It’s Real: A New Gen Mangaka Helped Horikoshi With My Hero Academia’s Final Arc

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This article contains spoilers from My Hero Academia’s Final Saga.

For ten years, My Hero Academia was a major success for Shonen Jump, consistently ranking among its top-selling and most beloved series. Created by Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia has become one of the most popular anime and manga series today, and Horikoshi’s artistic talent is truly remarkable. He’s consistently proven himself to be one of Weekly Shonen Jump’s best artists with his stunning manga artwork.

Like most manga artists, Kohei Horikoshi doesn’t create everything himself. He relies on his editors for things like backgrounds, and it’s been revealed he’s also collaborated with other artists. Recently, it came out that Takeru Hokazono, the creator of the popular new manga Kagurabachi, helped him during a particularly demanding part of My Hero Academia. Specifically, Hokazono assisted with a complex panel featuring Twice and Sad Man’s Death Parade. This was just the first of what would become several collaborations between the two mangaka.

Kagurabachi’s Hokazono Assisted Horikoshi in MHA’s Final Arc

Hokazono Helped Draw Sad Man’s Death Parade Panel

Recently, Kohei Horikoshi, the author of the popular manga My Hero Academia, gave an interesting interview. While he answered a lot of questions, fans were particularly focused on his comments about Hokazono from the manga Kagurabachi.

Before Kagurabachi began, Hokazono was asked about visiting Horikoshi. He revealed that he actually assisted Horikoshi and his team when they were struggling to meet a chapter deadline, which surprised many fans.

Hokazono contributed to a detailed illustration of Twice and his clones, specifically the ‘Sad Man’s Parade’ panel from chapter 391 of My Hero Academia.

It’s worth noting that this chapter of My Hero Academia was released in June 2023, three months before the serialization of Kagurabachi, the manga by Hokazono, began.

The question and answer in full can be read here:

Regarding the Kagurabachi serialization, Hokazone, you visited Horikoshi’s studio beforehand, correct? Could you tell us about anything you gained from that visit?

Honestly, watching Horikoshi-sensei draw – it was mind-blowing! He’s so fast and skilled, seeing it up close made me realize, ‘Wow, a real person is actually creating all of this!’ (I couldn’t help but laugh). It was a really important moment for me. People like him can seem almost god-like, and I’m about to be working alongside him as a mangaka, so I have to aim that high. It was incredibly motivating to realize that with hard work, I could potentially reach that level. It was a little stressful though, because I happened to visit on his deadline day (laughs). I got there around noon, and you could practically feel the tension building as the day went on. Even the editor was getting antsy! (laughs)

Horikoshi recalls a chaotic time, comparing it to a difficult journey. He remembers when a visitor came, they were so rushed that he jokingly asked the visitor – who was only there to watch – to actually help with the work.

Seeing so many versions of Twice on one page was amazing! Visiting Kohei Horikoshi’s studio was a real eye-opener – his team worked incredibly fast. It actually made me worry on the way home, thinking I could never keep up! I wondered how I’d ever manage a serialized manga. But it was a really helpful experience, because it gave me a much clearer idea of what being a serializing manga artist actually involves.

My Hero Academia and Kagurabachi Have More History Together

  • Horikoshi Supervised Kagurabachi’s First Chapter
  • MHA and Kagurabachi Recently Had An Art Exchange

Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, and Yosuke Hokazono, the creator of Kagurabachi, have collaborated on several projects. They first worked together on ‘Sad Man’s Parade,’ and they plan to continue collaborating in the future.

It was previously discovered that Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, helped create the first chapter of Kagurabachi. This highlights the significant impact Horikoshi had on the development of Yu Hokazono, the author of Kagurabachi.

Recently, the two series teamed up for a special collaboration. Hokazono drew a picture of Deku, the main character from My Hero Academia, and Horikoshi drew a picture of Chihiro Rokuhira, the main character from Kagurabachi.

Their friendship appears to be strengthening, and fans are excited to see what they’ll do next. With his work on My Hero Academia completed, Horikoshi may become heavily involved with Kagurabachi again.

I watched as the My Hero Academia manga wrapped up after a fantastic run of 431 chapters, all available to read on Manga Plus. As for the anime, fans like me are still waiting for the final season, which is thankfully scheduled to come out later this year. You can stream the series on Crunchyroll.

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2025-10-30 00:35