While it has always been pretty clear that Kohei Horikoshi, the author of My Hero Academia, was heavily inspired by Marvel Comics, there is another intellectual property which also falls under the Disney umbrella that also helped him with creating his series. Though Star Wars may feel entirely different to My Hero Academia in its story, characters, and even overall aesthetic, during a recent interview with Men's NON-NO magazine, Horikoshi reveals that the iconic movies actually had a pretty profound impact on him, which would eventually show itself in his much beloved manga series.
This might be a little surprising for many fans to hear, but when understanding how exactly Star Wars encouraged Horikoshi, the references and inspirations start to become a lot more clear. Horikoshi is one of the rare examples of a manga author who doesn't mind giving fans a full insight into his work ethic, but this might just be one of the most fascinating and surprising reveals of them all, so it's time to take a deeper look at what exactly Horikoshi said about Star Wars, and how it has helped to mold My Hero Academia into the series it is today.
Horikoshi's History With Star Wars
The Movies Left A Big Impression On A Young Horikoshi
- Horikoshi is asked about movies that inspired him
- He first watched Episode 1 when he was in middle school
During an interview with the fashion-based Japanese magazine, Men's NON-NO, Horikoshi was asked whether there were any particular movies that inspired his manga work. Without hesitation, he immediately jumped to the Star Wars series, even mentioning that he had watched Episode 1 when he was still in Middle School. Since Horikoshi was born in the mid-80s, he technically would have just missed out on the arrival of the original Star Wars films, so it makes sense that he would jump straight to Episode 1, which was later released in 1999.
"I watched Episode 1 in Middle School and loved the originality of their creature designs" - Horikoshi
This is actually a rather unusual question for Horikoshi to receive, as most interviewers will try to explore his history with comics, or even other manga series published in Jump, to try and uncover what he's truly interested in. Therefore, his answer definitely came as quite a surprise to many fans, but the highly talented author didn't just stop there, as he also explained how exactly Star Wars had an impact on it.
He makes specific reference to the alien from Episode 1 known as Sabulba, who Star Wars fans might remember as the dangerous and sadistic racer who tries to sabotage Anakin in the first movie during the Pod-Race. While it would be easy to assume that Horikoshi looked up to the likes of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as sources of inspiration, the fact he turned straight to Sebulba says quite a lot about why his characters are so over-the-top and creative in their designs, which he actually goes on to explain in greater depth.
The Creativity Of Star Wars' Characters
The Experimental Designs Of Star Wars Sparked A Fire In Horikoshi
Horikoshi proceeds by explaining that it was particularly the creative and experimental creature and character designs of Star Wars that had the biggest impact on him when he was still planning the manga. In fact, he even goes as far as to say that he once imagined what Sabulba would look like if he ever became a Jedi, which is a concept only someone as infinitely imaginative as Horikoshi could ever conjure up in his mind.
"I thought about what it would be like if there was a Dug Jedi" - Horikoshi
The truth is though, considering Star Wars includes all kinds of different alien species to uncover, it allows the movies to feature a plethora of unique characters, many of whom have completely different appearances that help make them unique and memorable. Whether it's the small green alien known as Yoda, the sluggish beast Jabba the Hut, or even just the badass-looking Bounty Hunters like Boba Fett, it's not hard to see why an up-and-coming manga author would be so captivated by these designs.
If we then turn back to My Hero Academia, the biggest aspect that most people praise is how diverse the characters are in how they look. Midoriya, for example, may seem like a fairly straightforward protagonist from a visual standpoint, but this definitely doesn't apply to most of the other heroes and villains seen in the series, such as Mirko, All For One, or even All Might himself. It definitely wouldn't feel out of place for Shigaraki to be a Sith Lord, for example, considering he certainly looks menacing enough to play the part.
Tatooine Is In My Hero Academia?
Horikoshi Referenced His Love For Star Wars In The Very First Chapter
- Tatooine is referenced in the very first episode/chapter
- Horikoshi included both Star Wars and comic book references at the beginning of the story
Anyone who has read or watched My Hero Academia will know that Horikoshi has no problem inserting characters from other media into his own story, without trying to obscure their identities. For example, Sonic and Spider-Man have both shown up in My Hero Academia in one form or another, and while there are technically no Star Wars characters who have signed up to the UA academy, there is still an iconic location from the franchise which appeared in the very first chapter.
If fans rewind their minds back to the very first scene in the series, where Deku can be seen watching two giant villains going at it, the area where this fight takes place is actually Tatooin Station. Needless to say, Horikoshi didn't exactly try all that hard to make the name very original, but the fact that he decided to insert this name at all shows just how inspired he was by Star Wars when beginning the series.
"By the way, Tatooin Station in chapter 1 of MHA is a homage to the planet Tatooine" - Horikoshi
In fact, the first chapter of My Hero Academia not only contains a reference to Star Wars, but it also shows silhouettes of multiple comic book heroes, including Spider-Man, Batman and Superman. He was therefore able to pack in his two biggest inspirations before the story had even officially kicked off, highlighting just how much these properties meant to him when coming up with the story and characters of his now immensely popular series.
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
- Directors
- Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano
Cast
-
Daiki YamashitaIzuku Midoriya (voice) -
Kaito IshikawaManga Fukidashi (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the "One-For-All" quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
- Seasons
- 8
- Creator
- Kōhei Horikoshi
