This article contains light spoilers for early arcs in MHA and Naruto
Despite both being two of the most popular shonen Manga series in the last few decades, My Hero Academia and Naruto don’t actually share all that many similarities. While the former revolves around a group of heroes and their desperate attempts to protect Japan from villains, the latter is based in a world of ninja which features an entirely different setting and characters. However, it’s well known that manga authors will often borrow certain aspects and elements from other series in the Shonen Jump magazine, and considering author Kohei Horikoshi has admitted to being a fan of Naruto when he was growing up, it makes sense that it would have an impact on his hit series, My Hero Academia.
With that being said though, it can honestly be difficult to identify this influence just from reading My Hero Academia on its own, as it clearly doesn’t have much to do with the character designs or the world at large. Instead, Horikoshi has admitted that Kishimoto’s work rubbed off on him in a slightly more subtle and obscure way that only keen-eyed manga readers would be able to notice. Without further ado, it’s time to see exactly what this inspiration was, and where it can be seen when reading through My Hero Academia.
Horikoshi’s Panel Work Is Directly Inspired By Naruto
Allowing The Author To Keep Readers Engaged At All Times
During a conversation between Horikoshi and Kishimoto, the former of the two legendary manga authors was asked whether Naruto impacted the way he approached My Hero Academia. Considering how utterly unique this series is compared to a lot of shonen, the comparisons aren’t always that clear, but Horikoshi did reveal that the bulk of his inspiration came from Kishimoto’s panel work. This refers to the way that a manga author guides the reader’s eyes across the page, and specifically how they use the ‘lens’ to focus on particular characters or action scenes.
“Kishimoto says he can tell Horikoshi really has a clear vision of the “lens”, going from wide shots to close ups” – Translator for conversation between Horikoshi and Kishimoto
In fact, Kishimoto himself states directly after that he immediately picked up on this inspiration when he was reading through his colleague’s story. He makes specific mention of how Horikoshi will often use wide shots in his scenes, before then shooting to a close angle to emphasize a particular movement, or a character’s underlying emotions.
When reading these comments, it can be very easy to spot exactly what Kishimoto is referring to, as the examples are scattered all across the manga. It should be noted though that Horikoshi does still build on this panel work using his own unique drawing style and aesthetic, with many of the characters bursting out of the page in a way that still makes his work feel like something that stands on its own, rather than just a straight-up copy of what came before.
Examples Of Panel Comparisons
Naruto’s Influence Can Be Felt Early On In The MHA Manga
Horikoshi used Naruto as a reference when creating panels in the early story
The mixture of wide and close shots is comparable to Kishimoto’s work
During the conversation, Horikoshi actually admitted that, during an early portion of the My Hero Academia story, he was constantly referring back to Kishimoto’s manga as a reference when it came to his paneling. The scene he mentions is during the Battle Trial Arc when Bakugo manages to corner Deku in a tunnel, and almost obliterates him by using his Explosion Quirk. The scene was compared to a moment in volume 17 of the Naruto manga where Jiraiya comes up against two members of the Akatsuki, Itachi and Kisame.
During this fight, Jiraiya creates a tunnel-like structure that keeps his two foes within his proximity at all times. When reading back through this early portion of Naruto, it’s clear to see how Kishimoto purposely uses the ‘lens’ to show a wider shot of the arena, before then suddenly switching the focus to a person’s limbs or face to re-direct the scene back to the characters.
The exact same style can be applied to Deku’s clash with Bakugo, since, while it’s important to hone in on the character’s emotions and choreography, the readers also need to gain a clear understanding of where the fight is actually taking place. While having this kind of paneling makes the manga very easy to read, it must be extremely difficult for the author to perfectly convey what is actually happening when the action is moving at such a quick pace, so it’s understandable why Horikoshi would look back at other high-quality manga series to help him out.
Horikoshi Was Influenced By Naruto Without Even Realizing
He Only Connected The Dots When Speaking To Kishimoto
The eye-ability teacher is seen in both series
Kishimoto reveals he had unintentionally copied a big aspect of Dragon Ball
Horikoshi was fully aware that the way he structured his panels in the My Hero Academia manga was heavily inspired by Naruto, but when speaking to Kishimoto directly, he also revealed that there were a few other points of reference that he hadn’t even realized until now. The most obvious one that he mentions is how Aizawa, the teacher of Class 1-A, possesses a Quirk which allows him to shut down another person’s abilities by using his eyes.
“I still have to watch over them…until they graduate and become heroes” – Aizawa
This is pretty similar to Kakashi, the team leader of Squad 3, who possesses a Sharingan that enables him to throw all kinds of deadly Jutsu techniques in battle. While it’s pretty easy to connect the dots here, Horikoshi admits that he never even realized he had made the connection, and presumes that it’s probably just because he was so familiar with Naruto due to growing up with it that it became his go-to model when creating a teacher.
Ironically enough, Kishimoto actually says the exact same thing about his own work, specifically how Naruto goes from a young boy to a teenager, and eventually an adult with kids. This is very much the same as Goku from Dragon Ball, and while it’s no secret that Kishimoto is a massive fan of that legendary series, he also claims that his intention was never to directly copy it, but the Dragon Ball is simply just such a big part of his life that it eventually showed itself in his own manga.
