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makeste · 3 years

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an index of Horikoshi Kouhei interviews

these are organized by date, oldest to newest, and I’m including a brief bullet-point summary of each to make it easier to look up specific interviews by content.

also, please note that although I haven’t spoiler tagged this post, the interviews from roughly 2019 onwards include some spoilers, so please watch out for those if you’re anime-only or otherwise not caught up with the manga. that said, the other interviews I think are all good.

putting this below a cut to keep things tidy.

interview with Horikoshi Kouhei and Kishimoto Masashi, May 2015

(note: this is not the actual interview word-for-word, but includes the highlights)

Horikoshi talks about being a fan of Naruto when he was growing up

Horikoshi says he was inspired by the way Kishimoto shows emotion through drawing hands, and that he loves drawing hands thanks to Naruto

Horikoshi mentions that Gaara is his favorite character and that he really liked the Chuunin Exam arc

Kishimoto praises BnHA and says he knew it would be a hit when he read the second chapter

they talk a bit about the worldbuilding and the process of creating a story where 80% of the population has superpowers

they discuss Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry and Horikoshi mentions that he found it “frustrating” and that he really liked the Valley of the End and thought it would be the end of the series. he says it was very emotional

they talk a little about the stress of writing manga and about the toll it takes on mental health

pre-anime interview, April 2016

talks about his reaction when he found out BnHA was getting an anime

talks about how the series originally came about

says that BnHA is the story of Izuku and All Might and that their story is the “vertical axis” which runs through the main story

says there is also a “horizontal axis”, which is the side characters and quirks and all of the other elements that he considers to be the “fun part” of the story which mellows out the darker aspects of the vertical axis

mentions that he really likes drawing and writing Bakugou

mentions Deku vs Kacchan 1 as one of the early highlights in the series for him

talks about Ochako being someone who has a more cheerful relationship with Deku, which balances out some of the heavier aspects of Deku and Katsuki’s relationship (again, horizontal vs vertical axis)

mentions that if he could pick any quirk he’d pick a “no need for sleep” quirk

talks about reading Dragon Ball as a child

mentions that he really likes American comic book heroes, especially Spider-Man

mentions Goku and Spider-Man as the two that come to mind when he thinks about heroes and what it means to be a hero (specifically, that Goku is the “win” aspect and that he brings reassurance to everyone, while Spider-Man is the “save” aspect who helps other people)

talks about hearing Deku and Bakugou’s voices in the anime for the first time, as well as Ochako, Iida, and All Might’s voices

another pre-anime interview with konomanga.jp, April 2016

(note: this interview is in Japanese, but Google translate does a servicable job with it)

talks more about Spider-Man, including his favorite costumes and comic artists

gives some American comic book recs

mentions that he likes Godzilla and Gamera and always goes to see those movies

talks about his Star Wars influences

talks about his favorite manga as a child -- Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto

talks about becoming a manga artist, and about some of his influences

says that he likes drawing monsters, creatures, and villains, and says that he really liked drawing the panel where Tomura made his first appearance at USJ

talks a little about composition and frame movement in his work, and about the challenges of drawing a weekly manga

mentions that he knows what the story ending will be, but hasn’t yet figured out how to connect the dots to that point

interview with Horikoshi Kouhei and Umakoshi Yoshihiko in BnHA: Ultra Archive, May 2016

(note: Umakoshi is the anime character designer for BnHA. also, this interview was part of the Ultra Archive character book, so you’ll have to scroll a bit through its other contents in order to get to the interview.)

they talk about the process of creating the BnHA anime and sketching out all of the character designs. Horikoshi says the anime character model sheets look just like how he draws them

they talk about Horikoshi’s obsession with drawing hands lol. Horikoshi mentions that the way Mike Mignola (the creator of Hellboy) draws hands was a big influence

they talk a lot about art and drawing in general

Horikoshi talks about Ochako’s character design a bit

they talk about the differences between drawing manga and doing animation

Umakoshi talks about his first impressions of BnHA

Horikoshi mentions that he still has a lot of ideas for characters and quirks that he hasn’t been able to implement yet

they talk about the different character designs and which ones they find easy, difficult, and fun to draw

