My Hero Academia's Latest Controversy Inspires Outpouring of Fan Love

My Hero Academia has once again found itself mired in controversy and fan backlash, after sparking [...]

By Kofi Outlaw

My Hero Academia has once again found itself mired in controversy and fan backlash, after sparking major outcry earlier this year. First, it was the reveal that the true name and identity of a major villain in the series (Dr. Ujiko) was making reference to Japanese war crimes during WWII; now, angry fans have dug deeper to spark a conspiracy theory that the birthdays of major characters in My Hero Academia are secret references to key fascist leaders from WWII's Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan), who happen to share the same birthday dates.

Not surprisingly, those already triggered by the WWII refrence in Dr. Ujiko's real name are now doubly-angry about what they view as a intentional pattern of disrespect from My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi. However, it's not all negative: even as this latest controversy has circulated on media, and entire wave of My Hero Academia fans has banded together to start the hashtag "#WeSupportYouHorikoshi" to let the famed mangaka know just how much love there truly is for him within the fandom.

Scroll below for the positive vibes of My Hero Academia's #WeSupportYouHorikoshi outpouring:

Too Ridiculous

The best part is definitely seeing anime / manga fans who spot the #WeSupportYouHorikoshi trending topic and try to piece together what's going on. As you can see above, many are left feeling underwhelmed and/or annoyed that the fandom is getting so triggered over this.

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LEAVE HIM ALONE

This is a pretty intense example of the pendulum swing a bit too far the other way, but the sentiment is valid.

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#NotMyFandom

This issue is making one thing clear: there are a lot of people who rock with My Hero Academia but feel no need to wear the label of "Fandom" - for this exact reason.

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Don't Quit!

One of the biggest fears in the My Hero Academia fandom right now is that these non-stop "controversies" and all the outrage/harassment they've inspired will make Horikoshi quit as the mangaka of MHA, or end the series prematurely. Valid concerns, judging from the climate of anime fans in 2020 so far...

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Why We Can't Have Nice Things...

A lot of fans are frustrated by the continuing pattern of fandoms taking a series that has risen to high heights, and finding any kind of way to knock it down. (See Also: Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc...).

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Not Real Fans

It's becoming a bigger topic within fandoms but let's state it again for the record: getting so triggerd over a show or movie that you attack and threaten the creators doesn't make you a "fan." And being a "fan" doesn't automatically endow you with rights to attack anyone else that doesn't fit into your view of fandom.

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Not The Only Ones

There is arguably a lot of selective facts in this "proof" that Horikoshi is conveying some secret fascist doctrine through MHA. A little more digging has turned up the coincidence that there are numerous anime characters that also share significant dates with bad people. We cancelling them too?

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SMASH That Hate

A lot of fans have reminded Horikoshi of the very lessons he taught them through My Hero Academia's story, characters and themes. Internet negativity trying to crush you? DETROIT SMASH IT out of your way!

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Keep Doing You

As this fan reminds Horikoshi, he needs to keep on doing him, and ignore the haters. Solid life advice for us all.

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Positivity PLUS ULTRA!

If all of this backlash and negativity is getting you down, just keep it in perspective that this article is all about how My Hero Academia fans took it upon themselves to push a positive sentiment to becoming a trending topic. That's something to be happy and proud of.

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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