Even with two years having gone by since it left Shonen Jump, My Hero Academia’s impact and legacy cannot be understated. For the entirety of its ten-year run, My Hero Academia took the world by storm with its masterful take on superhero stories and the gorgeous art used to express it all, and its massive success is a major part of why modern anime has become so mainstream.
My Hero Academia is nothing if not a modern legend, and that, in turn, has made the series creator, Kohei Horikoshi, equally famous in the anime world. Horikoshi might not make many public appearances, but his comments about the series and manga as a whole almost always hold a lot of weight to them, and that’s truer now than ever, as Horikoshi has officially given his recommendation for a manga that’s poised to be Shonen Jump’s next big hit.
My Hero Academia’s Creator Wants Everyone To Read Shonen Jump’s Under Doctor
House Successor Manga Under Doctor
The latest Shonen Jump manga to receive Kohei Horikoshi’s recommendation is the medical action drama Under Doctor by Kyo Tanimoto, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does Under Doctor have an art style that’s both easy to follow and plenty stylish, especially during its action scenes, but the story is also genuinely heartwarming with the lengths the protagonist goes to help people, as well. Horikoshi said that Under Doctor is “a manga that believes in people” and that you can feel “its strictness and kindness from the edges of the dialogue”, and that’s nothing short of high praise.
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Kohei Horikoshi had nothing but good things to say about Under Doctor, and there’s already a lot to show for it. Under Doctor volume #1 has already come out in Japan, and Under Doctor placed 21st on the weekly charts with over 12 thousand books sold. That’s the biggest debut for a new Shonen Jump manga since Someone Hertz and Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, and overall, it’s incredibly deserved.
Under Doctor’s sales are especially great when looking at its biggest contemporary, Kinato’s Magic. Both manga debuted in Shonen Jump in the same batch of stories, but Kinato’s Magic only sold around five thousand books, less than half of what Under Doctor achieved. Shonen Jump’s future might be dire, but not all of their new manga are dead on arrival, and Under Doctor’s amazing sales are proof of that.
Will Under Doctor Become Shonen Jump’s Next Big Hit?
Under Doctor appears to be off to a great start, and that begs the question of whether it will truly become a hit. Volume #1’s sales prove that there’s an audience for the series, and Kohei Horikoshi recommending it is also great, considering how he recommended Kagurabachi and Ichi the Witch, and they’ve since gone on to become two of the most popular manga in Shonen Jump. Granted, Under Doctor still hasn’t performed on their level, but the similarities are impossible to deny.
That being said, it might not be as straightforward as one would hope. As good as Under Doctor’s sales are, they aren’t necessarily groundbreaking by Shonen Jump’s standards, and in the magazine itself, its rankings have been incredibly sporadic, with it often ranking among the bottom three alongside Kinato’s Magic and the now-cancelled Alien Headbutt. Under Doctor’s rankings might stabilize with volume #1’s sales, but unfortunately, its future in Shonen Jump is far from certain.
From the Slime Villain to the Final War · Eight Questions How Well Do You Know My Hero Academia? “Plus Ultra!”
U.A. HighClass 1-A
All MightSymbol of Peace
BakugoDIE!!! (affectionately)
Half-Cold Half-HotTodoroki Shoto
League of VillainsDecay incarnate
01
My Hero Academia’s protagonist is a Quirkless boy in a Quirk-saturated world who dreams of becoming a hero. Bakugo derisively nicknames him “Deku” (a play on the kanji for “useless”) before he eventually reclaims it as a hero name. What’s his actual name?
✓ Correct! Izuku Midoriya. The series opens with him as a 14-year-old Quirkless middle schooler obsessively cataloguing pro heroes in his battered notebooks. The kanji for his nickname Deku (弟卜) reads as “useless” in Bakugo’s mocking context, but Uraraka points out it can also be read as “dekiru” (“you can do it”) — which is the framing he eventually adopts as his hero name.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Izuku Midoriya. Eijiro Kirishima is the red-haired Hardening Quirk user who’s Bakugo’s best friend. Tenya Iida is the engine-legged class president. Denki Kaminari is the Electrification Quirk user who short-circuits into “wheyyy” mode at his limit. Deku is Izuku Midoriya.
02
In the show’s opening arc, All Might passes his unique stockpile-and-transfer Quirk to Deku, making him the ninth holder of a power that has been refined across generations. Each previous holder leaves behind their own ability inside it. Name the Quirk.
✓ Correct! One For All — a Quirk created when the original Quirkless holder was given a power-stockpiling ability by his villainous brother, who would later become All For One. Each holder strengthens it before passing it on. By the time Deku inherits it, six previous wielders’ Quirks (Float, Blackwhip, Smokescreen, Fa Jin, Danger Sense and Gearshift) are also accessible from within. He’s the ninth and (initially) final user.
✗ Wrong. The answer is One For All. All For One is the antagonist Quirk — the one that steals and gives Quirks — and is also the name of the original villain who founded it. “Plus Ultra” is U.A.’s school motto. Deku’s inherited power is One For All.
03
Class 1-A’s perpetually-exhausted homeroom teacher is also the underground hero Eraser Head, whose Quirk lets him cancel another person’s Quirk simply by looking at them. He sleeps in a yellow caterpillar-style sleeping bag, drinks jelly pouches and is fiercely protective of his students. What’s his name?
✓ Correct! Shota Aizawa — hero name Eraser Head, civilian name perpetually-rumpled Class 1-A homeroom teacher. His capture-weapon scarf and Erasure Quirk make him one of U.A.’s most dangerous combatants in close quarters — though the Quirk only works while his eyes are open, which he uses dramatically to prep dramatic stares before unleashing. Voiced by Junichi Suwabe in Japanese and Christopher Sabat in English.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Shota Aizawa. Hizashi Yamada is Aizawa’s loud blonde best friend — the hero Present Mic. Toshinori Yagi is the civilian name of All Might. Sekijiro Kan is Class 1-B’s homeroom teacher Vlad King. Eraser Head is Aizawa.
