Since its debut, My Hero Academia has stuffed itself with pop culture nods. From superhero comics to Star Wars references, the hit manga isn’t afraid to pay homage to the best in entertainment. Today, that was made very clear as My Hero Academia dropped some movie homages with its comeback… and yes, one of them does reference Titanic.
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If you have not checked out the new chapter, you should know My Hero Academia hid its nods in plain sight this week. The whole thing began with a flashback featuring Toga, and fans were shown a cityscape. It was there we saw a number of movie posters plastered on buildings, and a few recognizable movies were spotted.
In one spot, we can see a big poster for The Intouchables, and the other tribute goes to Titanic. A sketch is drawn of a familiar couple looming over a cruise ship, so the homage is hard to miss. It seems the Titanic movie is canon in My Hero Academia along with the horrific crash itself. And given recent headlines, well – readers did a double take at this My Hero Academia nod.
After all, the Titanic has been in headlines this past week due to a recent tragedy. On June 18th, a submersible named Titan descended into the sea under OceanGate’s control with tourists onboard. The crew and tourists were ascending to the wreckage of the Titanic which sank in 1912. The vessel stopped communicating with topside operates less than two hours into its descent, and this led to a global rescue response. Sadly, authorities confirmed the five souls aboard the submersible were killed when the vessel imploded. The ordeal and its extensive coverage in the news put the world’s attention on the Titanic once again. So of course, the reference in My Hero Academia wasn’t going to be overlooked.
Of course, it is likely this Titanic nod was sketched into My Hero Academia well before the submersible tragedy unfolded. Creator Kohei Horikoshi does have to submit manuscripts well before they are published in Weekly Shonen Jump. Still, the timing of this tribute is uncanny to say the least. The Titanic’s resurgence was so large that even My Hero Academia noticed, so now we can only wonder what quirk Leonardo DiCaprio would have in the manga…?
What do you think about this latest My Hero Academia chapter…? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
