My Hero Academia: SMASH Joins Viz Media’s Online Shonen Jump Vault

My Hero Academia will be rounding out its fifth year this year, and Kohei Horikoshi’s humble hero series has exploded in popularity not only in Japan but around the world as well. This has led to all sorts of new projects branching out from the manga such as anime, movies, stage plays, tons of merchandise, and of course, spin-offs. Now Viz Media has given fans digital access to another one of these spin-offs following the successful digital releases for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. But unlike the others, this one is a bit more focused on goofy humor.

The chibi style comedy spin-off of the series, My Hero Academia: SMASH!!, is now available to read through Viz Media’s online digital Shonen Jump vault. The first three chapters are free to read, but a paid monthly subscription to the service of $1.99 USD gets you access to all 39 chapters as well as other series in the vault such as the mainline My Hero Academia. You can find the series at the link here.

My Hero Academia: SMASH!! is written and illustrated by Hirofumi Neda, and the series is officially described as such, ” “The superpowered society of MY HERO ACADEMIA takes a hilarious turn in this reimagining of the best-selling series! Join Midoriya, All Might and all the aspiring heroes of U.A. High, plus memorable villains, in an irreverent take on the main events of the series, complete with funny gags, ridiculous jokes and superpowered humor! Includes bonus illustrations and a message from MY HERO ACADEMIA creator Kohei Horikoshi.”

As for the main series, fans have quite a bit to look forward to as the year rounds out with more of the fourth season of the anime series and a second feature film releasing in Japan this December. If it’s already gotten this big in five years, who knows where the franchise will be in another five? Maybe SMASH will get its own spin-off?

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. My Hero Academia will also be launching its second big movie, Heroes Rising, in Japan this December.