04
Deku’s childhood frenemy Katsuki Bakugo is one of the franchise’s most popular characters — explosive in temperament and in Quirk. His sweat is nitroglycerine-like, ignited at his palms to produce concussive blasts. Name his Quirk (which is also the official Quirk name).
✓ Correct! Explosion. Bakugo can secrete a nitroglycerine-like sweat from his palms and ignite it — the harder he’s sweating, the bigger the boom. His U.A. Sports Festival hero costume includes the iconic grenade-shaped gauntlets that store and release the sweat for his “Howitzer Impact” ultimate move. After much fan voting and his own multiple rejections of cute hero-name suggestions, his final hero name is Dynamight, the God of Explosive Destruction.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Explosion. Hellflame is Endeavor’s Quirk — the #1 hero post-All Might. “Detonation” and “Combustion” aren’t official Quirks. Bakugo’s sweat-into-nitroglycerine palm-ignition power is officially named Explosion.
05
The League of Villains is led by an unstable, severed-hand-wearing young man with a Quirk called Decay — touch with all five fingers, and matter crumbles to dust. Trained by All For One as the heir to his throne, he eventually inherits the original villain’s Quirk-stealing power. Name him.
✓ Correct! Tomura Shigaraki — born Tenko Shimura, grandson of the seventh One For All wielder Nana Shimura, raised after a tragedy by All For One himself. Decay is one of the franchise’s most terrifying Quirks (it spreads on contact and has no upper limit). After the Paranormal Liberation War arc he absorbs All For One’s power and becomes the series’ final-arc primary antagonist.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Tomura Shigaraki. Dabi is the League’s blue-flame user (and a Todoroki family secret). Stain is the “Hero Killer” ideologue who inspires the League. Kurogiri is the misty warp-gate butler. Shigaraki is the League’s leader, identifiable by the array of severed hands he wears as a self-soothing fashion choice.
06
All Might is the world’s top hero and the eighth holder of One For All before passing it to Deku. In his weakened civilian form — the result of a brutal injury inflicted by All For One years before the series begins — he’s a hollow-cheeked, blood-coughing teacher at U.A. What’s All Might’s civilian name?
✓ Correct! Toshinori Yagi. The injury that left him with a perpetually-bleeding stomach wound came in his climactic fight against All For One five years before the series begins — the same fight that killed his predecessor and mentor Nana Shimura’s legacy. Toshinori’s gaunt civilian form vs. his bulked-out hero form is among anime’s most distinctive transformation gags. Voiced by Kenta Miyake in Japanese, Christopher Sabat in English.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Toshinori Yagi. Enji Todoroki is Endeavor (Shoto’s father, the new #1 hero after All Might retires). Keigo Takami is the Wing Hero Hawks. Daigoro Banjo is the fifth wielder of One For All. All Might’s civilian self is Toshinori Yagi.
07
My Hero Academia began serialisation in Weekly Shonen Jump in July 2014, ran for over 10 years and over 430 chapters before concluding in August 2024 — one of the defining shonen titles of the 2010s and 2020s. Name its mangaka, who has openly cited Naruto and Western superhero comics as primary influences.
✓ Correct! Kohei Horikoshi. He’d previously had two short-lived Jump series (Oumagadoki Doubutsuen, Barrage) before pitching MHA, with All Might consciously designed as an Americanised Superman/Bruce Timm pastiche. The series accumulated over 100 million copies in print and ran from July 2014 to August 2024. Horikoshi is also a fervent ghibli/Western-superhero fan; he’s done illustrated tributes to Spider-Man and Batman.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Kohei Horikoshi. Tatsuki Fujimoto created Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch. Gege Akutami created Jujutsu Kaisen. Eiichiro Oda created One Piece. Horikoshi is MHA’s mangaka and was one of Weekly Shonen Jump’s headline creators throughout the 2010s.
08
The MHA anime adaptation has been a flagship of its production studio since the first season aired in 2016, with seven seasons, four films and a regular slot in the global streaming spotlight. The same studio is behind Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Mob Psycho 100 and Bungo Stray Dogs. Name it.
✓ Correct! Studio Bones (officially BONES Inc.) — the Suginami-based studio founded by ex-Sunrise producers in 1998. Bones is one of the most respected action-anime houses, with credits including Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Soul Eater, Eureka Seven, Mob Psycho 100, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Bungo Stray Dogs. MHA has been their flagship contemporary IP since 2016.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Studio Bones. MAPPA does Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and the final Attack on Titan seasons. Wit Studio did the early Attack on Titan seasons (1–3) before MAPPA took over, plus Vinland Saga and Spy x Family. Madhouse did One Punch Man season 1, Death Note and Hunter x Hunter (2011). MHA’s anime is Bones.
U.A. Provisional License · Final Score Your Hero Standing
/ 8
Symbol of Peace — or still Quirkless?
Whatever the case, Under Doctor’s strong action and character writing have made it one of the best manga to come out of Shonen Jump in recent years; Under Doctor receiving a recommendation from My Hero Academia’s Kohei Horikoshi only emphasizes how great a manga it is, so hopefully, it will find a place in Shonen Jump and become a major hit for years to come.
Movie(s)
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018), My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2019), My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (2021)
TV Show(s)
My Hero Academia
Video Game(s)
My Hero Academia: Battle for All, My Hero One’s Justice, My Hero One’s Justice 2
