WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 5, Episode 6, "Foresight," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.
My Hero Academia has recently pitted Classes 1-A and 1-B against each other in teams of four for some joint training exercises. Many exciting characters, such as Eraserhead's protege Hitoshi Shinso, are getting the spotlight for the first time. And there's much more to these students than their Quirks.
This story is an excellent opportunity to develop the Class 1-B students, including their colorful and creative hero costumes. Some of these characters also display their soft side in the middle of their rivalry with Class 1-A -- especially Shihai Kuroiro and Kosei Tsuburaba.
Kosei & Shihai's Crushes
The first battle between Classes 1-A and 1-B proved that animal-based Quirks can be quite powerful, with Tsuyu Asui's Frog Quirk and Jurota Shishida's Beast Quirk being two examples. Kosei Tsuburaba, who can harden air if he breathes it out the right way, is also stronger than ever. He put Shinso and Koji Koda on the defensive with this ability, but eventually, Tsuyu wrapped him up in her long tongue and delivered him to the "jail" on Class 1-A's side.
Kosei was taken by total surprise, but amusingly, he hardly minded. In fact, he found it delightful to be wrapped up in Tsuyu's strong tongue and held close to her body, while she hardly noticed a thing. Tsuyu is popular for her heartfelt, mature attitude and her stylish hero persona, and Kosei can't help but find her attractive. It seems she's got herself a new fan.
Then there's Shihai Kuroiro, who can melt into anything dark and pop right back out. He took part in the second battle alongside Kinoko Komori, the mushroom girl, and he couldn't ask for more. Shihai's eerie appearance belies his softer side, and he can't help but admire Kinoko's lovely personality and good looks -- even in the middle of combat (and she's a highly effective teammate to boot).
Kinoko hasn't seemed to notice this just yet, but Shihai gets flustered anytime she talks to him or praises him. For now, he's keeping his cards close to his chest. He's probably not ready to live up to a classic anime trope and deposit a love letter in Kinoko's shoe locker.
A Crush Vs. A Role Model: The Case Of Ochaco Uraraka
Will these newfound crushes play a major role in Kosei and Shihai's character arcs from this point on? It's not impossible, but it's also not terribly likely, either -- especially when compared to another, bigger on-screen crush. Much earlier in My Hero Academia, Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya took a liking to each other, sharing more than a few cutesy scenes as the series progressed. But Ochaco has more advantages than having her crush appear earlier than Kosei's and Shihai's.
Ochaco is particularly inspired by Izuku's example and is likewise determined to become a stronger, braver hero. She had this idea in mind while fighting Katsuki Bakugo in the U.A. sports festival, and this can motivate her to really make the most of her adequate but unremarkable Quirk and combat abilities. Ochaco is like the light-side version of the obsessive sadodere Himiko Toga, and that kind of crush can propel someone to new heights. It's Plus Ultra for the heart.
