Megumi Tadokoro is a Better Ochako Uraraka

By Dakota McNally

Back in August, I was writing questions for an incredible panel of guests – including the creator of Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars) – when thought had occurred to me: Megumi and Uraraka from Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia) are a lot alike. Both come from poor families, both want to excel in their profession, and both must struggle against the strongest members of their class. They are also the primary female leads of popular, long-running shonen series and have done a great deal to change the landscape of shonen.

Soon enough, a rather provocative query arose from this comparison: is Megumi Tadokoro a better written Uraraka Ochako?

Before you click away, let me be clear: I love both characters and both series. In early September, I threw up an image of my messy green hair on social media and compared my mop to Deku’s, which has benefitted from some of the best writing in modern anime.

I’m in love with My Hero Academia. And I want to see Uraraka succeed. But the story of Megumi Tadokoro tugs my heart strings in a way I wish Uraraka’s story would continue to do.

And yes, for the sake of an easier read, I will refer to the series by their English names. You can burn me at the stake in the comments.

For anyone less familiar with Food Wars, the series shares much in common with My Hero Academia: Elite, bigger than life academy, star students, and tougher than nails exams and assignments, where merit and hard work define success in their creatively crafted worlds – but always with the looming threat of expulsion for poor performance. Both series believe in the power of hard work and effort, that some are born with privilege, but anybody can find their place in the world if they work hard enough.

I will fully disclaim both series are ongoing, so my opinion on Uraraka’s development might change with future releases. I would love for that to be the case and intend to revisit this piece should my opinion shift.

There will be spoilers for both series. Lots of them. You have been warned.

Who in the world is Uraraka Ochako?

Uraraka launches into the series strong, scoring third in the UA Entrance exam and scoring first in our hearts. Competent, resourceful and optimistic, Uraraka’s poised to become an easy fan favorite. She isn’t infallible, but Uraraka is reliable in a pinch, doing everything in her power to support all who need her. Vouching for Deku’s heroism during the exam, despite him never scoring a point, Uraraka’s the primary reason for Deku’s admittance to UA.

Uraraka uses cunning and creativity to get past the worst the UA Academy can throw at her, while she may not stack up to the likes of Todoroki and Bakugou quite yet, she is a force to be reckoned with. Yet despite these wonderful traits, Uraraka really has few shortcomings: she’s a bit stingy when it comes to spending, but understandably so considering her background. She doesn’t possess an inherently “heroic” reason for becoming a pro, something that would be touched upon thematically by Hero Killer Stain, but this never becomes a direct conflict for her character in the way that it did for Iida. She is laid back, but not to a point of irresponsibility or risking her standing in the class.

To connect with a character means seeing them fail, struggle, and improve, which is why Uraraka’s standout moment in the series comes during her fight against Bakugou at the Sports Festival. There’s a lot at stake for Uraraka here, providing her a chance to gain recognition from future employers as she displays her skills on a nationally televised event. Uraraka remembers her family in this moment, her drive and reason to fight, to give them a better life. This is one of the few moments in the series that we see Uraraka’s motivation given life on screen, fueling her desperation to win in hopes of impressing the agencies watching her match.

She’s also fighting an uphill battle against an opponent with superior reflexes, forced instead to distract and wear down her opponent and fight him indirectly. This moment forces Uraraka to be pushed to her limits, and because she is struggling both emotionally and physically against insurmountable odds, the audience manages to connect with her meaningfully.

When the crowd jeers at Bakugou for going all out against her, and we realize that not only is she is being underestimated because of her power disadvantage, but also, sadly, for being a girl, we feel for her even more. To Uraraka, this unwanted pity is largely embarrassing: she’s attempting to prove her mettle for the top agencies in the country, to secure her future as a professional. When Eraser Head rebukes the crowd, Bakugou’s actions become even more meaningful in the moment: his ferocity comes out of a deep respect for Uraraka’s strength. She is a worthy opponent that he cannot afford to go easy on.

