Kohei Horikoshi created the electrifying world of My Hero Academia, where quirks are distributed like lollies. People often refer to the series as one of the “New Age Big Three.” The franchise’s popularity led it to receive anime, games, live-action, light novels, and movies, all under the watchful eyes of the author. So, have you ever wondered how much dough Horikoshi has raked in from My Hero Academia? Spoiler alert: It’s pretty impressive.
Kohei Horikoshi never revealed his bank transactions, and nor did he ever hint at his earnings. The statements in this article are derived purely from an average of how much people typically get paid in his stature. So, take everything with a grain of salt.
Let me address the elephant in the room first, CBR has reported that Horikoshi’s net worth is around $6-10 million. While he is not the highest-paid mangaka, he does make it to the top rankings.
Horikoshi’s Income from My Hero Academia Manga and Volumes
First, let’s examine Kohei Horikoshi’s income from the manuscript of My Hero Academia. According to some sources, Weekly Shonen Jump pays a minimum of 18,000 yen ($125) per black-and-white page and upwards of 28,000 yen ($187) for full-color pages.
My Hero Academia typically receives chapters that range from 12 to 20 pages. If we consider the minimum rate, Horikoshi might make $1500 to $2500 per chapter. Since My Hero Academia is a weekly manga, the mangaka could take home anywhere from $6000 to $10,000 monthly. However, the author has several medical issues that demand him to take frequent hiatus.
Mangakas also receive a percentage per volume. Typically, it’s around 10-15%. By February 2023, the manga had over 85 million copies in circulation, including spinoffs. Each volume costs around $7-12, so the mangaka gets around $0.7 per tankobon. The first run always gives the highest cut while the second and third prints get the mangaka lesser percentage. However, a lot of the money is also eaten up by taxes.
Kohei Horikoshi’s Original Planned Ending for My Hero Academia is Anime’s Version of Game of Thrones
Volume 35 of My Hero Academia sold 5,27,075 copies in the first three weeks.
How much does Horikoshi make per anime episode or movie?
Now, let’s talk about the pay rate per anime episode. According to Medium, manga artists can be expected to make upwards of $990 per 30-minute episode. A standard one-cour anime would fetch $11,880 for the creator. However, the author does not have rights to the anime, so they don’t get revenue from it. Kohei Horikoshi has not revealed how much he makes from the anime, but we can still estimate it based on the average rate.
The pay rate for live-action adaptations is lower than that for anime episodes or movies because much of the plot is changed to accommodate actors. Nonetheless, for any kind of media adaptation, mangakas receive a one-off payment, which might not be as massive of a profit as you estimate.
Kohei Horikoshi’s Share of My Hero Academia Merchandise Sales
The most lucrative income is actually from merchandise sales. Sales of character goods typically earn a lot more than sales of movies, DVDs, and other factors combined. The author also receives 10-15% from the merch sales. Be it figurines, keychains, clothing, or plushies, Horikoshi receives a cut from every official My Hero Academia merch sale. Psst: That also includes your Dabi body pillow.
To sum up, Kohei Horikoshi earns quite well as he is one of the top mangakas at the moment. His earnings consist not only of the per-page rate but also of shares from anime episodes, movies, character merchandise, and other factors. While it is hard to point out a particular range as Shueisha keeps all the information hush-hush, My Hero Academia is a huge franchise, and Horikoshi is richer than you would expect.
