My Hero Academia Creator Kohei Horikoshi Is Living for Shoji’s Rise to the Top

My Hero Academia has seen Mezo Shoji growing in popularity as the manga gets closer to its grand finale, and the creator behind it all is living for the young hero’s rise to the top! My Hero Academia is now in its final stretch of chapters before the series comes to an end, and with it will be the end of many of the stories for Izuku Midoriya and the other young heroes. With My Hero Academia’s manga coming to an end later this Summer, and the anime now in the final battles, the creator behind it all has quite a lot to celebrate. 

Speaking to Viz Media ahead of the manga’s grand finale, and to celebrate the release of My Hero Academia: You’re Next later this Summer, My Hero Academia series creator Kohei Horikoshi shared his thoughts about bringing it all to an end. When asked about how the popularity poll has gained overseas attention from fans due to the unique results seen with unexpected characters doing better than expected, Horikoshi revealed that he was “pleasantly surprised” to see Shoji’s rise in the rankings.

My Hero Academia Creator Reacts to Shoji’s Popularity

“I was pleasantly surprised by Shoji’s rise in the rankings. It made me really happy,” Horikoshi began when asked about My Hero Academia‘s most recent popularity poll. “Other than that, there weren’t many surprises. I see the popularity polls as a celebration for the readers who vote, so as an author, I try not to get too emotionally involved and try to keep a distance if possible.”

Elaborating on it further, Horikoshi revealed he was pleased to see Shoji gain more tracking because his appearances in the story weren’t what he thought were traditionally handsome, “It’s more like, ‘Oh, this character is indeed popular,’ but I was genuinely happy about Shoji. I told my editor, Imamura-san, that Shoji has limited appearances in the story and his unique looks don’t typically qualify as ‘handsome’ … so I’m pleased. I drew him thinking he’s really cool, so I’m glad people appreciate him.”

If you wanted to keep up with My Hero Academia‘s newest chapters as it all comes to an end, you can now find them with Viz Media’s digital Shonen Jump library or Shueisha’s MangaPlus service to catch up right in time for the grand finale.