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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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Don’t know if this a parallel or anything, but keep thinking about the first time we see deku fall, Ochako is introduced and stops him from falling. But now the one who catches him is bakugou

Late answer, I’m sorry! I sometimes postpone something and then entirely forget about it so I’m gonna go through my asks now! Eventho I take time responding, I do in fact ENJOY doing it.. i just forget. ADHD things..

I think this may be the time for me to share my analysis I posted on Twitter awhile ago about Horikoshi’s original intent and what he actually ended up doing so let’s go!

Horikoshi said he originally planned to have Katsuki develop separately, away from Izuku, as a separate vector while Ochako was supposed to be paired up with lzuku all the time and was supposed to be the cheerful light in his life that compensates for the darker parts of his relationship with Katsuki. This is important because Ochako was supposed to be the LOVE INTEREST and with the initial setup, it seems Horikoshi didn’t want to fall into the same path as other mangakas. He wanted to actually bond and develop the endgame ship and that’s why Ochako is introduced as someone important to Izuku and someone who is obviously going to be the love interest.

And we do see this. We see at the start Ochako being around Izuku, being his partner for exams, being paired up with him, motivating him and overall spending a lot of time with him while Katsuki is this awful human being and Horikoshi said he intended to keep him that way. BUT what happened?

Hori said that at one point he decided he wasn’t gonna keep Katsuki develop away from Izuku. And so Katsuki slowly comes back to Izuku’s life as his sun. Literally Katsuki was related to the sun and light before. Chapter 362 is called “LIGHT fades to rain”.

But who ends up getting a separate arc and her own villain instead? OCHAKO!

So to sum it all up..Horikoshi quite literally swapped Ochako and Katsuki in Izuku’s life. And since Ochako was supposed to be the love interest.. Katsuki took over that role when he became a permanent part of Izuku’s arc and Ochako was sent in a direction Katsuki originally had.

With this, Ochako lost her original purpose and Hori created Toga for her to give her a separate arc and decided he was going to have some fun subverting the shone trope of an underdeveloped love interest. So he chose to work on Izuku and Katsuki instead of Izuku and Ochako. And he’s aware of this. He said he created that illustration last year keeping in mind how would their relationship be IF he decided to explore it. And we also have these silly little scenes where Hori shows us he’s aware he purposefully blocks their interactions. It’s almost funny.

Once Katsuki came back in Izuku’s life as the person closest to him.. Ochako immediately lost that title.

And tho it seems as if Ochako’s character is only related to Izuku.. it isn’t. In a sense that Izuku isn’t much present in her arc physically. She s inspired by him but he is out of her reach and his attention is always elsewhere. His character arc also became kind of unaffected by her at one point.

This is why I believe ochakos feelings are simply a part of her character development and not something that leads into Iz/Ocha endgame.

You can notice Ochako really only has importantish scenes with Deku.. until Katsuki is back in his life for good. Then.. she’s gone from his arc altogether. Even the fact she changed the meaning of his hero name.. Hori entirely dismissed. Let me explain.

Every time Izuku was in a hopeless situation.. he could have thought about her. “She said I’m Deku who never gives up..” but this never gets brought up. Deku doesn’t relate his name to her at all after this. And the one time we do have a flashback to “Deku who never gives up”…It’s actually Katsuki remembering it. And the name is portrayed in a NEGATIVE SENSE!!! He became Deku who OVERDOES himself and therefore, hurts himself.

So Hori didn’t forget. He just chose not to give Ochako any special importance in Izuku’s life and so if he wants to shut the ship down now.. he doesn’t have to do ANYTHING with Izuku anymore. And since Ochako never specified what she feels and she never expressed the wish do actually be WITH Deku.. but rather be LIKE him.. so even if she does have feelings.. her “love interest” role can be taken away in one panel with the right dialogue. And it all goes back to chapter 11.

