The final season of the TV anime series " My Hero Academia ," based on the manga by Kohei Horikoshi that was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha), is currently airing every Saturday at 5:30 pm on Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV. Episode 163, "Quirk!! Explosion!!," aired on October 25th, and Katsuki Bakugo Katsuki, having recovered from cardiac arrest, saves All Might from a difficult situation and defeats the evil All For One. We spoke to voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto, who has played Katsuki Bakugo since the first season of the TV anime began airing in 2016, about behind the scenes of the recording and his thoughts on Katsuki Bakugo.
◇ "You finally won, Kacchan."
Okamoto said with a deep sense of joy that he was "happy" about the development in which Bakugo defeats All For One. In fact, Okamoto had heard about this development from the original author, Horikoshi, four years ago, in 2021.
"Horikoshi-sensei previously told me, 'This is what I'm thinking of doing in the future.' I remember being happy even at that stage. He said at the time that Bakugou has deep regrets. The reason for this is that, to borrow his words, he thinks, 'I've put an end to All Might.' He said that the thing he wanted most to depict is the man who put an end to All Might not putting an end to him, and I said, 'That's a really good scene.' From then on, I was recording wondering when that scene would come. However, when I was reading the original manga, Bakugou's heart stops, so I was like, 'Huh?' I hadn't heard about that part. I think I was watching the scene more excited about how he would recover from this than the shock of being defeated."
Okamoto-san found out about this very important development before anyone else, and recalled, "I couldn't tell anyone. I couldn't tell (Yamashita) Taiki-kun, the staff, or my friends. I felt like I was carrying a responsibility, a bomb, while recording." Given that situation, he felt a strong sense of "finally!" when Bakugou won.
"Kacchan finally says he's going to 'win properly'. Deku has always called him 'the embodiment of victory', but the truth is, he's never actually won properly until now. There are scenes in the movies, but surprisingly, in the TV series, there are very few scenes where he fights alone and wins against an enemy (villain), a great evil. But he has properly defeated someone who is said to be All Might nemesis. With the meaning of revenge and surpassing his master, it made me feel happy too, thinking, 'You finally won, Kacchan.'"
Okamoto said that this victory was "Kacchan's first victory after a long history of losing."
"I think Kacchan is a person who has always been frustrated. Up until now he had been losing constantly, and just when you thought he had beaten Todoroki, he wasn't even trying, and then he was kidnapped by the enemy (villain). There was a time when he wasn't told All Might's secret, so it was really sad. Maybe that's why Kacchan is one of the criest characters in the series. But in 'Deku vs Kacchan 2' (Episode 61 of Season 3), the wall finally came down and Kacchan learned All Might's secret. Even as I was acting, I felt like the flow changed from that point on. The opponent he had to fight became clearer. However, even from then on he was defeated and beaten to a pulp, but I think it was a victory that he finally snatched from him."
◇ "I don't want you to fight" is also a thought I have towards Katsuki Bakugo
Okamoto has been playing Bakugo since the first season, but as of the sixth season, he said, "I was really worried about how much Kacchan could withstand the inflation of his strength. I actually don't want him to fight too much."
"That's right. I thought I couldn't withstand inflation. An explosion-based quirk wouldn't work. That's why, like Deku, I feel like Kacchan is very much like something out of a shonen manga. I think it's incredible that he was able to take advantage of the inflation of his own explosion-based quirk, which doesn't seem like it could withstand the inflation, and through hard work defeat All For One, who has the strongest quirk. It was more like, 'I'm sorry I couldn't believe in you.'"
He also said he was surprised by Bakugo's "way of winning."
"I thought he'd become stronger simply by amplifying his 'quirk,' but he fought in ways I'd never imagined, like covering an explosive ball with sweat or exploding things around him to move. I never thought he'd win with those kinds of ideas, those kinds of fighting sense. I think there's talent in fighting sense, of course, but it felt more like hard work. I genuinely thought it was amazing that he was able to win not with supernatural power, but with something that seems achievable if you just try hard."
In "My Hero Academia," all the characters, including Bakugo, continue to "Plus Ultra." We asked Okamoto what he gained from playing Bakugo.
"I have a vague feeling that I may never again come across a character that I can risk my life to play to this extent. If I miss out on 'My Hero Academia,' I may be counting on my fingers the few times I'll ever get to play a role that demands so much from me, in terms of the plot, character, and location. For me, Katsuki Bakugo is a character that I risk my life to play, or rather, a character that I want to play even if it means sacrificing myself, and I'm doing it while thinking of it as a work."
To Okamoto, Bakugo is "close to being a hero."
"I gained a lot from playing Bakugo. Not only from the work, but also from everyone telling me, 'That was a good performance,' but I was able to meet the character I was playing while crying in front of the microphone while thinking about it. I was crying while recording the line in season 7, 'Hey Izuku, I wonder if I can still catch up to you.'"
Finally, we asked about what to look forward to in the “FINAL SEASON.”
"I think everyone is curious about how Izuku and the others will become the greatest heroes. Partway through, Izuku's narration changes from 'The story of how I became the greatest hero' to 'The story of how we became the greatest heroes', so what kind of world is that? Also, how will the battle between Shigaraki and Izuku be resolved, and how will the battles between each of the characters turn out? I hope everyone will look forward to seeing what happens next."
