Anime and Western superheroes are bound to be compared. While it is universally believed that Goku is the strongest character, other characters who fall into the grey zone are still regularly compared.
The most recent comparison comes from the director of My Hero Academia anime in a surprising yet fun answer.
My Hero Academia Director Wants All Might to Battle…
In an interview at Anime Expo 2016, Kenji Nagasaki and Wakana Okamura were interviewed for more insights into the My Hero Academia anime. The director and producer duo began talking about their most memorable moments, influences, and even their favorite characters.
But one particular question drew out the children in them. When the interviewer asked if the duo would want anyone to face All Might in a fight, they had the most interesting answer.
Nagasaki immediately replied that he wanted All Might to battle against The Hulk.
The Hulk. I would think (hope) that All Might probably wins.
The director also has a firm belief that All Might will be the one to win the battle. While Hulk is one of the strongest Marvel superheroes, All Might is also a benchmark #1 hero of My Hero Academia.
MCU’s Hulk would definitely consider All Might a worthy opponent, and it would be a battle to behold. Hulk’s raw power, coupled with All Might’s Smash, would definitely shake up some nearby cities.
Okamura, on the other hand, had an even more exciting answer:
I would like to see that All Might involved in something like the Marvel Civil War.
Captain America: Civil War is one of the most influential movies of the past decade. The legendary battle between the Marvel superheroes will go down in history as supreme meme material. Imagining All Might in the heat of this battle is nothing less than exciting, no matter how far-fetched it is.
Who among them would win? That is up to you to decide in the comments.
Who is All Might’s Character Based on?
Another extremely intriguing question was whether All Might’s character was based on an American superhero who already existed. Nagasaki answered that it was probably just Kohei Horikoshi, who would know the actual answer.
After all, Horikoshi is a huge fan of American animation and has several such references in the series. The funniest reference would be the names of All Might‘s killer moves: California Smash, Detroit Smash, Texas Smash, and even United States of Smash!
Okamura confessed:
Horikoshi is really a big fan of American animation. He often refers to the American animation in his drawing, so he took some of the essence of American animation to create All-Might.
But here’s the most surprising fact of them all: Kohei Horikoshi has already confessed his inspiration behind All Might, and it’s not any Western character. All Might is based on none other than Goku from Dragon Ball.
In an interview with Anime News Network, the mangaka claimed:
I was a huge fan of Dragon Ball, so I’d try to think about what sort of other characters would exist in that world and drew those characters.
So now you know the intricacies behind Kohei Horikoshi’s characters and what inspires him the most.
You can read My Hero Academia on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
