Five anime classics that shaped My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is a Battle Shonen manga by Kōhei Horikoshi, consisting of 170 chapters over eight seasons. Although the primary series has ended, spin-offs continue to serve fans.

We all owe it to Goku.

Hiroshi has been open about the fact that All Might is inspired by Goku from Dragon Ball. Both are heroes with a heart of gold who balance extreme power with overwhelming and silly gestures.

The overall story structure and plot progression of My Hero Academia - the training stages, tournaments, final battles - is deeply indebted to Dragon Ball.

The structural influence of the Big Three

My Hero Academia serves as a contemporary counterpart to Weekly Shonen Jump's "Big Three" Naruto, One Piece and Bleach, which were the most popular shōnen during the ၂၀၀၀s. Each of Horikoshi's series is drawn in different ways.

The plot, pace and nature of the One Piece series are drawn from all three. In particular, "One Piece" has encouraged Horikoshi to tackle long, ambitious arcs in a shorter time frame, which is one factor that establishes a more mature tone in later seasons of the series. U.A Games and other competitions draw on Naruto's boxing matches, while Deku Bakugo rivalry builds upon the entertaining, chaotic chemistry developed between Naruto and Sasuke.

Bakugo and the Body of Akira in Shigaraki

Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is a terrifying cyberpunk dystopia that remains a timeless classic almost four decades after its release. Horikoshi said Tetsuo's explosive anger and confusion over Kaneda and his friends shifted to Bakugo's reactive characters and rivalry with Deku.

Tetsuo's fate is also reflected in Tomura Shigaraki. Shigarashi's backstory - endless experimentation, manipulation and corruption run parallel to Tetsuos' misery, as his terrifying mutations and transformations touch upon the same visceral body horror that has been Akira's trademark. Examining the destructive nature of power and its psychological destructiveness in later storylines brings to mind Akir's nihilistic NEO -Tokyo where society experiences a shocking moment when it undergoes rebirth rather than an apocalyptic saga like Otomo's, which fortunately did not occur.

The Camel Rider and the Tokusatsu Tradition

While My Hero Academia is a love letter to the Silver Age of Western comic books, Japan's tokusatsu genre relies on realistic special effects and storytelling typically explored through the sentai subgenre as well. Kamen Rider technically isn't an anime but was set in the same cultural space and significantly influenced this fighting style.

Deku's story arc and character development are reminiscent of Kamen Rider.

It's the equivalent of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist received praise for its unique power system "alchemy", which is built on the law of equal exchange, and has echoed some of My Hero Academia's more complex quirks. Kai Chisaki's Overhaul Quirk recreates an alchemical transformation process that makes a character in My Hero Academy feel as if they are fighting against the powers of the Fullmetall Alchemists.

My Hero Academia's ၂၀၂၄ film You're Next serves as the 25th anniversary of both Studio Bones and Fullmetal Alchemist, and is filled with Arakawa's storylines. Dark Might's altered Quirk is accurately titled Alchemy, inviting comparisons to FullMetal Alchimist's villain father. Giulio's new character design brings back memories of Edward Elric.

What was the outcome?

Although the main My Hero Academia series has ended, its sequels have kept fans alive and Hiroshi's superhero masterpiece continues to inspire another generation of Shonen successes. What should be taken away for readers is that some notable elements of this series are the insane warmth of All Might, the tournament structure, Bakugo's fury, Shigaraki's body horror, Deku's costume upgrades - not an isolated invention but a conversation with previous manga and Tosatsu awards.