My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi has already been a pillar of Weekly Shonen Jump for some time. As of the time of writing, it is the third-longest running series in the magazine behind One Piece and Hunter x Hunter (which has been on hiatus for a long time now), and is the third-highest selling ongoing series behind those two. Nevertheless, 2021 is shaping up to be quite a big year for My Hero Academia.
First, we have two big anime projects coming out: the fifth season of Studio BONES’ TV anime, inventively titled My Hero Academia 5, as well as the latest theatrical film, as of yet untitled. Both of these projects are coming on 27 March and during the summer, respectively.
Any year featuring such a swathe of anime content could be considered as ‘big’ from a publicity point of view, but there’s also a sentimental reason to view 2021 as a big year for My Hero Academia: this year marks the fifth anniversary since the first season aired on 3 April 2016.
Like many others, my infatuation with the series began with this adaptation, so it feels like seeing something you’ve supported from the beginning finally comes of its own. Naturally, there will probably be some celebrations to commemorate this milestone, so keep your eyes peeled on the official Twitter account for more details.
When it comes to the original manga, My Hero Academia will be receiving its first art exhibition in 2021, titled My Hero Academia DRAWING SMASH. This will display handwritten drawings and notes from original author Kohei Horikoshi, as well as video footage from Studio BONES, all wrapped up in a themed setting.
Given that Studio BONES’ My Hero Academia anime adaptations have been relatively faithful to the source material up until this point, we can also expect the latest season of the TV anime to rock our socks off in 2021. Although the first arc, centered on a joint training exercise between Class 1-A and 1-B, isn’t exactly noteworthy, what comes after is excellent and completely changes the dynamics of the series until this point.
Are you looking forward to more My Hero Academia in 2021? Have you been following the series from the beginning? Let us know via social media or our Discord server, linked below.