The Anime Codex

Kohei Horikoshi was born on the 20th of November, 1986 in the Aichi Prefecture, Japan. He’s a manga artist best known for creating the manga series Oumagadoki Zoo, Barrage, and My Hero Academia which have all been serialized in Shueisha’s shonen manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. His work had over 100 million copies in circulation as of April 2024, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. 

Horikoshi graduated from Toho High School and later Nagoya University of Arts where he presumably got a degree in the anime business. He was a previous assistant for Yasuki Tanaka who created the manga Summer Time Rendering, Hitomi no Catoblepas, and Kagijin. 

Horikoshi previously mentioned over the years that his favourite manga series from when he was a child was Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto. Which is what a lot of anime fans love as well. He was also inspired by manga artist Yoku Osada, who created Toto! The Wonderful Adventure. Horikoshi is also a very big fan of American superhero comic books, mostly of the Marvel Comics. (Wikipedia)

In a 2018 interview at San Diego Comic-Com, Horikoshi mentioned he had begun drawing as a small child. His parents supported his artistic and creative abilities, offering encouragement when he would show them a finished drawing. He decided to pursue design at the Nagoya University of Arts, though his ultimate goal was to become a manga artist.

Horikoshi soon realized school wasn’t helping him with his dream job, and often practiced his work outside of class, and in addition to drawing in his own time, he submitted work to different kinds of publishers and was acknowledged with an Honorable Mention for the Tezuka Prize, an award given by the publisher Shueisha. And after graduating from the university, Horikoshi did freelance work until managing to land his first one-shot manga at Shonen Jump. (Reuben, Emily)

Horikoshi has always been a fan of other manga series including but not limited to Dragon Ball, Naruto and One Piece. He was also incredibly inspired by the marvel comics which helped inspire him to become a mangaka. 

Horikoshi’s Works:

Tenko (テンコ) – First created in 2007, the magazine it was featured in was Akamaru Jump, published by Shueisha. It was a one-shot. A one-shot is a type of work composed of a single issue or chapter in comics. It contrasts a very limited series or potentially an ongoing series which are composed of multiple chapters or issues. 

My Hero (僕のヒーロー, Boku no Hīrō) – First created in 2008, also in Akamaru Jump magazine, and also published by Shueisha, this was also a one-shot.

Shinka Rhapsody (進化ラプソディ, Shinka Rapusod) – First created in 2008, in Akamaru Jump, published by Shueisha and also a One-Shot.

Oumagadoki Zoo (逢魔ヶ刻動物園, Ōmagadoki Dōbutsuen) – In 2010-11, was in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump, published by Shueisha, this seems to have been his first Manga.

Barrage (戦星のバルジ, Sensei no Baruji) – In2012, also in Weekly Shonen Jump, published by Shueisha in Japanese and Viz Media in English, his second manga.

My Hero Academia (僕のヒーローアカデミア, Boku no Hīrō Akademia) – 2014-2024、in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Published by Shueisha in Japanese and Viz Media in English. This was Horkikoshi’s longest and most popular manga.

Awards and nominations

In 2015:

• Next Manga Award in the Print Manga category, My Hero Academia won 1st place.
• Manga Taisho in the Manga Taisho category, My Hero Academia won 8th place.
• Mando Kobayashi Manga Award in the Manga Grand Prix, My Hero Academia won as well.

In 2016:

• Kodansha Manga Award in the Best Shonen Manga category, My Hero Academia was nominated.

In 2017:

• Japan Expo Awards, for Daruma d’Or Manga category, My Hero Academia won.
• Japan Expo Awards, for Daruma for Best Shonen category, My Hero Academia was Nominated.
• Sugoi Japan Award for the Best Manga category, My Hero Academia won.
• Angouleme International Comics Festival for the Best Youth Comic category, My Hero Academia was nominated.
• Salon del Manga de Barcelona for the Best Shonen Manga category, My Hero Academia won.

In 2018:

• Seoul Media Comics for the Manga Creator Award, Kohei Horikoshi won.
• Japan Expo Awards for the Daruma for Best Shonen, My Hero Academia won.
• Harvey Awards for the Best Manga category, My Hero Academia was nominated.
• Salon del Manga de Barcelona for the Best Shonen Manga category, My Hero Academia won.

In 2019:

• Harvey Awards for the Best Manga category, My Hero Academia won

In 2020:

• Angouleme International Comics Festival for the Best Youth Comic, My Hero Academia was nominated.