Not a meaningless crush: Ochako's crush on Izuku doesn't have much to do with Izuku at all
- Vague Manga Spoilers
Many people who watch My Hero Academia go through a similar process with Ochako Uraraka’s character: they think she’s the typical Female Lead That Could Be A Love Interest, then grow to like her when some of her motivations are revealed early in Season 1, and then get annoyed by her when the latter half of Season 2 – the Final Exam Arc – puts some focus on her crush on the main character, Izuku Midoriya.
While it seems like shallow and unnecessary fanservice, this crush of her serves an actual purpose in the plot and for her character, but not in the romantic sense. In fact, I'd argue that it doesn’t have much to do with Izuku at all.
Enter Himiko Toga. Here's a comment made by Horikoshi himself:
There's a lot of similaties between them, but here we're going to focus on the crush and romance aspect, to see why Ochako's crush on Izuku was a way to establish her relationship with Toga.
Season 2: Final Exams
The first proper focus we have of Ochako’s crush on Izuku is during the second half of season 2 - first during her final exam, and later in the final episode at the shopping mall.
Toga is also properly introduced to us during these episodes, although we see a glimpses of her (and Dabi) earlier in the Season.
Season 3: The Training Camp
This is where it really starts, as Ochako and Toga meet for the first time.
Tsuyu is also at the scene, and Toga shows an interest in both of then, referring to both of them as “cute”,
But she focuses more on Ochako, saying something along the lines of her sensing that Ochako has a crush on someone, which of course, was shown to us in the earlier episodes.
Tsuyu doesn’t have a crush on anyone, and thus recieves a little less of Toga’s attention.
A major point established about Toga’s character is that when she likes someone, she doesn’t only want to become like that person, but actually become that person.
As shown to us before, Ochako has a pretty high level of respect and admiration towards Izuku.
Toga notices this, and coupled with the crush, she assumes that Ochako also wants to be like Izuku “You want to be the same as the person you like, right?”
At this point, we’ve also learnt that Toga also has a crush on Izuku, and wants to become him.
So, it’s easy to understand that Toga thought Ochako would understand her in regards to this. [this is then confirmed in Chapter 289 and 348]
A conversation: Chapter 342
Toga is a villain that has killed a lot of people, and has no qualms about bringing destruction to the city.
Ochako has fought her a couple times, but only as a hero vs. a villain.
Their conversations [chapter 289] consisted of Ochako saying things that was obvious to her with the way her life has been up until now.
In her conversation with Izuku in chapter 342, she mentions how she realizes now that Toga is just a person too, and that what’s obvious for her doesn’t apply to Toga.
Izuku mentions how he feels the same with Shigaraki and the cying child inside him.
Chapter 394: Ochako vs. Toga
Yes, Ochako explicitely states that she fell in love with Izuku Midoriya.
No, that is not the point of the chapter.
The point is that her love and admiration made her want to be more like him, to see people’s hearts like he does. [re: chapter 342, Izuku trying to save Shigaraki’s heart]
As stated before, Ochako has realized that she hasn’t been trying to see Toga as more than a villain she had to defeat, and now she is reaching out, trying to save Toga’s heart even if it’s too late.
Love and Smiles
“Smiling is why we live our lives”. - Dabi to Toga, Chapter 341
This has always been their thing.
Toga, who has been cast out of society due her “weird” and “creepy” quirk, and the way she shows her love,
Toga, who wants a place where she can exist just the way she is, loving who she loves, and smiling when she wants to
Ochako, whose parents always happily encouraged her and made time for her even when they were struggling with money and tired from work
Ochako, whose eyes were drawn to the smiling citizens when a hero saved someone and defeated a villain, and wanted to be the reason for those smiles
Also reminder that as much as they are made for each other they also exist as characters outside of that
In conclusion,
People who think Ochako is nothing more than a heroine that has a crush on the main character are stupid and have no reading comprehension.
