I love complex antagonists in Shounen. Like, sure, cartoonishly evil villains are fun and all, but I love how there’s a method to the madness for some of them. And a Shounen anime that has been doing that trope well is, surprisingly, My Hero Academia. With the current Final War arc going down, we’ve lost many characters. But none hurt quite as much as losing Himiko Toga. 

Perhaps what hurts here isn’t her dying, but who exactly killed Himiko Toga Or rather, what. Because Himiko Toga didn’t just die in a battle, but rather she sacrificed herself to save Uraraka Ochaco. While Uraraka was bleeding out on the battlefield, Toga realized she’s the one person the world can’t lose. So she used her Quirk, Transform, to essentially perform a blood transfusion, allowing Uraraka to stay alive. But in the process, Toga herself succumbed to the blood loss. 

And, like, what a way to go. Himiko Toga was always portrayed as this Yandere-esque character who was infatuated with Midoriya Izuku and had no redeeming qualities. But it was clear she was a victim here. From the League Of Villains to the Paranormal Liberation Front, Himiko Toga has had a redemption arc unlike no other. So, in today’s Lore Analysis, let’s discuss Himiko Toga’s untimely death and what it revealed.

Himiko Toga: Chasing What She Can’t Have?

A lot of jokes were made about Himiko Toga when she first stepped onto the scene, and it’s not hard to see why. She was foul mouthed, selfish with no regard for anyone else. Except for the people she grew obsessive over, at which point she’d become a menace to them and everyone around them. So, when Deku caught her eye? Yeah, it was game over. 

Toga became relentless in her pursuit of Deku, despite them being on opposite sides and Deku himself not really returning those feelings. But Toga was raised in a system that rarely told her no, so why would she listen? However, someone saw Toga for who she was and not the position she was in as a Villain affiliated with the Vanguard Action Squad. And that was Uraraka.

Uraraka realized that there was more to this girl than her bloodthirsty nature. That her Quirk was more attributed to trauma than anything. And so, for once, it was Himiko Toga who was being chased after instead, with Uraraka trying to talk to her about love, to really understand the girl in front of her. And Toga was having none of it. But too bad, because Uraraka and Deku share the same ideals.

And both of them will try their hardest to save the person in front of them. Uraraka saw what Deku was doing with Tomura Shigaraki, and she wanted to help Himiko Toga in the same manner. And so, that led to them talking about love while battling each other which, yeah, was not the easiest feat. Transform is a very exploitative Quirk and Himiko was on the offensive. Still, Uraraka didn’t lose hope and matched her beat-for-beat. All the while trying to get through to her. 

Uraraka And Toga: Love In Midst Of War

Here’s where the truth came out: Not only had Himiko Toga fallen for Deku, but she had also fallen in love with Uraraka. Uraraka, who was sweet, kind to a fault. Uraraka, who was cuter than any animal, had a smile prettier than any other human. Uraraka, who was the only one to give her a chance and accept her feelings with open arms. And so, Toga realized this is the one person that the world couldn’t lose. 

Giving Uraraka a fatal stab wound right there during a war was a gamble, but Toga’s powerful Quirk turned the tides. Uraraka allowed her to suck as much blood from her as she needed and Toga did exactly that, while feeding on her own blood to Uraraka. Because when she loves someone, sucking their blood means she adopts their blood type and their Quirk. 

Uraraka would’ve absolutely died right then and there if Toga hadn’t taken action. But the fact that this person, who craved blood like it was air, decided to give up every instinct in her to help the person she loves? It was unprecedented. Himiko Toga was powerful enough to finish the entire war by herself, but instead she chose this. 

And maybe there should’ve been more here, a better build up to the end of Toga’s characterization and her relationship with Uraraka, because Lord knows we need more Sapphic representation in anime. But this was still really impactful. 

As they lay sharing life, Uraraka told Toga that she had the most beautiful smile in the world, that she loved her back. Toga died knowing that her feelings were finally returned.

The Hero Justice System Is Fundamentally Broken

I’m going to be honest, the answer to who killed Himiko Toga isn’t a person, it’s the system. Specifically, the Criminal Justice system the Hero World upholds fails to consider mental illness or disorders when it’s profiling future Quirk users. Because having an oversimplified system that separates villainy from heroics is how you get slip ups that could lead to catastrophe. Which is what happened to Toga. 

My Hero Academia has a Justice system that places criminal activity into two camps: Quirk Crimes, where the perpetrator uses his Quirk to do some wrongdoing and is quickly titled as a Villain, and Non-Quirk Crimes, where it’s just a normal civilian who becomes a ‘Criminal’. The problem is, being a Villain means you are treated much more extremely than a Criminal is, with harsher prison sentences and no actual path to redemption through education or even rehab. 

And when you’re just a kid who is misunderstood by her peers for her strange powers, with no one to guide you through them? It’s so easy to fall through the cracks. It was very likely that Toga suffered from mental illness growing up, being abandoned and outcast from society for the way she expressed herself. Like, technically this was just a high school girl who has no business being able to join a group of sycophants, where her problematic nature was glorified. 

In the end, the Good Guys VS the Bad Guys is a fallacy. Yes, the Villains have committed crimes and hurt countless, but it’s also because the system itself failed them. There is no consideration for helping Villains through their issues, either through mental health or even guidance. And it’s not like all the Heroes were good anyways, by the end of it. 

Just look at Endeavour and how he was abusive to his entire family, getting away with it. But at least we got to see some consequences for the System’s actions, seeing it’s dark underbelly revealed. I just wished it didn’t take Toga dying to make it happen.