My problem with the togachako plot line

I loved the togachako chapters as much as anybody else but something that really bothers me about their “fight” is how much it was focused on toga rather than the both of them and their similarities.

It was all why is toga sad? How did toga grow up? What are toga’s thoughts? Toga toga toga toga…. With next to nothing for ochako… it feels like ochako just a tool to develop others rather than being her own individual character which pisses me off.

Ochako literally grew up in poverty with her parents always stressed out and clearly burdened by work. Ochako seeing her parents burdened by work and so to not bother them further she grew a habit of locking away her own feelings, wants, and desire’s especially those she deemed “a burden” (ex: bottling up her feelings for Deku, hiding her sadness from deku after her match w/ bakugo, and even refusing to eat so as to not spend any money or waste food…). This is literally one of the things that connects her to toga… (miss candid and miss shutaway) yet it’s never explored or even mentioned in her fight with toga?

Horikoshi is so creatively bankrupt that he genuinely can’t write more or explore ochako’s backstory more than that whole “I love seeing people smile” like what about her fear of being a burden so in turn locking away her feelings… or how she always undermines her own noble intentions and compares herself to people. Like, ochako undermining her intentions to be a hero for her parents and calling it “embarrassing” or being embarrassed about her speech, and even how after her fight with bakugou she went on to tell her parents everything she did wrong when they praised her.

Yes, her arc is about finding her strength and becoming a hero but it’s also about acceptance and self-love… while yes she ultimately accepted her feelings for Deku and admitted her admiration for toga’s ability to talk about the things she loves. However we never see root of these things that could be explored within her past and hit much harder… it’s such a waste honestly.

Like, what’s the point if THIS is all she’s given…? She doesn’t even touch on her own struggles, fears, desires… while the rest of the chapter is around toga.

Anyways, the togachako chapters benefited toga’s development A LOT as well as ochakos whole “who saves who” arc but it’s very half baked regarding her arc around “self-love and acceptance” (which was heavily ingrained into their arc)

Can we talk about how this entire My Hero Academia season 7 stage preview panel was just the voice actors/actresses of Izuku, Katsuki, Toga, Ochako, and Shigaraki discussing Bakudeku and Togachako for 50 minutes? 😭 These screenshots were certainly a choice.

We're getting close to endgame. Season 7 or 8 will probably be the last season. We know Horikoshi had recently confided in Bones on what the ending of MHA was going to be so they could start the production process sooner. Now there's a sudden shift of promotional material and interest towards these two ships in particular which is-- interesting.

Izuocha also briefly appear in the stage discussion but only at around the 40 minute mark near the end. They also made sure to put those screenshots below the Bakudeku apology scene. No hate towards Izuocha of course. I'm just saying: this is not how you treat a pairing in marketing if they were meant to be endgame.

Does this mean anything? Probably not. We've all sung this song before with shounen manga and been hurt in the past. But Bakudeku and Togachako might actually stand a chance here. Regardless if this comes true, I'll still love both pairings and appreciate the time these VAs took to discussing them.

Ochako’s Confession: A Togachako Analysis

I don't usually write down or post analysis, but if I didn't put this down somewhere I was at risk of grabbing a stranger off the street and asking whether they knew about the doomed toxic yuri in hit manga series My Hero Academia.

Now, I think it was expected to some degree that Uraraka would have some big cathartic confession where she finally embraced her feelings for Izuku. And while she did admit her feeelings, the moment wasn't... that

And honestly, why would it be? In the end, Uraraka had no reason to confess her feelings. She didn't suffer from hiding them, on the contrary. Her crush was beginning to hinder her performance as a Hero, and all bottling them up did was help her improve. Sure, suppression is bad and all but ultimately, Uraraka seemed better off pushing her feelings aside. Especially when compared to Toga, who literally broke under the pressure of her hidden feelings. There was nothing pushing Uraraka to confess other than the vague sentiment that “suppressing your feelings is Bad.”

