Toga, Ochako, Admiration and Imitation: A Five Part Saga
Part l — Where does imitation stem from? (you are here)
Part ll — We Are The Same
Part lll — Stepping Into Your Own (It All Comes Back to Them Part l)
Part lV — Stepping Into Your Own (It All Comes Back To Them Part ll)
Part V — From Bakugou to Deku to Ochako to Toga
Where does imitation stem from?
Both Ochako and Toga’s imitation come from a genuine feeling of admiration. They want to be like the person they admire, but it’s a little more nuanced than that.
For Ochako, her want to imitate Deku comes from a feeling of inadequacy with her own ideals/goals. To her, Deku is the image of what a hero is supposed to look like — extremely selfless, wanting to save everyone (more so than herself, who started off only wanting to help her parents), putting his goals before all else, and doing whatever he can to achieve them — and in order to reach his form of heroism she imitates him.
For Toga, she wants to imitate Ochako because she envies her. Ochako is accepted and trusted by the person she admires, and by society. Ochako indulges in her admiration/imitation without being rejected, but Toga was denied that opportunity.
Through people like Mina and Aoyama, Ochako’s feelings are said to be a crush/love…
But through Toga these feelings are brought up in a more negative light.
For Toga, in order to fit the image that society wanted her to be, she hindered herself, and because of that she was unhappy.
In a similar fashion, Ochako’s imitation (note, imitation, not admiration) of Deku — who serves as her image of what a hero should be — was shown to be a hindrance to her ideals/herself. However, in an attempt to stop that and chase her goals, she puts away her admiration of Deku, and focuses on trying as hard as he does.
Her putting them away kind of worked. Through her own experiences such as witnessing Nighteye’s death and remembering her own reasonings for admiring heroes, she grew into a hero who wants to save people and came to define her own ideals and what she wants to be as a hero — a hero who protects everyone’s smiles.
Through that, she also came to wonder, after seeing Deku break himself so many times for the sake of others — who protects the heroes when they need protecting?
This is all great, she’s finding her own voice! But there’s still a problem at hand… (part ll)
when you say there is nothing of substance in regards to izuku, what exactly are you referring to? what would you have liked to see in the ending between bakugo and izuku?
It actually has less to do with Katsuki and more to do with Izuku and everyone else.
I would have liked to see him talk more with All Might about life after all for one and the possibility of loss. I would have liked to explore the drama of Izuku being the last wielder a little more from a personal perspective. It seems like Katsuki did most of the work exploring how Izuku returning to quirkless life would be a big adjustment.
I would have liked to see Izuku grapple more with understanding that while Shigaraki is someone he wanted to save, he also hated him. I would have liked to see him realize that besides just saving Shigaraki, he might have to spare a thought about what might happen next even if it didn’t happen. Ochako did, even in passing.
I would have liked to see more emotional impact regarding Izuku having the epiphany that he wants to save someone who has wronged him in a permanent way that matters. That wasn’t Katsuki, but Shigaraki/All for One, who have put Katsuki in jeopardy three times and Toshinori in the same position at least twice when Izuku was present. We go through this briefly, but it’s more like watching it go by as something we’re meant to expect rather than something we explore.
I would have liked to see Izuku, Ochako (with Ochako lurking on the sidelines and keeping her thoughts to herself a little, just as she was), AND Shoto discussing the very real possibility that the people they might try to save will die, and the public WILL try to martyr them a la Curious to Himiko, and they WILL have to discuss their actions. In the epilogue it seems Ochako has found a way to talk about Himiko with the public without talking about Himiko directly, which is its own thing, but I would like to see Izuku actually try to handle the consequences of his sudden fame since it is directly affected to what Heroes (career Heroes) value and strive for.
Katsuki, I think, also has an opportunity to act as a counterpoint because he killed his opponent and it was never some deep, emotional debate. I wouldn’t expect it to give Katsuki any existential angst, because I feel like it would be absurd if he OR the public gave TWO SHITS about whether All for One lived or died, but he and Izuku did enact two differing functions and methods of Pro Heroing that have to be discussed. Izuku can feel however he likes about his role in Shigaraki’s death, but he should also recognize that the people around him and that he respects and love did arrive with the intention to kill, and even that Katsuki put himself in that position SO IZUKU DID NOT HAVE TO HANDLE IT.
I would have liked to see Izuku questioning, at many points throughout the series, what it is exactly a pro Hero does and what they protect and value before he thinks about extending that nebulous definition to include trying to save Shigaraki Tomura. I don’t even necessarily want him to have to try and fix it in the story, but I would like for him to identify it beyond being “kinda weird”. From Ochako’s comments on finding Himiko a potential heroic purpose (meaning, the fact that she knows saving Himiko must be justified to the public to have some kind of purpose, or even that it COULD be) I think she understands what she is grappling with much better than Izuku does.
