My Hero Academia Season 7's Premiere Proves Why the Series Needs More Spin Offs

Warning: Light Spoilers For My Hero Academia's Final War Arc

Summary The MHA franchise has proven capable of great and expanding spin-offs like the Vigilantes series, but there could be more.

My Hero Academia's world has the potential for diverse stories in various locations, cultures, and time periods.

After the main series, spin-offs can delve into the past, exploring how Quirks changed society and lingering questions.

Season 7 of the My Hero Academia anime finally showcased the awesome power of America's number #1 hero, Star and Stripe, but it's also a reminder that the franchise has failed to explore stories set in other countries, something more spin-offs could cover. All Might was introduced as the MHA world's Symbol of Peace, which kept villains fearful as Japan's top-rated hero, but are other heroes and villains from different countries that the franchise could explore.

The MHA story primarily focuses on the adventures of Deku and the rest of his classmates from UA High School centered in Japan. Glimpses of events and drama from other parts of the world, like the United States, have only appeared briefly in the story. For example, when a younger All Might visited California in the movie My Hero Academia: Two Heroes.

As the beginning of the series points out, Superhero Society began when nearly 80% of the entire world's population started to develop Quirks (aka superpowers), not only in Japan, where MHA's stories have taken place. Author Kōhei Horikoshi has created an entire world that is begging to be more thoroughly explored because there are sure to be other conflicts, cultures, and even time periods in MHA's universe that would be fascinating to expand upon.

The Vigilantes Spin-Off Proves The Series Has More Stories It Can Tell

There have been three MHA manga spin-off series

Before diving into what other stories in the MHA franchise could be explored, it only seems fitting to credit the existing spin-offs. Series like My Hero Academia Smash!! and Team-Up Missions feature wacky adventures with Deku and his friends, and then there is the underrated My Hero Academia: Vigilantes manga. The expansive spin-off takes place five years before the events of MHA and centers on the college-aged Koichi Haimawari as he and other Quirk users fight crime as unlicensed heroes, often bumping into and sometimes having to confront My Hero Academia's Pro Heroes and Villains.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes concluded after 15 volumes and 126 chapters. During its run, it explored a darker side of Japan's super-powered criminal underbelly and the illegal heroes trying to make a difference. Because the series spent more time with an older cast than MHA's first-year high school students, it often tackled more mature themes. The spin-off built on the franchise's world and added compelling context for prominent characters like Stain and the speedster Ingenium and some other surprising appearances. Still, the world of MHA feels like there are many more stories to tell beyond the island of Japan.

My Hero Academia's World Is Bigger Than Japan

All of MHA's spin-offs take place in Japan, but they don't have to

Season 7 of the My Hero Academia anime began with the appearance of the USA's number #1 hero, Star and Stripe, rushing to Japan to battle one of the series' ultimate villains. However, the episode also featured additional context on the troubled status of countries around the world. One scene showed members of Star and Stripe's military squad watching the news that revealed the incident regarding All for One's jailbreak, and Shigaraki's rampage triggered civil unrest worldwide. It's a reminder that MHA's world is bigger than Japan and filled with places where spin-off stories could take place.

American Pro Heroes have appeared in My Hero Academia and the Vigilantes spin-off. However, very little is known about the Super Hero Society in America, how it operates, and what kind of threats it has had to deal with on that side of the globe. While more than enough stories are centered in America and featured in DC and Marvel comics, Horikoshi's unique take on the superhero genre has successfully built an intriguing world where countless characters, their quirks, and engaging adventures can exist without affecting MHA's main storyline.

The Vigilantes series has yet to receive an anime adaptation, but the manga was written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Betten Court, not Kōhei Horikoshi. Since the MHA universe has proven adaptable and trusted in the hands of other talented storytellers, it would be a refreshing and revolutionary chance to see artists from around the globe create their own tales in My Hero Academia's world. Spin-offs in different countries with other cultures could delve into how Quirk society would affect them. Besides different locations, other MHA spin-offs could also occur in different time periods.

Spin-Offs Could Show How Quirks Changed The World

Quirks started to become more common 150 - 200 years before MHA's story began

After the final battle is won and My Hero Academia ends, the Hero and Villain society will likely be transformed into something more sustainable. Still, there will likely be plenty of room to explore the after-effects of Deku's journey on the world with a My Hero Academia sequel series. But there will be lots of lingering questions about the past that spin-offs could tackle as well.

The latest (and most likely final) arc of the MHA storyline provided an insightful peek into All For One's beginnings. He was born in a world that was beginning to see Quirks emerge, and human society did not instantly welcome the new breed of humanity, leading to chaos and bloodshed for many. Seeing a more in-depth story take place during the world's transition into a Super Hero Society is filled with narrative possibilities, especially in different areas of MHA's world.

My Hero Academia's Conclusion Doesn't Need To Be The End

My Hero Academia's manga is written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi

Close

With the main My Hero Academia series coming to a close, it would be surprising if more series did not continue the widely successful franchise. Horikoshi deserves to enjoy retirement after concluding the manga's legendary run. Like other popular manga franchises and their sequel series like Boruto and Dragon Ball Super, new talents can be hired to draw and write new stories for MHA's world under the creator's supervision. The My Hero Academia story has provided a charming and endlessly exciting place that fans and artists worldwide would like to see, and likely help grow.

Source: IGN Anime Club/YouTube