“Whether you win or lose, you can always take something away from an experience like this…”

Jeez, Kacchan, learn how to take a compliment. Am I right?

“Bakugo’s Start Line” reinforces a number of principles that will be important for any future hero, but its most important lesson is how “losing well” is superior to being an ungrateful winner. The entry begins with the words that Izuku shouted at Bakugo back during their battle continuing to ring in his ears and haunt him. The only reason that Izuku was able to defeat Bakugo is because he admires and respects his ability and strength so much. Bakugo’s endurance is what pushes Izuku to go past his limits and as ironic as that is, it’s a drastic event that finally breaks through to Kacchan and pushes him to open his eyes.

This episode tells a similar story to “Rage, You Damn Nerd,” only now it’s from Bakugo’s point of view. This isn’t a bad premise for an entry, especially with the relationship that he and Midoriya share and the major change in their power dynamic that goes down in the previous episode’s finale. Honestly, the tension between Midoriya and Bakugo canperfectly be boiled down to the moment towards the end of the episode where Midoriya tries to have a chat with his friend. The way in which Bakugo snarls “What?” out at Midoriya says everything. He can’t even stand to look at the guy, but he’s even angrier with himself.