Speaking of chapter 11…I wanna share something I find interesting. So..In the same chapter Horikoshi mentioned as a turning point for Katsuki’s character (Katsuki crying and opening up to Izuku made Horikoshi change his mind in where he wants to take their relationship)..We also have Kaminari trying to ask Ochako out, but she ditches him to go after Deku. Deku then ditches HER… to go chase after KATSUKI… but Katsuki actually waits for him. 🧡💚

There is always a chance that Hori truly intended bkdk endgame from the beginning but purposefully set Ochako to look like a fake love interest for the purpose of subverting this bad shonen trope. Because he’s being quite defensive in the intro and even until this day he always says he believes nothing is off limits to him, that he will do what he likes no matter what anyone says. People he works with say he makes no compromises and has his own beliefs as a mangaka. What could possibly be “off limits” to a mangaka. What could he possibly have his own beliefs for? Mangakas have done it all from great endings to tragedies and killing MC’s and all.. but what hasn’t been done? What is considered maybe off limits? Queerness. Queer MC. Queer endgame couple between the protagonist and the deuteragonist.

It’s why he was always so careful never to show Izuku’s interest in her specifically, but rather girls in general. He blushed to a lot of girls because he was just nervous since he’s never talked to them before he got into UA. However Izuku has stopped doing this entirely. Did he have a gay awakening? Begining.. versus chapter 338. He’s clearly over it. And that also includes Ochako. We can see how nonchalant and unaffected he is by her in chapter 342 on the cliff and how easily he compliments her like he would any other friend. He doesn’t make an effort to give her an emotional “thank you” but rather a polite one. He’s there to thank a friend and move on. He stands 6 feet away from her as well. So Horikoshi is trying to do something here all the while HEAVILY pushing Katsuki love interest agenda… we can hope.

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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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OMG THIS IS KINDA CRAZY

Nana said “if I die in the middle of the road we can still meet again wishing OFA realm..ROMANTIC.. right?” She called this very idea romantic..

And after Katsuki died, SAME PHRASE was used..”in the middle of the road” written next to his body at the end of the chapter… he died and entered OFA realm, while calling out to Izuku and waiting for him..with the IDENTICAL PHRASE NANA USED! And we know there’s so much left to be said and done between them..

道半ばでーー

みちなかばで－-...

michinakaba de---...

I’m happy cause this confirms the link between this panel and bkdk that I kept drawing and people kept telling me I’m REACHING.. cause the setup was always clear to me.

Katsuki isn’t gonna die. Edgeshot’s sacrifice won’t be in vein. But he needed the most powerful reason possible to get access to OFA. Hori wants him there cause that’s where the last battle is gonna happen.. and he decided to counter Shigaraki’s hatred.. with Katsuki’s love…

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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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Bakugou Katsuki's rejection of traditional heroism, a journey [The Q. N. H. - Act: Dynamight, part IV]

We have been focusing on how Bakugou feels, but what about his actual development outside of his relationship with Deku? Does he exclusively revolve around him? Or is he his own person still?

His character development is basically an unstoppable force: because you can't just keep being your childish self in a changeable world.

When you thought you were great, the smartest person in your class, constantly validated... turns out you are not. Your methods dont work anymore as they used to, and you start meeting others who are just as amazing as you, or even better. He couldn't keep being his old self, because real people need to change for their own good.

Keeping in mind how his character's direction shifted after that chapter he cried in front of Izuku (if I remember right, it was the first time), we can point out some key moments for him:

The Lake: Betrayal, first time realizing others don't see him as a powerful hero, insecurity, fear

The Sludge Villain Incident: First public humiliation, losing his first encounter with a villain, fear of dying, realizing (but not accepting) a fragile humanity

Deku VS Kacchan Part 1: Losing against Deku in a fight for the first time, seeing in action the recklessness of Izuku, fear, weakness, reaffirms he is not worth it

The Kidnapping: One more time his autonomy took away from him, unable to act; the fear of being surrounded by villains, and them disrespecting his heroic ideals and self

All Might's End: Guilt, blaming himself for everything; the consequences of not being "good enough"; realizing his childhood hero saw Deku's heroism as more worthy

Deku VS Kacchan Part 2: Seeing the other's perspective; expressing his feelings more openly for the first time; the start of accepting Deku

Bakugou Katsuki Rising: Acting like Deku, his body moves on his own; yearning, the bittersweetness of a past that wont come back; putting Izuku's needs above his wants and regrets

The War: Not caring about his past's worries; defeating the insults of the villain; wanting to be close to Deku openly, pure acceptance

But we can also highlight other situations and dynamics that have shaped his development or showed us who he actually is.

