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The anime adaptation ofMy Hero Academiais set to conclude in 2025, with season 8 being the final season, dropping either in summer or fall. Season 7 concluded with a heavy heart as fans said their final goodbyes to Himiko Toga as she gave her own life to save Ochako Uraraka’s. The scene later shifted over to All Might’s battle with All For One, which ended up becoming the perfect energy giver after a tear-jerking conclusion between two beautifully written characters.
Some might find the finale to Toga’s narrative a touch clichéd, particularly during the dialogue. However, watching the anime gave it a very different vibe than reading the manga, as the music and voice acting enhanced the entire scene. Since this was the final meaningful moments of Toga and Uraraka before All for One, Shigaraki, Deku, and Bakugo take the spotlight, the English dub voice actors reflect on the characters and their performances.
Uraraka’s voice actor didn’t audition for just one character inMy Hero Academia
Uraraka’s voice actor, Luci Christian, revealedduring an interview with io9that she initially auditioned for multiple characters forMy Hero Academiaother than Ochaco. But when the ADR Director, Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard, switched to Uraraka’s face on the TV screen, Luci was immediately able to connect with the character and decided to voice act for her.
I read for a few different characters at first, but when Collen [Clinkenbeard] put Ochaco’s face on the screen, I remember going: “Ohhhhhh, I know her, I get it.” Ochaco begins the show as this delightful girl next door who’s drawn to be precious and a really good friend with lots of integrity.
It appears that Luci had not read the original manga, as she and Toga’s voice actor, Leah Clark, had no idea of Toga’s fate at all until the internet spoiled it for them. But from her words, it’s pretty clear that Luci understood Uraraka’s character and her conversation with Toga better than most fans.
Luci Christian’s reflection of Uraraka and her character growth
For instance, she picked up on the foreshadowing of Toga getting attached to Uraraka and her initial remarks hit her.
In season six, Toga asks Ochaco during a fight, “So because I’m evil, you think I deserve to be killed?” Ochaco says “yes,” and you see that hit Toga on a much more personal level. For me, that’s when I knew there was a deeper connection for the two beyond hero versus villain.
But later on, Uraraka realized what Toga was really on about and decided to have a conversation while battling each other.
And in the end, Ochaco tells Toga, “You’ve been trying to kill me this whole time, but you were also trying to tell me things weren’t so black and white. I wasn’t able to see it before now, and I know I’m super, super late, but I came around to another, better answer. Let’s talk.”
While Luci was concerned that Uraraka would remain a hopeless romantic in the early seasons, she grew to love watching her develop into a strong character as the show went on. Luci had become proud of Uraraka with the way she has grown into a more capable and independent person.
Kohei Horikoshi Puts the Spotlight on an Unlikely and Underrated My Hero Academia Duo
Luci also reflects on her journey to voice act Ochaco Uraraka and remarks how being involved inMy Hero Academiachanged her life.
My Hero changed my life a little bit: I’ve been dubbing anime for years, and it’s the first show I’ve ever been in that became a mainstream zeitgeist hit, where non-anime people like my nephews were tuning in to watch it. It’s been such a joy to see so many people come to the art form through this, and so fun to see cosplayers, and I’ve never really had an experience like that before.
My Hero Academiamanga is available to read onViz Media.
Anand Bhaskaran
Articles Published :134
A Dragon Ball fanatic who also loves to read and talk about Indian spirituality. An MBA finance graduate with a passion for doing everything that is unrelated to it. Anand has over 4 years of experience under his belt, having worked with leading content heads in the anime community. Currently, he’s more into Slice of Life and Romcom shows than actual Battle Shonen. But unfortunately, he’s stuck with a job writing ONLY about Battle Shonen (smh).
