The Real Reason My Hero Academia's Ochaco Sleeps In Gloves

My Hero Academia is among the most popular manga and anime series currently running. Over the past few years, it has taken western media by storm thanks to its anime adaptation, which began airing in 2016. The success of the anime has led many western viewers to retroactively check out the manga, a definite boon for the genre. 

My Hero's premise is intriguing and its cast of unforgettable characters is endearing. Teachers and students at a high school for the superpowered — what's not to like? Moreover, it's clear on every page and in every frame how much depth and humanity creator Kōhei Horikoshi put into each of them. Ochaco Uraraka is a prime example of this. A principal character in both the manga and its anime adaptation, she's fun and bubbly, but can transition to determined and focused at a moment's notice when necessary. Overall, she's a great fit for U.A. High School — the kind of superpowered co-ed who gets along with the vast majority of her peers. Something she never gets quite enough credit for, however, is her considerable forethought; Ochaco is nothing if not prepared.

As seen in the My Hero Academia manga, Ochaco has a very strange bedtime ritual that many would find perplexing. When she's ready to turn in for the night, she puts on a pair of gloves that look remarkably like oven mitts. As it turns out, she's got a very good reason for her bold fashion choice, as pointed out by the eagle-eyed fans on Reddit. The rationale for the sleep gloves is interesting and says a lot about Ochaco as a person and her relationship with her "Quirk" — the series' term for a superpower.

Ochaco Uraraka's Quirk is pretty great, but it requires constant focus and attention to control. She can manipulate gravity, causing objects to levitate or appear weightless as she pleases. The power lies in her hands and fingers, which are responsible for initiating the effect or canceling it once she closes her fingers. This seems like a highly useful skill to have in any context, but it does have its drawbacks. For one, it's difficult to control what her hands touch when she's asleep.

Much like everyone else, the characters in My Hero Academia aren't in control of their bodies when they sleep. Ochaco Uraraka is no exception. Should she touch the wrong thing, she could wake up in a room full of floating objects. To counteract such a scenario, she wears gloves to bed to limit her finger movement. This way things neither float, nor come crashing down if she made something rise when she was awake. It is a small detail, but it makes total sense. Ochaco isn't dumb, so it isn't out of character for her to plan ahead in such a way — even if wearing gloves in her sleep is a bit odd. At least it doesn't look too uncomfortable. Gloves are just socks for your hands, after all.