The Present and Future of Anime Studios (Part 1) Bones’ Yoshihiro Oyabu on Producing My Hero Academia

Deku’s Character Design Changed!?

ーーHas anything changed since My Hero Academia became a massive hit? If not, please tell us what’s been the most fun thing about working on a massive hit series.

Oyabu：I’m thankful every time that I get to work on My Hero Academia, a series that’s been successful for so long and broadcasts all across the country during an evening time slot. Especially since the first series that I worked on was Full Metal Alchemist.

I have good memories of the reactions to that series being a giant hit. However, at that time, social media wasn't so widely used, so now I can directly see the fans' reactions in real-time. I think that's a wonderful thing.

We used to only be able to see the numbers, but now we can see the genuine reaction to the work from fans both inside and outside of Japan, which is wonderful.

For example, when the first movie came out, there was an advance screening in Los Angeles.

The story was right at the point where All Might was an international student. At first, he was studying in a fictional location in America. However, after talking with the staff, we decided that he should be in LA. As soon as the scene with All Might in LA started playing, the crowd went wild.

The enthusiasm that everyone had was terrific. There was a feeling like, "our favorite anime is now a movie, and we get to see it earlier than anyone!” The enthusiastic atmosphere was not what you would expect from those enjoying a foreign film.

There is no time lag these days, so overseas fans share the same experience as Japanese ones. I’m very happy about that.

Just taking our studio's system into account, the more well-known an anime becomes, the more staff members who say that they want to work on it appear. I'm thankful that happens, especially in today's anime industry.

ーーThat is amazing! Has the staff’s reaction changed at all?

Oyabu：When a work is very popular, even those who don't know the details are at least able to say, "I've heard of that anime before," so we can start to speak the same language.

When you're in the middle of producing something, there are some topics that you have to explain from the beginning, however, you end up explaining things like “Todoroki should be like this" or "Deku should be like that." When you start with a common language, you can begin to construct the meeting as you like, which is a very good thing.

ーーIncluding that situation, are there any other problems that you encounter when working with such a large property?

Oyabu：When we started planning My Hero Academia, I remember talking with Nagasaki-san about how Horikoshi-sensei thoroughly prepares his manuscripts and how the chronology of the series is carefully planned.

So we first thought that we had to carefully follow the timeline in the original manga and make sure that the viewers didn’t notice any discrepancies.

Manga and anime are expressed in different ways, so you can't make a frame precisely the same.

Of course, you can make animated scenes that leave the same impression as the manga, but even if you take an expression straight out of the manga, it's challenging to make sure that the viewers won't feel as if something is "off."

In manga, you can have wide panels that take up two pages, or have the edges of panels overlapping so the final panel is appealing. Manga can easily time skip all over the place, but with the way time flows in anime, that’s not possible.

In regards to all of those things, we make thorough preparations, but there were some times when the pose was a bit different, or the line was changed. We tried to make the changes so that those who read the manga wouldn't feel as if something was "wrong."

When Nagasaki-san and I spoke with Horikoshi-sensei, we asked him to understand that anime is a different form of media and that there are different ways to express things. He actually said that we "shouldn't use the panels from the manga as-is."

Although I was glad he said that, I thought that that was a high bar to clear (laughs). Ever since he told me that, I’ve always kept his words in mind when working.

ーーSo although it's the same My Hero Academia, it's actually a different My Hero Academia.

Oyabu：That’s right. It’s My Hero Academia made with anime’s creative touches in mind.

ーーYou spoke a bit about it earlier, but because My Hero Academia has continued for so long, is there any special behind-the-scenes information?

Oyabu：Actually, when we updated the character sheets for season five, I noticed that Deku's character design had changed quite a bit. Some parts had been changing little by little until then, since through seasons one and two the non-hero Deku had been training. His body had gotten larger, so it changed once around episode five.

When he enters U.A. High School, he had been training for around a year, so his body was different. Umakoshi-san changed this during his edits.

From the second season, the muscles on his body have changed. Updating the character sheets takes some time, so each sheet had to be checked while looking at Umakoshi-san’s edits. However, we’ve been continuing for five seasons, so the newest character sheet is in Umakoshi-san’s current style, which is much different from the first one.

What’s more, the way that Umakoshi-san draws the characters now is much more refined. The staff used to wonder what certain lines were and draw around them (laughs).

However, as we’ve been doing this for three or four years, even if the animation director doesn’t see the character sheet, he knows how to draw them. Each of the staff has their own way of drawing the characters, which is a good thing.

Not only the hero suits, but also the facial expressions and the muscles on each character is something I want the staff to pay attention to carefully.

ーーI see. Since the anime has continued for so long, the staff doesn’t need to look at the character sheet to be able to draw them.

That’s what has happened. However, right when they get used to drawing the characters in a certain way, the hero suits change (laughs). You can hear things like “It’s like that now!?” in the studio, which causes a great panic.

This is a bit of self-promotion, but Bones released a collection of original images, so check it out to see the differences between Deku’s character design between seasons one and two.

【グッズ-設定原画集】僕のヒーローアカデミア ANIMATION ART WORKS vol.3 #26～#38

ーーI want to ask you directly – what do you think is the most appealing thing about My Hero Academia?

Oyabu：I wonder… If I had to put it simply, I’d say that it’s because it is an orthodox Shonen Jump title. Overall, it’s about not only Deku, but boys who come from nothing working together, and through hard work they can become stronger and accomplish something big.

My Hero Academia is a long series, so it’s able to show the growth of not only Deku but the other characters as well.

All of the characters think in diverse ways and has their own understanding of what a hero is. The most straightforward character is Deku, but Bakugo thinks in a different way.

Why they want to become heroes, what they want to do when they become one – you can feel that the young characters in this story are always thinking about that and how they can achieve their goal.

ーーThe diversity of each hero is well-expressed.

Oyabu：I agree. The fifth season focuses on not only the characters from Class 1-A, but 1-B as well. Characters like Neito Monona are unforgettable. Neito's way of thinking is that there is no way that he has the talent to become the main character, so he created his hero persona from there, which is impressive in its own way.

What I mean is that none of the characters in My Hero Academia are poorly done. Each of them has their own appeal.

In the first half of season five, Class 1-B acts as the backbone. You can focus on one character’s growth or watch how all of the surrounding characters grow. Having friends help you grow is a common theme in Shonen Jump manga, and it’s always interesting to see. That is the wonderful thing about this work.