Despite Uraraka’s final gambit, and all of her efforts, Bakugou emerges untouched and she collapses, facing a bitter loss. Bakugou breathes a sigh of relief surviving her attack, however, having recognized just how close she had come to overcoming him. Her fight with Bakugou proves that with training, commitment, and effort, Uraraka can continue to rise in the ranks at UA alongside Deku. This sets up Uraraka’s arc for growth, for further improvement: if she wants to see her dreams come true, to not be underestimated, she has to train and improve herself.

She earns the right to train with Gunhead and develops her martial arts, all as a means to overcome her shortcomings in the sports festival. This shows promise, in the way that Deku’s training to learn Full Cowling gave the audience a measuring stick for his growth towards his goal.

But sadly, Uraraka’s development begins to stagnate past this point. She doesn’t inherently change as a character: her personality, beliefs, and goals never make any significant leaps since the Bakugou fight. Understandably, this can be attributed to a large issue with the show: My Hero Academia large cast provides a lot of ground to cover, and not everybody can receive exceptional development, but unlike Iida and Todoroki, Uraraka’s arc never came to a satisfying conclusion. Todoroki had to accept his father, and the power inherited from him, in order to come to peace with himself and dedicate himself fully to his work. Iida had to come to terms with his brother’s retirement, not allowing revenge to consume him and reinforcing his reasoning for becoming a hero.

Uraraka, in comparison, never really learned anything from her fight with Bakugou. She understands that she needs to improve, but not how to improve as a person. While Uraraka might be getting progressively stronger through training, her growth as a character is never again tied to any major emotional or plot stakes that continue to push her development further. Furthermore, getting stronger does not equate to character development; it’s how a character get stronger, how they change as people, that matters more than the strength itself.

Uraraka does express an admiration, and later attraction, for Deku, and questions if her feelings will get in the way of her work. The problem with the budding relationship between Uraraka and Deku, at this point in the series, is that Uraraka’s romantic feelings change the status quo very little. Had her feelings amounted to a confrontation or friction between her and Deku, this arc could have had potential to explore some interesting themes surrounding her professional goals and private feelings, but this, regrettably, amounted to very little. Even her fight with Toga really had little to do with her feelings for Deku: her desire to protect Deku in that moment didn’t lead her to make any professional blunders, think irrationally or show favoritism. If anything, her development stalls due to this manufactured conflict, seeing as she never takes any risks in revealing her feelings and risking a change in her relationship: nothing has changed.

So, who in the world is Uraraka Ochako?

If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn’t have Megumi

Enter Megumi Tadokoro. Unlike Uraraka, she starts at the bottom of her class and with plenty of flaws. Her stage fright and inability to handle pressure makes her underperform, barely making it into the high school division of Totsuki Culinary Academy. While kind, nurturing, and determined, Totsuki Academy is unforgiving to those unable to stand on her own. She lived in the shed of Polar Star Dormitory until she could pass the entrance exam, and even after passing, she finds herself relying on Soma’s creative thinking and talent to avoid expulsion. Megumi has a lot of growing to do.

Megumi’s faces her first major challenge and chance for growth in her battle against a Totsuki Academy alumnus Kojiro, who, much like Bakugou, is clearly at a different level than Megumi at this point in the series. Despite being outmatched in the end, Megumi’s talent managed to move her opponent, Kojiro, who votes for her dish, which causes the duel to end in a tie. This moment becomes the first instance of anyone recognizing her talent as a chef and her first step towards independence.

Megumi not only holds her own in the buffet challenge the next day but manages to succeed using hospitality dining—experience gained from her family’s inn. This reminds us of her background and her motivation to keep her family out of poverty; Megumi draws from her past experiences to make her a more capable person in the present. Megumi’s outstanding efforts earn her a candidacy to compete in the 43rd Annual Totsuki Autumn Election with the best chefs in her class. Not only is Megumi able to stand on her own, but she can compete among the best, furthering her confidence.