they talk for a fair amount of time about Iida’s character design

Umakoshi talks a bit about other anime he’s worked on

they talk about the character of All Might, and Horikoshi ominously says that All Might’s future will be “a fairly sad affair”

interview with Natalie Comics, June 2018

talks about the 4th anniversary of BnHA, and the release of BnHA: Two Heroes

talks about the Basement internship arc and mentions that it was challenging for him to write

talks about the question “what is a hero?” and how he defines heroes

mentions Mina, Sero, and Shouji as characters he would like to/plans to feature in the future, and mentions that he already has a story planned featuring Shouji

talks about the popularity of the series

talks a little about Koike-san, his first editor

talks about Two Heroes and its development and story

talks about club activities at U.A., and which clubs Deku and Katsuki would be in

talks about his mom and about some of his childhood experiences which inspired scenes in the manga

talks about why he became a mangaka

talks about what percentage of the series is completed, mentions the original planned length was about 30 volumes but that it has obviously surpassed that

mentions that he has an idea of how the last arc will be planned out

interview with Horikoshi and Eiichiro Oda, August 2018

Horikoshi talks about being a fan of One Piece and mentions he even sent artwork to Oda which was included in one of Oda’s galleries

they talk more about OP and about favorite arcs and how it’s influenced Horikoshi’s work

Oda compliments Horikoshi’s art and they talk about cover artwork and coloring (Horikoshi mentions he uses Photoshop)

Horikoshi talks a bit about BnHA Two Heroes

Horikoshi again mentions that he originally thought BnHA would be about 30 volumes (Oda says he should shoot for 50 but Horikoshi laughs and says he’s not sure he can do ten years)

they talk about how fucking long OP is and how manga stories tend to expand once the story starts taking off

Interview with Anime News Network at SDCC, August 2018

talks about his love of American comics, especially Spider-Man, and says that American comics are a lot more mainstream in Japan nowadays thanks to all the superhero movies

talks about how he got started as a manga creator

talks about being inspired by Dragon Ball, and that All Might in particular was inspired by Goku

talks a bit about the process of creating characters

talks about Bakugou’s popularity and that it took him by surprise at first

mentions that he doesn’t have the stamina for BnHA to be a long series like One Piece

interview with Cinema Today Japan, December 2019

(update: here is the link to @hanashimas‘ translation which is more accurate)

talks about Deku and Bakugou’s characters and their attributes

mentions that at the start of the story Bakugou thinks Deku is above him, so he tries to act intimidating and superior to overtake him

(ETA: apparently this is a mistranslation; he actually says that he intended for Bakugou to be a character who was “above” Deku so to speak, who Deku would eventually surpass. he then goes on to talk about his realization that Bakugou could actually have a much more interesting character arc, which of course we have since seen play out.)

mentions that he planned to have Bakugou and Deku improve on two separate vectors as they entered U.A.

mentions Deku vs Kacchan 1 as a turning point where he had some realizations about Bakugou’s character that humanized him for him

mentions that he always knew Bakugou wouldn’t turn evil and “would never lose to the darkness”

says the scene where Katsuki takes Kirishima’s hand at Kamino was bittersweet because it showed Bakugou’s growth, but also showed the ongoing gulf between him and Deku because Deku knew that Katsuki wouldn’t take his hand

mentions that Bakugou still needs to apologize to Deku

says that Kirishima, Kaminari, and Mina are among the easiest characters for him to draw because they take the initiative and get the other characters excited and help pull the story forward

mentions that he always hears Nobu’s voice in his head now when writing Bakugou

talks about the characters being high school kids still, and that when he expanded on their families he was conscious of that -- “I wanted to show that these protagonists are still children after all”

interview in Volume R (booklet that was released along with Heroes Rising), December 2019

talks again about his manga influences and what inspired him to become a mangaka

talks about the experience of getting his first manga published

talks about what inspired him to write BnHA

has an interesting quote where he talks about the vaguely desperate feeling of “trying one last time”, which was weighing on his mind when he created BnHA, and which also played into Deku’s motivations in the first chapter

mentions All Might as being a character that he’s attached to

talks about his reactions to the anime, the overseas popularity, and the first movie

talks about his heavy involvement in the production of Heroes Rising

talks about designing and creating the bad guys for Heroes Rising

talks about the creation and character design of Hawks and mentions that the original character design was going to have a bird head lol

mentions that Hawks will have a relatively big influence on the story in the future

talks about how the ending of Heroes Rising was his original planned ending for the series

talks about Bakugou’s character development which leads up to that moment

talks about the conclusion of the series, and that all of the characters will come together in the end

interview with all of the past editors of the BnHA manga, March 2021

(note: this is another interview that’s not translated word for word, but summarized. also this interview was with just the editors, not Horikoshi himself.)