In these panels Bakugou keeps in mind what he remembers of tododeku's conversation discussing Photos childhood, letting him act with compassion in mind even if he doesnt agree at first with changing the tradition. In fact I claim he even gets nervous after remembering, knowing he could have fucked up.

For example when thinking about the beginning of his journey we realize he isn't just a jerk who hates seeing talented people, in fact he appreciates people showing their power and being strong; this is why he admits to feel respect for Ochako, because even if she used a Deku strategy she still gave her all, with a fierce attitude. This is opposed to his conflict with Todoroki; he heard his talk with Izuku, and felt what he did at that moment -is his power, not a way of doing what his abusive father wants. They just have, well, different ways of saying it; his words being ignored because of his aggression just led to him about to have a mental breakdown, if we are being honest.

His arc is full of intense emotions, and after being attacked by the sludge -realizing he isn't unstoppable, untouchable like All Might- his ability of hiding behind a cocky face, insults and threats doesnt work anymore. When he gets too triggered, he cant help but cry against his own desire, unable to control his own body -and "casually" Deku is the one who gets to trigger this the most.

I know I implied this wouldn't focus on Midoriya, but we can't ignore him for his journey (dont worry, ill try to not repeat myself too much): we know Izuku was seen by him as a superior asshole, he is the constant reminder of weakness and insecurity and still being better than him. For Katsuki when Izuku fails but gets to get up, and become everything he wanted, Bakugou feels like he could never achieve this.

In the end, one of the key problems of their miscommunication is his inability to accept help, failure and not being the best in comparison to Deku; if he loses only one time, then he is worthless, and he didnt think he could ever move on and still win in the end.

And what happened actually? He loses over, and over, and over again. And he still tries, denying all of it -he doesnt have to do anything for Deku after saving him from the Sludge Villain, but feels the need to tell him and still leaving him alone for the rest of their middle school year; he is declaring the war to him, how he is just getting started and will win, but still cries, trembles and degrades his own moves.

When he considers his plans, strategies or moves terrible, stupid, useless, weaker, etc., he is saying he sees himself that way, and he hates it.

His journey is about shifting from this perspective -all of this makes everyone weak, and ill just need to deny it all and push myself to become much better -, to an understanding one, to accept everyone's humanity including himself's. From an individualistic but still highly influenced point of view, to a collaborative yet independent enough perspective.

Btw i support the idea of the talk with the kid being about Deku, as he was convinced he didnt want to do anything with his quirk because he was so much better than the rest; we can get them mixed, as they are so similar and reflect each other in a different way from the Shigaraki and Deku or AFO and OFA dynamics. A reason to be so scared of the other, when looking at them is like looking at what you dont know about yourself. Its not that they are the same person, just that they cant help but let everything they hide from themselves out in front of the other, without control when in an unstable or delicate situation. We'll see more of this when focusing on discussing their dynamic!

His "main moments" -at least considered like that generally- surround or revolve around Izuku -after all this is the protagonist's story, from his perspective generally- but we can see his development with his small arcs and interactions with others: from the retake of the remedial exam with Todoroki and taking care of those kids, to the band and collaborating with others for such a wholesome festival, to the little comments, to the pushing of Jirou... so many of these situations, we can see his change and the way his friends, classmates, mentors and idol help with this.

But as this framing clearly showcases, there's one person who set off the beginning:

Izuku.

Best Jeanist, All Might, the bakusquad, Todoroki, Aizawa, the band, his teammates, or even Endeavor (as an example on what not to do), all of them are part of the process both with his personal relationships with him and their own problems, but Deku VS Kacchan part 2 switched his whole understanding of the world around him. Without that fight-conversation, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up breaking completely.

When in this series I claimed BNHA is about love I dont mean exclusively romantic love; self love is a huge deal here, and I think the whole togaocha fight will be very telling of this (as in presenting themselves as an arc about romantic love when its about the self, while bkdk presents itself as a dynamic about inferiority and superiority complexes when they go beyond it).

I still believe, even understanding all of these aspects of his character, Katsuki's story doesnt end with an acceptance of weaknesses, no; his arc could have been over if that was the case with the apology, then. It would end with a new dynamic between bkdk as best friends and supporters, maybe making teasing jokes and competing in a friendly way.

He is stronger, emotionally and mentally, he has proven his worth many times with the final war being the most "in your face" example of it: humiliated, insulted in the worst ways, even got a villain's foot pushing his head on the ground, being reduced as a complement for Izuku's story, useful only as a tool...

