Who is Kohei Horikoshi?
The third series made him: after two cancellations, a decade-long hit.
Kohei Horikoshi was born on 20 November 1986 in Aichi Prefecture, and grew up on the manga he would later stand beside: Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto were his childhood favourites. He studied at Toho High School and Nagoya University of Arts, and worked as an assistant to Sumomomo Momomo author Yasuki Tanaka before his own debut.
His first two Weekly Shonen Jump serializations, Oumagadoki Zoo (2010–11) and Barrage (2012), were both cancelled. His third, My Hero Academia (2014–2024), won the first Next Manga Award in 2015, the Sugoi Japan Award in 2017, and the Harvey Award for Best Manga in 2019. In interviews he has given the series’ theme in four words: “what makes a hero.”
THE SHELF HE GREW UP ON
Influences, in his own accountNaruto
Masashi Kishimoto is the influence he names for his art itself: reading Naruto gave him, in his words, a love for drawing hands. He has called it his biggest influence.
The superhero shelf
A Marvel fan who collected figures before he drew heroes professionally; Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Star Wars, and the X-Men are the cited roots of the series’ imagination.
The home shelf
Dragon Ball and One Piece from childhood, Akira Toriyama’s single-volume collections on his shelves, and Yuko Osada, the artist he has most wanted to emulate.
THE CAREER IN FOUR LINES
2007 to todayThe apprenticeship
Assistant to Yasuki Tanaka; one-shots in Akamaru Jump from 2007, including My Hero, the 2008 prototype of his life’s work.
The two failures
Oumagadoki Zoo (2010–11) and Barrage (2012), both cancelled in Weekly Shonen Jump. The full story is on the before page.
The decade
My Hero Academia, 2014 to 2024: 42 volumes, over 100 million copies in circulation, and a hand in the anime, the films’ booklet manga, and the spin-offs’ supervision.