My Hero Academia’s Creator Answers the Big Deku x Ochaco Question

Despite being a shonen series and thus largely devoid of romance, My Hero Academia is hardly immune to fan shipping, with Deku and Ochaco being one of the most popular ships of the series. This is largely because Horikoshi himself has endlessly teased the potential romance between the two ever since the start of the series. Over the course of the 431 chapters that make up My Hero Academia’s ten-year-long run in Shonen Jump, Deku and Ochaco have very much become the will-they-won’t-they couple of the series ,with even the epilogue being very subtle about their ending. Having said that, it seems Horikoshi has finally put the matter to rest, that too in the funniest way possible.

In the recently released fanbook titled My Hero Academia: Ultra Age, Horikoshi was yet again asked to clarify whether Ochaco finally confessed her feelings for Deku in the end, essentially asking whether Deku and Ochaco did indeed end up together. However, Horikoshi, who is seemingly sick of spelling it out for fans any further, had the funniest and sassiest response ever, saying, “Please read Volume 42 of the manga and use your own imagination for that answer,” referencing the additional epilogue included in the final volume of My Hero Academia.

[RELATED: My Hero Academia Reveals Surprising Twist to Ochaco’s Pro Hero Future]

My Hero Academia’s Creator Clears the Air About Deku and Ochaco’s Relationship

While Chapter 430 left fans hanging about where exactly Deku and Ochaco stood following the final war, Volume 42, the final volume of the series, surprised fans with an additional epilogue chapter set eight years later, wherein Horikoshi finally gave fans more clarity. Admittedly, Horikoshi was still very subtle with the confession scene, cutting out Deku’s exact words, though it is heavily implied that Deku and Ochaco started dating at the end.

Essentially, in Chapter 431, which serves as the continued epilogue, Class 1-A has a reunion of sorts after which, as they prepare to head their separate ways, Ochaco thinks about how she wanted to talk to Deku more, but they were seated too far away from each other throughout. Right then, Deku calls out to Ochaco and also admits to wanting to talk to her more, not just on that day but every day from there on out. Somewhere between stumbling over his words, Deku manages to ask Ochaco out, with her agreeing and admitting she was thinking the same thing.

Though the chapter and essentially the series ends with Deku and Ochaco innocently holding hands, the epilogue more than implies that they confessed to each other at that moment and started dating from there on out. While fans may have wanted a more obvious answer, it seems this is the best they’re going to get, and Horikoshi’s response in My Hero Academia’s final fan book makes it clear he’s done answering any more questions about Deku and Ochaco, at least for the time being.

My Hero Academia is available on Manga Plus and Viz Media.