Random Things You Didn't Know About 'My Hero Academia' (20 items)

• 

  (#1) Bakugo Was Supposed To Be A Nice Guy

  Katsuki Bakugo is well known for his quick temper, his arrogance, and his tendency to be rude to the point of cruelty. What isn't as well known is the fact that Horikoshi's original conception of him was completely different. Bakugo was originally supposed to be a nice, well-meaning guy who accidentally said offensive things without realizing it.

  He scrapped that idea because it thought it would be too boring and created the Bakugo we know today - do you think that was a good move?
• 

  (#2) Tsuyu & Hakagure Started Off As Boys

  When Horikoshi was first designing Tsuyu Asui and Toru Hagakure, he planned for them to be boys. But when he looked at the roster of class 1-A, he realized that it was super unbalanced - there were only four girls and 16 boys. To make progress towards fixing this, he changed these characters' genders. Considering how many people call Tsuyu their best girl, this move didn't go unappreciated. 
• 

  (#3) Izuku's Father Will Eventually Show Up

  Is Inko Midoriya a single mom, or is there a father in the picture? While pretty much every scene involving Izuku's family makes it look like there's no dad involved, Izuku actually does have a father. His name is Hisashi, and he has a fire-based quirk. Exactly what he's up to is unknown, only that he's working abroad. While there's been plenty of speculation as to what that entails, the series hasn't provided any answers yet. 

  At a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Kohei Horikoshi stated that Izuku's father would eventually make an appearance. This means that fans can look forward to at least one mystery being resolved. 
• 

  (#4) Ochaco Was Meant To Have Mt. Lady's Powers

  Ochaco Uraraka's Zero Gravity quirk is a defining feature of her character, but that wasn't always the quirk that Horikoshi had in mind. In his original drafts, Ochaco was supposed to have Mt. Lady's quirk, Gigantification. She also had Mt. Lady's hero name and real name, Yu Takeyama. Eventually, that identity was given to the current Mt. Lady, and Ochaco became the character we know and love today. This change was made because Horikoshi thought Gigantification would be too difficult of a quirk for the hero-in-training to handle. 
• 

  (#5) Nighteye & Iida's Dub Voice Actors Are Getting Married

  While few people would think to ship Tenya Iida and Sir Nighteye together, their dub voice actors are a different story. J. Michael Tatum, who plays Iida, got engaged to fellow voice actor Brandon McInnis on October 16th, 2018. The engagement took place in Paris. Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple!
• 

  (#6) Ectoplasm Lost His Legs In The Line Of Duty

  All Might isn't the only character in the world of My Hero Academia to sustain a major, life-altering injury. Ectoplasm, the teacher at U.A. who is best known for his epic Final Exam battle against Tsuyu and Tokoyami, has been badly injured too. At some point before the start of the series, he lost both legs during a battle with a villain. That didn't stop him from maintaining his hero duties, however. He uses a pair of prosthetic legs in every day life, and swaps them out for lightweight prosthetics when he's wearing his hero uniform. 
• 

  (#7) Bubble Girl & Centipeder Were Designed By Fans

  Sir Nighteye's assistants, Bubble Girl and Centipeder, weren't actually designed by Horikoshi. Rather, they were designed by the winners of a contest for Japanese fans.

  Bubble Girl was created by Chiita Abara. In Abara's original design, Bubble Girl was a 16-year-old student at U.A., but she was aged up and made into a pro hero. Centipeder was designed by Tetsuya Oohara.
• 

  (#8) Midnight Was Originally Meant To Be Class 1-A's Homeroom Teacher

  Midnight, aka the 18+ Hero, was originally intended to be class 1-A's homeroom teacher. While this would have been a dream come true for characters like Mineta, the idea ended up being axed when her design started getting seriously risque. Instead, Eraserhead ended up with the job.

  But Midnight still has a canon connection to class 1-A - she's actually the person who encouraged Eraserhead to enter the teaching world to begin with. This is depicted in a scene from Vigilantes, not in the main manga.
• 

  (#9) Present Mic Was Supposed To Be A Bald Old Man

  Have you ever wondered why Present Mic's headphones say the word 'hage?' Hage means 'bald' in Japanese, and while Mic's cockatoo-like hair might look like a wig, the few shots of him in the manga with his hair down prove otherwise. So, why the random reference to hair loss? Because Mic's original character design was a fat, elderly bald man.

  Horikoshi decided against that idea on the ground that it would be boring. Instead, he decided to base him loosely on an actual radio DJ named Hisashi Yamada, and give him a frenetic personality. 
• 

  (#10) Masashi Kishimoto Compared The Series To Naruto

  Naruto is one of the most successful manga and anime in history, so when its creator Masashi Kishimoto takes notice of a new series, it means a lot - especially when he compares it to his own wildly popular work. Kishimoto released a drawing of his protagonist Naruto Uzumaki cheering on Izuku Midoriya, essentially passing the baton to the next generation of creators. The two series bear plenty of similarities, and this drawing is a meaningful vote of confidence.
• 

  (#11) Everyone's Name Has A Symbolic Meaning

  Just about everyone in My Hero Academia has a name that's somehow related to either their quirk or their role in the series. In some cases, this results in names that don't actually exist in the real world. Bakugo (爆豪) isn't a real name no matter what kanji is used, but the character has it anyway because it translates to something like "Explosion Master."