they talk about the early reception to the manga, and Horikoshi’s reactions

they talk about the individual moments early on when they realized that the series would be “amazing”

Yoritomi mentions that Horikoshi came up with the designs for most of the Billboard Top 10 pro heroes at the last minute lol

including Hawks (all Horikoshi had decided on prior was that he was going to be “cool” and would be a spy)

everyone praises Horikoshi’s character designs in general

they talk about the start of the anime and that whole process

they mention that Horikoshi cried watching both of the movies

they talk about the overseas popularity of the series

each editor lists their favorite episode of the anime

they talk about Horikoshi sacrificing his original manga ending to be used in Heroes Rising

they talk about that one ending theme song in season 4 that showed the pro heroes’ childhoods, and that Horikoshi had the anime team change Hawks’s to match the backstory he had planned

they talk about the upcoming season 5 and send final messages to the fans

interview in the MHA Drawing Smash Exhibition Pamphlet, April 2021

Horikoshi talks about the art in the exhibition and about the process of creating the artwork

he mentions that the piece with Deku rescuing a falling Ochako took the longest to draw

he says the drawing of All Might was the most fun to draw for him

that’s pretty much it, this one is very short lol

interview in Jump GIGA Spring 2021, April 2021

talks about which characters will play an important role in the final act. specifically mentions Hawks, Ochako, Shouji, Shinsou, Monoma, and Sero

“many characters’ actions will converge into a single one, so maybe the best way to say it would be ‘keep an eye on all of them!’“

says that for Hawks’s flashbacks and the Todoroki family’s past, he was influenced by Sion Sono’s works

mentions that the drawing of Deku and Ochako from the MHA Drawing Smash exhibit isn’t directly related to the main story, but that while drawing it he kept in mind how their relationship would develop if he explored it deeper

says he had the final act (or at least the chapter 306 reveal part of it) vaguely planned for a long time, but started to think about the specifics in volume 21 during the Endeavor vs High-End fight

says he’s already decided on the ending, and that “the path to it has been longer than I initially expected, but the main elements that I’ve decided before starting the series are still the same”

Q&A trivia from Vol. W World Heroes’ Mission, August 2021

(and alternate translation by aitaikimochi)

talks about All Might not having many friends among the pro heroes (but says he’s become “slightly attached” to Aizawa since he started teaching at U.A.)

describes what Bakugou, Tsuyu, and Mineta’s rooms look like

talks about Jirou and Momo’s relationship and the kind of things they like to talk about when they hang out together

says that Shouji’s face will eventually be revealed, and that he is “not sure” about Hagakure’s :’)

talks about the types of YouTube videos Shouto watches (pretty insightful answer which is equal parts sweet and sad)

says that Midnight’s classes were the most popular among the students

says U.A.’s robots once rebelled against their creators (lol wtf)

says his three favorite movies are Akira, The Ring, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. he says Akira in particular is his bible

and that’s it for now, but I will update this post with future interviews as they are posted, and if anyone has links to an interview I’ve missed please let me know.

#horikoshi kouhei #horikoshi kouhei interview #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha reference #makeste reads bnha

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niks-minion · 3 years

Note

From an interview with Horikoshi:

Which characters will have important roles in the final act?

Hawks and Uravity will have a big role. A ray of hope for the readers.

Shoji will keep doing his best.

Shinso and Monoma will also do some big stuff.

An epic scene for Sero will be planned.

Many characters actions will converge to one. Keep an eye on all characters.

“That one” drawing from the Exhibition is related to the main story?

It’s mostly aesthetic, so can’t say “there will be a scene exactly like it in the story,”

He drew it while keeping in mind their relationship would develop in the future and will be explored. So not entirely unrelated.

Is this “Beginning of the Final Act” something you planned a long time ago?

