Does Uraraka love Deku or Bakugo?

My Hero Academia isn't a romance anime in the slightest, yet some ships are more likely to become canon than others. There is no guarantee of that happening, but it's an extremely common occurrence in various popular Shōnen anime. Hence, some fans of My Hero Academia speculate that it is bound to happen by the end of the series.

Shipping is popular in various media, and this fandom has no shortage of popular fanon couples. Just to be interesting, the second half of this article will focus on more realistic ships that probably won't happen.

It won't include absurd ones that fans of the series either never think of or are too unrealistic and disgusting (Deku x All Might being an example of something excluded for this topic).

My Hero Academia introduced Ochaco early on during the UA Entrance Exam arc as someone who would go out of her way to help others. Viewers who appreciate Ochaco insist that she doesn’t get enough screen time, but this makes it seem like she doesn’t get character development.

Uraraka has had plenty of big moments throughout the series and has had plenty of opportunities to develop, making her one of My Hero Academia's most well-rounded characters. Her character has changed a lot since season 1, even if a lot of it is off-screen or in short bursts.

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Fight Style and Quirk

In season 1 of My Hero Academia, Uravity's quirk is strong but underdeveloped. The amount of time she can use her quirk as well as how much weight she can de-gravify is somewhat low in hero standards, with her weight limit being around 3 tons. If she pushes herself past the limit of her quirk, she gets nauseous and sometimes vomits.

Uraraka, like many other characters, spends a lot of time developing her quirk. By season 5, Ochaco can use her quirk for a much longer period of time and has a higher weight limit. This can be seen when she de-gravifies an entire aircraft as seen in the episode “Long Time No See, Selkie.”

However, Uraraka does more than develop her quirk. Much like Deku in season 1, she develops her body as well, taking the time to learn martial arts during the season 2 internships. Her motivations for this stem from her battle with Bakugo during the UA Sports Festival Arc, which made her realize how far behind she was physically. Her martial arts training can be seen in action during the Forest Training Camp Arc in season 3 when she fights Toga for the first time. Toga’s commentary in this fight brings up another important way Uraraka has changed during the series.

Uraraka’s Relationship With Deku

Uraraka is quick to make friends and is incredibly helpful which can be seen in her introduction in season 1 when she stops Deku from falling on his face. To Ochaco, there doesn't seem to be much to it - she's simply helping someone at this point.

One of Uraraka’s iconic lines is when she tells Deku his nickname sounds like the word “dekiru” meaning “you can do it.” Uraraka’s friendship with Deku builds as she, Deku, and Iida hang out together. Throughout the series they are seen eating lunch or walking around together.

During the sports festival in season 2, it's obvious that Uraraka admires Deku as the kind of hero she wants to be. While fighting Bakugo she says she "will win and be like Deku, too." This admiration slowly turns into affection. One of the moments hinting at this is seen in the Toga fight during the Forest Training Camp Arc in season 3. When Toga says Uraraka "smells the same" as her because there's someone they both admire so much, Uraraka immediately thinks of Deku. Toga also asks “It’s fun talking about our crushes right?” inferring that Uraraka’s admiration might be something more.

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By season 5, it's obvious Uraraka is in love with Deku. After the iconic blackwhip scene when Deku’s quirk goes haywire, Aizawa brings the groups together to ask what they learned from their battle. During this time, Mina makes the comment that Uraraka immediately flew out to save Deku. Quietly, she asks Uraraka, “You hugged him hard, huh?” This causes Uraraka to stutter out her next words and turn bright red. Typically, this is only seen when a character is embarrassed. It tends to happen a lot in slice of life anime.

Later on, in season 5, episode 107, it's revealed that Uraraka keeps her keychain she got from Deku in her upgraded hero suit, further supporting the idea that she is in love with Deku. Uraraka’s hero suit brings to light another great way her character has changed.

Uraraka’s Hero Suit

Many U.A. students upgrade their hero suits as time goes on. For example, Bakugo wears heavier clothing during the cold seasons so that he can produce more nitroglycerin for his fiery blasts. Uraraka’s upgrades seem less useful at first glance, but they're actually made for good reasons.

In season 1, Uraraka’s suit has many parts that aid with the aftereffects of her quirk. The wrist cuffs and helmet help reduce nausea while her neck piece helps reduce headaches. Uraraka’s heeled boots also have a purpose, aiding in the cushioning of her landings.

Uraraka’s suit doesn’t get an upgrade until season 5, episode 107. Uraraka’s new suit is revealed to have a less bulky helmet and belt as well as upgraded wrist cuffs that now include grappling hooks. It is revealed that this was inspired by Deku’s second One for All quirk, blackwhip.

Uraraka’s Motivations

During season 1, Uraraka reveals to her friends that the reason she wants to become a hero is for the money. While this sounds shallow at first, she wants to do it because she wants to help her parents live a comfortable lifestyle. In the later seasons, Uraraka realizes that she wants to become a hero for more ambitious reasons. She recalls seeing people smile when they see heroes, and she wants to be that person. During the Shie Hassaikai Arc in season 4, Aizawa asks Uraraka to think about what she really wants to do. She says to Tsuyu soon after that she wants to save people. It isn’t revealed until season 5, episode 98, “That which is inherited part 2,” that she wants to support other heroes on the battlefield. During an inner monologue she states that watching Deku fight made her wonder “Who protects the heroes when they are hurting?” This scene in particular shows a jump in Uraraka’s resolutions.

Her motivations go from revolving around money to becoming truly heroic - something that separates her from her previous self. If she only wanted to support her parents, she could have been doing a less dangerous job, but now she has a solid reason for being a hero.

Despite some fans of My Hero Academia insisting the female characters don't get as much love in the series, Uraraka proves that they do actually have character development. That being said, it would be nice if most of this development was on-screen rather than off-screen. Much of Uraraka's development happens in between episodes. This makes her development seem somewhat out of the blue when compared to characters like Deku. Hopefully, Horikoshi puts more love toward our beloved characters in the upcoming season.

Does Uraraka love Bakugo?

Who is the girl that likes Deku?

Who does Ochaco Uraraka like?

Why does Ochako like Deku?