  Other characters have names that are used commonly, but use uncommon kanji. Shota (Eraserhead's given name) is so common it's basically the equivalent of being named John or Dave. However, it's written in a way that the name usually wouldn't be to reflect his quirk. The name is written as 消太, with the character 消 (sho) meaning 'erase.' 
• 

  (#12) The Characters' Quirks Are Inspired By Random Things

  The characters in My Hero Academia have some of the most inventive powers in the world of anime and manga. How does Horikoshi come up with them? Sadly, it's not a method that the rest of us can reliably replicate in our own creative projects - it's all about his unique blend of creativity.

  When Horikoshi first began the manga, he chose quirks based on what would be the most helpful in advancing the story. Later on, he came up with them randomly. In an interview with Comicbook, he said the following:
   

  "But, since then, it has been more of a "light bulb’ or "Ah Ha" moment — by being inspired by the things around me. 

  For example, with Gran Torino, I came up with his Quirk when I was taking a shower. I looked at the shower head and was like, “Oh, that would be cool… for something to come out of his feet.” Like have propellant coming out of them. So, that is how his Quirk was inspired"
• 

  (#13) The Series Has Two Canonically Trans Characters

  My Hero Academia is has not one, but two canonically trans characters. 

  The first is Tora of the Wild Wild Pussycats, who is a trans man who was assigned female at birth. In his manga profile, Horikoshi writes that Tora went to Thailand in order to have sex reassignment surgery. 

  The second is Magne, a member of the League of Villains. While she doesn't present in a particularly feminine way, the series makes it clear that she's a woman. Some members of the League either call her 'Magne-nee' or 'Big Sis Magne' in the dub. Even those who don't use nicknames are still quick to correct people who misgender her. 
• 

  (#14) Characters From Horikoshi's Previous Works Appear In My Hero Academia

  When creating My Hero Academia, Horikoshi took inspiration from his previous works. In particular, he used characters from Oumagadoki Zoo. Some of these were cameos who only appeared briefly, but Kuga Sakamata, also known as Gang Orca, actually appears as a significant side character. 
• 

  (#15) There's A One Shot That Came Out Six Years Before The Manga

  In the 2008 Winter Issue of Akamaru Jump, Horikoshi published a one-shot called My Hero, which would serve as a jumping off point for the full manga series. It follows a sickly salaryman named Jack Midoriya who sells hero items, but wants to become a real hero himself. His character was altered in the new series: his name was changed to Izuku, his health improved, and he became a high school student. The sickliness was transferred over to All Might. 
• 

  (#16) Superman Could Kick All Might's Butt

  Because All Might is obviously a callback to the comic book hero Superman, a lot of people have speculated about which of them would win in a fight. The question has been answered by none other than All Might's creator, Kohei Horikoshi. When asked about it in an interview, Horikoshi said,

  
  "Superman! His laser eyes, they are Superman’s biggest Quirks. The difference between them, the battle of their Quirks — laser eyes would win. If All Might had that Quirk though..."
• 

  (#17) Horikoshi Struggled To Start His Career

  My Hero Academia might be a runaway hit, but that wasn't true of all of Horikoshi's earlier works. While he achieved initial acclaim by winning a Shonen Jump contest with a one-shot called Tenko, his later works, Oumagadoki Zoo and Barrage, were prematurely cancelled. For this reason, and possibly others, he was pretty depressed for a while. He decided that his next series would focus on things that made him happy. When he remembered how happy he felt creating the one-shot that would spark My Hero Academia, he felt enthusiastic about creating again.
• 

  (#18) There Are A Ton Of Spin-Offs

  There's more to the My Hero Academia universe than just the anime and the manga. Due to the series' intense popularity, there have been multiple spin offs.

  The biggest example of this is probably My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, which takes place a several years before the start of the main series. It follows a boy named Koichi who uses his quirk to help people outside of the main pro hero structure. It's worth reading even if you're not interested in its protagonists, because it also offers a ton of interesting backstory about pro heroes like Shota Aizawa. 

  Besides Vigilantes, there's My Hero Academia: Smash!! which is a gag manga that focuses on the everyday lives of the characters. There's also a series of light novels called My Hero Academia: School Briefs, which consists of short stories about the characters. 

   
• 

  (#19) Horikoshi Is A Huge Dragon Ball Fan

  As a child, Kohei Horikoshi used to practice drawing other anime characters. While he drew all kinds of things, he especially loved drawing the characters from Dragon Ball. His enthusiasm for the series continued to shine through when he created My Hero Academia - All Might was based partially on Goku. Both are larger-than-life characters who inspire the people around them, so it's hard not to see the resemblance. 
• 

  (#20) There's Been A 'My Hero Academia' Café In Japan

  If you happened to be in Ikebukuro in at any time between June 1st and July 18th, you might have been lucky enough to visit the My Hero Academia Café. At this café, fans could order themed meals and drinks like Uraraka Ochaco’s Sticky Chewy Zero Gravity Parfait​​​​​​​, Izuku's Katsudon, and It’s Delicious! Why?! That’s Because I Made It!! All Might’s Smash Soda​​​​​​​. Guests also get a randomly selected coaster with a character's face, and have the opportunity to play arcade games and buy one-of-a-kind merchandise.

  This isn't the only café of this nature: there have been pop-ups all over Japan! No word yet on whether this experience will ever be available in the West, but we can always hope.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking