'My Hero Academia' Creator Really Didn't Think The Series Would Do Well

My Hero Academia is one of the most popular properties on the market today, but creator Kouhei Horikoshi didn't originally think it would stand the test of time.

At least not according to his foreword before the first chapter. The series has never been hotter, with a hit manga and anime taking fans by storm as well as a movie on the way. From the foreward below though it seems Horikoshi had smaller goals in mind and didn't think the series would take off quite like it has (via Reddit).

"This is my third series to be collected into graphic novels," Horikoshi wrote. "Forgive me if this sounds reckless, but the thing I prioritize most when drawing manga is creating something that I can enjoy. This one might not remain popular, but for now, I'll just be happy if everyone finds it as fun as I do."

That "this one might not remain popular" line is truly something with hindsight involved, as there are few other properties with more momentum than My Hero Academia. That might be partly due to the fact that Horikoshi's previous manga title never really took off with readers.

The manga was called Barrage and focused on a young boy named Astro, who lives in the slums on the planet Industria. Thanks to the boy's likeness to the prince of Industria, he ends up becoming the prince and having to defend the land from invading aliens with the help of a mystical weapon known as the Org.

While the stories are quite different, My Hero fans will recognize plenty of similarities in the type of humor as well as character design, but for whatever reason, the story only ran for 16 chapters and collected into 2 volumes.

Things turned out quite differently though for My Hero Academia, and we don't see it changing anytime soon.

For those not familiar with My Hero Academia, the series hit in 2014 and has run in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump since July of that year. It follows the adventures of Izuku Midoriya, who in a world full of people with powers was born without one. In this world, those powers are called quirks, and life without one can be difficult, but that all changes after a fateful meeting with the biggest hero of them all All Might, and it seems his quest to become a hero might just happen after all.

Fans of the show can also look forward to a new movie, titled My Hero Academia: The Movie - The Two Heroes. My Hero Academia: The Movie - The Two Heroes lands in theaters on August 3.