It’s undeniable that My Hero Academia has made tons of waves in Western pop culture in the last few years. That came with its vivid world-building and iconic character writings, but surely most of us can agree that one of the most captivating things about this series is its complex Quirk power system.
Interestingly, creator Kohei Horikoshi found an unlikely place to get inspiration for this beloved aspect of the series: his bathroom! Yes, you read that right – one of the seeds of this remarkable power system was sown while Horikoshi-san was pleasantly taking a nice shower.
In An Interview, Horikoshi Shares His Unique Way Of Coming Up With Quirks
In an interesting interview, Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, shared the surprisingly unusual way he comes up with Quirks for his beloved characters. If anything proves Horikoshi is a thinking-out-of-the-box kind of guy, then this creative process has to be it:
For example, with Gran Torino, I came up with his Quirk when I was taking a shower. I looked at the showerhead and was like, ‘Oh, that would be cool… for something to come out of his feet.’ Like have propellant coming out of them. So, that is how his Quirk was inspired.
It’s quite fascinating to think that Kohei Horikoshi’s mind never stops working, not even when he is relaxing. Gran Torino is, to most, one of the most important side characters in My Hero Academia, and his quirk gets inspiration from a showerhead, which is pretty funny. The showerhead was a concept art, even though Gran Torino uses the air force instead of water.
Why Gran Torino’s Quirk Is So Much Important For The Overarching Plot
Sorahiko Torino is a retired Pro-Hero with a hero name, Gran Torino. He was a teacher at U.A. Academy. While being an active retired man, he acts as an informant for the Police Force regarding the case of the League of Villains and the Paranormal Liberation Front.
In this regard, he can knock out villains like Twice, Dabi, Magne, and others. He certainly is one of the most important secondary characters in My Hero Academia. In fact, Gran Torino spent only a few days analyzing Izuku Midoriya’s strength and helped him improve, whereas All Might took almost a year to achieve the same heights.
With the My Hero Academia manga rapidly approaching its final act, the world of Quirks has never been more exhilarating. As new characters pop out from the woodwork and the stakes are increased, Kohei Horikoshi’s ingeniously constructed Quirk system only keeps evolving and surprising.
The final act is approaching, and one feels a sense of excitement: what kind of innovative, creative ideas is Horikoshi-sensei going to come up with next? The possibilities are endless, and the anticipation is uncontrollable.
My Hero Academia is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
