Summary
It’s clear just by looking at the art style ofMy Hero Academiathat author Kohei Horikoshi has tried to blend western comics with Japanese animation to create a world full of characters that really feels unique and unlikeanything else found in Shonen Jump. This has also granted Horikoshi a tremendous amount of freedom to design characters with a more cartoonish aesthetic, whilst still keeping the realism ofMy Hero Academiaand its world in mind, leading to some outstanding designs.
While a few of these characters have now become synonymous with the series as a whole because of how much they stand out, others are only found further on in the story, but have still made quite an impression on fans for how they look and theirunique fashion sense. These are the character designs that are sure to inspire anyone looking to become a comic or manga artist themselves in the future.
7Inasa Yoarashi
Despite only being a first year at Shiketsu High School, it’s easy to mistakenly take Inasa Yoarashi asa military generaldue to his large trench coat and gigantic metal hand. However, this is simply another example of how effortlessly Horikoshi presents the personality of his characters through their design, with Inasa being a very loud, brash, and hyperactive student withbig dreams of being a pro heroone day.
He is known to look down on heroes who don’t share his fiery passion for serving justice in the world, and he will often use the fur surrounding the collar of his coat to hide his smile while letting out a menacing glare at those that he dislikes. Overall, Inasa has a very striking and extremely memorable hero costume that does a great job at showcasing the intense passion that bubbles underneath the surface.
6Shoto Todoroki
While he may not have the flashiest or most exciting design, it’s in the smaller details where Horikoshi really excelled at makingTodoroki instantly recognizable, while also proving just how important character design is to foreshadowing a characters past. Not long after Todoroki first appears, he tells Midoriya about his upbringing and how his father, the ruthless pro hero Endeavor, brought Todorki into the world through a Quirk Marriage, granting his son the power of ice and fire manipulation.
After suffering abuse from Endeavor, Todoroki’s mother took out her rage on a young Todoroki, splashing boiling water on one half of his face which hasscarred him ever since. The scar, and the multicolored hair, are small but very prominent indications into the dual nature of Todoroki, and how he fears using his fire side due to feelings of shame, even though he knows it would make him a powerful hero.
5Hawks
The sharp-tongued and effortlessly coolpro hero Hawksactually doesn’t appear until much later in the series, but once we get a full visual of him in the Pro Hero Arc, he makes quite the impression on the students not just for his abilities, but also his look. Compared to Endeavor and All Might, Hawks is noticeably a lot more stylish, often rocking his signature light brown open jacket along with a pair of saggy pants which gives an indication of just how laid back the guy really is.
Hiscrazy hair styleis also a prominent feature of his overall look, along with the yellow visor that protects his eyes from the risk of UV radiation when flying high above the clouds. Of course, it’s also impossible to ignore his gigantic red wings which can always be seen sprouting from his back which he actually uses as deadly weapons during intense combat encounters.
4Endeavor
Being the strongest pro hero after All Might, it makes sense that Endeavor would look asfearsome and intimidatingas he does, but Horikoshi really went above and beyond in making sure he looked the part, having an incredibly unique and intense design. While he has been seen to temporarily turn off his flames, Endeavor will often have fire raging around him, with the only visible parts of his body being a few parts of his face and his fingers.
The red spiky hair and giant shoulder pads that he often wears only help to reinforce the underlying rage that Endeavor keeps within. As soon as Endeavor makes his first appearance duringthe Tournament Arc, he became a standout for his captivating design, but Horikohsi has actually played with this a lot during the series, adding more flames when he becomes enraged, and dying them down a bit as Endeavor’s personal values begin to change.
3Stain
Due to the cartoonish aesthetic ofMy Hero Academia,it’s very rare that any kinds of scary imagery or body horror shows up in the series, but Stain is most definitely an exception. Stain’s one mission in life is to exterminate all “fake heroes”, referring to those who only earn the status for selfish reasons like acquiring fame and wealth.
To achieve this, Stain covers his disfigured face with a mask and bandages, with bits of tattered cloth flowing from his body. He even has two belts on his torso with several blades and a rusty old katana attached which can sometimes make him look more like a fabled samurai than anything. Stain’s design perfectly encapsulates the mysterious nature of the character, while also lending him a very frightening and unnerving aura that is very emblematic of his personality. There have beenmany villainsthroughout the course ofMy Hero Academia, but in terms of design alone, it seems that Horikoshi spent a little extra time on making Stain as menacing as possible.
2All Might
There’s a reasonAll Mighthas become the face ofMy Hero Academia, and it’s because of just how iconic his design is, not just to fans of this series, but to anyone who has even a slight interest in anime. Aside from his massive physique which often allows him to tower over anyone he comes across, one of All Might’s most distinct features is his golden hair with two tufts that stick out from each side of his head.
The skin-tight blue and red costumes he wears also throw it back to classic Western comic heroes, and the decision to blacken out his eyes is a genius way to imply that maybe, behind all the smiles and laughter, there’s some sense of doubt or mystery in the pro heroes actions. The giant gleaming smile is also a core feature of his design, especially since All Might explains that he must always sport it to prove his confidence in keeping the world safe. What this does mean though is when he drops the smile, fans can expect to be in for atruly intense fight scene.
1Midoriya (Costume Epsilon)
Midoriya has worna few costumesthroughout the course of the story with each one beingan upgrade from the previous, but Costume Epsilon is a little different, and almost makes Midoriya look like a villain more than anything. He first retrieves the costume after the devastating and bloody war with the Paranormal Liberation Front, and by this point, his state of mind had deteriorated rapidly with him now realizing that he must abandon his friends to track down Shigaraki as not to put them in danger.
In many ways, the suit is a much darker version of his Alpha Costume, with the mask now being partially torn, along with a rusted respirator and a mask which now casts dark shadows over his eyes. Aside from the sharp and edgy design which ismore reminiscent of a show likeBleachas opposed toMy Hero Academia, the costume also provides an amazing visual representation of Midoriya’s journey of becoming a pro hero, and how it might not be all that he had hoped. When this costume was first revealed, it truly felt like Horikoshi was testing out just how dark he could go with his designs, and it would be great to see him follow this design philosophy more in the future.
