Ochaco Uraraka and Himiko Toga: Two Sides of the Same Coin
My Hero Academia’s author, Kohei Horikoshi, is great at making parallels between characters and situations. He also took the stereotype of the main female character in shonen being reduced to a love interest and gave it a twist. Both, Ochaco and Toga are highly emotional and have romance surrounding their character development, and while Izuku is somewhat involved in the mixture, since they both have a crush on him, he is just an accessory for the girls to express their worldview and priorities. They are, though, opposites on this matter.
As early as the Sports Festival Arc, it is shown that Ochaco tries to hide and ignore her true emotions. She tried to pretend she wasn’t nervous about facing Bakugo, or frustrated when she lost to him. She also tried to shut out her classmates when they started to point out her crush on Deku. Toga is on the far opposite side. She goes around proclaiming what she likes, who she likes, and how she feels. Toga grew up being told to suppress what makes her be her, so now that she’s relatively free, she goes around imposing herself.
The Girls Needed Confrontation to Broaden Their Minds
My Hero Academia’s author, Kohei Horikoshi, is great at making parallels between characters and situations. He also took the stereotype of the main female character in shonen being reduced to a love interest and gave it a twist. Both, Ochaco and Toga are highly emotional and have romance surrounding their character development, and while Izuku is somewhat involved in the mixture, since they both have a crush on him, he is just an accessory for the girls to express their worldview and priorities. They are, though, opposites on this matter.
As early as the Sports Festival Arc, it is shown that Ochaco tries to hide and ignore her true emotions. She tried to pretend she wasn’t nervous about facing Bakugo, or frustrated when she lost to him. She also tried to shut out her classmates when they started to point out her crush on Deku. Toga is on the far opposite side. She goes around proclaiming what she likes, who she likes, and how she feels. Toga grew up being told to suppress what makes her be her, so now that she’s relatively free, she goes around imposing herself.
Ochaco and Himiko’s Relationship Is a Symbol of What My Hero Academia Is Truly About
Hero society is dysfunctional. That is possibly the whole point of the series, deduced from the circumstances that have taken the story to where it is now. All the villains were turned evil because society failed them, and Toga is no exception. She grew up as a relatively normal girl, until she couldn’t control her quirk, and she wasn’t properly assessed to do so either. Bloodsucking wasn’t graceful or useful, so she was told to conceal her impulses. Ochaco comes from a poor family that struggled, which made her glorify heroes because they helped people and earned good money.
The differences in their upbringings make these girls have biased views on hero society. Toga feels rejected from society in general, as she thinks she’ll never be accepted for who she is. Ochaco idolizes heroism at the beginning of the series, but seeing what it does to Deku and Toga makes her reconsider her values. This is what makes her curious about Toga after she sees her cry, and why she thinks of her until their final showdown, seeking to empathize with her. That last battle is nothing but emotional.
Idealizing Heroes Doesn’t Benefit Anyone
Hero society is dysfunctional. That is possibly the whole point of the series, deduced from the circumstances that have taken the story to where it is now. All the villains were turned evil because society failed them, and Toga is no exception. She grew up as a relatively normal girl, until she couldn’t control her quirk, and she wasn’t properly assessed to do so either. Bloodsucking wasn’t graceful or useful, so she was told to conceal her impulses. Ochaco comes from a poor family that struggled, which made her glorify heroes because they helped people and earned good money.
The differences in their upbringings make these girls have biased views on hero society. Toga feels rejected from society in general, as she thinks she’ll never be accepted for who she is. Ochaco idolizes heroism at the beginning of the series, but seeing what it does to Deku and Toga makes her reconsider her values. This is what makes her curious about Toga after she sees her cry, and why she thinks of her until their final showdown, seeking to empathize with her. That last battle is nothing but emotional.
Toga’s Sacrifice to Save Ochaco
The final moments of their battle, depicted in chapters 394 and 395, show that Ochaco was finally able to see beyond her prejudices and understood Toga, who finally feels seen, appreciated, and accepted. Toga could’ve easily won the battle and ended Ochaco’s life, but their conversation meant such a shift in their mindsets that she decided to sacrifice her well-being to save Ochaco in the end. It is not an epic fistbattle, but it is deeply touching and puts the whole story in perspective.
With My Hero Academia officially ending soon, and most of the hero-villain dynamics and rivalries having reached a conclusion, looking back on what the series did best is not an uncommon thing to do. Ochaco and Toga’s relationship, while with less screen time than Deku and Bakugo, for example, is still one of the best showcases of storytelling in the series. Hopefully, the Rivalry between these girls will pave the way for more interesting depictions of women in shonen.