Yet, the importance of being open about your feelings is repeatedly emphasized during Toga's and Uraraka's arcs. It's what drove Toga to villainy, and something she tried to bond with Uraraka over. Something they shared. So the setup for a confession is there, but no satisfying resolution.

That's cause Izuku is a red herring.

Indeed, being honest about her feelings was vital for Uraraka, but it had nothing to with Izuku. Because the feelings Uraraka was suppressing all along, the ones that she needed to let out, were her feelings for Toga.

The envy she felt during their first meeting, how lovely she found Toga's smile. How much it troubled Uraraka when it was replaced with tears. Girl likes boy is as conventional as it gets. But a Hero sympathizing for a Villain in a society that dehumanizes them? Now that makes Uraraka kind of weird. And she knows it, that these thoughts go against everything she knows about society, about her role as a Hero. So she tried pushing all that away.

But she can't run from her feelings forever. And in the end, it's those feelings that allow Uraraka to save the day. Her arc deals with humanization. She wonders "who saves Heroes" until she's wondering "who saves Villains?" and finds that in this case, the answer is each other.

How did Uraraka and Toga save each other? By imitating each other, by being like someone they love.

Uraraka envied Toga's unapologetic openness, so she took a page from her book and told her everything she had been hiding and mulling over since they met. She stopped pushing Toga away and finally answered every one-sided conversation they've had. They're chatting about love, and Uraraka is finally responding.

A girl's feelings can change the world, and Uraraka being honest about her feelings is what allowed her to reach Toga's heart and save her. This is how Uraraka became a Hero.

Toga also saved Uraraka by imitating her. In a very literal sense by Transforming into Uraraka (being "cute" like Uraraka) but I think also in the way she used her Quirk. Until now, Toga believed the only way for her to live freely was through violence. When her Quirk awakened, Toga used Zero Gravity to kill. But now, she's imitating Uraraka on a deeper level. Uraraka who said her Quirk isn't made to hurt people, so Toga used her own Quirk to save Uraraka. For the first time, she realized she could love and be loved without violence.

Uraraka and Toga's confrontation was the long awaited end of a conversation. Nearly a year before Toga had tried to bond with Uraraka, asked her whether she liked someone, whether she wanted to be like them? Uraraka finally confessed: Yes, I want to be like you.

I thought everyone was exaggerating when people kept bringing up the whole “bakugou says he’s Kacchan bc of kaminari” thing, but they actually believe that… what?

WHAT

Literally how do you guys function

AND THEY CALL ME DELULU???????

It’s such a stretch too. Like “oh yeah he said Kacchan no Bakugou in this movie” ITS NOT EVEN IN THE MANGA HELLO???

The whole reason Kaminari calls Katsuki Kacchan is because he’s making fun of him. It’s poking fun at the fact that Katsuki can’t say anything or get mad at Kaminari because then it would raise the question, “Well why can Midoriya say it?”

He literally side eyes him every time he does it but ultimately doesn’t react because he can’t. He can’t if he wants to keep up the act that he is uninterested in what Izuku represents, who he is.

SO WHY, IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK, WOULD IT BE KAMINARI?

WHO is present in this battle?

WHO is the person that made eye contact with him the second he woke up?

WHO is the one that grabbed his hand immediately upon Katsuki flinging himself towards them??

I don’t think THEY even believe it either, I think it’s just some way to cope and explain away the fact that this moment is inherently romantic.

Because I don’t think he’s making fun of the name Kacchan, I think he’s wearing it proudly. I don’t think it’s a joke at all. It’s a joke in the disbelieving way—the way you act when you’ve made an enormous accomplishment or won some prize, and you just can’t help but act absolutely insane at the fact. Because it’s funny that you’re here, in this situation. It’s hilarious in that disbelieving way.

Because he’s laughing at the truth, he’s been laughing at nothing this ENTIRE CHAPTER.

