My Hero Academia will receive its final chapter in a matter of days, and its decade-long run will come to an end. As a result, Weekly Shonen Jump has posted messages from manga authors who have commented on how Horikoshi’s work has impacted their lives.
While everyone else was busy writing heartfelt messages, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, chose to expose his longstanding friendship with Horikoshi. Their love for their favorite game had united them, and it looks like their rapport is still going strong.
Kohei Horikoshi and Eiichiro Oda are Pokemon GO Friends
Kohei Horikoshi and Eiichiro Oda are not just colleagues; they have developed a budding friendship between them with the help of the popular game Pokemon GO. In July 2019, Horikoshi tweeted that he began playing Pokemon GO when Eiichiro Oda sent him a friend request. Since then, he has been playing the game and going on walks.
The author admitted that he had weak knees before, and they would buckle every time he went down a step. But after he got used to the game, he was able to run down the stairs. The My Hero Academia creator has also expressed his obsession with the game quite often and in the author’s comment section, he once wrote:
I showed off my Pokemon GO superiority to my friend’s four-year-old son. He got a good look at my 45 million Stardust.
It seems like the game is serving as Horikoshi’s outlet, and the creator is obsessed with it, to say the least. In another author’s note, Horikoshi made sure to slip in a complaint against the creators of the game. In this particular instance, Horikoshi caught a Landorus as a reward, but he was not ready to deal with the aftermath.
I got Landorus as a reward, and he sucked away like 20 berries. How is this a reward?
My Hero Academia has been a whirlwind of a series, and Horikoshi has sacrificed his physical health for it on multiple occasions. His obsession with Pokemon GO must have given him an opportunity to relax and unwind. So, let’s be glad that for the duration of the manga, the author was able to take care of his health with the help of a simple game.
Eiichiro Oda’s Message to Kohei Horikoshi Before My Hero Academia Ends
Issue #38 of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine carried messages from various authors on the ending of My Hero Academia. While some author comments were filled with gratitude, surprise over the finale, and congratulatory notes, Eiichiro Oda went a completely different route, and deservedly so, given that they have been friends for quite some time.
Does that mean you can play ‘Pokémon GO’ forever? Thank you for your hard work and 10 years of serialization, Horikoshi-kun!
Oda seems to be hilariously jealous of the fact that Horikoshi will be able to relax for a while. The ending of My Hero Academia will ensure that the author receives some rest, which has been long overdue. This also means he would have all the free time in the world to play Pokemon GO. Oda must be wishing that he, too, could do the same, but alas, One Piece still has a long way to go before it reaches its conclusion.
Fans are dying to know the My Hero Academia author’s reaction to this, but so far, there has been no update or reaction to the comments. The feature only had a single general comment by Horikoshi:
I’m really happy to have experienced all of thus in Jump! I’m glad so many people have read the series! Thank you so much!
You can read My Hero Academia and One Piece on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
