The Most American Anime: How My Hero Academia's Comic Influences Made it Such a Huge Hit

Summary My Hero Academia pays homage to American comics, making it unique and popular in North America.

The series was inspired by the creator's love for comics, particularly Batman and Spider-Man.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, a spin-off set 5 years before the main events, adds more comic book references.

My Hero Academia has solidified itself as one of the best superhero tales, not just in anime, but also in fiction. There are many things that make this series very unique, but the fact that it pays homage to American comics every opportunity it gets definitely plays a role as to why it's the most popular anime in North America.

It started serializing on July 7, 2014, in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga, and the series was a hit from the beginning. Although My Hero Academia is nearing its end, it is still going strong with both the anime in the seventh season and the manga that just passed 100 million copies in circulation.

Set in a world where 80 percent of the population has Quirks, Midoriya is one of the unfortunate few that are deemed "Quirkless" but still wants to become a hero. During a chance encounter with Japan's top hero, All Might, Midoriya's selflessness and determination to help others, despite his physical weakness, inspired and moved All Might. With All Might's hero career coming to an end, he chose Midoriya as his successor due to his bravery and bestowed upon him his quirk, One For All. This marked the beginning of Midoriya's journey to becoming a hero, as he enrolled in the prestigious U.A. High School to undergo training and work towards fulfilling his dream of succeeding his idol.

Related My Hero Academia: 30 Most Powerful Quirks From the ability to freeze enemies in place to the ability to steal quirks from others, here are some of the most powerful My Hero Academia quirks.

My Hero Academia Was Born From The Creator's Love Of Comics

My Hero Academia is written & illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi

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My Hero Academia wasn't Horikoshi's first manga, as he started with the fantasy manga Barrage in the same magazine. However, the series was canceled after only two volumes and only 5 months of publishing. Horikoshi was once a victim of Shonen Jump's bad practice of axing series prematurely, and this left him feeling dejected. However, he didn't give up and revisited a one-shot called My Hero which was published a while ago, and served as the building blocks of the series that we know and love today.

As he was fleshing out the story of My Hero Academia, he naturally incorporated his love for American comics into the series. From the very first chapter, there were silhouettes of multiple superheroes, such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Superman. There were also manga and anime influences, and Horikoshi revealed that Naruto was his biggest inspiration for the series.

The Dark Knight Is Frequently Referenced In My Hero Academia

Batman's influence on Horikoshi's work can't be overlooked

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Although not explicitly stated, Horikoshi is a huge fan of the Batman series and there are many references throughout the series. The most obvious and popular one is when Dark Deku was standing on a gargoyle with the landscape of the city behind him, exactly like the iconic Batman comic panel. In fact, Midoriya's initial design looked very similar to Batman, but a more friendly and heroic look was opted for.

Another very obvious example of Batman's influence on My Hero Academia is the introduction of Armored All Might, a new form taken by the former number one hero that uses a mechanical suit. Although this is the same concept as Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, the striking similarity to the Caped Crusader is uncanny. Furthermore, in the Dark Deku Arc, All Might traveled around using a car that was a replica of Bruce Wayne's Bat Mobile.

There are also many other references, such as Twice using the Joker's "Just One Bad Day" quote from the Killing Joke, Detnerat's personality and looks resembling the Joker, and Toga wearing the same mask as Bane. The panel showing an All Might statue that has grafitti saying "I Am Not Here" is eerily reminiscent of Batman v Superman's scene where a person writes "False God" on a Superman statue.

Horikoshi's Love For Marvel Comics Is Evident

The mangaka has love for every major comic publisher from the West

There are many Marvel series that are referenced in My Hero Academia, such as The Punisher, Iron Man, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Wolverine. However, it seems that Horikoshi gravitates more towards the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. There are many characters who are inspired by these iconic characters, the most notable one being Aizawa, aka, Eraserhead. Although their personalities are total opposites, Aizawa uses his scarf the same way Spider-man uses his webs, with both latching onto objects and enemies using them.

The lovely Tsuyu Asui's abilities also work the same way as Spider-man's. Both can walk on walls, can grab onto nearby objects using the web/tongue, and while Asui doesn't have superhuman strength, she is as funny and bubbly as Peter Parker. Another Spider-Man reference is in My Hero Academia's ninth volume cover, replicating a cover of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics.

My Hero Academia Meets American Comics In Epic Spinoff

Written By Hideyuki Furuhashi And Illustrated By Betten Court

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For those who can't get enough of the series, there exists a spin-off manga called My Hero Academia: Vigilantes that is set in the same world but 5 years before the main events. This series features even more comic book references, with two characters being exact replicas of Batman and Spider-man. With a whole new exciting story and premise, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a great addition to the already amazing franchise.

The creators of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes are currently working on a Spider-Man isekai manga.

Many other manga are heavily inspired by Western series, such as Chainsaw Man, Cowboy Bebop, Sakamoto Days, Tokyo Ghoul, and many more. However, very few have the same level of love that Horikoshi displays for American comics, shouting them out any chance he gets. My Hero Academia was even used as promotion for the Avengers: Infinity War movie, which was definitely an honor for Horikoshi, given how much he loves the franchise.

My Hero Academia season 7 is currently airing on Crunchyroll