After 10 Years, My Hero Academia's Best Romance Is Now Official

Shonen anime series usually just focus on action, and very little care is given to plot points surrounding romance. However, in a select few anime series where the setting is based on school, avoiding romance completely is impossible. Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, recognized that, and that is precisely why his series ended with one of the best shonen couples taking shape 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, officially formed. This new shonen couple is one of the best in recent years and is certainly incredibly exciting to witness the birth of.

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 the one-shot by Kohei Horikoshi, which was released with the final volume in the form of chapter 431. This episode focused largely on Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka, the main character and the heroine of the series, along with some focus being given to characters like Toga as well as Bakugo Katsuki. The vast majority of the focus in the new My Hero Academia episode, which was released recently, was on the Hero and the Heroine, and its main purpose was to elaborate upon her feelings of love, as confirmed by Kohei Horikoshi himself.

In this chapter, Toga continued to haunt Ochaco Uraraka in her dreams because she had been suppressing her feelings for Izuku Midoriya ever since the conclusion of the war against the Paranormal Liberation Front. At the same time, Izuku Midoriya felt something similar, and that is why both of them decided to take a step in the right direction towards the end by reaching out to each other and officially asking for something more than just friendship, marking the official beginning of their dating life together.

How Horikoshi Wanted To Depict Love In Chapter 431 Of The Manga

Kohei Horikoshi did not want My Hero Academia to be solely focused on romance, as it is a shonen manga that is primarily aimed at boys. While boys can certainly care about things like romance, the target demographic cares more about battles and intense plotlines, which Horikoshi certainly handled very well. That said, in a school setting, romance was completely unavoidable, and Horikoshi recognized that himself, as evident from his author comments that were released with volume 42 of My Hero Academia.

“Since the setting of the series is at school after all, it would be rather dishonest to completely ignore romance, so it was pretty hard to think of a balance. Thankfully, since Deku was always doing other things, he was unaware of any romantic feelings, and it turned out to be a good thing for me.

However, when Chapter 394 came around, the topics did touch upon that stimulus called love, so I knew that it would be strange not to follow up on that point later in the story, which is why I chose to write about it. I never thought that romance would go well with the theme of the story of My Hero Academia, which is "to save and be saved," nor would it make sense to include it in "the story of how we all became Heroes." So that's why I decided to touch upon it in an epilogue, like a postscript of sorts.

However, rather than depicting romance itself, I wanted to depict love in a form as part of something even greater, but I wonder how it turned out?” — Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia Volume 42

Keeping that in mind, Kohei Horikoshi brilliantly blended the romance plotline of Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka into his final chapter. The main reason why this romance was not concluded in the original 430 chapters of the manga is because of backlash from the fans. Shipping culture can be very toxic, and had Horikoshi given an ending to these two beloved individuals in the original story, fans who support different ships would most certainly have gotten upset. As such, the best way to handle things was to drop an extra chapter with the final volume, covering the relationship properly and giving the fans an exact idea of what was going to happen next between these two main characters.

Why Izuku Midoriya And Ochaco Uraraka Form 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 romance, and My Hero Academia isn't a game-changer in that regard. However, at the very least, this series features much better character writing for its main hero and heroine, giving them exciting character moments and developing them much better than the vast majority of the Shonen series out there.

Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka have harbored romantic feelings for each other since the very beginning of the story, and there is no such thing as a one-sided romantic plot line at play here. With a ton of responsibilities around them, the two often pushed their romantic feelings to the side and focused on doing their job as Heroes the best they could. With the threat of the Paranormal Liberation War now over, it makes sense for Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka to officially plan out their lives together better.

This is precisely why, at the end of the latest My Hero Academia episode, Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka said openly that they wanted more with each other, and that is where this story is headed right now. Based on how the author of this series has handled this last segment of the story, it is quite clear to see that he is a supporter of this romantic couple and wants it to be the central focus of romance in the story.

Izuku and Ochaco’s Future

At the moment, Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka's future remains unknown. The last time fans saw them, the two officially declared their interest in wanting something more than a friendship, and thus began their dating life. What exactly happened to this ship later down the line and how it progressed over the years remains unknown. The answer to that question can only be delivered by Kohei Horikoshi if he returns to My Hero Academia officially.

At the moment, the author has not announced any plans for a return in 2026 or later. What fans do know is that Horikoshi plans a return with a new manga, which is in the early works, according to his own comments from Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. This new manga should be coming out in the upcoming few years, and, based on that, it is clear that Horikoshi isn't too keen on expanding upon the ending of My Hero Academia.

In other words, the ending that fans got for Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka is most likely final and there won't be any additions to it from here onwards. Still, it is a proper ending that sets up one of the most popular and exciting couples in modern shonen and sets an example for many other exciting stories to come later down the line.

All episodes of the My Hero Academia anime are currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.