And he still gets up, he doesnt even think about the words and instead takes inspiration from the thought of Izuku. Before that his classmates, like Momo and Denki, or his teachers, were a reason to keep his head clear in the fight, with the sludge incident in the back of his mind; the way he deeply respects them is not a surprise when paying attention to those little moments.

He fights, he goes with all he has, he has accepted his weaknesses and yet... Yet his arc is not over.

He is holding back just as much as Deku in the middle of the battle with ShigAFO, keeping his own secrets to himself, and at the end... his story is left untold.

This is why I believe his arc is

both about self acceptance and love.

This is Katsuki Bakugou's rejection of the expectations on himself, the biggest manifestation of it being his own death

His strength, his goals, everything that used to be about him alone against the world has transform into a defense of a hopeful win; a developing trust in others, opening his mind on other perspectives and heroic actions, letting go of the past and opening his heart.

He is ready to destroy traditional standards in his own world, breaking from what he was supposed to do, is it so crazy to believe he can break the ones in our too?

In his comparison with Ochako we'll explore more about their portrayals vs the unfolding of their actual stories!

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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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So I’m writing my final meta regarding Toga/Ochako plot. It’s gonna be very detailed and long and will probably answer all the questions you’ve had about Togachako. And if you have any other questions, you can comment them and I’ll try to answer!

Things have finally clicked into place for me cause the previous chapter has provided me with the missing info. When Toga met Ochako, she said there’s nothing better than a good love story/chat about romance. Using the same word. “Koibana”, like Ochako is using NOW.

So what’s going on here and where did the whole misunderstanding start and how exactly was Ochako developed to match Toga right now?

Here is how.

We know that when Toga was young, she was acting like herself. She was BEING herself.

But she was NOT accepted that way. She kept having her actions mistaken for something else. People kept assuming she wants to hurt people she loves. But all she wanted was to drink some blood and probably playfully turn into people she likes.. to look like them.. for fun.

Nothing sinister. Cause that was her nature. To show you she loves you, she turns herself into you to show you she thinks you’re beautiful. I really think it was innocent and harmless. But the society didn’t accept this. And so she suppressed herself. Started acting “normal”.

And the more she tried to suppress herself, the more her urges grew with time and eventually she realised she can’t live like this anymore. She exploded AND became more VIOLENT.. She was angry at heroes, at the society.. and since the society didn’t accept her, LOV did.

And as she says, she joined LOV to make the world a better place. A place accepting of people like her. So she stopped suppressing her urges. And hence, got back her “villain” title. And then she met Ochako. A girl like her.. but she’s a REVERSED version of her.. Yep.

Ochako is reversed Toga y’all. I’ll explain.

Ochako’s suppression state is Toga’s “normal.” And this is where the whole misunderstanding happened when they met. That’s why their first meeting is important, why it all leads back there, why we’re now getting flashbacks to that scene and why Ochako used the same phrase Toga used back then.

Toga said there’s nothing better than a good romance chat. Than a good “Koibana”. And Ochako is now going back to the very root of their meeting..and wants to talk about it. To clear up all misunderstandings and to accept Toga the way she is. She may even indirectly mention bkdk. Talk about their love. I’m not sure this will happen but it’s not impossible especially since we’ve seen her realise something after Katsuki’s apology.

So..to continue on the whole reversed thing..

When Toga met Ochako, Ochako was in a stage of suppressing herself to become someone else. But that made her appear to be similar to Toga on the surface. She wanted to be someone else. And Toga smelled this. She got excited that she’s finally met someone who can understand her. This could be why Ochako was the only person who’s quirk she could fully use. She’s met someone who made her happy. Someone who was like her.. a hero who can perhaps understand and accept her.. that’s why she kept chasing her.

But Ochako couldn’t understand her. Cause she’s in fact.. not like Toga. Hori really made this complicated to figure out.

But their way of becoming someone else was DIFFERENT. For Toga, she doesn’t change her personality or way of living when she becomes someone else.

Never said she wants to either. The sole fact that she keeps saying how she wants to be HERSELF goes against what Ochako was trying to do. Toga wants to be herself. But she wants to only LOOK like people she loves. Probably to playfully turn into people she likes. People she finds pretty.