“Ouch! Haha! I’m so fast!”

“I can’t even stop! Ha! Ouch!”

Note: (I’m not using the official translations because for some reason they lack the maniacal crazed laughter and I’m confused as to why?? I even checked with pikahlua and they specified that there was laughing so…. I’m confused.)

What’s even weirder about this is the fact that afo also says (in pikahlua’s translations) “just who is this brat?!” Instead of “what is wrong with him” which implies less crazed bakugou ness imo. Confused as to why, again.

Because this can’t be happening.

Now, I know it could very well be him teasing afo and calling him dumb, saying basically “you’re too young/old to even know how to pronounce my name, use Kacchan instead like the child you are.” Especially since in the context of names like Katsuki’s, he has that tsu sound that can be hard for children to pronounce. (I’m not 100% on this but I’m pretty sure that the u sound is also meant to be silent since it’s a double consonant. So Katsuki’s name is technically pronounced “Ka-ts-ki”)

BUT IDK I THINK HES JUST FUCKED AND A LITTLE CRAZY RN!

That maniacal laughter at the fact that he’s in pain, the disbelief that he may even surpass Izuku, to me it’s holding a double meaning. The meaning that afo is dumb and needs to be treated like the child he is, and the meaning behind the fact that it’s a name Izuku owns for him. That’s his.

It can be both.

It’s not fucking Kaminari. It was never Kaminari. Even if you don’t read it as the second definition it’s still not about Kaminari.

But it’s also undeniable that it has to do with Izuku some way some how.

I also believe that the western side of the fandom is making an extra big deal out of this because, to us, we don’t really have a proper understanding of what a nickname like Kacchan means in its cultural context.

We can TRY to understand, comparing it to endings with ie or y given to children, and then sometimes going with that nickname into adulthood, but it still has its own distinct cultural context. Because a name like “Gracie” over “Grace” does to an extent sound childish, but I have a feeling that -chan has its own childish feeling. There’s a reason none of Katsuki’s other friends in middle school call him Kacchan, and there’s a reason Kaminari decides to make fun of him for the name in the first place.

I just think it’s important to use our thinking brains before we start yapping about things we don’t quite understand yet :)

Like it’s so unbelievably important to understand that horikoshi won’t tell you what’s happening in his story and why, he’ll show you instead BECAUSE HES A GOOD FUCKING WRITER

If it was about Kaminari, he would have specified, but he didn’t. He showed you that Kacchan is Izuku’s nickname for Katsuki, and he showed you that Katsuki cared more about Izuku than he let on for a long time. Just like he showed you that Izuku pushes down his emotions, showed you that Izuku struggles with projection and anger, showed you that Ochako was the one with this crush and not Izuku, and showed you that the feelings he had about Katsuki were deeper than anyone had realized.

He showed you parallels, he specified the important parallels that you absolutely had to see as a viewer (ex toga and ochako), just as he showed you the ones that were more subtle but still there (ex toga and deku). He showed you the pieces, and that doesn’t make his character’s underdeveloped or unspecified, that’s just how writing fucking works. “Good writing” DOESNT MEAN that you have to be pulled along through your baby steps with your hand held, the fact that you don’t get it is on you. Reading comprehension is a learned skill that has to be practiced over and over again, and that is not the writers job. The writer is only supposed to deliver you their story, and however you decide to misconstrue that story is, and hear me out friends, on you.

So I’m sorry if I’m tired of hearing arguments like “toga is a predator and Horikoshi wrote her to be horny”… she’s supposed to represent love. I’m sorry if the representation he made of love was uncomfortable for you, but maybe that’s the point? Because she’s an outcast? Because she’s supposed to be hard to empathize with, but that we have to empathize in the first place?

