@Count:
While I am fine with presenting an organic relationship between Izuku and Uraraka, the recurring gag of Uraraka constantly getting freaked out by people that she's in love is getting old. If Horikoshi can switch up the execution and humor a bit to not transform her into Hinata and instead have more natural, diverse, and therefore funnier, moments like how she was a bit jealous of Hatsume getting so intimate with Izuku in her excitement to rework his costume. I agree that the series didn't really need the relationship either, but you have no idea how refreshing it is to actually be tackled with humble pacing in the story and character insight rather than having Uraraka be an obligatory love interest archetype that the protagonist is blind to from the start.
And I immensely agree with that statement, MDL. If only Ashido and Jirou could get more of a spotlight in the plot compared to Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Yaoyorozu. I didn't mention Hagakure because her characterization is so literally transparent lol that she can only get memorably expanded among the cast if she turns out to be the traitor, which is why I'm banking on that reveal (not to mention the onslaught of evidence and how much her power fits).
@Count:
Of course; and the female characters can indeed get more attention as a whole and Uraraka has had great character moments. But it's a shonen manga. I don't like to have to butcher my expectations to fit a series, but I doubt that we're going to see any of the females get as much attention or feats as the guys. Just the attention they're getting with personal quirks, unique designs, power usage, and emotional insight they've been getting are extraordinary enough for the entire genre lol.
I wouldn't say that it ruins her character development. Especially when her admiration for Deku is not rooted solely in irrational love but through genuine respect and admiration from him as a source of inspiration to drive herself to improve both internally and externally. It at least has a somewhat reasonable basis, and she still has enough individuality and potential plot lines to get character investment that solely isn't tied down to being a love interest.
Don't get me wrong though, I agree that it might have been preferable to focus on them solely as respective classmates on an equal plane. And the relationship theme can EASILY go wrong. But I think that Horikoshi at least deserves a chance to let us see if he can put a positive execution on this compared to other manga from his qualitative track record in this manga.
That is also true. But to be fair, at least he's not trying to cram them all in at once and rush their character exploration like the squads in Naruto. Who were eventually abandoned except for the main trio and Shikamaru just because. When you have a main cast that revolves around twenty characters, not including Class 1-B and now Seiketsu High being introduced, other departments like Hatsume, the pro-heroes, and also an entire League of Villains (we still barely know anything about the previous users of One for All and All for One despite his plot significance), juggling all of that can be extremely stressful and full of regrets. I think I remember Horikoshi even saying in one of the volumes that he wishes that he could work in Ashido more in the plot to shine as a character, which shows that he does care somewhat about expanding his characters. And there are still plenty of guys in the main cast lacking character exploration and general attention if you count Ojiro, Kouda, Satou, Shouji, and Sero, so lack of characterization exposure is not exclusive to the females.
And Todoroki's backstory and development was really captivating. But his personality is still a blank slate to the point that it's recurring joke for him to have emotive opinion lol.
Thumbs up to everything above!!!
I'd also like to add that I believe that it is adding up to one big moment for them. Ochako's motivations are particularly relatable, but as you said (I think), she needs to discover why she wanted to be a hero. Not for her parents' sake, but for her own sake. Honestly, it feels like she's being set up to clash with Stain's ideals. This is one development I'd love to see. Stain's ideals are has some hypocrisy in it as he judges the heroes arbitrarily, as we can see against Tensei.
I would love to see All Might dropping by in jail to expose how conceited his views are by showing him Ochako's entrance exam. Even by taking her motivation into account, she is still every bit the hero All Might and Deku is and one who can be considered a candidate for his Quirk. I would really love it if they confronted each other, which leads to her self-discovery of why she wants to be a hero.
As for Ochako's role as the love interest, I think I have a pretty good idea where Hori's going with this. From their first meeting alone, it's actually pretty clear what the nature of their relationship, or rather, their love will be like. Deku saved her life from getting crushed, and Ochako saved him from falling to a messy death. Aside from All Might, Ochako is easily the most influential person in his life. All Might gave him the means to become a hero, but it was Ochako who made him the hero he is today.
In short, they're each other's heroes.
Should Deku doubt himself, he can seek solace in Ochako's love and support. Ochako can look towards him as her source of inspiration.