Ochako on the other hand wanted to become LIKE someone else. Act like them, be a hero like them.. walk in their steps. Which is not good. And the narrative has indeed shown us this is not good. That it’s detrimental for her growth. Much like how it’s shown us that Toga suppressing her urges was not good either.

Ochako was forced to watch others give Izuku attention while entirely ignoring her existence. It made her feel weak, invisible and she thought she has to be a certain way to be a hero. But as she realised in the latest chapter, her quirk is not meant for fighting and hurting people. It’s meant for saving people. Her quirk is also symbolic for lifting weight off of peoples chests. Their hearts. She is good with words. She can do that and she has found herself. She doesn’t need to be a combat hero like Izuku.

And I love this cause the whole Mei situation on the surface seems like she likes Izuku and like she’s jealous of Mei but she was actually jealous OF IZUKU! When she meets Mei, she tries to talk to her but Mei doesn’t even acknowledge her and Ochako thinks to herself “Ah, she’s not interested in ME.”

Every time she had a flashback to this, the one in focus was always Mei. And Izuku always looked terrified. He didn’t look like he enjoyed her company at all. So she had no reason to be jealous of Mei.

Maybe she even had a tiny little crush on her too. I mean she WAS the one flustered at her boobs while Izuku looked traumatised…Maybe Hori really tricked us all. He’s amazing like that..

So..This all caused Ochako to feel invisible, feel like she’s not good enough and in turn made her want to become like Izuku. To be taken seriously and SEEN by everyone. She was accepted unlike Toga but she was INVISIBLE.

But during the vigilante arc, Ochako has realised that she doesn’t need to WAIT for people to see her for who she is..for people to accept and acknowledge her as a hero and a person.

She was gonna do it herself.

And so she does.. she grabs the megaphone, hops into the sky and MAKES PEOPLE SEE HER! Makes people acknowledge and hear her. She didn’t give them a choice. And that’s the message here. And that’s what the whole thing is about and why her speech was such a major thing about her cause for the first time she was seen, heard, listened to and all eyes were on her. And SHE MADE THAT HAPPEN. She didn’t wait for it to happen on its own. She didn’t try to be like someone else. She was herself and she screamed it to the whole world. And it made her feel DAMN GOOD.

So back to Toga.

What Ochako did with suppressing her true self and walking in someone else’s shoes.. was EXACTLY what Toga had to do when she was suppressing herself. Suppressed her urges and became someone else. Someone she’s not. A “normal” high school girl.

Doing this sabotaged BOTH OF THEM.

And now.. we have Hori saying that Ochako was developed to match Toga for the finale.

Which means.. NEITHER of them are suppressing their true self anymore. Ochako let go of trying to be like Izuku.. and Toga has stopped suppressing her urges to drink blood and become people she likes.

Both of these girls share the experience of people assuming things about them and tagging their actions as something they’re not. Toga was accused of being a monster, of wanting to hurt and kill people when all she wanted was to LOVE.. and Ochako was accused of LOVING and doing everything FOR LOVE… for a BOY.. when all she wanted was to be a HERO and not have her actions belittled like that.

All reversed... She’s like Toga but she’s not like Toga at all.. that’s why it took me so long to figure this out. I was confused. Now all that’s left is for Ochako to accept Toga for who she is.. which is what she’s doing now. She’s offering her blood for the rest of her life. A true hero.

And I think her “I wanna talk about love” is a throwback to their first meeting where she’ll clear this up and address Toga’s way of love and how there’s nothing wrong with it cause unlike Ochako, Toga doesn’t wanna change her way of living when she turns into people she loves.

It’s not harmful. That’s her way of showing she likes you. Nothing sinister about it. Because if we go back.. I really do think that Toga DID HAVE a crush on Izuku.. but OCHAKO didn’t. Again.. reverse. The whole thing “we’re the SAME” is nothing but a ruse.

And we see the different ways of how Ochako and Toga act regarding their supposed crush. Ochako keeps trying to become like him while entirely distancing herself from him, not ever showing desire to be with him, not ever spelling out her feelings to ANYONE. Even us.

And once she accepted herself and stopped trying to be like him, after that speech she gave, she’s never looked his way again. Never attempted to talk to him and now she wants to desperately talk to Toga about love.. not to Izuku. To Toga.

