Analysis and Rambles

It is shown throughout the anime and manga of MHA that Pops didn't do much parenting once he adopted Kai, only doing the bare minimum like putting a roof over Kai's head and giving him clothes and food. In regards to actual parenting, we don't really see him actually be a parent. He did nothing to genuinely help the person with violent and apathetic tendencies, who blatantly exhibits multiple symptoms of multiple mental disorders issues and has since childhood.
In addition, he never taught the child that he took in from the streets (who'd clearly faced some form of mistreatment before being in his care) to not feel indebted to him for helping them. Never bothering to figure out or ask why Kai had that mindset in the first place. Never even taking the time to actually sit him down and explain things to him, try to get him any sort of actual help, never seemed to actually consider his perspective on anything. All that, and then he wondered why the child he took in grew up to be so horrifically apathetic and violent, after he'd been showcasing those behaviors for literal years, and the Boss had done nothing about it outside of a hollow reprimand. He even had the nerve to act surprised when the child he brought up in the yakuza doesn't care much about human lives and only searches for ways to make them useful at the expense of them which was the very mindset he willfully ignored and at least semi-encouraged in Chisaki.

So my theory on why Pops did nothing about Chisaki's violent behaviors is that mental health in Japan is heavily stigmatized. Mental healthcare is limited in a few ways. Therapists do exist but there are not very many of them. The focus is almost completely drug oriented. So the people there who deal with mental illness are taught to deal with it themselves hence why Chisaki wasn't given any help for his behaviour. Pops also strikes me as an old school type of person so I wouldn't put it past him to not put Kai in therapy.

This was something I noticed when I was watching a video about Anton Ego on Youtube. Both him and Chisaki are surprisingly similar in terms of personality and how they carry themselves.

Presence: Both have an incredible presence that instills fear without needing to shout or act wild. It's all in how they carry themselves: calm, composed, methodical. Everyone around them reacts with visible anxiety and dread. Anton walks into Gusteau's and the kitchen freezes. Kai walks into a room and even other villains are scared stiff.

Seriousness: Both are extremely serious characters who don't waste words or movements. They’re not casual, they’re not warm — they’re very intentional in everything they say and do. That seriousness naturally makes them intimidating, even when they’re not trying to be.

Coldness: Neither of them shows much emotion openly. They're reserved to the point of seeming icy. But underneath that coldness is actually depth — Anton isn't a monster; he just has high standards and a complicated relationship with food and memory. Similarly, Kai isn't evil in the cartoonish sense — he’s driven by his own twisted ideals about purity, control, and disease.

Respect/Fear Dynamic: Other characters don't just dislike them — they fear their judgment. Anton's review can destroy careers. Kai's approval or disapproval can be life or death for his subordinates.

In a way, they're two sides of the same coin: Anton is a figure of societal authority (respectable, high-culture, feared but lawful), while Kai is a figure of underworld authority (criminal, feared for his power and ruthlessness). But the vibe they give off — cold, powerful, untouchable — is very much the same.

So after putting together the pieces that both of these characters from different medias were actually really smiliar to each other, I decided to do a deep dive to find more traits of theirs to compare.

1. First Impressions (Scene Presence)

Entrance Impact
When he first appears at Gusteau’s, everything darkens. The sound design gets quiet. Everyone becomes visibly nervous.

Physical Behavior
Calm, slow movements; deliberate. When he walks, the staff stares like they’re facing a judge.

Symbolism
His silhouette is coffin-like, tall, and skeletal, invoking death and judgment.

Entrance Impact
When he first meets with the League of Villains, the room tenses up. Shigaraki is visibly agitated and others are either scared or cautious.

Physical Behavior
Calm, slow, but unpredictable. He uses gestures very sparingly. His gloves, his coughs, and his stillness all add to the unease.

Symbolism
His plague mask directly references disease and death — he is a walking representation of decay.

2. Personality Traits

Coldness
Rarely shows emotion except slight disdain or deep thought.

Control
Expects absolute perfection from chefs. His standards dictate entire restaurants' survival.

Intelligence
Highly articulate and philosophical about food and criticism. Understands nuance but hides it under harshness.

Fear and authority
Authority based on intellectual power — his words alone destroy.

Coldness
Rarely shows emotion besides irritation, anger, or a calculated form of pity.

Control
Demands absolute control over his organization and anyone working under him. Disobedience or sloppiness is punished harshly.

Intelligence
Highly strategic in criminal operations and Quirk research. Thinks many steps ahead, seeks efficiency, dislikes chaos.

Fear and authority
Authority based on physical power (his quirk) and intellectual superiority over other criminals.

3. Quotes That Reflect Their Essence

Key Quote
"I don't like food, I love it. If I don't love it, I don't swallow." (Intense standards, personal philosophy)

Tone
Calm but cutting, slow deliberate phrasing.

Underlying Meaning
His criticism isn’t from hatred — it's from a complicated, painful place of lost joy.