Arguments like “Katsuki was referencing a joke about Kaminari bc Kaminari said this in this movie” is just about the largest fucking reach I’ve ever seen. And I know, I know that when bkdk eventually get their implied or canonical ending that people are going to be mad. They’ll blame shippers for pressuring him, or they’ll say he’s a bad writer, or they’ll send him homophobic slurs because “how dare the character I see myself in be gay”. And I’m done with the stupidity and lack of common god damn sense.

So if you are going to be upset by the fact that you’re going to be proven wrong, then I again say, it’s on you.

The Weight is Not the Same

A post about love tokens.

I want to talk about the Christmas gift that Ochako got from Izuku and why it is the perfect symbol of a doomed love.

Izuku didn't choose that gift thinking of Ochaco. He was picking a generic gift for a classmate and friend. That they received each others gifts after a blind exchange and weren't thinking of each other at all when they picked them. In other words, it was random. Much like the IzuOcha pairing would look random and mashed together by coincidence if Horikoshi ultimately chose to pair them as endgame.

Ochaco might carry the doll around the same way she might carry a crush for Izuku, but the mochi that Izuku received has long gone the way of their romantic potential. I shall not elaborate.

Furthermore, the doll is problematic as a symbol for Izuku and Ochaco's relationship. Why?

Because All Might belongs to Izuku and Katsuki.

No, I don't mean that they have any claim on All Might the person, but these two boys have plotted their entire life's trajectory on All Might the Hero. Their entire relationship can be traced back to All Might. They bonded over their shared love of the hero as kids. The only reason Izuku is with Katsuki attending the same school is because of All Might. They share the secret of OFA with All Might and every time their relationship grows closer to reconciliation, All Might is there, watching over them. Their entire spiritual journey revolves around All Might and synthesizing the dual aspects of his heroic nature. All Might is their signpost and their get-a-long shirt.

Now if Katsuki had received the All Might doll--

Oh.

They both carry talismans into battle, but the weight is not the same.

Quirk Question for you: could Uraraka use her quirk on air if she thought she could? She can conduct her quirk through objects, and technically air is an object, as air has gases, so could she use her quirk on the air to conduct it to her intended target if she thought she could and trained it to?

This is the basic theory behind her gravity fields in Apprentices.

Star and Stripe proves contact Quirks work on air. However, using Snatch and sand as a precedent, a five-point contact Quirk shouldn't be able to do that

Tbh a huge amount of the issues MHA has could have been fixed had Bakugo just been expelled from UA in the first season or not gotten in at all

I love reading IzuOcha analysis. I love reading people's reasons behind why it fits in the story, why it might be canon in the future, ect.

I love IzuOcha so much.😭

I like how the similarities in this scene are Toga and Tomura saying “I’m here now, so what do you want to do to me?” but the difference is Toga is seeking an answer while Tomura’s question is rhetorical

Toga wants to know if Ochako would ignore her, if she could see that they are not so different and talk, if Ochako would kill her just like Hawks did to Twice. Her question is her seeking an answer to her worries

Whereas Tomura’s is rhetorical. He answers the question after saying it, in a way that is a little like Ochako’s answer to Toga

Both Tomura and Ochako dismiss the question because it’s not a matter of “if the Heroes would” or “if they will”, because it’s already something so clear in their minds; They are Heroes and Villains. They are meant to be fighting because they oppose each other

“If you get in my way, we have no choice but to fight.”

Toga seeks a way out with Ochako, she’s open to being accepted despite the dichotomy, while Tomura thinks he already knows the answer to his question. Again, it’s why the Hero vs Villain dichotomy comes back in 378 (in the page that follows this interaction with Tomura and Izuku) - it’s a speech he made back in war arc because it rings true in every experience he’s had with Heroes; They’ll never understand, that’s why they oppose each other

So while Toga wants Ochako to understand in that scene (why she tells Ochako she relates to her), Tomura thinks he can’t ever get Izuku to understand due to the nature of their dreams and ideals

Since the current chapter focuses on Togachako's fight, I've been thinking a lot about Ochako's analysis on why Toga's quirk doesn't work the way she wants in the panel below.