He had is vaguely planned.

Started to think about it’s specifics around Volume 21, in the fight with Endeavor and Hood.

And now that we’ve reached the final act, show some enthusiasm!

“I’ll make sure to keep writing a story that readers will enjoy! I’ll do my best, and Deku will too! We’ll be counting on you”

Volume 31 releases this summer.

Well I’m looking forward to see Hawks taking a big chunk of screen time.

Also Shinsou and Monoma. Those guys have an amazing quirks, and I definitely wanna see some cool fights highlighting that.

AND THERE ARE BETTER BE A GOOD AMOUNT OF TODO AND BAKUGOU!

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #niks bnha blog #niks bnha ask #horikoshi kouhei interview #mha spoilers

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aitaikimochi · 6 years

Photo

I translated the entire interview with Boku No Hero Academia’s Horikoshi Kouhei, published online via Natalie Comics. He discusses many different things, from what is a hero to which arc was the most difficult to draw, how much he was involved with the new movie, and much more! The interview is extremely long but gives great insight into the creative process that he goes through! Enjoy~

THE INTERNSHIP ARC WAS DIFFICULT

Interviewer: Boku No Hero Academia will be celebrating its 4th anniversary in July. Congratulations!

Horikoshi: Ahh, it’s been four years already, huh. Thank you very much.

Interviewer: Well then, let’s discuss some of the content for Boku No Hero Academia. At the moment, the most recent volume is Volume 18, and up until now Deku and the others have been interning with pro-heroes and also came into contact with villains along the way. This is the “Internship Arc,” and it is supposed to be the longest arc within the Boku No Hero Academia story so far, right?

Horikoshi: When I started the internship arc, I was thinking that I wanted to make this the longest arc so far. Up until now, even the longest arcs for BNHA spanned no more than two volumes. However, series such as ONE PIECE have arcs that keep going and going, right?

Interviewer: The longest arc for ONE PIECE probably was more than 10 volumes.

Horikoshi: I wanted to challenge myself in creating a long arc like that. Also, I needed to introduce characters that will be present in the last arc of the Boku No Hero Academia story, so I wanted to plan this all out. To tell the truth though, when I was writing the internship arc, it was really hard to push through. In the middle of the arc I thought to myself, “I can’t do this.”

Interviewer: Is it because the arc was long that gave you hardships?

Horikoshi: It’s not because the arc was long, but more about the story that made it difficult. The story was much too dark, and during the middle of it, I just wasn’t feeling it.

Interview: The internship arc indeed also had a character who actually died, and this was a very heavy episode that had not happened thus far.

Horikoshi: When I read other manga or watch movies, I really like stories that have dark plots. I also like stories that don’t have happy endings and can totally stomach gore and horror. However, when I’m writing it myself, it gets really difficult. I’m someone whose feelings fluctuate depending on the contents that I am working on.

THIS WAS AN ARC THAT YOU WANTED READERS TO THINK WAS THE LAST ARC

Interviewer: When you were writing this dark episode, how did you keep up your own tensions during this?

Horikoshi: In the story, if I’m writing about a feel good development, then that’s where I recover my own feelings. For example, in the “Internship Arc,” the character Fat Gum really saved me.

Interview: With the name “Fat,” he was as his name suggests, and also spoke in a Kansai accent, and he was quite a comic relief character, right?

Horikoshi: In the scene with Fat Gum and Kirishima fighting against the villain, I felt really passionate, and I was able to transfer that onto my brush. From that point, I was finally able to write out the Internship Arc little by little. Fat Gum is My Hero.

Interview: On the topic of darker plot points, right now in the anime, the fight between All Might and All For One is also an episode that weighs heavily. Horikoshi-sensei, you started that episode in Volume 8 and made a comment that “This time, I want to write a bit more of a painful story.”

Horikoshi: As expected, writing out that arc was rough. Within the battle between All Might and All For One, when the rescue of (Bakugou) Katsuki, who was previously kidnapped by the villains, was finally put into motion, I myself was able to see the light, and I felt way better. That’s what I mean when I say that within the story, my own feelings become transferred on the paper, thinking “I finally drew it” at myself.

Interviewer: What kind of tensions were you feeling at that time?

Horikoshi: My goal was to let readers think that Boku No Hero Academia would end during this fight. However, the readers probably knew that this wasn’t the end, and at that point during the poll, there were really good reviews, giving me the feeling that this manga isn’t just going to be tossed aside as a one shot thing.

Interviewer: What was your reasoning of wanting readers to think that this was the completion of the series?

Horikoshi: Since All Might loses his power in this fight, I couldn’t just draw with a normal feeling of tension. It’s not really “PLUS ULTRA,” but it was an episode that I needed to break the limit in order to leave an impression on the reader. I wanted to create a story where readers could look back at Boku No Hero Academia and say that the best episode of the entire series was the fight between All Might and All For One.

WHAT IS A HERO?

Interviewer: This subject is present in the current arc, but for Horikoshi-sensei, what is a Hero in Boku No Hero Academia?

Horikoshi: “What exactly is a hero?” This is what I think about and what makes me want to draw. What is a hero? It’s hard to put it in words.

Interviewer: How would you define the image of a hero?

Horikoshi: Moreso than that, I personally do not want to define that. When Boku No Hero Academia first started, in a past interview, I remember answering “A hero would probably have this type of existence.” Recently though, I have been thinking about how there’s way more viewpoints that correlate with what is a hero. For example, some people might think a hero is someone who “even if they’re a lone wolf, they would still do their best, and that’s what you can call a hero.” There are also others who might think that heroes would be like a pro baseball player, someone who hopes to let everyone enjoy their work. There’s no single word that can pinpoint “Ah, this is a hero” in my opinion.

Interviewer: Has there been any triggers that made your own thought process change within the story?

Horikoshi: As the serialization continued, and after seeing various reviews from readers, I decided to start moving various characters’ stories forward. For example, for Deku, a hero is someone who can save people, and for Katsuki, a hero is someone who can win. When I realized that I had to write about their entire stories, I started to think that I had to figure out collectively what a hero figure would be for various people, and I guess if you call that a trigger, then I guess it is one.

A CHARACTER WHO WAS EXPANDED UPON AFTER INITIAL SERIALIZATION

Interviewer: The series has been in serialization for four years now, and has there been any characters that have been expanded upon than what you originally had planned?

Horikoshi: Hm…I guess that All Might, Katsuki, Todoroki, Endeavor, Ochako are all characters that this can be applied to, but since they are all main characters who have been progressing since their introduction, I wouldn’t say it’s an expansion of their character per se. However, if we are speaking about characters that had more plot expanded, then it would be Tsuyu and Toga. I think since they were first introduced, we took into consideration the voices of the readers, and afterwards changed their storylines. That’s why I would probably say Tsuyu and Toga.

Interviewer: Aoyama was featured in Volume 19 at the beginning of the volume. During the Boku No Hero Academia anime event, and according to the coverage, a lot of cast members said that they like Aoyama, but of course, if he’s popular enough, will he have his own feature?

Horikoshi: No, that’s not exactly true (laughs). Just because he’s popular hm…maybe he’s just popular among industry members.

Interviewer: Oh no (laughs)! Besides Aoyama-kun, if you were to feature another character from Class A, who would it be?

Horikoshi: If it’s the girls, then I would choose Ashido. She’s rather cute, and a good character, so I would like to write about her. If it’s the boys, then I would choose Sero, the guy who has Spiderman-like abilities that could have great action sequences. However, I think that including Hagakure, Shouji, etc., I would like to write more about all members of the class. We actually have a story featuring Shouji planned already, so we will probably include it somewhere.

I WANT TO REACH NUMBER ONE IN THE POLLS

Interviewer: In Kadokawa’s Da Vinci magazine, you had an interview with Naruto’s Kishimoto-sensei, and during the discussion, you mentioned that you were worried about keeping up with the demands of the readers.

Horikoshi: Yes, I did.

Interviewer: At that time, Boku No Hero Academia was only at its 3rd volume, but afterwards the anime, games, light novels, and now a movie have been released, so the series has expanded to various media. How do you maintain the demand of the readers in this case?

