Official ‘My Hero Academia’ Genderswap Designs Resurface Online

Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia is one of the most popular action anime and manga series running today, and it’s incredibly recognizable due to Horikoshi’s strong characters and designs. They are so strong, in fact, that fans of the series have tried to imagine what it would look like if all the characters swapped genders. But did you know Horikoshi himself did that too?

An official illustration created for one of the My Hero Academia spin-offs has resurfaced online, and it’s becoming the center of conversation once more for featuring Midoriya, Bakugo, and others has a different gender.

This particular image is a bonus illustration Hoirkoshi provided for the official release of the comedic spin-off, My Hero Academia Smash!! The special gag manga released in Japan ran from 2015 to 2017 in Japan, and this illustration was created to mark the release of the first volume. The spin-off will be making its official debut in the West later this Summer, and hopefully this illustration will be included when Viz Media releases the official English translation.

The illustration features genderswapped versions of Midoriya, Bakugo, Iida, Uraraka, and Tsu, and Horikoshi’s note reveals that he had trouble figuring out how to portray them in a different gender at first. Though he focused on the eyelashes at the end of the day, it’s safe to say these designs are just as strong as the others.

This official illustration falls in line with a popular cosplay trend too as artists have put creatives new spins on fan-favorites Kirishima, Bakugo, Izuku Midoriya, and even All Might. My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since July 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. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.

My Hero Academia will be returning for its fourth season later this October, and it’s one of the most anticipated returns of the year. Season 3 left the series on quite a few cliffhangers, so fans will be there day one to see what comes next. The series will be releasing its second big movie later this year as well.

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