Shonen anime series usually focus only on action and very little care is given to romance plots. However, in a select few school-based anime series, it's impossible to completely avoid romance. Kohei Horikoshi, creator My Hero Academiahe recognized that, which is why his series ended with one of the best shonen couples forming in canon.
My Hero Academia released a special episode officially on May 2, 2026. In it, one of the best couples of all time, Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka, was officially formed. This new pair of shonens is one of the best in years, and it's certainly incredibly exciting to witness its birth.
My Hero Academia special episode “More” marks the beginning of Izuku and Ochako's Dating Life
My Hero Academia Episode 171, titled “More”, was largely based on the adaptation of a one-shot by Kohei Horikoshi that was released with the final installment in the form of chapter 431. The episode largely focused on Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka, the main character and heroine of the series, along with some characters such as Katuki and Bakugou. The vast majority of the attention in the new episode of My Hero Academia that was released recently was on the Heroine and the Heroine, and its main purpose was to elaborate on her feelings of love, as confirmed by Kohei Horikoshi himself.
In this chapter, Toga continued to haunt Ochaco Uraraku in her dreams, as she suppressed her feelings for Izuku Midoriya since the end of the war against the Paranormal Liberation Front. At the same time, Izuku Midoriya also felt something similar, so they both decided to take a step in the right direction towards the end by reaching out and officially asking for something more than just friendship, officially starting their life together.
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How Horikoshi wanted to portray love in Chapter 431 of the Manga
Kohei Horikoshi didn't want to My Hero Academia be focused solely on romance since it's a shonen manga that's primarily aimed at boys. While boys definitely care about things like romance, the target demographic cares more about battles and intense plots, which Horikoshi certainly handled very well. That said, romance was absolutely inevitable in the school environment, and Horikoshi recognized this himself, as seen in his author commentary that came out with volume 42 of My Hero Academia.
“Since the series is set in a school, it would be quite unfair to completely ignore the romance, so it was quite difficult to find a balance. Fortunately, since Deku was always doing other things, he wasn't aware of any romantic feelings, and that turned out to be a good thing for me.”
However, when chapter 394 came out, the themes really touched on that stimulus called love, so I knew it would be weird if I didn't follow up on it later in the story, so I decided to write about it. I never thought romance would fit well with My Hero Academia's “save and be saved” story theme, nor did it make sense to include it in “the story of how we all became heroes”. That's why I decided to touch on it in the epilogue, as a sort of afterword.
However, rather than portraying romance itself, I wanted to portray love as part of something even bigger, but I wonder how that turned out?' —Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia Volume 42
With that in mind, Kohei Horikoshi brilliantly incorporated Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka's romance into his final chapter. The main reason this romance wasn't wrapped up in the original 430 chapters of the manga is fan backlash. Shipping culture can be very toxic, and if Horikoshi ended these two loved ones in the original story, the fans who support the various ships would certainly be upset. The best way to handle things was to drop another chapter with the final volume, covering the relationship properly and giving fans an accurate idea of what will happen next between the two main characters.
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Why Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka make the best ship in anime
Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka form one of the most exciting ships in modern Shonen anime. Traditionally, shonen anime are known to have some of the worst romances, and My Hero Academia is no game changer in that regard. However, at least this series features much better character writing for its protagonist and heroine, giving them exciting character moments and developing them far better than the vast majority of Shonen series.
Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka have romantic feelings for each other from the very beginning of the story, and there is nothing like a one-sided romantic storyline going on here. With a lot of responsibilities around them, the two often put their romantic feelings aside and focused on doing their jobs as heroes as best they could. With the threat of the Paranormal War of Liberation now gone, it makes sense for Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka to officially plan their lives together better.
That's exactly why at the end of the last episode of My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka openly said that they want each other more, and that's where this story is headed now. The way the writer of this series handled this last stretch of the story, it's pretty clear that he's a fan of this romantic couple and wants them to be the focal point of the romance in the story.
Izuku and Ochaco's future
At this time, the futures of Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka remain unknown. The last time fans saw them, the two had officially declared their interest in wanting something more than friendship, thus beginning their dating. Exactly what happened to this ship later and how it evolved over the years remains unknown. Only Kohei Horikoshi can answer that question if he officially returns to My Hero Academia.
At this time, the author has not announced any plans to return in 2026 or beyond. What fans do know is that Horikoshi plans to return with a new manga that is in the early works, according to his own comments from Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. This new manga is slated to come out in the next few years, and based on that, it's clear that Horikoshi isn't too interested in expanding on the end My Hero Academia.
In other words, the ending that fans got for Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka is most likely final and there will be no more additions from here on out. Still, it's the right ending that sets up one of the most popular and exciting pairings in modern shonen and sets the example for many more exciting stories to come later.
All episodes of the My Hero Academia anime are currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
