My Hero Academia Needs a Prequel Anime

By Kofi Outlaw

My Hero Academia needs to get a prequel anime – no, at this point, it's more like the mythology of the series demands a prequel anime follow the current main series. It's a fact that has become increasingly obvious as we near the end of My Hero Academia manga series; creator Kohei Horikoshi keeps unraveling layers upon layers of history and backstory as My Hero Academia enters its final arcs, as the time for mysteries and theories comes to an end. That said, a lot of fans now feel like the "answers" we've waited for have created so much new intrigue that not exploring it would be a crime. 

One look around the My Hero Academia fan threads these days and the word "rushed" can be seen a lot, when it comes in reference to how the series is approaching its close. Some of that may be the usual fan backlash that comes with the anxiety that the end of something they love is nigh. However, there is also a clear desire fans have to know more about some of the big things Horikoshi has dropped on us. 

The clearest example is the hero/villain war of the past, which involved One For All's originator and the first two successors. In having Izuku Midoriya unlock that history, a lot of fans got hooked by the idea of seeing this "Dark Age" where All For One reigned, and heroes and villains were battling for life-or-death stakes, in all-out war. It's a harder-edged world of My Hero Academia that a lot of fans would love to see turned into an epic action anime. 

Then there are the inspiring and/or tragic events that befell the generation before Izuku, who are now his instructors, mentors, and guides. All Might, Aizawa, the Todoroki family, a younger All For One (not to mention a dozen other already-established characters) – we know enough about their own formative days at school and fledging hero careers to know that we want more. 

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Finally, there's the question of format. While any My Hero Academia fan wants Kohei Horikoshi to continue the series in a manga prequel or spinoff series – but they should also understand why he wouldn't. After all the work Horikoshi has done to give us this series – and all the success he's found – he deserves any break or retirement he wants. Toho Animation has been overwhelmingly praised for its adaptation of My Hero Academia's manga, and projects like the feature films (Two Heroes, Heroes Rising) show how Horikoshi can still influence the anime side of the franchise in the best ways. 

That's all to say: A My Hero Academia prequel in anime form only is still plenty fine. Let's go! 

My Hero Academia's current anime seasons are streaming on Funimation and Hulu. 

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