My Hero Academia Creator Explains Why Its Chapters Are Shorter Now

There is no denying the impact My Hero Academia has had on the anime industry. Creator Kohei Horikoshi helped push the shonen genre to new heights with his hit manga, and Bones Inc. has been devout with its adaptation. While work on season seven carries on behind the scenes, all eyes are on the My Hero Academia manga as its final act is going down. Despite its tense beats, readers have noticed chapters of My Hero Academia are a bit shorter now than before, and Horikoshi is finally addressing the issue.

As it turns out, the choice to shorten the chapters of My Hero Academia is twofold. Part of it is due to Horikoshi’s schedule, but the other comes from the editorial room at Shueisha directly.

“As many of have already noticed, most chapters have become shorter. This is due to the speed at which I draw decreasing over the years and my schedule being a total mess. Because of that, I’ve been talking to the higher ups of the editorial department on a regular basis so that we can decide on the number of pages for each chapter in advance, allowing MHA to be included in the magazine. I know it’s 100% my fault, but I always find myself thinking “If only I could draw a few more pages…!”. I’m really self-centered, ain’t I? How awful,” Horikoshi shared with fans in a new note. The letter appears in the most recent volume of My Hero Academia released in Japan, and Horikoshi goes on to summarize the decision he and editor Imamura have come to (via RukasuMHA).

“What I’m trying to say is that both Imamura-san and the editorial department are giving their all to make sure that MHA comes out in the best possible way. If it weren’t for their efforts, maybe it wouldn’t be possible for the serialization to continue. So I want to take this opportunity to thank them. Thank you very much,” Horikoshi explained.

“And I want to send a message to everyone who’s entering adulthood: meet your deadlines and avoid causing trouble for other people. Otherwise, their eyes will be filled with darkness.”

As you can imagine, the deadline to roll out manga is demanding, and a number of creators have spoken about the pressure before. From Eiichiro Oda to Yoshihiro Togashi, even the biggest manga creators abide by demanding schedules, and Horikoshi is no different. To help him navigate this schedule, My Hero Academia has chosen to cut its chapter pages down. And given the artist’s most recent releases, it seems the change has given Horikoshi plenty of time to ink stellar spreads.