Horikoshi: The most important one is of course the polls. I always aim for the top and not lose any traction. Boku No Hero Academia fluctuates a lot in the polls, so there have been times where it dipped. That’s why I want to create an amazing story that can reach the Number 1 ranks, and I create the content with the hope that it will reach Number 1. At first I thought that since the anime has started, I really needed to put my all into this, but if I keep thinking that, then I would probably break from the pressure, so that’s why right now I just want to focus on the contents of the manga.

Interviewer: You mentioned before that Yahagi Kousuke, the person who initially helped the serialization of Kishimoto’s Naruto, was a great presence for you.

Horikoshi: That’s right. He’s always on my conscience.

Interviewer: Do you think about the editor who first helped you in the serialization?

Horikoshi: Sometimes. Even though we have a different editor now for Boku No Hero Academia, I sometimes think about what the first editor, Koike-san, would say, such as maybe he would get upset at that, and so forth. However, I heard that Koike-san tell my current editor that he praised the new character Hawks, and that made me really happy from the bottom of my heart. In lieu of this, my first editor does have a presence within me.

THE MOVIE HAS A COMBO MOVE WITH DEKU AND ALL MIGHT THAT WAS NOT IN THE MANGA

Interviewer: Well then, let’s talk a bit about the Boku No Hero Academia Movie “The Two Heroes,” which will release in theaters in August! When it was decided that there will be a movie, what were your feelings?

Horikoshi: I had a feeling of “wait…no way, you’re joking, right?” There was talk of making a movie previously, but I never believed it. However, when the story progressed more and more, even if we were to have a meeting with the staff, I’m sure that the plans would fall through. Because a movie requires a lot of manpower to make it happen, I truly thought that it was never going to happen, but now that I think of it, I was a bit rude in that aspect.

Interviewer: Horikoshi, you are listed as the creator and supervisor of the movie. Exactly what did you work on?

Horikoshi: I worked on many things such as the design for David and Melissa as well as what I want to have in the movie’s plot, what I want the characters to do, and we discussed this thoroughly with Director Nagasaki and the movie staff. I also read the scripts and offered my own opinions with the direction of how the story should go.

Interviewer: What kind of scenarios did the staff ask you?

Horikoshi: It wasn’t discussed in the first draft, but I wanted Deku to really try his all in the story. I also wanted people who did not know anything about Boku No Hero Academia to be able to enjoy the movie. Since it’s a movie, I wanted to let Deku and the others go to a different location! (laughs)

Interviewer: The stage is set in a floating island abroad, and we also see that a Young All Might used to study abroad in a city in America.

Horikoshi: When I create a character, I think of their chronology, and for All Might, his history is that he studied abroad in America, so that’s why I wanted to expand on that aspect.

Interviewer: In the trailer, there are scenes where they are fighting, and the animation is really well done!

Horikoshi: Yes, I actually haven’t seen the finished product yet myself, but from the brief scenes I saw, the characters move wonderfully. I hope everyone watches it in theaters! The duo combo attack scenes with All Might and Deku that didn’t make it into the manga are also a point of interest!

Interviewer: Since this happens before All Might loses his power in the manga, his power move with Deku is something you can’t write anymore in the manga.

Horikoshi: Yes, the events of the movie happen before the battle with All For One, so I want everyone to be able to watch and look forward to this since you will never see their duo power move in the manga.

FOUR CAREFULLY SELECTED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Interviewer: To promote the movie, there was a hash tag on Twitter where users could ask you a question, and these are the four questions that we hope you can answer for us.

Horikoshi: Ah, these were the four chosen ones, yes? I totally you meant that even though we had planned this, we only got four questions (laughs).

Interviewer: We got so many questions, it was way beyond even 100 (laughs). So let’s move on to the first question. “Is there club activities in U.A. Academy?” and “If there was, what kind of activities would the students of Class 1A partake in?”

Horikoshi: U.A. Academy has the General Studies and Economics departments, so there would be club activities. However those who are in the hero department would not enter those. They of course could enter if they wanted to, but I don’t think they would have time to go through that. However, perhaps the General Studies’ student Shinsou might be involved, and there might be a bit about the club activities in the main story in the future.

Interviewer: For example, what type of club activity do you think Deku or Katsuki would do?

Horikoshi: Deku would probably be in some kind of movie analysis club. Katsuki would be in…I don’t know, maybe Argument Club? (T/N: He specifically says ARGUMENT club, not Debate Club lol).

