All good things must come to an end at some point, and so is the case with My Hero Academia. The beloved manga series has gone on for 10 years and is now completely over by the time you’re reading this. I actually really love how My Hero Academia ends, especially in the case of Deku and his romance status.
I should warn you ahead of time this will contain full spoilers for the conclusion of My Hero Academia. If you are reading this soon after publishing, the anime has not even come close to catching up to the manga’s ending yet. As such, if you are watching only the anime or are not caught up on the manga, now is the time to turn around.
Still here? Great! I am proud of the series’ creator Kohei Horikoshi. Horikoshi avoided the pitfalls and awkwardness of other similar shonen series in terms of romance. Not only is Deku’s quirk state a phenomenal full circle closure for the hero, but he sticks to himself in the end relationship-wise.
Despite the confession from Ochaco in chapter 429, Deku doesn’t appear to end up with her after the eight-year time skip in the final chapter. In fact, it implies he doesn’t have much to do with any of his Class 1-A classmates in the future. I honestly prefer it this way, as Deku and Ochaco didn’t seem like a compelling couple.
This is a general problem with a lot of similar shonen manga and anime series. Series like Demon Slayer, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, and others feel the need to end with the main character falling in love with someone. Some of these series work well, but others feel forced and out of left field. My Hero Academia would certainly fall into the latter category if Deku fell for Ochaco.
Sure, I admire Ochaco’s clear feelings for Deku throughout the series. However, there is almost no indication from Deku’s side to hint at any reciprocating feelings. In all honesty, Deku’s relationship with Ochaco almost feels no different than what he has with the lovable but villainous Himiko Toga. Overall, it makes more sense for there not to be a clear winner in this love triangle.
Deku has such a huge focus on saving the world that romance is seemingly the last thing on his mind. Even after the time skip, he focuses more on raising up the next generation of heroes. His character is the lone wolf in a way, keeping his friends close but at a reasonable distance.
Almost none of the characters make that much sense to end up with him from what we see in the series, so I’m grateful Horikoshi stuck to this conclusion. Beyond Ochaco, as much as I love Toga, she does some horrifying acts. So partnering her with Deku wouldn’t make much sense, either.
Mei Hatsume somewhat matches better with Deku personality-wise than either of the other two girls, but she is in the background a little bit too much. As such, I feel like none of the options work that well for this series. In the end, I appreciate Deku’s seemingly single relationship status.
This result shows that a fantastic manga and anime series like this one doesn’t have to conclude with romance. This shows the series is about saving the world, not who ends up with who. I hope that more shonen action series take from My Hero Academia’s spin on romance. In a way, it’s like having your cake and eating it, too. Fans can still ship characters for fun without the actual series taking away from what really matters. And, honestly, I think I prefer it this way.
The My Hero Academia manga is available to read from start to finish on Viz Media and Manga Plus. The anime adaptation is available on Crunchyroll.
Published: Aug 17, 2024 06:00 pm