Megumi’s character arc consistently oozes character development, while weaving a fantastic story of an underdog motivated to do good for her family, and finding her roots helps her to rise to the top. Her candidacy is met by a jeering audience, stoutly against her participation. To the student body, Megumi is still considered one of the worst performing students on campus, refuses to believe in her professional turnabout. Her reputation, and everything that she had fought for up to this point, is at stake: if she fails here or refuses to participate, she risks losing faith in herself, and her development up until this point can very easily be undone. Despite the odds, Megumi overcomes stage fright on the most hostile stage imaginable and succeeds in the preliminaries, gaining entrance into the main tournament.

Megumi surpasses herself, making it all the way to the quarterfinals. Her loss to Ryo becomes all the more bitter because she strives for victory. Compared to the girl who fear expulsion mere months ago, Megumi has changed significantly: she hates losing because she now believes that she can win. More importantly, she also learns that relying on others will only get her so far: she will have to rise to the top on her own. The audience commends her participation on how far she’s managed to come, and she gains not just respect among her peers, but a newfound respect for herself.

Megumi continues to grow by leaps and bound after the Autumn Election, even advising Soma, the main character, in future arcs. Her work study sees her improving the restaurant that she was assigned to, even impressing Erina, the Gordon Ramsay of the series. She defends Polar Star Dormitory from its closure, putting her career on the line to defend the dormitory that had encouraged her growth. She’s no longer relying on others but actively helping and fighting for them. Her growth is not only prominent, but measurable in both her skill as a chef and in her character. Her bitter work and lifechanging journey will eventually earn her the 10th seat of the Elite Ten by her second year at Totsuki Academy, and she is unrecognizable from her season one self. Megumi, even among the large cast of Food Wars, is always at the forefront of the series. We see her fail, struggle, and overcome obstacles on screen along with the titular hero, and grow as a person because of her experiences.

So what?

Uraraka and Megumi may have come from similar backgrounds and have similar goals, but they are still different characters. Uraraka does not struggle with confidence and she is more independent and capable. Megumi’s arc, meanwhile, is focused on her gaining competence and independence from others and standing on her own.

The biggest difference between these characters is that Megumi changes throughout the story significantly, where Uraraka remains the same.

Megumi is arguably much more like Deku upon second glance, somebody who started with nothing who was given a chance by someone to blossom and became something on their own. Deku’s development works so well because there are stakes tied to his need to get stronger. All Might, the Symbol of Peace, is gradually running out of time as his health worsens and passed down his power to Deku. Deku has to grasp not just strength, but responsibility and a purpose for wanting to be All Might’s successor as he gradually develops. As a result, Deku is forced to grow – from someone who idealistically aspires to be a hero to becoming the successor for the Symbol of Peace. His development shapes Deku from a quirk-less kid with a dream into a responsible young man with plenty of chips on his shoulder.

Deku has to grow up, and so does Megumi: like Deku, she had to aspire to be more, not just to support her family but to improve herself in order to succeed.

The mutual theme of Food Wars and My Hero Academia is the notion that hard work and dedication leads to success in life. Megumi started out undervaluing herself, all because she cracked under pressure and failed to believe in her own strengths. Watching Megumi progress and grow, much like Deku, allowed us to connect with her and cheer her on, making her one of the strongest, most developed characters in the series next to Soma, the main character, and Erina, an antagonist turned anti-hero.

Uraraka deserves the same level of development, but without any real flaws, her character will continue to lack growth. Given an arc to expose her character flaws more prominently and given the chance and the stakes to improve herself, Uraraka can become more than what she seems. Who is Uraraka Ochako, what makes her tick, and most of all, how does she need to change? For now, her fight with Bakugou continues to be one of the most memorable moments in the series, and with some newfound momentum and attention, perhaps Uraraka will capture the hearts of fans once more.

Go beyond, Uraraka! Plus Ultra!