Most anime and manga fans are pretty aware that the author of My Hero Academia, Kohei Horikoshi, loves American comics and has taken many references from stuff like Spiderman and Deadpool and added them to his manga.
But what fans may not know is that Horikoshi largely used One Piece’s Monkey D. Luffy as his inspiration for creating the main character of My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya, commonly known as Deku by his hero name.
Horikoshi decided to use Luffy as the base for Deku after reading a certain arc from One Piece, which he stated to be pretty influential in his work.
Horikoshi’s favorite One Piece arc that defined Deku’s character
During a recorded interview between One Piece author Eiichiro Oda and Horikoshi in Aug 2018, the latter admitted that his ability to make characters in My Hero Academia speak their minds without reservation came from reading One Piece and its characters.
Oda thought that it was something only mangakas from his time would do, as characters who said whatever they were thinking, like Luffy, were seen as disgraceful.
But Horikoshi clarified that every author from his generation writes characters that way.
Another aspect of One Piece which influenced Horikoshi is that iconic scene in the Arlong arc where Nami cries for Luffy to help her get liberated from Arlong’s control.
Luffy screaming “OF COURSE I WILL” resonated with MHA’s mangaka that he wanted a character like Luffy, who is so kind and helpful to his friends, to be the prototype for his main character, Deku.
I love the Arlong arc. “Help…” “Okay!” The dialogue in that scene (Chapter 81) was so freaking cool, it made me want to draw a protagonist just like Luffy. By the way, this week’s One Piece chapter was insane!
There are many similarities between Luffy and Deku when you think about it. Both love to take risks close enough to step on death’s door to achieve their ultimate goals (becoming the pirate king or the No. 1 hero). Both the characters hate to see their comrades suffer and would prefer to take their burden on both of their shoulders instead.
Oda once said Luffy was created by taking pieces of his own personality and molding up to form the character he strived to be—completely free from all anxieties.
Similarly, Horikoshi revealed that he took his social anxiety and tendency to over-analyze, sprinkled in some optimism, and ended up with Deku.
This begs the question, what does Oda think of My Hero Academia?
One Piece author reveals his honest opinions on My Hero Academia and its author
Oda described Horikoshi in one sentence that would put a smile on any fan’s faces.
“He’s the next big superhero artist.”
Horikoshi couldn’t believe he was being praised this much by one of his idols. But what he heard next made him even more flattered.
Oda revealed that his daughter was actually worried about One Piece and its relevance in the future when she heard a song from the My Hero Academia anime in her school bus rather than a song from One Piece.
Though Oda reassured her that his manga would not go anywhere, he nevertheless requested that Horikoshi and Oda compete with each other on who’s manga would take over the #1 spot in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Well, right now, the My Hero Academia manga has concluded, whereas One Piece shows no sign of ending anytime soon. With Jujutsu Kaisen ending in another 4 chapters, One Piece and Eiichiro Oda would reclaim the title of Jump’s highest selling manga every week.
My Hero Academia and One Piece are available on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
