Kohei Horikoshi sensei has done the magnificent by creating a masterpiece series like My Hero Academia from a figment of his imagination. But while fans love the story and feel they can relate deeply to both the story and the mangaka, what they don’t realize is that the mangaka’s personal choices are far different than theirs when it comes to his favorite characters from the saga.
As it turns out, everyone’s favorite character from the MHA storyline ‘All Might’ is not quite the favorite character of the mangaka as well, even though it was Horikoshi sensei himself who created him. In fact, the mangaka prefers one other, more “rude” character over this fan-favorite one! Yet, as surprising as it may be, the true reasoning behind his choice isn’t so non-understandable either.
All Might is NOT Kohei Horikoshi’s Favorite MHA Character!
All Might is the world’s former greatest hero, who was given the iconic title of being the world’s ‘Symbol of Peace.’ The predecessor of Izuku Midoriya, Toshinori Yagi also trains him and is unarguably one of the most beloved characters in the entire My Hero Academia franchise. And yet, he isn’t Horikoshi sensei’s favorite.
During a pre-anime interview (transcript shared on the r/BokuNoHeroAcademia forum on Reddit), the mangaka shared the same when asked if Yagi was indeed his favorite character from the series:
“It would be wrong of me to say that I ‘like him the most,'” Horikoshi sensei said. “As All Might is an absolute within this series, so there is no choice for me as I have to like him.”
But why does the MHA creator have to force-like the character, unlike the fans who seamlessly fall in love with him? Well, the answer to this is pretty simple: He requires more energy and time from the mangaka to make his appearance. This is because Yagi is very, very cautious with his words, and thus, Horikoshi sensei has to pay extra attention to him.
As Kohei Horikoshi sensei himself continued to share during the same interview:
“His words are all very cautious, so I have to go over them repeatedly to decide his lines, which costs a lot of effort. So even though I like this character, as I draw him, I need to keep reminding myself that ‘This is important!'”
If looking at it from the mangaka’s point of view, it is only understandable why he likes Toshinori Yagi so limitedly. But what makes this situation even more surprising is the character Horikoshi sensei likes more than All Might: Katsuki Bakugo!
Kohei Horikoshi Likes Katsuki Bakugo More Than All Might!
As it turns out, Kohei Horikoshi sensei‘s true liking lies in Katsuki Bakugo. This may sound like a massive surprise to many fans, considering how Bakugo is pretty much the opposite of Yagi when it comes to his personality. He is more outspoken and speaks his mind to the point where some may even consider him rude and insensitive.
But for the mangaka, “Bakugo is somebody that I can relax to draw.” This is because Katsuki Bakugo doesn’t require as much critical thinking as Toshinori Yagi does, since, as Horikoshi sensei himself admitted, “mentally speaking, Bakugo is still like a child,” even though he exercises some truly great and “really strong” power.
Then there’s the character design as well, which makes the mangaka like Bakugo fairly more than Yagi. As Horikoshi sensei admitted:
“His way of fighting is also jumping and flying around, and when he actually fights, he hollers and shouts. I’m really happy when I draw characters like that. However, Bakugo’s words are all really rude, which might make readers feel unpleasant, though personally I like him.”
Well, the ‘Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight’ is unarguably one of the most interesting characters, who entertains fans a lot more than the world’s ‘Symbol of Peace’, so we guess Horikoshi sensei’s preference is only understandable!
You can read My Hero Academia on Manga PLUS and stream the anime on Crunchyroll.