Interviewer: You don’t think he would be in a boxing club? (laughs)

Horikoshi: I think he would hate the rules and probably boxing isn’t his thing. Maybe he wouldn’t even be in a club to begin with.

Interviewer: Okay, on to the next question: “Within the series and the world, the BNHA characters feel real and have very human emotions. Did you have any of your own experiences that you wrote into the story?” Has there been any specific instances where your own personal experienced have influenced some of the story’s scenes or script?

Horikoshi: Oh wow, there’s way too many to count. For example in Volume 11, when Deku was younger he and his mom have a scene together [where Deku’s mom says, “Help me!” and Deku says “I am here!”] I actually used to do this exact same thing with my mom when I was younger, and we played at the park’s playgrounds. We called it the “King of the Jungle.” My mom would go inside the jungle gym at the playground and say, “Please save me, Leo,” which is the name that I used to call myself when we played this together.

I have that memory of pretending to be Leo and playing with my mom at the playground, so I wanted to incorporate that into the story. As a reader, it’s probably a scene that does not hold much meaning, but as for me, I cried while writing that scene.

Interviewer: So Horikoshi-sensei does incorporate your own experiences into the Boku No Hero Academia storyline.

Horikoshi: Yes, I suppose. Another experience that I put into the story was in Volume 16 where you learn about Tamaki transferring schools.

Interviewer: Tamaki transferred schools and was not used to his new class, but he soon became good friends with Mirio, who helped him feel included.

Horikoshi: Right before entering middle school but after elementary school, I ended up going to a middle school outside of my neighborhood. Since this school was outside of where I went to elementary school, I knew no one at all. Everyone else was already in their own groups and knew each other, but I was the loner, and it was a really sad time for me (laughs).

Interviewer: So then for you, a friend like Mirio was there to help.

Horikoshi: Yes, he told me, “you’re not a bad person at all” and was the one who helped me feel included. Man, when I say this now it sounds kind of stupid, huh? (laughs)

Interviewer: Not at all!!!

Horikoshi: Hopefully fans of Tamaki won’t dislike this bit of information, with an impression of like “Oh that’s actually Horikoshi’s memory” or something like that. However, that’s basically how I use my own experiences to add to my characters, and my feelings just overflow into the story.

Interviewer: Let’s move on to the third question: “If you had this quirk, you would definitely want to use it!” Which quirk would that be, and how would you want to use it?

Horikoshi: Definitely Todoroki. I hate hot places, and when things get hot I immediately want to cool down. When I draw Todoroki, I often think “It would be nice to have this quirk.”

Interviewer: That’s quite a practical answer (laughs). Here’s the last question: “Please let us know the reason why you decided to become a mangaka.”

Horikoshi: I loved drawing ever since I was little, and if you think of an industry that allows you to draw, there’s nothing else besides manga, so I decided to become a manga artist. To give a specific incident that occurred, when I was in Elementary chool, the manga “Megaman X2” came out, and I loved drawing the character called the Crystal Snail. My friends complimented me on my drawing and even said “Please give me this drawing!” and this made me really happy. At that time, I don’t know why, but I remember thinking “I want to be a manga artist in the future!”

HE IS DRAWING CONTENT THAT WILL HAVE MEANING IN THE LAST ARC

Interviewer: Well then, lastly, please tell us a bit more about the expansion of the “Boku No Hero Academia” universe. Previously in SUGOI JAPAN, you mentioned that you would like Boku No Hero Academia to be a short and concise story and not drawn out, but what percentage of the story is complete at this point?

Horikoshi: When the decision to extend the series happened, I personally thought “I guess I want to end it here” and it was around Volume 30.

Interviewer: So then are you 2/3 done with the story?

Horikoshi: That’s what I had originally planned, but when I think of all the things that must be set up before getting into the last arc, I realized, “Ending the series at Volume 30 will be impossible” (laughs). However, the current arc that is going on all has purpose that will be relevant in the last arc.

Interviewer: You mentioned in today’s interview that the “Internship Arc” had a very important character that you wanted to draw at the end. Does that mean that all the characters will come together at the last arc?

Horikoshi: All characters will come together and go forward into the last arc. However, at the moment we are not even close to the last battle, but I do have an idea of how I want it to be planned out.

