Uraraka is the Traitor Part 2
Back with Part 2! Which- sorry to say- is probably going to be even longer than part 1 but it can’t be helped. So in this we’re gonna look more into Uraraka’s name, her place in the story of My Hero, and her parallel with Toga. So let’s dive in!
If you’re a fan of the manga, you’ve probably noticed Horikoshi has a really cool naming system for each of the character’s through their kanji symbols. For example, Izuku Midoriya’s (緑谷 出久) name is a reference to him being the 9th OFA holder and his signature green locks & Bakugou’s name (爆豪 勝己) can mean something along the lines of “explosion victory” which I don’t even think I need to explain how that relates to his character.
Uraraka’s name in Kanji is 麗日 お茶子 which can mean “pretty day”, which suits her bubbly, cute personality, right?
You’ll also recall that Horikoshi deliberately writes character’s names a certain way sometimes so as to not spoil something about them. Take, for example, Himiko Toga whose name was written in katakana instead of kanji (because in kanji her name literally means “to put on someone else”) to hide her quirk until the big reveal during the hero license exam.
An interesting thing about Uraraka’s name is that she only uses the “Ura” part for her hero name “Uravity”. Another interesting thing is what the name “Ura” can be turned into when written differently in Kanji.
It would make sense for Horikoshi to use this genius play on words. While we think he’s calling Uraraka a “beautiful day”, he might actually have been hinting at her treason from the beginning, right in front of our faces.
Here’s the official Viz translation of Uraraka’s character page:
Why would Horikoshi feel like a “true genius” coming up with Uraraka’s name if it truly means what it appears on the surface as opposed to Bakugou or Deku’s (whose, honestly, fit their character more) unless there’s more to it.
I find the dynamic between these two to be really interesting for some reason. Probably because they seem like such opposites but actually have a lot in common, like their shared crush- *cough* obsession *cough*- on Midoriya.
It all started during their fight during the Training Camp Arc. Tsuyu’s pinned to the tree and Uraraka has Toga down thanks to her training with Gunhead (as opposed to, I don’t know, floating her up into a tree so she couldn’t escape or knocking her out or something other than just sitting on her, c’mon girl) when Toga starts to mess with Ochako a bit.
She’s obviously comparing them highkey, and Uraraka doesn’t even seem offended by it or like “this bitch is nuts.” Instead, she thinks back to when she wanted to win just like Deku at the sports festival, while making a face that says, “she’s got me figured out,” y’know? It’s almost like what Toga is saying makes Uraraka come to a realization about herself.
And then the two are pitted against each other again in the Hero License Exam, when Toga literally becomes Uraraka in order to trick Deku, who figures it out after she doesn’t float when knocked off a high rock ledge. It wouldn’t be anything noteworthy (I mean, Uraraka’s is the only blood Toga was able to snag, of course she’d be the one she’d imitate) except for the parting words Toga- masquerading as Camie- gives to Uraraka:
It’s almost like she’s saying it ironically. “Ha, it’s really funny that he trusts you so much.” I think Toga knows more about Uraraka than she’s letting on.
Do I think the villains know her on a personal level? No. She probably communicates with them exclusively through her phone or something. But Toga’s mocking makes it pretty obvious she’s on to her about something.
Our encounters with Aoyama in the story so far have been… interesting (?) to say the least. He’s kinda a mysterious guy that we don’t know much about.
But a particular scene with Uraraka makes it apparent he’s also very observant.
Like seriously how did he figure it out and not, I don’t know, one of the girls (who btw still don’t know. They just suspect it’s either Iida or Deku because those are the two she hangs with the most). He’s not really around Midoriya or Uraraka enough to know this unless he’s been watching one or both of them closely.
And then we have ch 167 & 168. Random chapters that seemingly came out of nowhere that gave us some really strange encounters between Aoyama and Deku.
He’s clearly trying to open Deku’s door at 1 am. Like what the actual fuck??? And the explaination we get for this is subpar at best. “He was trying to tell Deku that he knew how he felt having a quirk that hurt his body.” Like what??? That literally does not explain why he’s trying to slide open his bedroom door in the middle of the night. And the message he leaves him is weird af too.
I don’t buy Aoyama’s pitiful explaination for this. I don’t think “I Know” means what he says it does. I think he’s trying to warn Midoriya, in his own way. “I know who the traitor is.”
My theory is even further backed up later in the chapter when Aoyama carves this for Midoriya into a rock:
The writing is a French phrase which roughly means, “Don’t trust even the calmest of waters” or- according to the unofficial translation- “still waters run deep”.
We get absolutely no explaination for why Aoyama does this, but I have my own thoughts about it.
This was another warning.
“Don’t trust someone who appears the nicest, the friendliest. Their intentions aren’t what you think. It’s deeper than you think.” Because what’s a risk you take getting into water that appears calm? You could be swept under.
The only person that this warning could even remotely apply to is Uraraka, as she’s one of the only people to show Midoriya continuous kindness and calmness. I think Aoyama is watching Uraraka closely. He probably already suspects her, but needs some sort of definitive proof. And that’s where our favorite Lord Explosion Murder comes in.
Idk why, maybe it’s the inner writer in me, but I think the foil between Bakugou and Uraraka is too good not to exploit.
Like I mentioned, Aoyama is probably looking for some kind of definitive proof to the traitor’s identity, whether he be working with school to figure out the traitor’s identity or just working on his own. And who do we know who seems to be able to figure out complex situations better than anyone?
He figured out the complex truth of Deku’s power all on his own, he was able to read Yo Shindou’s eyes to determine he wasn’t as nice as he was pretending to be (“your words don’t match your eyes.”) Bakugou is smart.
How would he find out? Not really sure, but I do think it’s interesting that they’re on the same dorm floor.
And if she was the traitor, then she was probably responsible for telling the villains the training camp location, thus resulting in Bakugou’s kidnapping, which then resulted in All Might’s fight with AFO.
If Bakugou figures out who’s responsible for that… I don’t think it’ll be very pretty, especially if she tries to give him some bs excuse. Unlike most of the boys, Bakugou’s quite aware that Uraraka is capable and strong. He wouldn’t buy that she was manipulated into this or a weak girl was taken advantage of. Hell, he’s said as much himself:
Just saying, Horikoshi pits the two of them against each other a lot in his sketches as well. They rarely interact in the manga anymore, separated in almost every arc.
In conclusion, I refuse to believe that Uraraka will remain a one-dimensional character whose only major plot line is a crush on a boy she’s known for a few months. (Once again, I am not hating on her character. Quite the opposite. I think she has so much potential that it would be a shame to waste it.) Thanks for reading this trainwreck! I’d love to hear your thoughts as well! I’m gonna be doing some more theories soon (not traitor-related) :)))
