Uraraka, so much more than a damsel in distress

In case you haven’t noticed, I am an avid fan of anime. Since middle school, I have watched a number of anime shows and movies which I have loved and enjoyed. The animations, the music, and characters are simply to die for. I’m happy to see more and more people appreciating it just as much as I do. With that being said, I do have a small bone to pick: the portrayal of women in anime, specifically anime shows.

This is not a new or groundbreaking idea — the anime community has expressed their dissatisfaction with the way some female characters are portrayed. Misa from Death Note who would die for Light (quite literally) or Teruhashi from The Disastrous Life of Saiki K whose only thoughts revolve around Saiki (so realistic) are just two examples. Not to mention, the lack of female strength and physical power has been widely discussed and criticized. To put it simply, a woman is more than her love interest and she can show strength. And that is where a female character comes into play that I adore — Ochako Uraraka.

While many female characters are written only for the purpose of being a damsel in distress or to have a mediocre love story, Ochako Uraraka from the series My Hero Academia is not. I’ve had time to reflect on this idea, as season five just came out a few weeks ago. I’ve come to the conclusion that writer Kohei Horikoshi has done a fairly good job creating Uraraka. While he does miss the mark a few times, which we will discuss later, he has been overall successful with Uraraka. 

If you haven’t watched the show, My Hero Academia follows 20 first-year students on their path to becoming professional superheroes. Uraraka in particular caught my attention for her hardworking and brave spirit. While many male characters got the chance to explain their backstory (Midoriya, Bakugo, Kirishima, Shigaraki, Todoroki and more), Uraraka has been the only female character (thus far) to also have one as well. In her backstory, she explains that she is becoming a professional hero to help her poor family. This alone speaks volumes, as her backstory has depth and goes against typical gender roles. She wants to provide for her parents and for herself, which is very admirable. 

With regard to power, Uraraka for sure has a ton of it. Season 2 Episode 22, “Bakugo vs. Uraraka,” has to be one of the most epic anime fights ever made. Bakugo and Uraraka go head-to-head, fighting to see who will come out on top (spoiler alert: it’s Bakugo, but that’s besides the point). What I want to highlight is the fact that Uraraka held her own against one of the most powerful students in her class, showing her fighting spirit. She fought until the end, giving it her all and giving Bakugo a run for his money. The fact that Uraraka got to showcase her talents instead of being pushed to the side is exciting and inspiring. 

The last thing I want to touch on is the simple fact that Uraraka is more than just Midoriya’s love interest. Izuku Midoriya is the main protagonist of the show, and Uraraka has been his love interest since the beginning. Horikoshi has animated five seasons already and Midoirya and Uraraka are purely just friends with small crushes on eachother. Sure, they have had their awkward flirting moments and shy encounters, but in the grand scheme of things it is clear that Uraraka has more substance than just being a love interest. She is strong, dynamic, and a well written character. 

With that being said, there is still some room for criticism. Although Uraraka is written well, it’s still pretty disappointing we don’t see much of her in later seasons despite her popularity. Aside from Ururaka, the other female students are lacking dimension. As I mentioned, Uruaka is the only female character with a backstory. In addition, Momo Yaoyorozu is one of the strongest students in her class next to Shoto Todoroki. They were both admitted into professional hero high school via recommendation, but Yaoyorozu doesn’t get nearly the same recognition as Todoroki. Finally, six of the 20 students are female, making for a 30% female to 70% male ratio (sound familiar Stevens students?!) which is pretty upsetting. 

Overall, I’m a fan of Uraraka and the way Horikoshi has created her. She’s powerful, resilient, brave, and so much more than a damsel in distress. I hope in the future to see more female anime characters with these same attributes, as a large portion of anime watchers are women. As anime popularity increases, so does the female audience. Strong and inspiring female characters are exciting to see for women everywhere, and I can’t wait to see what Uraraka achieves next. 

Girl Talk is an Opinion column written by a current female student to discuss issues surrounding women, whether it be feminism, current events, personal experiences at Stevens or in life, and more.