People who say that Ochako’s character “fell off” after the romance was introduced only care to see their bias about female leads proven right have no patience for the actual story.
Her crush is a way to establish her story with Toga.
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i can't tell you how badly i want to see the foxes in everyday school situations from outsider's perspective like imagine neil josten being called to the board to solve a logarithmic function in algebra 201 after it just came out he's a son of a serial killer slash exy champion or being assigned andrew minyard, casual part time arm breaker full time terrifyingly fast and agile goalkeeper as your study buddy to peer review your criminal studies paper I can't 😭 i need this like oxygen
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”This portrayal of a marginalized group was wrong then and is wrong now” and “This portrayal of a marginalized group was very progressive for the time period and paved the way for more representation while likely limited by factors outside of the creator’s control” are two statements that can and should ABSOLUTELY coexist and be kept in mind when interacting with older media
You forgot it's third sibling "This portrayal, though problematic, means a LOT to the members of the marginalized group it portrays who first saw it come out and they will continue to feel and express that affection for it, it doesn't mean they endorse the bad shit."
so has anyone else noticed that in wiege (mizi and sua ver.) only sua sings the line "wings drenched in longing unfold at last" unlike in the ivan and till ver. where they sing it together? maybe implying that mizi's wings are still drenched in longing and she hasn't reached that acceptance stage yet?
this is such a small thing but it really stuck w me that when Andrew goes through Neil’s stuff, everything is put back exactly as it was so perfectly if it weren’t for the clothes tags being too perfect even Neil wouldn’t realize it happened.
because we know Neil grew up on the run, he learned to do these hyper specific things to always be aware of everything 24/7. i mean he’s escaping a serial killer tied to the mafia for fucks sake. he has to know these things. and they truly are teeny tiny things that normal people don’t even think about, like him touching the hood of Matt’s truck to estimate how long ago he got to Fox Tower.
but that scene shows Andrew to be an equal control freak hyper aware of his environment. except, well, his father isn’t a serial killer chasing him so you’d expect his childhood to at least be mildly better than Neil’s and for him to not need to know weird survival skills. but he does. if that’s not a frame of reference for so many things about his character idk what’s is
it makes you understand just how bad his foster homes must have been, but it also perfectly shows who he is as a character. how careful he is, how conscious of his actions he is. he isn’t insane, he knows exactly what he’s doing, he just feels justified to do anything if it serves the right purpose.
lowkey the funniest thing about aftg is that the guy who wants absolutely nothing to do with love is the love interest and the guy who the story literally wouldn't exist without is not the main character and the last guy who would ever want to be the main character actually is
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Do you ever think about how Hyuna and Till, despite never really knowing each other, have essentially lived the same life?
They have few canon interactions, sure, and those are only present in side content.
We know they weren’t close. And yet…
They both had boys who loved them childishly. Immaturely.
Those boys hurt them badly, even if they didn’t mean to.
They loved boldly and beautifully, without restraint, and fought to be themselves in the face of an oppressive industry that sought to use their rebellion for entertainment. They used their genuine and brilliant love for music to rebel rather than be complacent.
They were grievously injured before gaining their freedom—disabled, based on Hyuna’s prosthetic leg and Till’s theorized loss of his voice.
And then they were both taken in by Isaac. Mentored, accepted as a friend (as I assume Isaac accepted Till).
They’re rebels. Freedom fighters.
They both went back for the kids. They both found their happiness and independence.
Only, Till has the chance to do what Hyuna wasn’t able to. He has the chance to finish what she started.
She tried to go back for the kids with one leg. She couldn’t do it. But Till gets to save the kids.
Hyuna could never truly grieve the past and continue on with her life. Now, Till gets that chance. When Hyuna sees or thinks of Luka, she spirals. When Till sees the Ivanmizi child, he doesn’t freak out—he smiles.
Hyuna willingly gave up her place when she took the bullet for Luka, and in her place, Till continues her work.
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