The popular manga "My Hero Academia" (author: Kohei Horikoshi) has reached its final chapter in the double issue 36/37 of "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha), released today, August 5. This marks the end of a decade-long journey that began in July 2014. To commemorate this milestone, the first-ever global character popularity poll, "My Hero Academia WORLD BEST HERO," has been announced.

The main voting stage will take place over approximately two months, from August 5 at 6 PM to September 30 at 11:59 PM (JST). During this period, the top 10 characters will be determined. The results will be announced on December 2 at 7 PM during a premiere broadcast on the official Jump YouTube channel, "Jump Channel." The character who secures the first place will be awarded the honorary title "WORLD BEST HERO."

In addition, a special "PLUS ULTRA Stage" will be held to decide the ultimate winner among the top three characters. This stage will feature a 24-hour voting period from December 2 at 8 PM to December 3 at 7:59 PM. The final results will be announced during a premiere broadcast on the same channel on December 3 at 9:30 PM. The character who takes first place in this stage will receive the honorary title "THE MHA" and will be commemorated with a statue.

Author Kohei Horikoshi also shared a message of gratitude to readers worldwide, which will be published in the August 5 morning edition of "The New York Times" (local time). The message reads, "Thank you for supporting My Hero Academia! Because you enjoyed it, I enjoyed it too. I hope that sometimes you'll remember Deku and his friends as you go about your daily lives!" expressing his appreciation to the readers.

"My Hero Academia" started serialization on July 7, 2014, set in a world where people with supernatural abilities called "Quirks" are commonplace. It follows the story of Izuku Midoriya (Deku) and his classmates at the prestigious U.A. High School as they grow to become heroes who protect society from villains who misuse their Quirks. The manga has reached 41 volumes and surpassed 100 million copies in circulation worldwide. The TV anime began airing in April 2016, currently in its seventh season, and has also been adapted into games, stage plays (since 2019), and four theatrical anime films.

Source : ORICON NEWS