My Hero Academia Fans Are Loving Nana Shimura's Manga Glow Up

The most unique element in a long running manga from a single illustrator -- beyond watching a [...]

By Nick Valdez

The most unique element in a long running manga from a single illustrator -- beyond watching a years spanning story unfold in real time -- is seeing how much their skills and comfort when drawing out their characters evolve as they gain more experience fleshing out their worlds. This is just as true for series creator Kohei Horikoshi's time with My Hero Academia. Not only are some of the biggest mysteries beginning to show their deeper layers, but many of the characters have undergone some massive visual overhauls the more we get to see them.

It's especially true when talking about All Might's former master, Nana Shimura. As one of the most important pieces in the history of My Hero Academia's world, we actually know very little about her. But we've come to literally see more of her the more about her past we've come to learn. The darker parts of her past came to light, and now it looks like Horikoshi is about to show us a lot more.

This has resulted in a major visual glow-up for how Shimura is represented in the manga. The best example comes from @Color_Division on Twitter who notes how Shimura has gone from a faceless part of All Might's flashbacks to an hyper defined and detailed visage. Check out the helpful comparisons below:

Nana Shimura's appearances have been deliberately sprinkled through the manga in small bursts, and each time we see her it's a clearer look at who she really was. Not from the perspective that All Might saw her, but her real self. It's poignant that we get the best looking version of the character yet when we finally learn what her quirk is, too. Now that Izuku Midoriya is gearing up to gain access to her quirk next, hopefully this also means we'll be learning more about this key piece of the overall mystery of this series.

What do you think of Nana Shimura's buffs over the years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 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.

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