Mini Theory: Mineta Did Get a Redemption, But It's Not a Typical One
When people think of Minoru Mineta, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that he is a pervert that preys on the girls. He groped Tsuyu, attempted to peep in the girls locker room, tricked the girls in cheerleader outfits, tried to peep at naked girls in the hot springs, creepily talks about a female reporter's breasts, the infamous Eri scene, and purposefully slammed into Mina's breasts while trying to protect her from twin impact. His own motivation for being a hero revolves around wanting to be popular with girls and wanting to get laid. Due to his behavior, Mineta is very unpopular both in-universe and within the fandom. His gross behavior stands out more to the audience, and his other traits do not stand out as much.
However, there IS some hope with Mineta's character. After Joint Training ended, we do not see him attempt to touch or to peep at the girls. Horikoshi is putting more emphasis on Mineta's relationship with Midoriya and his arc about moving while being scared. Mineta was supportive of Midoriya's progress with blackwhip. He was worried about the heroes doing the right thing against Machia. In the Villain Hunt arc, Mineta declares his admiration towards Midoriya stems from him taking action despite being scared and not his power. Like the other classmates, Mineta was shocked when Aoyama was revealed to be the traitor. His latest gags don't involve a girl being victimized. Instead, it's much more humorous with Mineta wanting free time to tell lewd stories, copying Todoroki's handsome looks, or even being a censor for Iida.
What's with this sudden change? Is Horikoshi finally taking Mineta’s character more seriously? One could argue that since the current events have a much more serious tone, there’s it’s an inappropriate time to sprinkle these “jokes.” However, there may be another explanation for such a change.
Right after the Joint Training arc, both Class A and B come together. As punishment for his behavior during the match, Mineta is strapped to a chair and forced to watch something as Mina crosses her arms. This is the last time we ever see any of Mineta's shineanigans. My theory is that the clockwork orange that Mina used on Mineta is actually supposed to represent Mineta's role transitioning from a simply annoying pervert to a better role of being a more supportive teammate and friend, especially towards Midoriya.
Horikoshi has used gag scenes to give some importance to the story before. One example is Bakugou being chained on a podium. As a result of such treatment, the villains saw someone who they could recruit as one of them which led to the kidnapping. Another example is Aoyama's fourth wall breaks and "sparkling" effects which were a cry for help and to make the audience notice him as the traitor. There's also "jokes" about mutant characters' appearance such as when Sero called Shoji an octopus, and Mineta sexualizes him based off of his quirk; however, this is supposed to show the problem of quirk discrimination that many mutant quirk users face in hero society.
The clockwork orange scene is comedic scene. It serves as a comedic redemption for Mineta. It is fitting as he is the comic relief character. We do not see him harass the girls in the manga after that. This may change (but i really hope he doesn't harass anyone anymore).
