My Hero Academia is currently featuring the final battle of the series, with the protagonist Izuku Midoriya fighting against All for One, who has taken control over Shigaraki Tomura’s body. This has led to the assumption that the series might soon conclude and bring an end to Kohei Horikoshi’s masterpiece that has been entertaining fans for almost ten years.
The series has introduced many characters that have influenced the story in major ways and one of those characters was Star and Stripe. Originally known as Cathleen Bate, Star and Stripe was the No. 1 Pro Hero of the United States of America. She was given the title of the Strongest Woman in the world by All for One.
Horikoshi recently revealed that Star and Stripe had a connection to Akira Toriyama’s masterpiece, Dragon Ball. It is a known fact that Horikoshi is a big fan of Toriyama and his work, and has even used his manga as a reference in his series. But this connection was totally unexpected for My Hero Academia fans.
Star and Stripe Proved Her Worth in My Hero Academia
Star and Stripe is introduced a little late in the story. Yet, she makes everyone fall in love with her because of her energetic personality and her powerful quirk. Star and Stripe’s quirk, New Order, allowed her to impose rules on her environment and grant new abilities to them. She was able to control everything around her because of her quirk.
Furthermore, her quirk allowed her to make two rules at any given time. During her confrontation with Shigaraki Tomura, Star and Stripe demonstrated the attributes of a pro-hero by bearing the brunt of the attack singlehandedly. Despite being aware of Shigaraki’s lethal Decay Quirk, Star and Stripe refused to back down from a close-quarters confrontation.
Despite having a small role in My Hero Academia, Star and Stripe’s appearance conveyed the idea of someone who prioritized the protection of others over her own. She gave her life while protecting her friends and she had no regrets about it whatsoever. She was the perfect representation of the idea of a Superhero and she proved her worth in the story.
Kohei Horikoshi Reveals Star and Stripe’s Connection With Akira Toriyama
My Hero Academia manga’s 34th volume, which was released in 2022, had some more sketches and illustrations by Horikoshi, including character design concepts and background information about the storyline and the characters. These sketches were shared by @Atsushi101x on X (Formerly Twitter).
Kohei Horikoshi submitted a concept sheet along with some pretty fascinating facts. Horikoshi disclosed that he designed Star and Stripe’s abilities especially to have large-scale combat, that are comparable to the likes in Dragon Ball.
Star's concept sheet. It talks about her quirk of creating orders, the fact that her hair was inspired by All Might, that hair artstyle change depending on the rule that makes her stronger and that he wanted to use her to make a Dragon Ball scale battle pic.twitter.com/Zkz7V1GcgF
— Atsu (@Atsushi101X) May 1, 2022
Because Star and Stripe has practically infinite power, the author was able to attempt a combat similar to that of Akira Toriyama‘s Dragon Ball.
The battle between Star and Stripe and Shigaraki takes place in the sky, with fighters flying jet planes and massive structures firing lasers. It was one of the most epic battles in the My Hero Academia series and it paved the way for the Final War arc of the series.
You can watch My Hero Academia on Netflix and Hulu and read the manga on Viz Media.