(Translation: "Because right now, it's not just pure "love", but it has murderous intent mixed in as well.")

She used "junsuina "suki"" to describe Toga's "pure, genuine love". Let's stop for a bit to think of why the mangaka chose "junsui" and ""suki"" specifically in relation to Toga's quirk. It was a bit odd to me considering there are a lot of better words for that, so why? What was Horikoshi's intentions?

Then, it came to mind that the key here is mazatte, which means to be mixed.

First, allow me to list the definitions to make it easier to comprehend it.

純粋 （じゅんすい / junsui）: pure, true, genuine, unmixed

混ざる （まざる / mazaru）: to be mixed, to be blended with, to associate with, to mingle with, to join

The goal is not to mention about the traditional definition of pure love, but to show the absolute requirement of Toga's quirk, that in order for it to work well, Toga needs to love that person. And it's not just any love, but Toga's version of it. At least, what she considers to be an expression of love. Hence why the word suki is in quotation marks, as shown below.

To put it simply, Toga needs to love and that love shouldn't be mixed with other intentions, including murderous intent. It's for this very reason Horikoshi used junsui; the little detail to make people understand the technicality.

The fact that Ochako understood this means that she paid close attention to Toga and her unique way to express her love. It further proves by how she settled with suki (好き) instead of ai (愛), because for Toga, ai (愛) represents the society's "normal" definition of love which has suffocated and rejected her. By using suki, Ochako is speaking Toga's language, getting into her perspective of love, and in extension, trying to understand her, to reach her, and to connect with her.

And personally, I think it's beautiful. One does not need to ship these two best girls to agree that this exchange is not only wholesome, but also important to the development of both characters respectively. Hats off to Horikoshi for always giving attention to small details!

Toga and her happy ending

I think after taking some time to process the latest chapter I can finally verbalize what feels wrong about it. First, I think it’s really good to be hopeful that Toga isnt dead, but I also feel like a lot of the fandom right now is trying to not think about Toga being dead because if she truly is then they might end up like how I’m feeling. So, let’s just say hypothetically she is like truly, really dead without a shadow of doubt. 

Now, The first Issue I see with this writing is that it arguably goes against the themes of the story. In order to make a better society, our heroes need to be able to win AND save (hehe Bakugo and Deku at the core of the story once again). Otherwise, saving the league would feel hollow. So, Ochako DID win the fight between her and Toga by talking toga down from the edge and bringing out the goodness in her. But did she save her? 

I would argue no. 

Toga may be able to go out “her way”, but she still ends up dying before taking any further steps to heal and find her place as her authentic self within society. Ochako thinks she has a cute smile, but will everyone else? We are stripped of the negotiation process to get Toga the proper help she needs instead of throwing her in jail. We are deprived of Ochako standing up for her and helping her finally be the happy schoolgirl Toga always wanted to be, without the mask this time. We, the audience, are denied of seeing toga take accountability for her actions. Therefore, while Ochako may have saved Toga on a one-to-one level, and she still deserves credit for that btw, Toga ultimately died without witnessing society as a whole changing for the better. She was not saved— She was only helped… and is that a satisfying conclusion after years of buildup? After all the work to make Ochako come to value winning AND saving of everyone? Is that satisfying?

The fact that so many people refuse to believe Toga is dead points to this.

