When it comes to My Hero Academia, fans seem to have a favorite heroine. Girls like Ochaco Uraraka and Tsuyu Asui have lots of followers, but there is one person who loves them all equally. The series’ creator Kohei Horikoshi loves all his heroines, and a past interview clued in fans to how the artist created these girls.
So, if you ever thought the girls looked different from other shonen heroines, you are not wrong. As it turns out, Horikoshi tried hard to make the girls curvier than usual.
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During an interview with animator Yoshihiko Umakoshi, Horikoshi owned up to his design intentions for girls like Momo Yaoyorozu.
“The arms, legs, and torso areas of the girls I drew tend to be a little on the plump full-bodied side. This is a bit of an unseemly aside, but I like well-built girls with a little meat on them,” the artist said.
“That’s just another charm point,” Umakoshi answered. “I guess you could say it’s an appeal that’s different from most heroines these days. I meant to draw her [in the anime] with that tendency of yours in mind, too, but she ended up slim anyway.”
These designs do differ from most shonen titles as their lead heroines are given exaggerated curves and flat stomachs. Horikoshi has been praised for his decision to draw his female leads with varying body shapes, but some have criticized their over-sexualization. In particular, characters like Momo has come under fire for their revealing costumes, and that complaint grew once the anime brought Creati to life on the small screen.
So, do you approve of these designs? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he’s eventually scouted by the world’s best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.
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