I don’t mind or disagree with him being a teacher, but I don’t get the sense how helping pro Hero students, who still have to be incredibly powerful to qualify for the career, apparently, makes him heroic. What the hell is he teaching them if I’m not convinced he learned much besides the taste of failure in his own heroic story?
I’d like for Izuku Midoriya to have more going for him as an individual character with a more extreme internal monologue and desires with fears, doubts, and explored resolutions to any of these things. He has them at the start, but by the end I personally don’t find them interesting or or well explored, and he does not connect with me.
And, yes, as a cherry on top, I do wish he had the balls to tell Kacchan that he has value in his life as something besides a rival. He can smile and have his shiny eyes all he likes and let it be implied or self-evident all he likes, but I would like for him to acknowledge it instead of always being a recipient. It was pretty gratifying to see him take the time to go speak with Ochako and tell her how heroic she is, finally, now at the end, but it would be nice if he did that for Toshinori, his mom, Katsuki, or a slew of other characters who have always saved him, helped him, or held their feelings inside for the sake of him or others.
While he uses stupid machismo and yelling, Katsuki has hidden his true feelings a lot not just as a shield for his fragile ego in the second half, but to keep Izuku from worrying. So nice of you to notice, Izuku.
I made this one based on the first scene of season 2 and this made me believe that Aziraphale fell in love the moment he met Crowley while Crowley at this point was just full of awe and wonder as he created the galaxy. I noticed that Az somehow copied some of Crowley’s manerism, just bubly and cheerful, or perhaps the wing cover later, back in season 1, was Aziraphale returning Crowley’s kind gesture at the very beginning, this moment.
In any case i love love love it, soooo many good moments in this season. What are your thoughts?
So, I feel like I’m losing my mind. I keep seeing metas about how Aziraphale wants Crowley to return to Heaven and be an angel again because he wants them to be on the same side/be good/change/etc., etc., etc. but I don’t see that at all. I actually see it as the very opposite.
Aziraphale loves Crowley just as he is. But there’s something more. Something huge.
Aziraphale loves Crowley and because he is an angel who is stuck in seeing things as black and white, he constantly praises Crowley for being nice. For being good. For being kind.
Aziraphale has watched Crowley on and off for 6,000 years. He watched him thwart the plans of Heaven and Hell because it was unjust. He spared the lives of innocents. He did small things that made Aziraphale happy just because (like making Hamlet successful and saving valuable books). And because Aziraphale sees things in black and white, he sees all the things Crowley has done as nice, as good, as kind.
Crowley vehemently attests he’s not nice or good or kind.
He’s not exactly wrong nor is he lying when he says this. When Crowley spares goats during a cruel bet over a righteous man and swallowing laudanum to prevent a suicide, when he prevents Armageddon by working with Aziraphale and stopping the Anti-Christ from being the Anti-Christ, he’s not doing the nice/good/kind thing.
He’s doing the right thing.
Crowley chooses to do the right thing without hesitation. He is better than all of Heaven and Hell who have callous and dispassionate view of all existence because he questions, because he makes choices. Crowley sees the world for all its messiness and he sees himself. He sees a place where he fits in. He sees the blurred edges.
And Aziraphale sees that, even if seeing the blurred edges is hard for him.
But here’s the thing that Aziraphale can’t voice.
It’s the reason why he told Crowley about being allowed to return to Heaven and become an angel again. He doesn’t want Crowley to change. He doesn’t think Crowley is flawed. Or not enough.
It’s something that is so monumental that it cannot be put into words. Because to put it into words would be more than blasphemy. It’s down right unthinkable for anyone in Heaven, Hell, or Earth to say what Aziraphale knows deep in his soul.
God was wrong to cast out Crowley.
Aziraphale believes Crowley can/should return to Heaven because he knows that Crowley should never have fallen in the first place. He wants him to be forgiven because when Crowley fell it was unjust. Aziraphale is trying to correct a mistake. He’s trying to do the right thing.
Yes, Crowley would never accept returning to Heaven. And Aziraphale was wrong to even suggest it (although that conversation is another can of worms to unpack).
Aziraphale loves Crowley. He loves him exactly as he is. He doesn’t want him to change. Aziraphale knows that Crowley the best of all of them. He wants to change Heaven because of it. Because God was wrong and Aziraphale knows it.
Aziraphale may have difficulty seeing beyond black and white, but when it comes to Crowley he sees everything crystal clear and in vivid color.
