This article contains spoilers for My Hero Academia
It's pretty much impossible for any manga author to accurately predict how long their series will go on for once they start writing. It's no secret that being able to publish a series in the Shonen Jump magazine for years on end is an extremely difficult task, especially considering how many series are axed each year for not attracting enough readers. Kohei Horikoshi, the author of My Hero Academia, actually tried to publish two stories before Deku arrived on the scene, so there would undoubtedly have been a lot of pressure on him to hit a home run the third time around.
In the end, My Hero Academia would run for more than four hundred chapters, making it reasonably lengthy when compared to most series in the magazine at the time. Having so many chapters allowed the immensely talented author to shed some light on as many characters as possible throughout the story, but he did also admit that he initially wanted the story to be a lot shorter, and there's a multitude of reasons why it ended up taking him so long to finally complete.
Horikoshi Wanted To Reach 30 Volumes
He Revealed His Initial Goal During A Conversation With Eiichiro Oda
- The series went on a little longer than he intended
- Oda jokes with Horikoshi that he should have aimed even higher
A few months before the very first My Hero Academia movie was released, Horikoshi had the chance to talk with none other than his personal hero, Eiichiro Oda, the legendary author of One Piece. In a way, the conversation feels like an old mentor trying to share some wisdom with a younger pupil, resulting in a pretty fun and honestly quite fascinating chat shared between the two. With that being said though, there was one question Oda was eager to ask Horikoshi, and it relates to the length of his story.
Oda wanted to know how many volumes Horikoshi had originally wanted to go up to when he first started publishing My Hero Academia in 2014. The author revealed that he initially planned to reach 30, but immediately after, he admitted that this would be nowhere near enough to showcase the big and ambitious story that he had kept stored away in his mind for many years. Oda, who himself has now published more than 100 volumes of One Piece, joked that maybe Horikoshi should aim for 50 instead, only for him to buckle and admit that he doesn't have it in him to continue drawing week to week for another 10 years.
"It's not about whether you can or can't. Just keep drawing, you'll get there eventually" - Oda to Horikoshi
My Hero Academia eventually managed to reach 42 volumes in total by the time it finally ended, so clearly, it stretched on for quite a bit longer than Horikoshi maybe would have wanted. That's certainly not a bad thing for the audience though, who were able to follow the cast of heroes and villains for as much time as possible before the story finally concluded, but there are a few key reasons why this beloved series ended up being as long as it is.
Why My Hero Academia Ended Up Being Longer
The Popularity Of The Series Paired With Horikoshi's Focus On Specific Characters Played A Big Part
- The series' staggering popularity definitely contributed to its length
- Horikoshi wanted to give specific characters enough screentime to grow and mature
The most obvious reason why My Hero Academia continued running for as long as it did is simply because of its popularity. By the time the manga had reached the Forest Training Camp, the anime had already started airing, introducing an overwhelming number of new fans to the series as a result. With so many people reading his series week to week, Horikoshi probably felt obligated to give the fans what they wanted, encouraging him to flesh out the story and characters even more than intended, to create a series that people could enjoy for many years to come.
However, there is a deeper reason within the story itself as to why Horikoshi was drawing for so long, and it's because of the focus he gave his characters. While many of the early story arcs centered around Deku, considering he was the main protagonist, at roughly the midpoint of My Hero Academia, Horikoshi began dedicating entire story arcs to individual side characters who he felt were also important to the overall plot. The two biggest examples of this are Endeavor and the League of Villains, who all get a massive amount of screen time so that fans can get to know them on a more personal level.
"I want all of you to just...watch me!" - Endeavor
There's also the fact that Horikoshi clearly wanted to give as many characters as possible a send-off that felt appropriate. Throughout the Final War, there's a plethora of characters, even though those who are viewed as pretty insignificant, who have a lot of episodes and chapters dedicated to them receiving a conclusion that makes sense to their personal story. There's no doubt this would have stretched out the final conflict even more than was originally planned, but that's certainly not a bad thing, considering how well-done many of these character moments turned out to be.
Would My Hero Academia Have Benefited From Being Shorter?
Horikoshi's Original Vision May Have Been The Better Option
The burning question therefore becomes, what would the My Hero Academia story have looked like if it had only reached up to 30 volumes, and more importantly, would this have benefited the series overall? While this is obviously up for debate, the one criticism that is frequently thrown at My Hero Academia is the pacing of the story. There are admittedly a few sections and story arcs which don't really do all that much to push the plot forward, and while there are definitely still plenty of exciting moments contained within each one, leaving them on the cutting room floor would probably have been a better idea in hindsight.
The main culprit of this is the Joint Training arc, where Class 1-A are forced to duke it out with Class 1-B as part of a trial exercise. Many fans argue that this arc was simply a way for Horikoshi to remind fans that Class 1-B are still relevant to the story, but at over 20 chapters long, it definitely feels like a bit of an abrupt pause that doesn't seem all that necessary.
In contrast, though, the length of My Hero Academia does also benefit the series in a few unique ways. Not only does it give the gigantic cast of characters the chance to show what they're all made of on an individual basis, but it also allowed Horikoshi to get pretty experimental with world building, allowing him to introduce a few new factions, such as the devious Paranormal Liberation Army. Therefore, the story could probably have been a lot more focused if it were a tad shorter, but it ultimately still benefits in many respects in being as long as it would eventually become.
- 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
- Studio
- Bones
- Creator
- Kōhei Horikoshi
