Ever since My Hero Academia introduced Himiko Toga, she’s presented an interesting quandary for the narrative. She drinks the blood of others not out of malice but because her Quirk compels her to do so. To her, it’s an innocent expression of love. To society at large, however, it’s psychopathic and needs to be stopped. Most stories would have the bloodsucker give up her ways so she can fit into society, but she’s been resistant to this idea. This creates a stalemate where she can’t change, and society can’t change for her. Toga seems doomed to lead the life of an irredeemable criminal.
This is where Ochako Uraraka’s part in the story becomes important. She’s one of the only people Toga can trust. She’s also one of the few people willing to look past Toga’s vampiric tendencies and treat her like a human being. In light of this, the Hero presented the villain with the answers to all her questions in Chapter 393, “A Girl’s Ego.” It’s not all things Toga would like to hear, but it does give her the chance she’s been looking for to live decently as herself while having at least one person who won’t think less of her for it. Here’s a look at Toga’s crisis, Ochako’s solution, and how well it will work in the long run.
What Is Himiko Toga’s Moral Dilemma?
Toga’s main problem is her insatiable desire for blood. She wants to drink the blood of anyone she’s grown to love. It’s her idea of showing affection. For obvious reasons, her blood drinking is considered socially unacceptable. It caused her to be scorned by her peers, and even her parents openly called her inhuman. Despite being a social outcast, those who knew her somehow wonder why she became a villain. The worst part about all this is that Toga can’t help herself. The desire presumably stems from her Transform Quirk, which requires other people’s blood to be used. It’s an inseparable aspect of her personality that can never be removed, changed, or suppressed. Trying only strengthens her desires and passion.
Even if Toga could stop her desire, she doesn’t believe she should. Again, cutting people up and drinking their blood is her idea of expressing love and affection. She considers sucking blood normal in the same way others would view kissing. To deny herself that form of expression is to conceal her true self, which is unbearable. Her desire to express herself also means she doesn’t want to accept the pity of others. To her, the people who perceive her insatiable desire as a tragic flaw miss the point. Societal norms are why she became an outcast in the first place. Therefore, she chooses to reject society in the same way.
With that said, she is saddened by her inability to resonate with others. For example, Deku and Ochako were both characters she grew affectionate towards, but they both rejected her. Deku wasn’t willing to love, and Ochako insisted that she had to treat her like the criminal she was; the latter rejection was especially painful. Being turned away like this by people she put her trust in only drove her to hate society and Heroes even more.
What Is Ochako’s Solution to Toga’s Dilemma?
Ochako provided Himiko with her best chance to lead an ordinary life. The bloodsucker recognized her feelings of love (for the same guy as her even) and assumed the two of them were kindred spirits. She would go on to perceive her as a close friend, even if the feeling wasn’t exactly mutual. The truth about Toga and Ochako’s relationship became more apparent to the former during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc. At the time, the villain was scared for her life because of what the Heroes did to Twice; she tried to ask her Hero-in-training friend what she’d do if they were to face off. Ochako, not feeling the sense of mutual friendship, intended to stop Toga as she would any other villain. She would go on to regret her insensitive answer, but not before crushing Toga’s heart. Himiko would experience further heartbreak during the Final War Arc. When Deku, the boy he loved, also rebuffed her feelings. she decided to cut ties with him and Ochako. To her, they were just like her parents trying to reform her. That or Heroes she needed to kill before they killed her.
Ochako is finally ready to save Toga, not just kill her or get her arrested. However, in light of everything that’s happened, she now has to convince the villain she has her best interest in mind. She won’t overlook any crimes, but she is willing to be a friend to talk about love with. The Hero even offered up her blood so that Toga could fulfill her needs. She doesn’t have to do any of this, especially not for a villain who stabbed her, but it shows her commitment to doing what she thinks is right.
Will Ochako’s Solution Work In the Longterm?
In all likelihood, Ochako’s solution for helping Toga won’t go as smoothly as she made it sound. For one thing, as she said, Toga’s crimes can’t be overlooked. The villain will likely have to serve time, and considering how many people she’s killed, it will be a while. If she can somehow repay her debt to society within her lifetime, that’s when she can retry integrating. With that said, Ochako will likely be there for her every step of the way.
A more troubling issue is whether Ochako can make good on her blood donation promise. Even if she’s okay with letting Toga drink her blood, there’s no guarantee everyone else will. It will be a matter of legality or societal standards. Either way, there will be those who object to this arrangement. The only way this blood pact will work out is for society to better accommodate Quirk users by accounting for personality deviations. Luckily, that seems like the intended endpoint of the overarching MHA narrative. Toga will probably still have detractors either way, but they’ll be in the minority. More importantly, she’ll have Ochako in her corner to support her.
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