When you watch a new anime series like My Hero Academia, which has a diverse and thrilling cast of characters, you might start pairing characters in your mind to decide who should end up with whom. Fandoms love to do this, and it's great fun to picture two characters having their own "happily ever after." Shipping, as they call it, is practically an art!
Many pairings for Shonen anime are based on the leading character and many of the girls he's surrounded with, and Izuku Midoriya is no exception. Fans have paired him up with Ochaco Uraraka, the wholesome girl next door, or the party girl Mina Ashido or even the rocker girl Kyoka Jiro. Today, let's compare the merits of two pairings: Izuku/Ochaco, and the high-voltage Izuku/Himiko Toga! Which pairing is the best?
10 Ochaco: a helping hand
Izuku's first day at UA was a stressful one, and he wasn't entirely sure he even belonged there. Only All Might seemed to believe in him. And just when he tripped like a doofus on the front grounds, a special girl came along to get him back on his feet.
That was Ochaco Uraraka, who would end up in class 1-A with Izuku. She will always extend a helping hand without needing to be asked, and her generosity and kindness are inspiring. It was the start of their friendship... and maybe a little more!
9 Himiko: Yandere
Himiko Toga is what's known as a yandere, or a character who has a burning passion for their love interest to the point of going nuts. Himiko is like that from the start, but in a sanitized pairing with Izuku, it makes for some really hot romance.
Seriously, from the first moment Himiko saw Izuku, wounded on the battlefield, she was smitten! She unquestioningly wants to be his #1 girl, and for some fans, that kind of passion is all the fuel they need for a great pairing. If you're all in, you've already won!
8 Ochaco: she's responsible
What's wonderful about Ochaco is not only that she supported Izuku as his first friend at UA, but she also has some strong loyalty to her family. More specifically, the Urarakas have hit some hard times, working in construction, and the family is scraping by.
Not for long, if Ochaco gets her way. Her motivation to become a hero is the paycheck, and not to buy a Bentley... but rather, to support her parents, and make sure they never have to worry again. Now that's the kind of girl you can be proud to call your girlfriend.
7 Himiko: the novelty
There are two main reasons to create and defend a pairing: either because the two characters have on-screen chemistry and compatibility, or because the pairing is too much fun not to imagine! Sometimes, you can even have it both ways.
In-character, it's odd to imagine Izuku actually falling for Himiko, but in the fandom, anything can happen, and the fans can draw or write out any romantic scene convincingly. Suppose Izuku is into bad girls and goes on an adventure with his #1 yandere fan? The possibilities are limitless!
6 Ochaco: her cute reactions
You know a pairing is destined to be if one or both of the characters get flustered! These are adolescents, and they're still figuring out their lives and discovering who they are. So, when Izuku and Ochaco realize that they have a certain spark... it can be overwhelming.
It's priceless to see Ochaco blush and run off if things start to get romantic, and Izuku was red as a cherry when he hung up after his first-ever phone call with Ochaco. It's great G-rated fan service, and it makes this pairing all the more precious. Ochaco wouldn't act like that if she wasn't into him!
5 Himiko: the same ambitions
Fans of a pairing can find any angle to support it, and this includes wacky pairings like Izuku and Himiko Toga. If you think about it, they're not so different from one another, and in the lore, Himiko even said how she and Ochaco are on the same page, too.
How? That's simple: they're dying to emulate the person they admire most! Himiko adores the hero killer Stain, and she really believes that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and love. And from the start, Izuku has made it his life mission to become the next All Might, the Symbol of Peace. He and Toga have something to bond over after all!
4 Ochaco: her character arc
In this scene, Ochaco is training with the pro hero Gun Head, and for good reason. This girl starts off as one of the lower-ranked students of class 1-A, but she's not content to keep it that way. During the internships, Ochaco trains with Gun Head to push herself to the next level.
We saw that during the Sports Festival, too, where she dueled the powerhouse Katsuki Bakugo and gave him a real fight. Ochaco is growing fast, and she's not the same girl we saw in the first few episodes. She respects herself and wants to grow, and how could Izuku not fall for a girl like that?
3 Himiko: a healed heart
Here is another way fans pair two characters together: a redemption arc. Have you watched Fruits Basket, where Tohru Honda mends the broken spirits of the Sohma family members? Himiko Toga is a real wild child, and we get the impression that she is on a desperate quest to become fulfilled at last.
Izuku may be the only one who will make Himiko truly happy, and she has seemed a bit lonely so far during the anime. She tries to make friends with just about anyone, even trying to force "friendship" on Tsuyu, who rejected her. It's not too hard to feel bad for this lonely girl, who just wants to find the other half of her heart.
2 Ochaco: ever the optimist
This builds off of Ochaco's earlier entries: she always sees the best in everyone, and nothing can keep her down for long. Her worst moment was her defeat at the hands of Bakugo, and she broke down crying after talking to her parents on the phone. But that didn't last long.
Ochaco went straight to Gun Head to learn more, and she trained like crazy at the forest training camp. Ochaco also bravely approached Izuku during the cavalry contest despite the odds, and she never once has anything unkind to say about her classmates. It's easy to be inspired by such an uplifting personality, and it's often the best personality trait a person can have. Always look up and beyond!
1 Himiko: her soft side
While Himiko doesn't have the same optimistic outlook or sense of teamwork that Izuku and Ochaco have, she does have her kinder side, too. Look at this scene, when she comforted Twice while he was in agony about his frayed personality. All she could think about was helping him.
What makes Himiko so much fun is that she's wild and eccentric, but a character like this needs to be rounded out, or else they fall flat. Fortunately, Himiko's compassionate side is the perfect ingredient for her character, and it makes her feel more real and dynamic. A deep character like this is both intriguing, and great for pairings! Izuku is getting the whole package with Himiko Toga.