My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from July 7, 2014, to August 5, 2024, with its chapters collected into 42 tankobon volumes. The story takes place in a world where roughly 80% of the population has developed superpowers called Quirks. The protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, is born without a Quirk but dreams of becoming a hero. After a fateful encounter with the number one hero, All Might, Midoriya inherits the legendary Quirk One For All and enrolls at U.A. High School, a prestigious academy for aspiring heroes. Alongside classmates like explosive Katsuki Bakugo, gravity-defying Ochaco Uraraka, and stoic Shoto Todoroki, Midoriya faces villainous threats from the League of Villains and the Paranormal Liberation Front, while exploring the moral complexities of heroism.

The manga has spawned a vast media franchise. An anime television series produced by Bones aired for eight seasons from April 2016 to December 2025, covering the entire main story. Four animated films have been released: Two Heroes (2018), Heroes Rising (2019), World Heroes' Mission (2021), and You're Next (2024). Ten OVAs and a television special adapting a bonus chapter have also been produced. Spin-off manga include the gag series My Hero Academia: Smash!!, the prequel My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, and My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions. Light novels, stage plays, video games like My Hero One's Justice, and a live-action film by Legendary Entertainment are part of the franchise.

By April 2024, the manga had over 100 million copies in circulation worldwide, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It has appeared on The New York Times best-seller list multiple times. Critics have praised Horikoshi's dynamic artwork, character development, and respectful homages to Western superhero comics. The series won the Sugoi Japan Award in 2017 and the Harvey Award for Best Manga in 2019, and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2020. Its cultural impact includes popularizing the phrase Plus Ultra and inspiring cosplay, fan art, and discussions on heroism and disability.[edit]