What did Horikoshi mean by “Please read Manga Volume 42 and use your own imagination for that answer.” A importance thread
During the events of chapter 431 Katsuki and Izuku had the discussion back in the car scene where there is an importance on what it means to have people that are special to you. Katsuki emphasize to Izuku that it’s important to not give everyone special treatment because then the meaning itself dosen’t carry much weight if you view everyone the same way. He indirectly tells him to do an internal dive into his own heart to figure out if he has someone he views as special.
Shortly after that scene we then cut to the class 1A reunion where everyone gathers together to celebrate Shoto becoming the number two hero on the hero rankings. After the dating conversation gets brought up by Ashido which it then gets revealed to the reader that Kuroiro and Kinoko from class 1B began dating and shortly after that we get Kaminari and Jiro joking to everyone on how they did not begin dating.
Then we get Deku’s internal thoughts where he begins to question if there is a side of himself that he has not discovered (which chapter 431 directs the reader to the realization that romance was something he never explored for himself). Bakugo’s quote on how “Giving special treatment to everyone means that no one is really special to you”. Starts to play a role when Izuku is staring at Ochaco smiling and beginning to come to that conclusion that he indeed is in love with her.
Once more Deku thinks back to the conversation that he has with Bakugo after class 1A decides to go home for the night. We then get Ochaco’s perspective of her thinking back to some of the memories she had recalling her own feelings to Izuku. Here we are shown that it isn’t only Izuku who wanted a chance to talk to Ochaco more then usual as she is going through similar thoughts on the matter.
It’s important to keep in mind that Ochaco wasn’t the first one to confess but it was Deku as he was the one who ran all the way to find her. Deku says “I really want to talk to you, Uraraka. And not just today. From now on to” this is his way of confessing that he has fallen in love with her and wants to be in her life for as long as they live. Horikoshi wrote Izuku’s confession subtly but in a way that makes it clear that the answer to whether they do end up together is through his words. Ochaco’s expression also says it all.
Finally we reach this famous panel of Izuku and Ochaco looking directly at each other after Toga gives her speech about wanting Ochaco to live a life as she directly says to her “I’ve lived exactly the way I wanted to. And since I loved you so much, Ochaco, my wish is for you to live exactly like you want to!” the conversation Ochaco has with Toga is importance because she has holded on to the pain of not being able to save Toga from death and we see that Toga is helping Ochaco be more open and honest with her feelings which directly ties into her arc about not suppressing her feelings.
The last thing Ochaco says to Izuku on the speech he gave is that she feels the same way as he does about wanting to get closer.
The original question that led to Horikoshi’s answer asked “Did Ochaco finally confess her feelings to Deku? and with everything that has been presented in chapter 431 the only part of the chapter he is telling reader to imagine is Ochaco’s return confess to Deku since the chapter ends with them mutually agreeing that they feel the same way. It’s heavily implied that she most likely opened up more to Izuku about her feelings after the famous hand holding panel on the last page of the manga. Which is more then likely what Horikoshi was referring to and fans using their imaginations to piece together the answer to the question.