One more thing I would want to add here is a comparison to another member of the lead, someone that I have seen a lot of members of the fandom fight back against the notion that they should die. That character is Tomura Shigaraki. I’ve seen people say that Tomura should die in a sacrificial way in order to redeem himself, but then in response many fans push back and speak about how that wouldn’t solve any of Shigaraki’s problems and instead it would only leave shigaraki in a state of limbo in terms of reaching a satisfying and logical conclusion for him. Deku wouldn’t have achieved his goal to the fullest extent, society wouldn’t get to accept Tomura and show that even he is design of forgiveness after what he was put through, and we wouldn’t get to see how a reformed hero society would handle the league of villains moving forward. Sound familiar? My point in bringing this up is to show that it seemingly doesn’t make sense how you can argue how one villain should survive while the other should die because either way the death of one villain, even if it’s a heroic sacrifice, is still an incomplete rescue. It’s still an incomplete narrative, as it had framed itself to be a hopeful one, despite all the dark aspects. So, let’s just keep that in mind. 

My next point is going to be a heavy one, so buckle up. Let’s keep going with the hypothetical of Toga being really, truly dead, ok? Toga being dead has so many implications and undertones.  You can make an argument for, if she is the only league member that dies, how she is written in an upsetting way as both the only woman and canonically queer member of the league. Furthermore, the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope is defined by killing off LGBTQ characters at an alarmingly higher rate than their heterosexual peers, and their death is usually because they entered some sort of queer relationship, or if someone has to die it might as well be the queer one. Am I saying that Horikoshi has malicious intent and hates queer people in stories? ABSOLUTELY NOT. DO NOT GO AND HARASS THE MAN BECAUSE IT ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING. But, there could be some internal bias because of Japanese society as a whole’s view of queer people. There also could be some push from editors to kill the queer character for this exact reason. Of course, this is all speculation and it’s not ok to jump to conclusions and assume the worst of writers. But Toga meant something to people. She meant something to queer people. If the reformed hero society could accept Toga for who she is, then wouldn’t that include her queerness? In a world where homophobia is increasing again at an alarming rate, kids need to see that being queer doesn’t mean that they have to be the “villain” in society’s eyes. Queer people deserve saving. But as my previous point discussed, Toga was not fully saved. Queer kids reading the manga will not get to see how Toga could find her sense of belonging in society while still living her truth. The queer subtext behind her relationship with Ochako will end in of of their deaths. Therefore, as someone with experience with living in a homophobic household and having to hide themselves, this does not feel like a happy ending.

Furthermore, I’m going to make another comparison just like I did in my previous point. But this time, I’m going to use a character from a different franchise that also involves superhero’s and is a heavy inspiration for Horikoshi’s writing. That character is Black Widow from the MCU. She was a beloved character, but often underutilized by the writers. The only female member of the avengers, Black Widow was often sexualized and used as the object of desire out of the bunch. She was badass, but always tied to her male counterparts. She was not allowed to exist without the other male avengers around. This was the pattern of her character writing for many years, up until Avengers: Endgame premiered. When that movie came out, Blackwidow played a key role… that role was to sacrifice herself. She did this so that her best friend, Hawkeye, wouldn’t have to sacrifice himself instead. He didn’t want her to sacrifice herself. He was fine with dying and tried to stop her. But despite his efforts, Blackwidow still sacrificed herself and died. This happened before she could get her own movie, and specifically before she could confront her past trauma and heal from it. She went out her way on her terms, but the audience still lost the vital piece of representation that she gave to the avengers and still suffered from never seeing Blackwidow’s character get to heal and overcome her pain. Does all of this once again sound familiar? Women often are the first to get hurt or die out of their hero or villain groups in the superhero genre. One good thing about Toga, however, is that she died alongside another female companion. A well written relationship between two women was front in center, instead of one between a man and woman. Despite that, however, Toga was often used as the sexualized member of the league and tended to revolve around Izuku a lot, just like Blackwidow. That is why it was amazing to see her bond with Ochako, and then devastating to have that taken away without letting the audience witness Toga’s complete healing.

Therefore, dying “your own way”, is only empowering if the female character had already had time to complete their character arc and heal their trauma in the same way that their male peers were allowed. Otherwise, it feels fake.

