In a recent interview with Nippon TV’s news zero, Kohei Horikoshi shared an unexpected detail about My Hero Academia as the manga finished its 10-year run on August 5, 2024. Horikoshi revealed that My Hero Academia almost didn’t happen because he was ready to quit manga after two of his earlier series, Oumagadoki Zoo and Barrage, were canceled due to low readership.
It was the support of his editor that encouraged him to try again, leading to the creation of one of the world’s most popular manga.
“I had two series canceled, and I thought, ‘I’m done with manga.’ The editor at that time told me, ‘Don’t give up,’ and ‘Do your best,’ so I thought, ‘Let me try one more time,’ and I decided to draw it with all the things I like and only the things I’m good at drawing.”
The editor who gave this encouragement was Hitoshi Koike, who played a key role in motivating Horikoshi during a tough time.
Noticing that one of Horikoshi’s previous one-shots, Boku no Hero, still meant a lot to him, Koike suggested turning it into a serialized work.
“I wanted to read Horikoshi’s next title, and had been encouraging him and telling him that wasn’t the case. Those weren’t just some lighthearted words, as I truly believed he could create a great title if he just had the motivation.
“Rather than throw together a lofty title and have him draw it, I knew it would better to have Horikoshi draw a title that would excite him and that he would feel confident enough about to say ‘Isn’t this interesting?!’ I didn’t know how well things would turn out, but I was focused on upping his motivation,” Koike had said in one of his previous interview.
From Concept to Legacy—Horikoshi’s Journey, Final Volume, and Upcoming Projects
While Kohei Horikoshi had the general idea for My Hero Academia, his editor, Hitoshi Koike, wanted to ensure Horikoshi’s talent reached a wider audience. After many discussions about the concepts and character designs, the storyboards for the first three chapters were submitted.
These storyboards were accepted, but Koike was replaced by a new editor, Monji, who did not inform Horikoshi of the change until the last moment.
Horikoshi, known for his love of heroes, American comics, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, included two characters from his previous work, Oumagadoki Zoo, in My Hero Academia. These characters are Uwabami and Gang Orca.
As the series ends, there are several commemorative releases planned. The final volume, Volume 42, will be released in December. A fan book is set for January, and the first art book will be released in April. There will also be a large-scale original art exhibition next summer.
Additionally, a secret project related to the series will be revealed on August 5, 2024.
Kohei Horikoshi started serializing My Hero Academia in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in July 2014. As of August 2024, the chapters have been collected into 41 tankobon volumes. The series has also inspired several spin-off manga, including My Hero Academia: Smash!!, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, and My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions.
