The following contains spoilers forMy Hero AcademiaChapter 394, “Ochaco Uraraka VS. Himiko Toga,” by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook available in English fromViz Media.
My Hero Academia has been focusing on the fight between Ochaco Urarakaand Himiko Togafor quite a few chapters now. Fans were expectingMy Hero Academiachapter 394 to wrap this fight up and that is exactly what ended up happening this week. Unsurprisingly, there was little action and a lot of exposition in regards to both these characters in this chapter, however, despite the lack of action in this fight, it managed to tug at the heartstrings of the fans and it goes without saying that this fight is surely one of the better ones seen in the Final War Saga ofMy Hero Academia.RELATED:My Hero Academia: Best Antihero Characters In The Anime
Going through the past of both characters, Horikoshi managed to paint quite a picture in this week’s chapter, and, at the same time, it looks like the character arcs of bothToga and Uraraka are going to have satisfying conclusions.
Ochaco’s Quirk Awakening
In the previous chapter ofMy Hero Academia, fans sawUraraka’s Float Quirk finally awaken.The awakening of this power is what shifted the tides of the battle between these two characters and, at the same time, the entirety of the war by itself. In many ways, Uraraka has proven to be the savior as not only did she rescue Toga from her sadness but also hundreds of other civilians and Heroes who would have been swamped by Sad Man’s Legion. Uraraka’s character was focused on quite a bit inMy Hero Academiachapter 394 as well.
In fact, the chapter opens with her awakened powers and Toga herself is perplexed at seeing her powers react this way. It appears that she doesn’t quite get what’s happening, however, everyone around her can sense the potential that she has finally fulfilled. Uraraka has finally surpassed her three-ton limit and she can easily take on some of the very strongest foes in the world ofMy Hero Academianow. Using her powers, she was able to make every clone that Toga threw her way float, and that, in itself, gave her enough time to protect those around her.
The first half of the chapter focused quite heavily on Uraraka’s growth, however, while that is nice, fans would ideally have hoped for the entire story to focus a bit more on her. While Horikoshi has done a decent job in this fight, Uraraka’s character would certainly have benefited from more exposition throughout the arcs that came before. Nonetheless, fans certainly are not going to complain about the focus that she’s receiving right now.
A Heartfelt Exchange Of Blows
Of course,My Hero Academiachapter 394 was always going to focus on the duel between these two characters. Towards the end of the last chapter, Uraraka asked Toga to talk about romance once again. This is something that she has been asking of her since the two started fighting in the Final War Saga, however, every attempt of hers has failed, that is, until now. Uraraka has gone to extreme lengths to ensure that she becomes a Hero that she is proud of. She realizes that everyone needs a Hero, be that her parents, Villains, or even other Heroes. She has made it her job to help those in need and this aspect of her characteris quite similar to that of Izuku, who she holds very dear to her heart.
Seeing Toga in a lot of pain, Uraraka simply couldn’t stand by and let her be consumed by her sadness. That is precisely why she has gone to extreme lengths to ensure that she feels listened to and not abandoned and shunned by the rest of the world. Finally, her efforts reached Toga and in My Hero Academia chapter 394, fans see the two engage in a heartfelt conversation engaging in some dangerous combat.
The exchange started with Uraraka explaining her past to Toga and later, giving a platform to the latter. Urataka explains that her parents were incredibly poor while she was growing up and for their sake, she decided that she would become their hero when growing up. As she grew up, she realized that more people need heroes in their lives, not just her parents and she wants to do the best for everyone.
She eventually fell in love with Izuku and currently, her goal is to stop Toga from being consumed by the sadness inside her. That is precisely why she is fighting as hard as she is in the Final War and why she won’t back down, even though she is bleeding profusely and her body is going cold.
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Speaking to Toga on a personal level worked wonders as it gave her the idea that Uraraka isn’t just putting on a show. She actually cares about her feelings and wants her to be rescued. Putting down her walls, Toga began to explain her story to Uraraka while fighting her, which was a masterful touch by Horikoshi.
Toga’s Tragedy
As Ochaco gave her a platform, Horikoshi went into great detail when it comes to the past experiences of Toga. It took Toga quite some time to compile her thoughts. It wasn’t a surprise for the fans to see some deliberation on her behalf, given that this is something very personal to her and the fear of rejection has always ruled over her brain. Fans were able to see a sequence of every major event that has happened in Toga’s life flash through her head and when she decided whether to open up or to strike down Uraraka, she realized that, at the end of the day, she does want to be heard and accept it.
Toga finally opened up about her feelings and mentioned to Uraraka that it is quite easy for her to fall in love with all the beautiful things that exist in the world. This ranges from animals to boys and girls, because everyone is pretty and they all have beautiful smiles. Yet, tragically, Toga herself was told not to smile because she was labeled a deviant by everyone around her. Seeing other people smile only made her more jealous and, at the same time, filled her with tremendous sadness because she was ostracized for having something that she couldn’t even control.
Toga also went on to explain why she fell in love with Izuku in the first place. Izuku looked quite a lot like Saito, one of the boys that Toga once had a crush on. Sadly, she could never ask him for his blood because he would have thought that she is a deviant as well and cast her aside. Toga firmly believes that he would have thought that she was not a normal girl and thus, could not understand her. That is precisely why she didn’t want to listen to what Izukuand Uraraka had to say to her.
It is also why she loved the League of Villains as much as she did. There, she had a home where she was not the only misfit. Everyone in the League had been shunned by others and they all belonged together, accepting each other for who they were and loving them at the same time. Seeing Uraraka understand her pain only made Toga’s resolve weaker and she was not able to strike her down, embracing her in the middle of the sky instead while crying.
The Conclusion Of The Fight
The composition ofMy Hero Academiachapter 394 was absolutely stellar, especially towards the end of the chapter, when Uraraka and Toga were embracing each other in the sky. As Toga finally gave in to her sadness, Uraraka comforted her by saying that sometimes, it is cool to see other people try their best even though they are covered in injuries and, even though she is not the League of Villains, she will try her best to make her feel accepted.
Above everything, Uraraka mentions to Toga that she has a very beautiful smile, which breaks her down. Fans got to see Toga break into tears upon hearing this as she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Toga had a hard time grasping the fact that Ochaco thought that she was cute and upon asking her if she really believed that, she was met with the answer that she was the cutest girl in the whole world, which really touched her heart and made her sob endlessly.
With that, Jin’s blood started to run out and her powers appear to be fading. The fight is finally over and the next chapter will decide the fate of Toga and most likely shift attention elsewhere. It goes without saying that this chapter packed quite an emotional punch for the readers, and fans can only hope that the upcoming fights are going to live up to the expectations set by it.