This chapter was overall amazingly well written. I enjoyed it a lot. Honestly, I enjoy MHA as a whole a lot!!! I’ve hyper-fixated on this story and tis characters a lot, and have a lot of faith in Horikoshi as a writer. I have no doubt that he’ll do a great job writing the other characters in this final arc give the audience a satisfying conclusion. I also hope that I’m proven wrong and somehow Toga ends up ok.

But the ending reminded me of how far writing has to go in order to accurately portray the female and queer experience, and to give such characters hopeful endings like everyone else. Toga deserves to find  acceptance. She deserves to find love from society as a whole, not just Ochako. 

Toga Himiko deserves a happy ending. Queer women deserve happy endings too.

Sorry to be a downer, everyone. If you want a more hopeful meta for this chapter, then please go check out @pikahlua’s blog because their meta on this chapter was spectacular and mind blowing.

I have to say the reasoning behind Toga’s quirk being on the fritz was kind of neat. Even if you focus on the biological aspect of quirks, considering how our mood can influence how well we function, it’s a fascinating look at how quirks work when under duress. Although I admit I think I’d prefer a more angsty route honestly. Mostly in the ‘even if you listened to me I’m still not sure that I can trust you even with the confession’. Idk, I feel like the current situation is a bit too optimistic, which is fine, but I’d rather see a slower, more developed transition into her recovery. Granted, I could say the same for a lot of the recent events *cough*Spinner&Shoji*unconvincing cough* but I digress.

Eh, honestly I find the reasoning behind the quirk not working being this idea that Toga needs to feel “pure love” still a bit wonky, maybe even contrived. I think it’s mainly because we know it worked when Toga fought Curious, and she was also running on a considerable amount of fear for her life in that moment; so I don’t get why her drive for revenge would be different. Well we got a cool conversation with Uraraka out of it, so it’s whatever.

Regarding the confession & the pacing of everything around it; I totally get you about feeling things should be less quick and smooth than they look, given the circumstances. One of the many reasons I keep hoping for an MHA part 2 after the war arc is that a lot of the major conflicts feel like they need a lot more time to resolve. Especially looking at the two major plots that have already ended, Spinner, & Dabi, and how unresolved they still feel.

And this’ll probably be its own post but in brief, there's still some of that here too. While Uraraka offering her blood to Toga is surely very touching to her and she's surely already made much more progress with her villain than Shoto did; just brushing past Toga’s “you’re just gonna lock me up for life or execute me” accusation with, from what I can tell from the leaks (so excuse me if they're wrong) something like: “well yeah that’s just common sense” really feels like a major misstep right at the end. Because while I'm sure the confession & blood offer will be quite significant to Toga; Uraraka still feels off the mark from actually saving Toga to me if that’s how she responds to the actual threat posed to Toga’s life. She's almost there, but not quite.

That's my thoughts on that particular topic anyway.

lol to the people who keeps leaving hate comments on my dumb anime ships,,. thanks for reading 10K of gibberish, i guess?? i hope u continued to be haunted by them 👍

for reference i started writing for my hero academia, for ochako uraraka x bakugo katuski [kacchako] (i am already writhing in embarrassment, ok)... and it's just for fun.... i'm not like expecting anything but omg very chapter is just SPAMMED....

is this normal in anime fandoms?? is this normal anywhere????

like can someone just confirm with me that this is crazy:

like oops sorry to put these people on blast but like... is this normal.... ??? i'm scared to block them cos if what they just post more??? i'm so lost bruh

i've hesitated making other anime-fandom-centric friends cos of this lol, so yeah anyone well versed and like... reasonable, can you just like tell me what to do LOL

anyway for now i've gotten this on all my (TWO) fics:

some of the worst reads on Ochako and Himiko I’ve ever seen have come from feminist vloggers, ironically  

Okay the worst part about what bones did? Like, regardless of romance, ships, whatever, this is just another example onto the PILE that already exists of people trying to treat mha like how every other shonen should act.