Interviewer: Volume 19 covers the Cultural Festival, and there’s a lot of bright scenes, but please give us a message in regards to points of interest within the newest volume.

Horikoshi: The Cultural Festival puts a spotlight on Jirou from the girls in Class A, and I had the conscience of making sure that she has a lot of cute faces when drawing it. Of course, fans of Jirou would love this, but I hope that others will also enjoy Jirou in this arc!

#boku no hero academia #midoriya #bakugou #todoroki #kirishima #ochako #bnha #horikoshi #horikoshi kouhei #horikoshi interview #my translations #this was super long but very interesting

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confinedmadness · 4 years

Text

Miki Shin-ichirou (Sir Nighteye) Special Interview

As always, original Japanese interview is in the My Hero Academia anime official website.

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☆ Tell us your thoughts about Hero Aca

Even in other work I do, I often hear about Hero Aca. After it was decided I would be part of the cast, I read the manga and watched the anime, and I thought that Horikoshi(Kouhei)-sensei writes elaborately and with detail and that makes the series appealing. My impression of the anime was that it doesn't damage the original work but rather just reflects the manga in animation.

☆ What do you think of Sir Nighteye as a person?

An intellectual adult. Also, he's a person with a very strong heart and mind.

☆ In what instances would you say you can see that?

Nighteye admired All Might greatly and was the person who worked with him most closely. In the midst of that, his always accurate "Foresight" made him "see" that the All Might he thought he'd always want to support is going to die, and suffered that “death” all on his own. He is who he is now even with the shock and the sadness of that. That's really amazing, I think.

☆ With regards to All Might, his admiration is the same as, or maybe even greater than, Deku's, after all.

It must have been a big shock for Deku to hear from All Might himself that he might die in the near future. But Nighteye didn't hear about that, he saw the actual scene. Despite having sustained serious injuries and knowing he might die soon, All Might didn't even consider stopping being a hero, and that's when Nighteye separated from him. But Nighteye also continued being a hero, because not only does he want to succeed All Might's will, he also feels that the existence of a "hero" is one that makes the world better, and that "something" that All Might has is also in Nighteye.※

☆ A type of teacher-student relationship exists between All Might and Nighteye, but similarly I think it also exists between Nighteye and Mirio. What do you think he teaches?

I think he teaches "ways to not die". Reading the opponent's next move and increasing your experiences not only helps yourself but will also connect to being able to save the lives of others. Mirio can't see the future like Nighteye can, but he can make predictions for the next few moments. I think he is putting importance into how those predictions can protect you.

☆ How do you find the recording studio where you give voice to Nighteye?

The atmosphere in the studio feels thick, or... We record in a big studio but it just feels condensed when we record, especially in today's recording. Everyone feels something about the roles they play and that is put on top of the feelings of the characters themselves... It's that kind of environment.

☆ When you say "Hero Aca", of course we remember "Heroes". Is there someone who is a hero to you Miki-san?

Not exactly "hero" but I always think my grandpa-in-law is amazing. He is a war veteran, and worked as a police officer after the war, and then made a company after that, so I think he's someone with so much experience, but even just surviving that era is unbelievable for me. Even now he's still lively. I can't help but be amazed.

☆ Finally, a message for the fans and viewers please!

There are a lot of people who have been supporting this long-running series, so joining the cast midway is scary in a way. But, I am doing my best in front of the mic so that all the Hero Aca fans can enjoy the series even more than they already do. I hope everyone will continue looking forward to Hero Aca. I will work hard!

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※ - I’m very unsure about the translation for this part.

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My other Boku no Hero Academia cast interview translations:

Shingaki Tarusuke (Mirio) S4

Yamashita Daiki (Deku) x Okamoto Nobuhiko (Kacchan) S3

Ootsuka Akio (All For One) S3

Yamashita Daiki (Deku) S2

Kaji Yuuki (Todoroki) S2

Suwabe Junichi (Aizawa) S1

Okamoto Nobuhiko (Kacchan) S2

#posts #translation #sir nighteye #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #anime #cast #seiyuu #voice actor #japanese #miki shin-ichirou #miki shinichiro #miki shinichirou #mirai sasaki #interview

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