But Toga not ONCE attempted to do quite literally ANYTHING Izuku does. She attempted to be CLOSE to him by using Ochako’s blood to become her cause well.. Izuku trusts her so that was her way of trying to spend some time with him. She also became Camie and gotten close to Izuku.

And how she yanked him through a portal cause she wanted him to be with her and she wanted to confess and turn into him. Izuku’s danger sense didn’t activate which means she DIDN’T WANT TO HURT HIM.. And when he rejected her, she showed visibly how hurt she was by this.

Ochako knows this. It’s why when she says “you tell those you like you like them” with an image of Izuku. And then proceeded to compliment her smile. It wasn’t to say that SHE wishes she could love Izuku cause let’s be honest, she had countless of chances to do this especially since Izuku really was flustered around her a lot at first. And she immediately started running away from him as soon as her friends started making her feel awkward around him due to their assumptions.

Besides, her acting like she’s somehow oppressed when this would be the most traditional relationship ever makes zero sense. A Japanese girl can’t love a Japanese boy of the same age.. two friends.. nothing stopping them.

So the whole fact that Ochako never understood Toga is proof that she never had feelings for Izuku. Because Ochako never wanted to be WITH IZUKU.. just be like him. All while not even wanting to be near him. Screams “envy”. And there is NO envy in true love.

If Ochako truly had a crush, then many things were unnecessary. Everything is too secretive. She never directly spells her feelings out, it’s all super vague and her realisation is kept a secret. If this is gonna be “yep i accepted this love that everyone and their grandma assumed I feel”, it’s weirdly and unnecessarily secretive.

And Mina’s existence in her arc is also entirely unnecessary if she does indeed have a crush. Because she is a character that never experienced romance and Hori gave us panels like these. Where she clearly makes a bunch of assumptions. These panels ONLY make sense if she’s WRONG.

Maybe you’ve ever been through this but sometimes, when someone teases you about someone you don’t like, you begin overthinking and thinking about them, questioning yourself.. but in the end you realise that you don’t see them like that after all. It’s all a trope subversion.

This whole time I was under the impression that Toga and Ochako are supposed to be the same. That they FEEL the same thing. That if Ochako doesn’t have a crush on Izuku, neither does Toga. But something about Toga’s crush seemed genuine to me. But I didn’t want to accept it.

I didn’t want to accept it cause I though.. they’re supposed to be the same. If Toga has a crush then so does Ochako. But Ochako’s whole journey goes against her having romantic feelings for him. And I was confused. Because Toga’s feelings for Izuku always looked real to me.

Despite all my theories, deep down it didn’t feel right to have Ochako tell Toga “no.. you don’t feel love. You’ve confused envy/admiration for love.. you have to love yourself.” And then it clicked. They don’t feel the same thing. The one with a genuine crush was only TOGA.

Toga doesn’t need a lesson of love. Toga doesn’t need someone to tell her what she feels isn’t love cause that’s another form of telling her her feelings are wrong. There’s nothing wrong with Toga’s way of showing love. She just needs to be accepted the way she is.

Much like how Ochako had to accept herself the way SHE was without trying to be someone she’s not.

And there we go. I’m betting everything on this because there is no logical way for Ochako to end up with Izuku and for Toga to be saved at the same time. Especially after the last chapter.

Because Ochako telling Toga that she inspired her to confess her love for a guy who literally JUST rejected and hurt her would only make everything infinitely worse.

The end is near folks. All that’s left is bkdk canon. 🧡💚

I do have to add that EVEN if Hori decides to somehow make it about a crush, we have to remember Japan loves unrequited love. And Ochako realising her feelings are unrequited and letting go instead of loyally waiting for him to have time for her like other shonen heroines is still a trope subversion.

Remember that Toga’s feelings were unrequited. Chapter 348 is called “unrequited love”. For Toga.. but maybe Ochako too. I highly doubt this cause Id have a lot of questions if she did have feelings but I’m not gonna complain if he goes that route as long as she stays out of that traditional role.

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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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When Hori drew Izuku and Ochako saying that he used Spirited away as reference, it felt like a goodbye. I couldn’t shake that feeling off. Ochako looks like she is waving, crying, they’re in OLD costumes..but it makes sense now.

Ochako said goodbye to Izuku.. and embraced Toga instead. 🩷💛

Hori’s illustrations are always SYMBOLIC. But the canon is crystal clear.