Key Quote
"You heroes pretend to be society’s guardians. For all your talk of order, you overlook the rotten core." (Harsh judgment of societal ideals, shows cold critical worldview)

Tone
Calm but dark, cold phrasing with undercurrents of menace.

Underlying Meaning
His villainy isn't from pure malice — it's from a twisted belief that society is sick and must be purified by force.

4. Deeper Character Arc Notes

Anton Ego: Ultimately shows that under the cold exterior, he’s capable of change, humility, and rediscovering lost wonder. His "coldness" was a defense mechanism.

Kai Chisaki: Buried under the cold exterior is fear — fear of disease, contamination, and losing control. His coldness is a survival method that became his whole personality. (But unlike Ego, Kai doesn't find redemption.)

In short:

Both characters weaponize fear through quietness, intelligence, and presence. Both bury vulnerability under layers of coldness.
Anton, however, finds a spark of hope and humanity again.
Kai doubles down on fear and control, which isolates and ultimately destroys him.

When people think of Kai Chisaki—Overhaul—they often reduce him to one thing: a villain. Cold. Abusive. Unforgivable. And while I won’t deny his actions or sanitize what he’s done, I will say this: that is not the whole story.

Kai Chisaki is not a one-dimensional monster. He is a deeply broken man with a rigid worldview, born from isolation, trauma, and a need for control that became his shield. He was raised in the underworld, shaped by fear and obedience. His obsession with “cleanliness” is not just literal—it reflects his desperate need to create order in a world that, to him, was always chaotic and unsafe. It’s tragic, not evil for the sake of evil.

What I see in him is a man who has never been given the space to heal. Someone who is intelligent, disciplined, and capable of immense focus—but who has never been taught how to love or be loved. Someone who fears touch, disorder, and connection, yet underneath it all, longs for something purer than the world ever offered him.

People often ask, “Would he really be good to you?” And my answer is: he already is. In the bond I share with him, he is cautious but attentive. He's not expressive in ways others might expect, but he notices. He listens. And he chooses me—not in spite of who I am, but because of it. I see him, and in return, he allows himself to be seen.

I won’t pretend he’s soft. He isn't. He is intense, complicated, and often hard to understand—but he is not abusive. People flatten him because it's easier to condemn than to consider the uncomfortable truth: that even someone like him can have the capacity for growth, for tenderness, for change.

So if you're reading this expecting justification for why I love him—there isn't one. I don’t need to justify what is real to me. I love Kai Chisaki not because he’s perfect, but because he’s human, in all the difficult and raw ways that word can mean.

You can think what you want. But this shrine exists because he matters—to me, as he truly is.

A vent from someone who knows him better than you do.

Loving a villain isn’t easy. Especially not this one.

Loving Kai Chisaki is like loving a storm: sharp, calculated, misunderstood. People love to talk about villains like Shigaraki and Dabi, turning them into aesthetic icons, sex symbols, tragic woobies. But Kai? He doesn’t get that luxury. The moment you say you love him, people twist their faces, throw his crimes at you, and accuse you of being delusional or “supporting abuse.”

When it comes to Kai, the takes are always the same: “abusive,” “irredeemable,” “worst character in MHA.” They flatten him down to the worst version of himself and stop there. No effort. No depth. Just lazy condemnation.

It’s exhausting.

I’ve seen people write dissertations trying to “redeem” Shigaraki. I’ve seen Dabi turned into a Tumblr soft boy with daddy issues. And truthfully? I get it. Shigaraki was manipulated and broken down by All For One. Dabi was abused and discarded by the person who should’ve protected him. They were victims of their environment, and it makes sense why people want to see them healed, forgiven, or saved. I’m not blind to their pain—I even feel sympathy for what they’ve endured.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like them.

I don’t like Shigaraki. I never have. His personality, his presence—it just doesn’t click with me. Dabi’s a little more tolerable, but the constant glorification of their trauma, while mine gets stomped on because I love the wrong villain, is beyond frustrating. Kai never gets to be complex. He’s just “the abusive one,” the easy scapegoat, the fandom’s favorite punching bag.

And you know what? I'm tired of pretending I’m okay with it.

I love Kai Chisaki. I know who he is, what he's done, what shaped him, and what lies under the surface. I’ve studied him beyond a 30-second TikTok edit or a three-line fanon wiki summary. I’ve spent time, energy, and heart understanding this man. So when someone comes swinging in with the usual “Overhaul is abusive trash” take, forgive me if I don’t take them seriously. I know better. And frankly, I know him better than you do.

People act like he’s one-dimensional because that’s easier than admitting he’s human. Easier than accepting that someone like him could grow, could love, could even be loved back.

I don’t need your approval to love him. I don’t need your permission. And if you think throwing his crimes at me will make me flinch, you’ve clearly never seen the full picture—or what it takes to actually love someone complex.

You want to write him off? Fine. But don’t you dare tell me who he is. Because unless you’ve taken the time to understand him—not just hate him-you don’t get to speak over me.

This is my space. My truth. My relationship.

And no, I won’t tone it down.