him, and the manga hovers over Uraraka for a second.
Bakugou says only those who try their damnedest to win are allowed to stand before him. he’s referring back to Uraraka. again, in a roundabout sort of way, he’s showing her a lot of respect and praise.
coming from someone like Bakugou, who’s had so many issues with self confidence, ego, and refusing to even acknowledge those around him, that is a lot.
this fight was amazing for both characters, because it gave them BOTH amazing character development. this fight showed just how far Uraraka was willing to go, just how strong her determination is, in fulfilling her goal. this fight was also the first time we’ve see Bakugou develop away from the ‘angry-rival.’ this is the first time we saw him compliment and respect someone else.
this fight is the catalyst for so many amazing things, and the development doesn’t stop there.
after the Sports Festival, when the kids are trying to figure out where they want to intern, Uraraka decides to go with Gunhead. largely because of her fight with Bakugou.
she realized that, while she wants to be a disaster relief hero, knowing how to fight in close combat is an invaluable skill that she should learn, and it’ll be a huge advantage to her. it was thanks to her fight with Bakugou that helped her come to this conclusion, and allowed her to improve herself more.
Uraraka isn’t afraid of Bakugou anymore. not since their fight, in fact. she’s confident enough around him to willing to confront him face-to-face, about his issues with Izuku.
she sees through his act. she says that Bakugou was so cool during their fight, but when it comes to Izuku, Bakugou tries to push him away, as if he’s scared. and he is. he’s scared of Izuku’s progress. it terrifies him. but he’s in denial about it.
Uraraka confronts him about this, sees right fucking through Bakugou’s denial, fear, and pride, and tells him straight up that she thinks he should try to be friends with Izuku again. no other character has done this before. only Uraraka has been able to see through Bakugou so clearly.
Bakugou, presented with this tho, of course yells, goes into fighting stance, and challenges her to a fight (which she responds to immediately with her own battle cry and fighting stance, lmao). and then after Midnight makes them sit down again, Bakugou is back in denial.
however, he keeps calling her by her name. he’s calling her ‘Useless Uraraka’ in his head, but he’s still calling her by her name, which just continues to show his own respect for her, even as he’s pissed and angry.
this omake is fantastic because it gives us a hint into the characters and their relationships. Uraraka has clearly notices the issues between Izuku and Bakugou, and tried to mend them in her own way. Izuku is her friend, and Bakugou respected her as an equal in their fight, and she wants them to be friends again. and she even notices that Bakugou fears Izuku on some level, which is a fantastic bit of introspection from her end.
and later on, she continues to show that she understands Bakugou well. in fact, she’s one of the few people who understands him the best.
she says right here that Bakugou would probably view being rescued as a disgrace. and considering the last time he got rescued, she’s right. the only reason the rescue mission worked out in the end is because Kirishima was there.
with Kacchako, there’s just so much room for development. even now, each characters have been pushed further into growing thanks to each other’s actions, and they’ve both shown a remarkable amount of respect and understanding towards each other.
there’s just so much self growth and positivity that could be had with this ship, and i would love to see more of these two interact in canon. if i had to choose a ship that i’d love to see in canon, it would definitely be this, because i think there’s a lot of opportunities for development and growth and for new and interesting places for the narrative to go.
particularly concerning Izuku. Uraraka saw through Bakugou and realized that he fears Izuku. i would love to see her try to become the common ground between them. she, along with Kirishima, could be the bridges that allow those two to mend their relationship in the long run.
again, there’s just so much potential for this ship, both for the characters, their growth, and the narrative.
AHH ANYWAY THIS GOT REALLY LONG BUT i hope that all makes sense!!!
We Are What We Feel 