Who is Toru Hagakure's love interest: Who is Toru Hagakure's love interest in My Hero Academia? Explained

Romance isn't a major focus for Kohei Horikoshi in My Hero Academia - especially when it comes to the side characters. More often than not, the series' romantic relationships tend to simmer quietly and fade into the background. As a result, they remain implied rather than explicitly shown.

Toru Hagakure, aka the Invisible Girl, is one of the many My Hero Academia characters, whose love life has sparked many online fan discussions and speculations. So naturally, the question arises - who is Toru Hagakure's love interest?

Unfortunately, her love interest in the series was never explicitly stated by Horikoshi. However, the strongest (and only meaningful) romantic hint for Hagakure was with Mashirao Ojiro, her fellow Class 1-A student.

Toru Hagakure's implied canon love interest in My Hero Academia, explained

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From the beginning of My Hero Academia, Toru Hagakure and Mashirao Ojiro were shown as kind of a quiet duo. As the series went on, it became apparent that the two are really close friends, who were often seen associating together.

Their friendship likely started after their team-up during the Battle Trial arc of the series. In fact, Ojiro is the only boy in Class 1-A who Hagakure was seen speaking with on a regular basis.

The two were paired up quite frequently in training exercises, scenes in the dorms, and even in group interactions. What's interesting is that out of all the friendships and groups in My Hero Academia, Hagakure and Ojiro's pairing never really felt particularly unusual or forced.

If anything, their pairing feels pretty natural, as it happened without any flashy scenes or awkward forced tension that many other anime couples usually have. From what little screentime they shared together, both Ojiro and Hagakure have shown a deep level of mutual trust and comfort in each other's presence.

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Their relationship may seem platonic at first - at least on a surface level. However, what made their moments together feel truly special, was that Horikoshi repeatedly placed them near each other during moments of emotional vulnerability or anything of narrative significance - Aoyama's betrayal being one such instance.

It's possible that the two are nothing more than just really close friends. Then again, when two characters are paired quite frequently or are seen spending time together a lot, it's rarely a coincidence. In other words, this kind of repeated framing, especially in the world of anime, is usually not done by accident.

More importantly, the two characters complement each other quite well. Hagakure is bubbly, energetic, overly expressive, while Ojiro is calm, reliable, and overall pretty rational and grounded. The two keep each other perfectly in check. It's basically the "sunshine" and "stoic" combo we often see in both fiction and reality - and it works well in both cases.

Now, an actual confession never really happened between the two characters, so as far as romance goes between Hagakure and Ojiro - it's mostly headcanon for fans. Then again, the implication is there, so even if Horikoshi didn't canonize a ship for Hagakure, Ojiro is easily the most believable and fitting option.

Toru's other potential love interests, explored

Toru Hagakure and Mashirao Ojiro in My Hero Academia (image via Studio Bones)

Apart from Mashirao Ojiro, the only other candidate for a potential love interest for Toru Hagakure is Yuga Aoyama. Many fans loved to ship the two characters, especially due to the moments they shared together in the Final War Saga.

However, there was never really any hint of romantic tension between the two characters. In the Final War arc, they shared a few scenes where Hagakure supported Aoyama emotionally - but that's about it. Those particular moments were about healing, renewed trust, and forgiveness - not love.

In retrospect, their bond was never meant to go anywhere beyond friendship. If anything, their bond is almost sibling-like by the end of My Hero Academia. Apart from Aoyama though, there really aren't any other strong candidates for Hagakure's potential love interests.

Final Thoughts

Despite lacking official confirmation from the mangaka, all signs point to Mashirao Ojiro being the only suitable love interest for Toru Hagakure. While some continue to yearn for a potential confirmation of their relationship, others are content with the subtlety of it.