This is an abridged version of a much longer write up, but I wanna just get the core message out there. Ochako is not a “token love interest”, she’s not “moe fanservice”, she’s a complete and utter psychological mess and you underestimate her at your peril. She is absolutely vital to this story - and Hori has been hiding her issues right in plain sight. To start, let’s see what the villain Toga says to Ochako in the woods in chapter 80.

The above exchange is Toga messing with Ochako’s mind when Ochako has Toga pinned to the ground. But it’s just an armchair psychology lecture - no way it’ll affect-

Huh. It worked. Toga’s lecture distracted Ochako enough to give Toga an opportunity to escape. So either Ochako is easily spooked, or there must be something TRUE about Toga’s examination of Ochako.

But what? Love? Is a school girl crush really enough to make Ochako lose control of a villain? Let’s not speculate here - let’s just look at this scene and see what other scenes it links to.

Here’s a clear link! And from the same page no less. This is from the Ochako vs Deku fight. I’ll sum it up.

Ochako was scheduled to fight against Bakaugou in the first round of the Sports Festival.

Deku offered Ochako plans to beat Bakugou, but…

She refused. Ochako wanted to stand on her own. Do note in this page, Ochako says “It’s alright.” - Deku’s catchphrase, when refusing. I’ll explain why later.

Anyways, onward to the chapter 36 fight between Ochako and Bakugou

In his usual charming fashion, Bakugou tries to size up Ochako. More important is Deku tells people the plan he came up with to beat Bakugou - the plan she does not use.

DEKU’S PLAN is that Ochako has to strike fast, and make Bakugou float.

And Ochako seems to be doing precisely that. She rushes in, uses decoys, and goes close combat to try and beat Bakugou before he can win.

But wait a minute - she wasn’t doing precisely what Deku said. Ochako used close combat, but what she made float wasn’t Bakugou, but

The sharpnel itself

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Bakugou was expecting it, because Bakugou knew Deku’s friends would pull the same tricks as Deku. But Bakugou is pumped. He’s ready to have one hell of a good fight with Ochako!

Again, look at Bakugou’s face. He’s enjoying this. He says “the real match begins now”, but the very next page…

She’s out of gas. Deku realizes the problem at a glance, since in his plans he probably accounted for it - Ochako’s weight limit.

Look at Bakugou’s face in these last two pages of the chapter, by the way. He’s stunned. He wasn’t expecting Ochako to pass out. He thought the fight was only just beginning. But there’s more. Let’s look at the first thing Bakugou does when he leaves the arena at the start of next chapter.- keep in mind his stunned face.

A chance encounter with Deku - and Bakugou is pissed

He blames Deku for Ochako’s plan - the plan that pushed her passed her weight limit and caused her to pass out. She must have used Deku’s notes.

Deku counters by saying Ochako refused his notes, which she did. He also misunderstands Bakugou - thinking that Bakugou was pissed that Ochako put up a challenge, when it’s clear from Bakugou’s face going from psyched to stunned

when Ochako went from concious, to unconcious, that Bakugou was actually concerned.

Concerned, and also blaming Deku

Why blame Deku?

Deku did come up with notes and a plan, yes, but Ochako didn’t use them. Bakugou doesn’t blame the losses of other people he beats on Deku - with Todoroki he mainly gets pissed at Todoroki.

Well, here’s the truth of it all -

Ochako’s plan was so much like Deku’s, that Bakugou thought it came from the real Deku

The recklessness, the determination, and finally, the critical flaw at the end - the weight limit - it seems like a plan someone who used All for One instead of Ochako’s Zero Gravity quirk would use if they were asked to make a plan for Ochako - with the weight limit being a detail they overlooked due to lack of knowledge of Zero Gravity.

But Ochako made the plan, so why would she make a plan that seemed like it was made by Dek-

Oooh. And we do, in the fight itself, see Ochako vow to “be like Deku” - and what does Ochako say when she refuses Deku’s notes?

…Oh. “It’s All Right” wasn’t Deku’s catchphrase - it was All Might’s, originally. Deku, who views All Might as his hero, took it. And Ochako, who views Deku as HER hero - uses it as well. How do I know Ochako views Deku as her hero? “Love?”

Perhaps its “love” - but it’s a deep love. It’s a love which consumes Ochako’s every waking thought - the desire to BE LIKE DEKU

Let’s go to Chapter 67 - far after the Sports Festival. Ochako and Aoyoma are in a pinch. Let’s see Ochako’s inner monologue

Her default line of thinking in a pinch is to “what would Deku do?” Now I can explore Chapter 67 in its entirety and show you an entire theme set against Ochako’s thinking(you can see a bit of it with Aoyoma saying “I am me”) - but let’s hop to Chapter 109 - Ochako’s resolve.

And with that quote - said by Toga - who just before Chapter 109 Ochako encounters in the form of Kemi

Is everything EXPLICITLY, not SUBTEXT WISE, EXPLICITLY tied together. We have chapter 80, Ochako vs Toga in the woods calling back to Chapter 36, Ochako vs Bakugou, and we have chapter 109 calling back to chapter 80! And they are ALL about ONE thing - Ochako doing all she can to BE LIKE DEKU. LITERALLY be like Deku! Even in Chapter 67 - which has no quote tying to another chapter - Ochako wants to THINK like Deku think.

EVEN IN

THE SPECIAL AND HOLIDAY

ILLUSTRATIONS

Ochako wants

TO BE LIKE

Deku.

This is not a slight interest, or emulation. Ochako has been devoting herself to be like Deku - to the point where she will both consciously and subconciously think like him. Deku did the same with All Might - and despite having All Might’s powers, Deku eventually realized he couldn’t imitate All Might completely.

So Deku - who inherited One For All - can be like All Might, and also be like his own person

But what about Ochako?



A girl who wants to be like Deku badly, desperately, pathologically - but doesn’t even share the same quirk as him, let alone gender.

What does she do?