Izuku and Ochaco's happiness becomes BakuDeku shippers' ultimate nightmare in My Hero Academia

The latest developments in My Hero Academia's final segment have sparked heated debates within the fandom. This especially concerns the long-standing relationship dynamics between Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, Ochaco Uraraka, and Katsuki Bakugo. As Deku and Ochaco's happiness took center stage, fans of the "BakuDeku" pairing were left disappointed.

They had been supporting a potential romantic connection between the two Heroes only to witness Deku and Ochaco finally happen. The narrative has always hinted at the Deku-Ochaco growing bond and the recent My Hero Academia chapter 431 further solidified their emotional connection. However, this seemingly sidelined other potential pairings, like Deku and Bakugo.

For BakuDeku shippers, their most wanted moment will now be more of a dream. Further, with Deku and Ochaco's relationship being established, BakuDeku shippers seemingly live a nightmare.

My Hero Academia: Deku-Ochaco pairing torments BakuDeku shippers

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As mentioned, My Hero Academia released additional content in the form of chapter 431. It featured several intriguing developments surrounding the series' characters. However, one of the most alluring ones was Deku and Ochaco's relationship, which was finally brought to the forefront. The tension between them was teased early on, and after 430 long chapters, they are now seemingly a pair.

While this was a moment of joy for the My Hero Academia fandom, particularly the pair's shippers, it also disappointed the "BakuDeku" shippers. They were unhappy witnessing this development. The chapter's portrayal of Izuku and Ochaco’s deep emotional connection seemed to dismiss their favored pairing. Fans appeared to take their disappointment a step higher this time.

Some began to accuse My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi of intentionally sidelining queer narratives. Rumors also floated that the mangaka used Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his work. This worked towards entirely disregarding his unique and detailed style, which he has likely honed over the years.

The accusations of AI usage seemed unfounded, yet they further undermined the respect for his craftsmanship. Amid these controversies, the reactions of the Bakudeku supporters became quite overly dramatic, with claims that the series had been "ruined" and online campaigns criticizing the creator.

BakuDeku shippers unhappy with My Hero Academia chapter 431

Bakugo and Deku in My Hero Academia (Image via Studio Bones)

Needless to say, as it is in a positive case, opinions flooded social media. Fans who were not pleased spared nothing in clearly voicing their thoughts about the Deku-Ochaco ship. They felt that the true pairing was Deku and Bakugo, which had underlying hints in parts of the story.

"So Deku had an option to choose the guy who - drives a Porche, bought him a suit Died for him Chased after him Will kill for him. But he chose the girl with round face who was allegedly poor. Of course the answer is Ochaco. Bkg was the epitome of Kdrama 2nd lead syndrome" - a user wrote.

Many were unhappy with the creator's final decision to make Deku and Ocacho official. Their chemistry was unmissable initially, but it developed throughout the series and reached a fitting conclusion. But that isn't the way these fans viewed it. They felt that Bakugo was the greater choice for Deku, exuded the energy of a secondary Kdrama lead and one who should've ended up with Deku.

"The ending of mha is deeply rooted in misogyny, and we put far too much hope in a MAN. At the end of the day horikoshi is a man and ofc he's going to give his main guy the girl in the end. It's character assassination and bad writing, but we were naive to expect more" - a fan posted.

As mentioned, this section of fans spared nothing in targeting Horikoshi. Calling the mangaka "misogynist" and accusing him of "character assassination" is taking things a little too far. Moreover, they felt that such a decision was taken due to him being a male and not because of the actual story, its progression, or even its focus on ships, which was practically absent.

"So you're telling me ALL OF THIS was purely CASUAL????" - a netizen questioned.

Deku and Bakugo in My Hero Academia (Image via Studio Bones)

Another fan was in shock to see Deku and Ochaco get together. They couldn't believe Deku and Bakugo did not share a romantic connection but a strong friendship with mutual respect and rivalry. Their tweet was a mega compilation of every Deku and Bakugo moment throughout the 430 chapters of the manga and 7 seasons of anime released so far.

"We were robbed" - a fan opined.

A fan boldly claimed that Horikoshi had robbed them of what could have been. In this case, they are referring to the potential BakuDeku ship and the "TogaOcha" ship alongside it. Like many others, they were displeased that Bakugo and Deku did not end up together and added that even Ochaco and Toga not being paired was unfortunate, i.e., being robbed.

"So Toga is canonically in love with Ochaco. Bakugo canonically tried to propose Deku n is pining over him. But the Hetero ship won. DUDEBROS WERE RIGHT. Hori really did care about Japan's declining birth rate" - a shipper commented.

Finally, another side of fans pointed out that Toga "cannonically" loved Ochaco and Bakugo "cannocially attempted to propose to" Deku. But in the end, Horikoshi chose to pair Deku and Ochaco and bestow victory upon the "Hetero ship." They even referred to the mangaka caring about Japan's declining birth rate, which has nothing to do with this.