Shonen and shojo aren’t like… genres, but they are categories that generally follow a lot of the same tropes. The reason why I personally enjoy shojo more is because it lacks a lot of the fan service (usually) and imo is just better at adapting and evolving what it means to be apart of the category. Like madoka magica, which birthed the popularity of the psychological horror genre WITHIN shojo.

Shonen, however, has evolved a little bit, but not nearly as much. Generally, the same 10 tropes are used, no matter the anime/manga, (with some exceptions ofc okay, I’m not blind) and because of this expectation, it makes those like the director, I’m assuming, and the fandom, have certain expectations on what should happen in a shonen. When mha doesn’t follow that format, people either get mad about it, write it off, or, in bones’ case, completely change it.

Now I’m not saying they always alter things, or even that they are altering anything for season 6. I think it would upset everyone involved if they just randomly changed the writing.

What I am saying though is that they’re playing into the same toxic tropes shonen has been following for decades. Decades!

Boys can’t be vulnerable, and if they are, they are either a small child, it’s for a joke, or it’s for their female love interest. Usually the male “best friend” (or in bkg’s case closest person☺️) is only allowed to be vulnerable, touchy, outshine the female love interest intimately, etc when the female love interest either can’t, or they are helping the female love interest be intimate.

Because, god forbid we let boys cry! Toxic masculinity! I need to project onto this super strong male character, and that means they can’t be emotional OR gay!

When they did this, it wasn’t just about how Izuku is defining ochako’s character, it wasn’t just about how iida and Katsuki’s moments were completely glossed over.

It was about how we continue to let toxic masculinity define our characters and their relationships.

Ochako and her moments, her story, her character is being defined by the male main character. By her “accepting her feelings” completely dismisses her hero career, her story.

“Oh but she can learn she can be a wife AND a hero!” But does she want that? Has she actually EVER wanted that??? Or has someone defined that for her?

She’s just not the focal point of this arc, not in the slightest, and yet here we are. Here we fucking are. Is toga mentioned once in this intro? Hell no. Ofc she’s not. Because that would seem too suspicious.

Anime only’s, please just read the manga. It’s prettier, more accurate to canon, a different perspective on Katsuki, Izuku, Ochako, and Toga, and won’t pull this bullshit.

HI IM LOSING MY MIND (a discussion on quirks as weapons and Uraraka Ochako)

SO im not caught up with the mha manga but i know what's going on, i specifically wanna talk about one line in the newest chapter

I've never written out my thoughts about this, but I find it interesting how, because of the laws banning quirk use in public, quirks have essentially become weapons used by heroes or villains, depending on (along with other factors) if the quirk is "good" or "evil".

A strong, "good" quirk has become equated with one that can be used in combat, and ever since I realized that I always thought it was kinda wild. Just another example of extreme militarization of the mha universe, especially to young kids.

But Ochako's philosophy is something outside of what we see from heroes or our kids in training. She probably grew up hearing about how her quirk would be great for a hero, for immobilizing or killing villains in battle.

But we know she loves rescue heroes (Thirteen) despite them not being nearly as popular. Although UA does have the kids take rescue classes, it's still shown that their quirks are seen as weapons first, and tools second. Moreso with the types of quirks that are let into the hero program in the first place.

But that's what makes Ochako the perfect counter for Toga, isn't it?

Ochako, a budding rescue hero who can still kick ass, saving Toga, who was treated as instantly dangerous because of her quirk. Because, society says that powerful quirks can only be used as weapons, and she has an "evil" quirk, pushing her into the path of villainy by her family and peers.

Ochako doesn't, and has never, viewed quirks like that. She wanted to use her quirk to help out her family's business. Zero Gravity, which could very easily kill people, is something that she's honed for rescuing and non-lethal fighting. She's offering her blood to Toga for the rest of their lives.

I think their relationship is incredibly beautiful, and I'm excited to see how this will end.