He said there won’t be a scene EXACTLY like that but we will get something similar. He didn’t elaborate where or with whom.

He said he drew Izuku and Ochako having in mind how would their relationship be like IF he decided to develop them. IF. The key word.

Hori also said we should focus on Izuku and Ochako FALLING. Which is canonically a bad omen. They’re not floating in that illustration. Toga and Ochako are FLOATING and embracing each other.

So my takeaway from this is that instead of focusing on Izuku and trying to deepen her relationship with him, Ochako let go.. and turned to Toga instead, decided to embrace and accept HER. Because the one who needs her, is Toga. Izuku has Katsuki. She realised that during his apology. It’s why she thought of Toga during her speech..It’s why she went home to sleep after and hasn’t stayed to check up on Izuku or make sure he’s doing okay.

Because she knew Izuku was in good hands. She never looked his way again. And even on the cliff, she didn’t mind him being distant and she wanted to talk about Toga.

She chose TOGA. 💛🩷

And I always say, Toga is the priority here. Her finding love. So the ending being Ochako and Izuku (two people Toga loves) ending up together and excluding her yet again, would be extremely wrong. Especially after Ochako offered her eternity. It would hurt Toga and take away the only person from her who came to accept and understand her.

I love this parallel cause Ochako’s tape is making the symbol of infinity which has been mentioned in relation to her in the manga before.. because she offered her eternity to Toga.

Much like how Izuku’s black whip showcases his emotions and makes the shape of a BROKEN HEART after Izuku finds Katsuki’s body and reminds himself to control his heart, PUNCHES HIS CHEST and calms down because he’s been told Kacchan still has a chance to live.

You know, now that she’s admitted this, there’s definitely a parallel between Ochako loving the sight of Izuku doing his best even if he hurts himself versus Katsuki who would do ANYTHING just to STOP Izuku from doing his best to the point of hurting himself.

Hori isn’t writing Ochako to end up with Izuku. That has become very clear at this point.

Ochako had a crush on hero Deku. Idolises him, competed with him, Katuski.. loves Izuku.

Katsuki and Izuku push each other to be better. Katsuki WANTS to be on the same battlefield with Izuku to protect him. Because he knows him best. Ochako, doesn’t want this. If anything, she does look a little frustrated when Izuku shows up in the middle of HER battle. Because she didn’t want him there. She wanted to do this herself. And I think she knew her crush could never coexist with the envy she felt for him which is why she immediate rejected it.

If there's that kind of toxic competition in a relationship, it's better to break up.

Hori has written some thigh similar to this in his previous manga Oumagadoki Zoo. Where there’s a character called Uwabami, who crushes on the MC and idolises him, but the MC never shows any form of interest in her. He shows no interest in romance at all.

At the same time, a character called Kasai, truly loves Uwabami and his actions mirror the actions of bkdk for one another. Down to the cheesy “love wins in the end” which I predicted is gonna be the plot of the last MHA battle. After all, Gentle said love always triumphs in the end.

Even down to Kasai having his body pierced in holes to protect Uwabami.

Of course in the end, Uwabami takes Kasai’s hand to train with him. So this unrequited crush/unhealthy crush concept isn’t new to Hori. HE HAS WRITTEN IT BEFORE.

It is really strange that we cannot see her face as she’s saying this. Almost as if there’s something else she’s hiding but she decided to say this to connect to Toga.. perhaps we’ll find out the truth through inner narrations if there’s something more going on here. (Note she really just said “came to like” which doesn’t HAVE to be strictly romantic)

I don’t know she glossed over that crush very easily and she used the same word Toga uses. Plain, vague “Suki”.

Ochako knows that crush was what connected her and Toga. Perhaps this was a white lie because if she denies this crush, then she’s gonna destroy the only connection she has with her and she didn’t want that. I’m just saying.. it’s possible that there’s more to it than that.

I don’t doubt that at one point Ochako has at least convinced herself she has a genuine crush but perhaps there were other feelings included there like admiration and envy which made that crush impure and impossible to stand on its OWN!

Which is why the moment she realises she doesn’t actually wanna be like him in chapter 322, that crush is gone.

