Did My Hero Academia Just Pay Homage to One Piece?

My Hero Academia and One Piece are two of the biggest Shonen franchises in the world today, with both Kohei Horikoshi and Eiichiro Oda crafting insanely large worlds of heroes and villains that have resonated among anime fans throughout the years, and it seems as if the former has paid homage to the Straw Hat Pirates in its latest chapter. With both series apparently marching toward their respective finales, with the adventures of Midoriya in its “End Game” and the journey of the Straw Hats coming to a close within the “next five years”, the impact of these anime series cannot be overstated.

Currently, My Hero Academia’s manga is dealing with the ramifications of the finale of the “War Arc”, which will more than likely take place in the sixth season of the anime following the conclusion of this season’s Joint Training Exercise Arc, My Villains Academia Arc, and Endeavor Agency Arc respectively. In the past, it’s been made clear that Horikoshi and Oda are both fans of one another’s works, but the duo was able to find a special connection with one another in one of the most unexpected ways, wherein both were big fans of the mobile game, Pokemon Go.

Twitter User Tom 5050 compared a panel from the latest chapter of My Hero Academia‘s manga, which features Midoriya striking a similar pose to the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, proving that Kohei Horikoshi remains a big fan of his fellow Shonen mangaka in Eiichiro Oda:

While there has never been an official crossover between these two series, though they have crossed paths in the video game Jump Force, One Piece hasn’t been a stranger to crossovers. The television special, Dream 9, actually featured Monkey D. Luffy pitting his strength against Dragon Ball’s Goku, with the two connecting over their love of fighting and food as the Z Fighters and the Straw Hat Pirates interacted for the first time. With both series inching toward their finales, we’re certainly crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to see the superheroes and swashbucklers cross paths.

Do you think Kohei Horikoshi was channeling Luffy in this latest chapter of the Shonen manga? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of UA Academy.