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My Hero Academiais one of the current reigning series in the Shonen world, despite its manga having ended. And, of course, the credit goes to Kohei Horikoshi, the mangaka behind the work. From action, tragedy, and a tug-of-war between good and evil to awesome characters, the series has it all.
One of the reasons behind the anime’s popularity is its characters. The designs are stellar, and each of them has a different purpose to serve in the anime. So, how exactly does Kohei Horikoshi come up with them?
Kohei Horikoshi’s simple formula to createMy Hero Academiacharacters
Kohei Horikoshiwasinterviewed by Anime News Networkduring the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. From his humble beginnings to his primary inspirations, the mangaka laid bare. But the most pressing question of them all was about his character creation process forMy Hero Academia. Horikoshi’s simple answer was:
At the end of the day, the characters are the most important. Are they cool? Do they do cool things? I think that’s the core of these characters.
My Hero Academiaundoubtedly has some of the coolest characters. There are characters who have grown out of their bullying behaviors, some who struggle with loneliness and other psychological fears, and others who can do anything to prove themselves. The anime has villains with whom you will empathize and heroes who you’re able to freely despise.
My Hero Academia: 1 Character Is So Unhinged Even Kohei Horikoshi Honored Him as the MHA Version of DC’s Joker
But at the end of the day, what matters is whetherreaders can find the characters ‘cool.‘ A large part of viewer retention lies in character development and creation, and Kohei Horikoshi has clearly excelled in it. At the end of the day, his simple yet effective method works.
How does Kohei Horikoshi create a rich world with interesting characters?
In the interview, Kohei Horikoshi admitted that, at times he has already thought of how characters would be. But sometimes,things just come to himwhile he is drawing. The key lies in imagining how a character might react to a given situation. (Of course, without changing their characteristics.)
I have these light bulb moments – I don’t spend hours and hours thinking about it. I just get inspired. So for example I’ll be at the convenience store, and I’ll see a roll of clear tape and I’ll think “hmm, maybe there’s a face in here somewhere”.
The author also admitted that while creating characters, he thinks about their personalities first. While he does enjoy illustrating female characters more, he tries to put the personalities in the foreground. The author also expressed that he was surprised at how readers reacted to Bakugo.
Kohei Horikoshi: American Comics Like Marvel and DC Only Have “Surface-level inspiration” on My Hero Academia
He had assumed everyone would hate Bakugo, butit has been the complete opposite. In the character polls and questionnaires, Bakugo frequently comes in the top position. Bakugo had been a bully to Dekugo at first, and Horikoshi ended up giving them a big fight early on. But it was through and after that fight that Bakugo’s humanity became visible.
My Hero Academiamanga is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1558
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
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Kohei HorikoshiMy Hero Academia