At the end of the day, crush or not, it changes absolutely nothing about bkdk because they belong to a whole different world. A world of their own. Their setup is clear. Ochako has distanced herself from Izuku after her speech. Whatever feelings she’s had, she’s let go.

Hori has shown us in chapter 11 where this is going. Denki asks Ochako out, Ochako ditched him for Izuku who then, ditched HER for Kacchan who actually waited for him.

Or this parallel all the way from the beginning of the manga.

Ochako has listed the phases that got her to where she is now.

First, her world revolved around her parents. She wanted to make them smile. Which prompted her to realise there are other people in the world too.. then, she grew to like Izuku who was the reason Ochako and Toga got connected and THAT’S why she’s here now and why she’s going to stop Toga. The way that crush was brought up so casually sounds like it simply doesn’t matter anymore. It’s one of the things that helped her grow and got her to where she is now.

That’s my whole takeaway from this. Of course, we need to hear more. Ochako’s PoV is still gone. Especially if Hori is going with bkdk canon, Ochako has to spell out her thoughts on why and when exactly did she decide to drop her feelings for Izuku. Izuku also always felt sort of like a celebrity crush. Someone untouchable for both Ochako AND Toga and the fact they BOTH “fell” for him, always made it clear in my eyes that none of them are ending up with him but that instead, he was used as a plot device to bring these two girls together. Chapter 348 shows perfectly how out of place he is between them. The only way Hori sent him there is to show exactly that and to get the one Izuku ACTUALLY loves, die longing for him.

So that’s it..

Bkdk is ready to crown their romantic relationship after years of pining and knowing everything about each other. After being developed passed the platonic point where there’s nowhere else to go.. 🧡💚

Togachako on the other hand..is the beginning of something beautiful. Two girls who’s love has only started blossoming. 🩷💛

So the Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy reference makes more sense after the latest chapters.. “you only kill the ones you love”. Toga loves Ochako, she just stabbed her and she’s dying.. and we know these two eventually become friends.. and then, LOVERS.

Color scheme of the covers is also the same..light green and red title, light green magazine label, same shade.

MHA is a queer story. That much has become evident and I can’t wait to see what Hori has in store for us for the rest of it.

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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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Deku and Kacchan vs. All Might – Kacchan vs. TomurAFO

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

The last and most obvious parallel to that fight: Katsuki is remembering Izuku's words and acting accordingly.

I figure most people expected Katsuki's words to lead Izuku to self-endangerment, not the other way around.

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bkdkhopeful · 7 months

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Thinking about the plot parallels in bnha again, this time as they relate to Izuku's goals--because he's had a specific goal for a long time, and it's not just being the number one hero. Saving is Izuku's half of heroism, after all, and yet from his perspective, it could be said that he fails in one continual regard: saving Katsuki.

It seems to start with the sludge villain. He doesn't exactly fail; he has a positive effect on the situation, at least physically, and Katsuki survives unscathed and more or less emotionally intact. From a literal standpoint, Katsuki has been saved, but Izuku isn't directly the one to save him (and is indirectly the one who put him in danger).

Then training camp happens, and Katsuki is a victim again. And Izuku is frozen there in the forest, unable to keep reaching for him. (And when he plots the rescue, he can't be the one to enact it.) Katsuki is rescued in the end, but Izuku doesn't save him before damage is done--because this time, Katsuki is physically okay, but the psychological effects make themselves known at Ground Beta.

Then there's the next time. Katsuki takes the hit for Izuku, and this time, although he survives, he sustains physical harm. It isn't as though Izuku can prevent this, but Katsuki's only there because Izuku told him about OFA, and is only putting his life in danger because of Izuku. From Izuku's perspective, he hasn't protected Katsuki.

And then there's the final battle, a bigger, more catastrophic reflection of what happened before. Except this time, Katsuki doesn't survive. And once again, Izuku hasn't saved him.

Izuku wins to save; saving is what motivates him. And although he's been victorious time and time again, he has never decisively saved Katsuki from a true threat. This is a pattern his entire life.

His entire life, because it didn't start with the sludge villain.

It started with the river. Katsuki didn't take his hand, and Izuku wasn't able to help him. It's the start of Katsuki's internal conflict with weakness and victimhood, and the start of Izuku trying to be there for him.

Katsuki has to contend with needing to be saved. Izuku has to contend with failing to save him.

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bkdkhopeful · 8 months